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Component shortage(s)

Does anyone really know why reloading components and ammo have dried up? I heard from one of my suppliers that ADI (Hodgdon) had a major fire in Australia that destroyed many of their powder driers. They don't expect to be back in production until the end of 2014 or later. I haven't confirmed that info. but even the humble .22 ammo cannot be found. What is going on?
 
22LR is found easy enough, its just the fact when it is in stock any place everyone & their brother runs to buy it up in seconds. Its all of us who grab everything when it comes available. Its us who post "so & so has stuff in stock", BAM everyone runs there to snag it so they have stuff to shoot and they are out for a few months again.
Most everything else is on the shelves around here including powder at the local overpriced gun shops. When it hits the big stores at standard prices it all of disappears within a day or less....all due to us the shooter again. No one to blame except the person in the mirror.
The local SW has bullets, primers & a tad of powder sitting on the shelf still, so places it has slowed, but others...no chance!
 
Ya know, 5spd , I have to agree with you in spirit. One of our local gun shops has the same dozen or so guys calling every day to find out if they've received delivery on reloading items. When the items arrive, even though they're limited to two pounds of powder per person per day, the return day after day for their "two pounds" until they've exhausted the supply. I read a thread on another forum today complaining that a guy and his dad could only get two pounds each and couldn't buy out the entire supply. I'm beginning to think that, in spite of the probability that there are other contributing factors, we may be our own worst enemy.
 
the manufacture can't ship powder out of Australia like they used to ,the permitted quantity was cut back by their government . this has reduced the amount Hodgdon can bottle for resale . so i have been told from a pretty reliable soucre. T.R.
 
+2.
I totally agree and it makes me often sick to hear and even see it with my own eyes the hoards of hoarders rushing to hoard some more of the countless pounds they already have because of what? It's all because someone had to turn it into a panic and the majority of us had to follow and amplify it. Now most if not all complain how expensive it is if and when they find it.
 
It's hard to believe that so many people are hoarding. At some point the supply is going to have to catch up with the demand. This comes back to the original question. Do you suppose everyone is hoarding because they fear an overall crack down or is something else spooking everyone? I've been shooting for over 50+ years and I've never seen anything like this. Sure, there were primer shortages and other items but not everything at the same time.
 
The hoarders are just a part of the supply chain draw down. There has been a huge flood of new gun owners coming in to the market. I have friends and acquaintances that I would have never thought in a million years would buy ANY gun. They now have ARs, handguns, old military stuff and a good supply of ammo.
 
I have been reloading since the later 70's. Because of where I live I always bought more than I needed immediately to make a trip justifiable as for gas etc. Was a pain if you wanted to reload 100rds and only had 73 primers and 49 bullets! So I started buying sleeves of primers, 8# jugs of powder and bullets at least 500. Over time I got to where I could reload what I wanted whenever. So because of my circumstances as for location and availability and because I seen the writing on the wall a long time ago I became one of those cursed "hoarders"!

I haven't purchased nothing to speak of the last 6 months and only a handful of something I didn't have already and needed for a new project etc the last yr. So what I see now is those same individuals who felt a need to label those of us that have been prepared and thought ahead pre 9/11 as hoarders are now doing the same thing they so despised only a short time back, that being buying all they can get when it is available. Suddenly there is nothing wrong with "hoarding" if it is them and not a complete internet stranger! Pretty much typical behavior in todays society it seems! If I do it it is smart planning and a good investment, if you do it it is pathetic, unimaginable and you are a greedy POS!!! Hmmmmm Also with all of the out of staters here shooting AT pdogs this summer there didn't appear to be a shortage of anything!! At least they saved my components this summer!

I was in Rapid City, SD Thursday for an infusion, if my local FFL has items he ordered I then stop and pick them up for him at Black Hills Shooters Supply so help him out with saving shipping costs. He had one order for 6K Hornady 55SP that was 4 months old that just came in. I asked about powder and they said it is still very very hit and miss with small amounts coming in occasionally. Stopped at Cabela's and they actually had more bullets than 3 months ago and primers. About the only powder for rifle was 3 or so pds each of H414 and IMR4007SC and sporadic small amounts of rifle and pistol brass. No 22 ammo that I seen but numerous cases of 1K of Federal M193? and assorted boxes of Win, Rem, Fed 223. I think the 1K boxes of 223 was either $469 or $489? So better than before but not a smorgasbord. Was in Bismarck then Friday for pacer check and see cardiologist and had to get a few things at Wally World. Always walk buy the sporting goods section, no 22 nor 223 of any kind! Didn't feel up to checking out Scheel's as I was tired and broke from 2 back to back visits for Docs!! :(

Alright, rants from a senile hoarder over! :)

Respectfully,
Dennis
 
therifler said:
the manufacture can't ship powder out of Australia like they used to ,the permitted quantity was cut back by their government . this has reduced the amount Hodgdon can bottle for resale . so i have been told from a pretty reliable soucre. T.R.

