Primer Availability
We have had a lot of concerned customers calling to ask about primer availability. Actually, our lines have been flooded with calls regarding the availability of primers as well as the availability of other components. The easiest and quickest way to check on availability is through our new website, whether you plan on phoning an order in, ordering off the web, or using some other means. The following is our view on the current primer situation. Basically, there has been a two-pronged drain on primer supplies for the reloading market.
The first driving force has been the huge demand for loaded ammunition through 2008 and continuing into 2009. The large primer manufacturers like ATK (which would include Federal and CCI), Winchester, and Remington are directing the majority of their primers into loaded ammunition. Ammunition sales are going through the roof as individuals stock up because of political concerns. The huge consumer demand for ammo is in addition to the demand from law enforcement agencies and our military to re-supply their own inventories. I know that smaller ammunition manufacturers have been impacted drastically by the primer shortage since their demands are higher than normal for primers that they have to obtain through Federal, CCI, Winchester, Remington, etc. Many of these smaller manufacturers have had to go to other sources to get quality primers. Because of this situation, some of them cannot keep up with their own ammunition production. Unfortunately, these smaller ammo makers can’t control their own destiny since they don’t have the capacity or tooling to make primers.
I mentioned that there were two factors impacting primer availability; the first factor is creating the second one. Since ammo demand has consumed more of the primer supply than normal, the quantity of primers on the shelf has declined at the box stores, the reloading companies (like Sinclair), and the smaller gun shops. With the fast communication via the internet, the word spreads quickly and the result has been consumers stockpiling and hoarding primers. Individuals are buying and keeping more primers in their own personal inventories and this has prevented some reloaders from having any primers at all. We normally see people buying 1,000 or maybe 5,000 primers at a time, now we are seeing customers buying 25,000 at a time.
The manufacturers are trying to react as best as they can, but their primary driving force is to keep a steady supply of primers going to the ammunition plants because they generate more revenue through this output than they do through the reloading market. A guy from CCI called the other day to order some items from us for his own reloading, and he reported that CCI has been running 24/7 and is still falling behind. They are adding two machines to their line to increase production (I don’t know what percentage gain this will give them). Federal told us a couple of weeks ago to not be surprised if we don’t see many primers from them until the end of 2009.
This is what we know as of today. Our current situation at Sinclair is that we are out of primers but are expecting some Wolf primers of all types sometime in June. We get a few Winchester primers every once and awhile but it might only be 30K to 50K at a time.
Eventually everyone will have enough stockpiled, manufacturers should catch up with ammo runs, and the supply on the shelves will hopefully return. This happened in throughout 1994, just not to this scale.
Best Regards,
Bill
May 13th, 2009 at 9:12 am
Thanks for this update, I have found it difficult or impossible to find good information on the primer shortage on the inter-net or news services. this memo was very well timed.
thanks again for this service
May 13th, 2009 at 9:27 am
Thanks for the background information about the primer shortage. I would have thought that the Manufacturers could have predicted this demand for their product especially as it has been created by the mistrust that the shooting public has with an anti gun political party running the country. As you pointed out, it is not as if this has not happened before.
May 13th, 2009 at 9:37 am
Does the same situation exist for powder? I have been able to find primers in some local So CA shops now and then but no powder in the medium caliber range like Varget, Benchmark, and RL15. I notice you don’t have any either. Most places have shotgun or pistol powder but not rifle.
Bill
May 13th, 2009 at 9:43 am
Good Morning,
I am one of the reloaders needing primers and powder as soon as they become available. my question is, if I place an order, will that order remain active untiil filled, or is it better to just continue to check your website and order when available?
Thanks
Archie Kappel
May 13th, 2009 at 10:00 am
Thanks for the update, Bill. Makes sense. Perhaps we could all pitch in to alleviate some of the shortages if the retail dealers were to ration out the amount of components sold to each purchaser and not allow the hoarders to run amok. One purchaser buying 30K primers does not leave much for anyone else. The word is out that the current administration is neither a supporter of the Second Amendment nor the shooting sports so people are reacting accordingly.
May 13th, 2009 at 10:21 am
Thanks for the update. Interesting times in which we live…
May 13th, 2009 at 10:27 am
This is the result of firearms owners that don’t vote. I hope they’ll be happy with the confiscation and oppressive gun laws that are on the way. Lazy Bastards!!!
