I have gone to a few shooting gatherings and they were way less people than last year.They also shot way less.They scrounged brass like it was gold on the ground.I know I wont be burning off 150 rounds of 416 rem mag any time soon.Primers are impossible to find now and powder is not easy in these big calibers either.I swear if it comes to worse I will be using black powder in my straight walled cases and match head filled primers.I can load a bucket full of 416s in short order with my dillion 550 but I am not sure if I shoulod load them up or leave it in componets.I bagged my brass up in plastic bags .I did the same on my bullets also.

dgr416?

When do you think things are going to get back to normal?

One of my major concerns is that I think that there are people who are making a lot of money by scaring gun owners into thinking that next week someone is going to be at the door to seize their guns. There was a pretty restrictive gun bill introduced in the House but it didn't have any cosponsors and never made it out of committee. For a bit, the Department of Defense did stop selling once fired brass to commercial companies for loading but that was a small part of a procurement bill and it was rectified in a few days. I have been a member of the NRA for a long time but I think they are creating a fake "crisis" to drive up their membership and contributions to the ILA. It's worked! They have everyone so scared that President Obama is going to take away their guns and ammunition that everyone is "stockpiling" guns, ammo, and components.

Dave

like last time (adjusted for inflation, its about the same) it will last about until people CALM DOWN

the makers, and I have talked to ALOT of them, are making more than EVER, and pumping it out .. the backorders are eating it off the shelves, but disposible income will eventually stop being applied at backorders.

For example, I burn about 10-12 lbs of H335 per year, in big bores ... I have 16 lbs on order, back order, from grafs.. since JANUARY -- they have received 2 "trucks" of h335, and the next order, I should receive my order ...

However, there AINT a shortage of units made of powder, its the guys that generally burn 1-2lbs a year ordering 10 cases (100 lbs) that is turning this into a shortage.

22LR shells - WOW ... now THERE is a hoarder's paradise. Go try and buy a brick at wally world

Jeff:

I MIGHT be able to help you with the H335. Do you want me to check and see if I can locate some?

Dave

quote:

22LR shells - WOW ... now THERE is a hoarder's paradise. Go try and buy a brick at wally world

That makes no sense at all other than panic about a pending assult rimfire ban, lol.

There was a proposal to require identity marker for every round sold. Imagine the cost increase to a box 22 rim fire. Those politicians are still around. This is the logical reason to buy loaded ammo now and certain components like brass and maybe bullets. I dont see the harm. Support your local industry. The issue is what constitutes a life time supply for you and yours? And is it worth the cost?

A likely next target will high capacity magazines. Less likely but could be are any semi auto gun, starting with the rambo crap first. As discuss elsewhere, the 50 bmg are at risk. There are already restrictions on black powder, that could get worse too.

If you wait till the proposed law get 1/2 way threw the congress - then its too late everything will disappear like silver coins in the 60's.

Obama, can wait. What is his rush? He hopes to have 8 years. He maybe evil, but not stupid. Maybe he can even load up the supreme court with his lefty cohorts. Ive been watching this since the Kennedy assignation and the trend is clear. The entire American culture has changed and continue a steady change for both hunting and shooting.

Fourbore:

I guess I think the greater worry is not the Obama admistration but our individual states. I live in the west but I recently visited relatives in New Jersey. I asked them about the gun thing and they seemed to believe that New Jersey has many, many very restrictive gun regulations. Maybe some of the Jersey guys could chime in here. The Jersey gun regs never stopped Tony Soprano

Dave

Dave
I sent you a PM.

Harry -- I paid 2x at carters (okay, dumb on me) to have my "i can't shoot anymore than this number of 22s THIS year" supply

I expect this will turn around august.

quote:

Originally posted by Dave Bush:
Fourbore:

I guess I think the greater worry is not the Obama admistration but our individual states. I live in the west but I visited relatives in New Jersey recently. I asked them about the gun thing and they seemed to believe that New Jersey has many, many very restrictive gun regulations. Maybe some of the Jersey guys could chime in here. The Jersey gun regs never stopped Tony Soprano

The singer of "blues traveler" got arrested, tried, and convicted, in the peoples republik of new jersey, of having ...
wait for it...

FACTORY ....
HOLLOWPOINTS
in a pistol

Jeff:

PM sent.

Dave

Not yet. I am currently shooting at the indoor range daily and at the outdoor range once a week.
I should be able to go like that till late summer. Then I will either have to pay the higher prices or slow down. I had already decided to eliminate some of the big bore handguns along with a few of my rifles but am shooting the big bores every weekend.
Frank

"A person is smart. People are dumb, panicky dangerous animals and you know it" Pretty well sums it up.