I heard today the cut was 80% reduced import from a year ago! Sorry Varget user!

Diego
 
SDWhirlwind said:
I have been reloading since the later 70's. Because of where I live I always bought more than I needed immediately to make a trip justifiable as for gas etc.

That's not hoarding, Dennis. That's just good planning. If you could see some of the stock piling that's going on in closets around the country you'd recognize the difference.
There were two guys driving through California recently on a "shopping spree". They used their GPS gear to locate gun shops and sports outlets along the highway from one end of the state to the other and called as they passed the city in which the shop was located. When they found ammo in stock they stopped, bought all they could, and moved on to the next city.
That's hoarding .................... >:(
 
chino69 said:
It's hard to believe that so many people are hoarding. At some point the supply is going to have to catch up with the demand.

My local dealer told me his distributor advised him to expect the shortages to last about two years.
 
Here about a month ago some loud mouth from Tennesee posted that Recobs had Varget in stock. So the next morning i drive up there. When they opened it was all gone. The gal at the counter told me that they didn't go home over night, because of having to stay and fill internet orders. So much for the locals. They even have a 1-8# 1-5# & 4- 1# powder limit. I hope they enjoy using thier 30.00/ # powder or trying to resale a year from now when everyone else is buying it for 23.00 or 24.00 / #
 
Well, I am still not sure at what point you become a hoarder? Obviously someone who cruises around all day buying everything they can is a hoarder and worse.First let me say that I intend to be prepared but don't agree with the practice of taking everything I can and leaving nothing for anyone else. I have posted on here a couple of times when I have found hard to get items available online and I am not going to apologize for it. I thought long and hard before doing it and came to the conclusion that there must be others out there that need components and are ethical and wouldn't try to buy the whole store. I do realize that there are lurkers waiting to spring at any hint of things being in stock and then they buy all they can, but if it wasn't for a hint I got awhile back on a forum I would be out of powder. I am now comfortable with the quantities I have on hand and won't be buying anything more in the near future. Am I guilty of hoarding? I don't think so. Have I enabled hoarding by posting? I am probably guilty of this. Personally I believe there will be more cases where some nut job (of which sadly there appears to be no shortage) causes another tragedy with a firearm, this will in turn lead to another spike of anti-gun sentiment, the politicians who are anti-gun will jump on board and milk it for all it's worth just like last time and then reloading components/ammo will dry up... again.
 
Get what you think you will need, make your own decisions,m supply will catch up with demand. I was caught short this time around,only had about 6 pounds of powder, just as I picked up two new calibers to shoot, no powder for them, still no powder for the 260, substituting IMR 4350 for H 4350, I did rediscover how good 4064 really is vs the Gucci powders (Varget etc), I have a feeling that once I get my loads worked out with the old fashioned powders I wont be going back to those Gucci products. Powder is becoming more and more available if you want the old out of fashion powders. I am not a hoarder, but I do have enough supplies to fight two major wars at one time, just like the Army taught me ;). Not really but it is enough to keep me shooting at my current levels for 5 years or one major SHTF situation. I will never be caught short again, but only buy surplus pulled bullets now for my shooting after I dial in the guns with their go to loads,I shoot 10% of my go to expensive loads vs 90 % pulled or discounted bullets now at the range.
 
You are a hoarder when you buy or aquire goods of any manufacture new or used and collect them even though you know in your heart you will never use them.
 
diego-ted said:
therifler said:
the manufacture can't ship powder out of Australia like they used to ,the permitted quantity was cut back by their government . this has reduced the amount Hodgdon can bottle for resale . so i have been told from a pretty reliable soucre. T.R.

I heard today the cut was 80% reduced import from a year ago! Sorry Varget user!

Diego

Why would the government want private companies to limit thier sales? Looking for some logic here. Also, after countless articles about the ammo shortages, nobody mentions components.
 
I stopped at my local gun shop today to see if they had any CCI AR-15 Tactical .22 lr. The guy behind the counter told me that they receive dribbles and drabs from their distributor. I asked him why .22 lr ammo was in such short supply. One of the reasons is the popularity of the .22lr tactical weapons that have recently come on the market. I can attest to this as I bought a H&K 416 in both a pistol and rifle version last summer with plenty of 30 rd. mags. In 2 months alone, I put about 5,000 rds. through the pair. There are plenty of other varities out there and they are fun to shoot. You can practice all day with a weapon that has the heft and feel of the real thing with .22lr ammo. Try that with your .223 Ar or similar. That partly explains the shortage but I believe many people have bought their 1st weapon for other reasons. Let's face it, the world is in a very unsteady place right now. Americans have no trust in the government and many fear the worst. It is better to be prepared and never need than to need and not be prepared. From natural catastrophes to man made, the government cannot protect the individual. That is my opinion for some of the shortage.
 

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