Too bad it affects the rest of us.
May 13th, 2009 at 10:28 am
Thanks for your honest evaluation of the situation.
May 13th, 2009 at 10:58 am
I can certainly understand buying 5,000 primers at a time — spread the hazmat charges out. But 25,000 at a time? It just causes shortages for those of us who actually want to reload rather than hoard just in cast the time comes when we they are no longer available to private citizens. And Econ 101 told me that supply/demand drive price.
Can you put a temporary cap on purchases to allow more people to gain access to the limited supply? I know that is not free market at work, but it could help spread the wealth.
May 13th, 2009 at 11:12 am
With the primer market being full right now , and hopeing there will not be a ban on reloading commponets, I guess the market will be pretty satuated or a “glutt” in or about 2010/11. : ) Grant
May 13th, 2009 at 11:26 am
Thank you. Your artical on primer availability was very helpful for my understanding – I’ve got my order into a supplier for 5,000 – a mix for HP and pistol shooting.
Thanks again
May 13th, 2009 at 12:12 pm
I’ts too bad that some people have taken it upon theselves to buy up all the primers available at the local, catalog, and internet level. These individuals have shown no concern for other shooters and I think that this is a growing trend in our sport. I remember the days when shooters everywhere helped each other and you could not shoot at your local range without conversing with the guy next to you. Sadly it seems, that this is no longer the case. Anyway, I hope everyone will calm down and buy what they need and leave a little for the next guy.
May 13th, 2009 at 1:45 pm
I went component shopping at both Dillon and Midway to try and get enough pieces-parts to build ammo for our local NRA Women On Target event, next month. EVERYTHING is in short supply, not just primers. This is especially true for common pistol caliber brass and bullet sizes. The sales rep I spoke to at Dillon indicated that Powder Valley (a Dillon supplier) has a standing backorder for 50 million primers with no firm delivery date. In addition to all of his other fine qualities, Mr. Obama certainly qualifies as “Shooting Sports Salesman of the Year…” I’m certainly glad I bought when I could before all this madness began. On the other hand gunbroker.com has a plethora of loaded ammo available–for 100% markup over current retail, which is already double what it was last September.
May 13th, 2009 at 2:13 pm
It’s too bad nothing can be done about the scalpers selling primers on gunbroker.com. If you were to pay their auction prices, in some cases it becomes cheaper to buy factory ammo than reload. That may be good news to the maufacturers, but to the merchants that sell reloading equipment and supplies and for the average joe (or jane) who wants to
just load for themselves, were are screwed for now.
May 13th, 2009 at 3:37 pm
I own a reloading and manufacturing company in New Zealand. With only three to four shipments of dangerous goods per year, the future supply situation is even more drastic. My business is being severely tested with primers, cases, and projectile supply not correcting itself until December 2009 to March 2010. With the U.S. being the predominant manufacturer of ammunition and reloading components, Americans should think about, not only what their actions are doing to their local market, but also the effects on the rest of the world.
May 13th, 2009 at 6:12 pm
I would like to believe this except the lack of supply in the chain of materials and firearms has been going on for many months. I ‘ve not been able buy handguns, rifles bullets,primers or some popular powders. Now even .22lr bullets have dried up. I find it had to believe that is cause by manufacturers using up the materials. Rumor has it obama threatened suppliers to stop selling to the plubic or he would cancel goverment contracts, some are said to compley with the request some haven’t. What are we to believe when there is no sign of product in the supply chain, and no answers
May 13th, 2009 at 8:07 pm
Regarding the primer situation, it appears that what we’re seeing is pretty much the same as what happened around 20 years ago, when there was talk about the goofermint requiring primers to have a “shelf life.” That is, to go inert after a certain period of time.
People started buying primers like crazy.
Primer manufacturers at that time too, were working 24/7 to keep up with the demand.
But once word got around that primers could NOT be made with a dependable shelf-life — and when reloaders had bought “enough” — the demand went down, and manufacturers were, again, able to keep up.
I’m sure that will happan this time too.
May 14th, 2009 at 8:31 am
Ha, it did happen in ‘94, but it’s worse now because it is a Dem controlled gov’t.
That has people scared silly!