I'm a natural born horder, so I started with a several year stash. Going to keep shooting as usual.

quote:

Originally posted by jeffeosso:
The singer of "blues traveler" got arrested, tried, and convicted, in the peoples republik of new jersey, of having ...
wait for it...

FACTORY ....
HOLLOWPOINTS
in a pistol

Not this particular trial, but as a resident of NJ's border state, I think everyone pretty much knows of this hollowpoint law. In fact, I was told, that each and every HP amounted to a separate count against you.

Shooting less? Not me. I stocked up years ago. Because of price, not need. A local nationally recognized competitive shooter came down with Alzheimers disease. His family didn't trust him with guns or reloading equipment. I bought ~$300 worth of powder, primers and bullets for more than 50% off the going rate...I think it was '05 or '06. Here's just half of the smokeless powder:

quote:

match head filled primers

BTW, How's that working out for you?

Last weekend I went to "Grandpa's Hardware" store in Clarksville, TN.
They were selling 100-count F-215 individual packs for $3.99 in a showcase, only six packs.
I bought them out.
I said: "Where are the 10-pack/1000-count boxes? You need to restock the little showcase in the aisle."
Clerk said, pointing to the shelf in back: "There they are, there's four left."
I said: "How much?"
Clerk scanned a case: "$19.99 for a thousand primers."
Methinks: "Wow! about half price. Sumbuddy has not updated the price of the case lately."
I said: "I'll take all four cases."
Nice addition to my hoard.

Then I went to "Reloader's Bench" in Mount Juliet, Tennessee, and cleaned out their RL-17 and H50BMG stock.

I have all but stopped shooting this last year.
Part if it's from having been on my back recovering from a relatively major knee surgery, part of it's from being buried in the efforts of keeping the *positive* in *positive cashflow* out here on the West Coast - and a great part of it is that the components have been such a bitch to get.

I recently have spent a great deal of time writing back and forth to a few guys all across the states looking for a few trays of Fed 215 primers. I can't believe how much effort I've put out on that particular search. Amazing.

With each rifle or handgun, I have at least one load that does it -- a load that'll pile them all into an inch from 100yds consistently. I handle the ones I'll be hunting with (any time soon) and spend time day-to-day dry firing and/or running reload drills or practice presentation from sling/holster carry...
I just am very conservative with ammunition and reloading supplies.

When things turn around and the 'supply crisis' goes away *and* I regain more of a solid footing in the *positive cashflow* department, I'll likely get back to burning more powder on a more regular schedule.

Till then, it's a good time to finish up little tooling projects in the machine shop and focus more on scouting game while in the field than blasting targets of opportunity...



Cheers
Tinker

I haven't stopped shooting this year, just never really started. But I work at a Sportsmans Warehouse here in Oregon, and can tell you that my job has morphed into an endless discussion of this topic with customers. I hear every crackpot theory you can imagine. The most hilarious is that the ammo makers are doing this on purpose to raise prices. My response: Do you think their stockholders would sit still while they missed the biggest bull market in Amercan arms and ammunition sales history?
Best comment I have heard regarding the hoarding behavior: "I wish these clowns would take a chill pill."

I am shooting just like I did before this latest shortage. Having been through the same numb scull buying spree in 1992 and those since, I learned my lesson. I have a supply that will get me through until everyone decides how stupid they were. If you want to call that hordeing, so be it. Good shooting.

I'm fine for most of my guns, but I'm finding it hard to find H4895 and 5744, guess I'm going to have to deal with back orders...

I have 96 large rifle primers, 500 large rifle magnum primers. I can't find any, and I have a new caliber I want to work up some loads for.

.308 Win -- which, by the way, you should try finding brass and bullets for. I got the last set of dies in the county for this caliber.

I just returned from the gun show and nothing but bad news.No primers at all ,powder stocks are running low bullets are drying up.I guess its time to get the strike anywhere matches to make new primers.I just herd the chosen one (in his mind ) just signed the treaty with mexico to ban reloading.Its going to get way roougher.I went to 5 walmarts no 22s at all none.I heard at my favorite gunstore that all the ammo plants were laying off people.I heard 223 would be backordered almost a year soon.The big 380 pistol was going for $2 a round for HP ammo and $1.5 each for ball.Its going to get way worse yall like nothing we have seen ever.I am think the old 45-70 over with lead bullets and pyrodex and match head filled primers we might end up in custers last stand.The chosen ones plan is to ban all ammo made before July of 2010 and all ammo after that must have a serial # on the case and bullet.You must keep track of the empties also.Its very scary that America the Great has come to this.Yep I would find what you can not for when the crap hits the fan.Who ever though you would see wally world shelves empty of ammo.Get at least 20,000 22s and as many primers as you can get.I am grabbing alll the powder I can u8se.Alot of people are swaping what they need for.We need a swap brass,bullet,powder ,primer section only on here.I think we saw the last of the best days last year .Its time to get ready for the perfict storm!!!!!!!!!