Oh well…
May 14th, 2009 at 8:46 am
I have spent something fringing on $15,000 in the last month and a half on reloading components, not including the four firearms I recently purchased. I have found out that most of the box stores have empty shelves, for both loaded ammo and components. However, what I am finding is new resources in local Pawn Shops and online sources such as Craigslist. Some of the people buying huge quantities in bulk, are turning around and selling them on the internet as private parties.
I recently purchased 5,000 V-Max Hornady bullets, at a reasonable cost (considering the rarity), from a private party that advertised a large stock of Hornady bullets. Indeed, when I talked to him on the phone, he tried to sell me another 10,000.
Another item I am finding it hard to believe is becoming rare are reloading dies…especially, Forster. I’m a varmint shooter and I like perfection in the ammo I build. Micrometer seating dies are becoming quite rare these days. Some neck sizing bushings are almost impossible to find.
Brass, of any kind, is nearly non-existent. As soon as I receive notice of in-stock, .264 Win Mag brass (any manufacturer), I immediately go to the internet to buy…but the inventory is, alas, empty.
Good Shooting!!!
Colin Sword
Tempe, AZ
May 14th, 2009 at 11:00 am
Thanks for the information. At least you’ve give a rational reason for the shortage.
May 14th, 2009 at 4:47 pm
Bill, I just want to thank you for your clear explanation about the primer shortages. You have an excellent company – second to none!
May 14th, 2009 at 5:26 pm
Shouldn’t distributers ration the primers to their customers so that there will be more availability to reloaders. I think that the problem could be minimized if this approach was undertaken, rather than selling 25,000 to one customer. Gas stations rationed gasoline in the 70’s during the gas shortage: why not primers?
Lloyd
May 15th, 2009 at 5:32 am
IT’S ALL CRAZY,AND GREED HAS ALOT TO DO WITH THIS MESS. I TRIED TO BUY SOME PRIMERS AND A LOCAL GUN SHOP SAID GOOD LUCK BUDDY? I HAD NO IDEA WHAT WAS GOING ON IN THE RELOADING WORLD. AND YES COMPANYS SHOULD NOT LET PEOPLE BUY MORE PRIMERS THAN THEY REALLY NEED,WHO IN THE HELL NEEDS 25,000 THATS JUST PLAIN GREED.AND WHAT ABOUT THE REST OF US,WE JUST HAVE TO DO WITH OUT, OR GET RIPPED OFF BY SOME SCALPERS TRYING TO GET RICH ON THE LITTLE MANS DIME. I SAY HELL NO!!! ILL WAIT THIS OUT,CAINT LAST MUCH LONGER I HOPE.
May 15th, 2009 at 5:59 pm
Hate to see the word “rationing” but it sounds like the only reasonable [thus far] solution!
What a bunch of inconsiderate poltroons!!!
May 18th, 2009 at 6:03 am
Thanks for communicating on this important issue. I know several reloaders who have stopped loading and are using factory ammo until supply of primers improves. Normally there are new entrants in markets where there is more demand than supply. Do you know if this is occurring in the primer market?
May 18th, 2009 at 5:04 pm
Hire more help!!…or open another factory
May 18th, 2009 at 7:14 pm
Rationing? What about us guys that went through the process to own machine guns? My MAC blows 1200 rounds per minute. The Colt runs about 800. That is what got me into reloading. If I get rationed to 5,000 primers I get less than 5 minutes of fun. Why is that fair?
May 20th, 2009 at 8:47 am
I spoke to a Canadian friend and he says the shortage of primers is a US problem – He reloads for several rifle calibers and can get all the primers he wants. Wonder whats going on here?
May 21st, 2009 at 1:33 pm
Just wait until demand + supply again and all the speculators get stuck with something they can’t sell. They will have so much $ tied up that they will be selling them for 10 cents on the dollar just to buy food.
May 22nd, 2009 at 9:10 am
Paul, it’s not “fair” because for your five minutes of fun, dozens of other shooters could have fun as well.
In normal circumstances I wouldn’t care, but the success of our sport depends on many people being able to enjoy the shooting sports and keeping that in mind when they vote. All this ammo/primer hoarding has made it impossible for your average joe to find anything in the stores. If they can’t find ammo, they don’t shoot, and may not care so much at election time about our rights.
So put down the Uzi and Colt and leave some for the rest of us.
May 22nd, 2009 at 12:59 pm
Guys, there exists a real possibility that the “shortage” of components caused by the “demand” factor is right now an unwritten policy of a thoroghly anti-gun federal government using the “demand” side of the equation to their advantage. Think about it for a minute. We all pretty much agree with the supply-demand theory of economics. We know the “supply” is limited and we know that “demand” is the reason. But what exactly does the “demand” pie chart look like!!!! This data is available and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. It’s just a sad fact that you nor I will never see it. I’ll bet my hard-earned (soon to be worthless) yankee dollars that if you could see the actual distribution of “demand” across the 3 most mentioned purchasers of ammo (the Fed, the police and the comsumer) the largest increase in “demand” will be from the Fed gov’t by leaps and bounds. Yes, the comsumer is panic buying(driving demand), yes, the police are too BUT…..with trillions now at their command, the anti-gun Obama-ites will write contract after contract after contract to “soak” up and store away any and all “supply” that our anemic industrial base is capable of producing. Guys, I hope I’m wrong…….but don’t look for an increase in “supply” stemming from a slackening of “demand” because Obama just ain’t going to allow it. Someone out there PLEASE stick a pin in my balloon and put me out of my misery over this ammo mess by truly showing us where all this “demand” is going.
May 27th, 2009 at 4:22 pm
Bill, many thanks for the concise assessment of the situation… Now to respond to Paul
Paul, my heart bleeds for you (not to mention being envious of your predicament). However, until people chill out and relax a little bit with stock piling primers and powder; I can’t reload any more. I just want to be able to enjoy my chosen hobby/sport (and have time to work up some new loads for hunting season).
I have recently noticed that at least two retailers (i.e. Natchez and Cabela’s) have placed limits on reloading supply purchases, so hopefully cooler heads will prevail and things can get back to a more normal level very soon.
May 30th, 2009 at 7:54 pm
Thankyou very much for the tip off.
The shortage hasn’t hit your customers in Australia yet so me and my mates have now stocked up for the next year.
Great info guys.
June 9th, 2009 at 8:57 pm
The primer shortage has made a real mess of groundhog season for my brother and I. I usually go to the local gun shop and buy about 500 small and large rifle primers each season, and about the same in handgun primers. I’ve developed some pet loads using CCI primers, have been using them for decades. Start all over again and work up using another brand? Anyone have any clue as to what kind of work goes into working up and testing pet loads in a target rig? Went to 5 different shops in central Ohio, all out of stock. Why doesn’t the industry and retailers solve this problem pronto by placing quantity limits on individuals? If you’ve ordered over x,xxx primers, here’s your cancellation notice. I’ve heard of some nuts on blogs taking money out of savings to buy 100k primers and sticking them in a box in their basement. Powder Valley isn’t even accepting backorders, their web site says they have over 50 million primers currently on back order. Most pathetic mess I’ve seen since I started reloading over 30 years ago after a 4 year hitch in the military, because it shows the gun crowd as either being one of the most intelligent, or most paranoid, depending on how you look at it, of all groups in the USA. Want to find some primers? Try gunbroker.com, you’ll find your friends on there selling volume quantities for grossly inflated markups.
June 15th, 2009 at 6:18 pm
It took me 7 weeks to receive some primers on an Internet order, went to local gun shop
to pick up some more powder, owner of the gun shop told me, customer came in and
bought all his powder and some reloading bullets, and did not even own any guns, bought it to resale.powder was already marked way up, I have ran into this problem quit a few times already, Hoarders.
June 19th, 2009 at 4:48 pm
Wilbur, (very late but I felt it was needed)
The demand is from the millions of people who woke up on the day after election and went to buy a gun, and then needed ammo for it. Shortages in AR15s ring a bell? AR prices had a huge spike that is basically moderated now that the supply chain has built back up. Ammo is worse since both the new people and established shooters suddenly had more demand, in an industry where the supply chain was already at the limit due to the war, plus police agencies switching to ARs. There’s no need for conspiracy under those circumstances. Ride out this crisis (it will pass, like ARs did, but slower), learn the lesson to have enough stock on hand to ride out these disruptions, and life goes on…
Scot
June 25th, 2009 at 10:10 pm
Scott,
I hope you are right and I am wrong. Time will tell. But if this thing hangs on like a bad toothache this year and on into next year, you might ought to start considering what I am saying. No one; not the NRA, NSSF or the manufacturers themselves are honestly addressing the demand other than to say it is unprecedented. We know that for heaven’s sake. Why won’t they come out with a breakdown of where the demand is going? As I said, they (the mfg.) know where it’s going. And they know right down to a very tiny percentage. They are profitable companies and as such I’m confident they keep excellent records. For some reason they are leaving us out here stewing in our juices and blaming each other for this mess. I hope we get past this by the end of this year. Time will tell but be prepared to have your understanding challenged.