I am not really shooting less. I have pretty much stopped shooting my big bores. I have greatly reduced shooting my 30 cals and even the 243 and 223. Instead I have been burning up the 22. Maybe others are doing the same. What has pretty much stopped is reloading. No primers and bloody little powder available. I am down to less than 5000 primers total. Nomally would burn that up in about 6 weeks. I could buy the stuff at the auction sites but I refuse to pay what they are asking. At these prices it dosnt make sense unless you really believe they are going to make everything go away. If that day comes I will make black powder and shoot the muzzleloader.

I'm working up to an African hunt, so I'm running twenty or thirty rounds through my .375 every week until July. I have enough components to last for a while.

I think a lot of this panic buying is definitely overblown. Rumors of this and that happening abound, so everybody's buying stuff they won't use for twenty years. It's the herd mentality run amok.

The powder truck has returned to Kentucky.
Whittaker Guns has lots of RL-17 and H50BMG and you name it.
Primers are still scarce there.

Treaties with Mexico that could end up interfereing with The Second Amendment: It is all over the internet.

Many of my friends and I are shooting way less until the fanatics stop hoarding.

A few people I know blame the NRA - I'm not sure I'd go that far.

We live in interesting times.

I stopped practicing between Hipower matches.

I saw on Powder Valley's website that they have over 50 million primers on backorder. Unbelievable.

Blaming the NRA is like blaming the weather man for hurricane Katrina. You can heed the warning and act accordingly (political or shopping) or just sit and wait for the wind to start blowing.

I am not hoarding (or stocking up) anything more than I already had (pre Obanana), but sure dont blame those who buy what they view as at risk for a ban.

I stockpiled a bunch of stuff a long time ago. I'm not even concerned about needing anything at this point. Glad I did it when I did as this hysteria proves that you squirrel away supplies when the sun is shining, cuz when it hits the fan the shelves are cleaned off and prices are sky high.

Hopefully this will blow over, if it doesn't then I guess I'm ready for whatever may come.

i still shoot like always one to two times a week.i have always keep plenty of reloading supplies on hand and also ammo,i think i got enought to last for 10 years,

As long as there are pigs/sellers who gouge with their 187.00 for 1000 210 Federal caps, and idiots who buy them (see gunbroker.com) this will continue.

Not at all, I'm one of those that saw the shortage coming, stocked up quite nicely. Shoot every week.

quote:

Originally posted by dgr416:
I have gone to a few shooting gatherings and they were way less people than last year.They also shot way less.They scrounged brass like it was gold on the ground.I know I wont be burning off 150 rounds of 416 rem mag any time soon.Primers are impossible to find now and powder is not easy in these big calibers either.I swear if it comes to worse I will be using black powder in my straight walled cases and match head filled primers.I can load a bucket full of 416s in short order with my dillion 550 but I am not sure if I shoulod load them up or leave it in componets.I bagged my brass up in plastic bags .I did the same on my bullets also.

light at the end of the tunnel?
wihtout a doubt

all my backorders shipped yesterday

powders on ON THE SHELF at grafs

ramshot hasn't been off the shelf at midway

heck, even most PRIMERS are on hand, with the obvious exceptions of small rifle.

I believe the hoarders have run out of money, and we'll be back to normal before august.

what's normal?
last august

quote:

Originally posted by POP:
As long as there are pigs/sellers who gouge with their 187.00 for 1000 210 Federal caps, and idiots who buy them (see gunbroker.com) this will continue.

Man, you have that right! All this hoarding is ridiculous. I have enough stuff to last me for a year or so in various powders and enough primers to burn out my Dakota. Who needs more than that? I will not hoard supplies. That's the problem. Everyone should just settle down a bit.

I have been fairly lucky in picking up smaller amounts of primers. One of our local stores has a small supply of CCI 250 magnum primers. He's done a good thing. To keep the hoarders at bay, he only sells two hundred at a time so he has kept most of us supplied. I have about 1000-1500 large rifle magnum primers in stock so I should be able to get through till things get back to a bit more normal.

I have taken a different approach with powder. I have about 6-7 lbs. of Reloader 15 which I use in my .404 and my .500 Jeffery so I am set there for awhile. To load my other guns, I started picking up some Ramshot powder. I have had a lot better luck getting it then some of Hodgdon powders. If you have eight pound containers of TAC, Big Game, Hunter, and Magnum, you can load a broad variety of rilfe cartridges and these powders have been easier to find.

I still need some H1000 for my .500/.416 but the shortage has changed my powder cabinet and that change may be permanent. Before the shortage, I had no experience with Ramshot powder. Now, it is one of my favorites and these four powders have greatly simplified my powder selection.

Dave