July 1st, 2009 at 1:14 pm
I have to agree with Wilbur. If one is to casually side – step the NRA, and still achieve their goal……hmmmmm, no gun bans, no ammp bans, just casually make the “pieces” unavailable. It is very difficult to fire a weapon with no ammo, but the guvmentals wouldn’t do that for fear of a public outcry, so lets make the little things like primers disappear. It’s very hard to make anything go “BOOM” without them, so let the public keep their guns. It’s their right, the 2nd says that. I haven’t read anything about the ammunition though. I suppose they think “throwing” a gun would result in less murders? I’m sure those that do that type of thing have a stockpile of ammo. They won’t be throwing theirs.
July 1st, 2009 at 9:20 pm
VOTE! The next elections for Congress are in 2010. Don’t sit on the sidelines!
Colonel USMC (Retired)
July 16th, 2009 at 3:18 pm
Most of ATK’s income comes from the NASA program since they are heavily involved in the Aries project to replace the space shuttle. There is no doubt in my mind that if Obama wanted to make it hard for civilians to get ammo it wouldn’t take much arm twisting of ATK execs to get the job done.
http://blog.sinclairintl.com/2009/05/12/primer-availability-2/
http://www.fishingbuddy.com/primers
http://messages.finance.yahoo.com/Stocks_(A_to_Z)/Stocks_A/threadview?m=te&bn=1592&tid=4902&mid=-1&tof=1&rt=2&frt=2&off=1#-1
http://www.space.com/news/090603-bolden-confirmation.html
http://change.gov/open_government/entry/atk/
http://www.theblogofrecord.com/tag/alliant-techsystems/
http://www.google.com/search?q=alliant+techsystems+obama
July 20th, 2009 at 8:27 am
I don’t buy the explaination. I am ex special forces. I never saw this during the heighth of the Vietman War. Nor was it this bad during the Clinton reign. Please call the NRA and tell them to wake up and smell the coffee. We the People need to wake up and smell the rat and write our representatives and vote in the up coming elections to make our point. Please do not become apathetic. This is a sly way to take the 2nd admendment from all of us. I served my country for these rights and I for one want them.
July 21st, 2009 at 8:41 pm
Americans, Wilbur Lacy comments sound true. Think about it. During Viet Nam War before I was drafted I reloaded as a kid. With the big push in 1965 there never was a shortage. No shortage during the Irag War with President Bush when things were hot. Now things have cooled down and there is a nation wide shortage. Look at the arms mobilization of WW 11. Something smells like a sly way to erode the 2nd Admendment right. Remember if you can have it taken away its not a right its a privilege.
July 28th, 2009 at 4:41 pm
And second of all,
If you like Primers this much! “I have none but can wait to work up my 8mm Mauser/45/70 and 325 WSM and 357 38 loads. I’ve got my 44 mag loads worked up and am unable to reload any thing now any how. I’m busy away from the bench working for uncle sam. Wait until you find out how much you would like to have a little gasoline in your tank! “Here we go”!
August 3rd, 2009 at 6:08 am
Thanks for the update, very helpful.
Anthony
September 1st, 2009 at 10:18 pm
From what I can gather between the enlightening article and quite a few of the reply posts, I’d judge it was the paranoid whack-job wing-nuts hiding in their basements that are causing the primer shortage. A few thousand Dale Gribbles with delusions and difficulty assessing threats make reloading hard for the rest of us. Those kooks actually ARE a threat to me. They bought up all my primers!!!.
September 10th, 2009 at 5:56 am
Well, I’ve got a copy of “Buns & Whammo” somewhere round here from 1967 (I think) which expresses fears of a shortage of sporting ammo due to the escalating demands of the war in Vietnam.
September 19th, 2009 at 11:22 am
my sons and I reload ammo to use at the rifle range with out large rifle primers we can not afford to bye ammo and shoot 500 rounds. So I gust we will have wait and see if things get better. GOOD LUCK WE WLL NEED IT
October 24th, 2009 at 12:19 am
like ray said, VOTE!