Hodgdon Powder Message

[wkdickinson]

Like many of you I'm sure, I just received an email message from Hodgdon (my favorite powder manufacturer) talking about "lack of supply". I totally get why they can't build a new plant, etc. What I don't understand, is why this "unslakeable" thirst for powder is not diminishing. How long has it been since Varget of H4350 has been available (at all, let alone in free supply)? I'm lucky I have a few pounds of Varget and also a fair amount of H4350. But we have been in this situation for several years now and I see no indication the situation is improving much.

I understand that Hogdon and every other powder and bullet company is in it for profit - I get that completely! They are making everything they possibility can make, because profit is what they are in business for and I applaud them for that. What I don't understand is where the production is going. I am not a conspiracy person, so I don't believe "the government" is buying it all up "to keep it off the market". But seriously, how much can "hoarders" hoard? Why are we not seeing any change in this situation?

That is a rhetorical question, I realize no one on this board has a definitive answer. But I am interested in other's perspectives.

 

[30378]

We will continue to see this level of hoarding as long as people fear their government. The NRA and every other gun lobby has continued to beat the drum of fear in their quest of legal tender. We are literally condemning ourselves.

 

[Bill Norris]

Some say that most of what is becoming available is going into "factory ammo" and listening to some of the videos of the ammo factory bosses rightfully so. Maybe once that niche is filled we the hand loaders will be able to get our hands on some.

 

[No manches"]

Somehow I don't believe on the hoarding ordeal..

Too long of time has passed, but I do believe it's the lack of inter commerce, since most chemicals are imported. And accurate powders is not immune to this as they are made in CANADA.

 

[JMayo]

War ... Armies sucking up all they can make is another thing hodgdon came up with.

 

[NZ_Fclass]

Let us not blame Hodgdon's too much. As many of us know, a lot of powders ( the good ones that we all want) come from Australia. - Varget, H4350, H1000, Benchmark, H4831SC etc. Not only do we suffer from factory woes, as ADI supply the Aussie Defence Forces, but even when they are packed and stuck in a container - the shipping delays are horrendous. NZ has had a box sitting on Sydney docks waiting for a boat to take it. While world shipping is overstretched, boat owners take the "easy" cargo and leave the DG containers behind. They have enough business without the aggravation. yes , NZ just got a delivery -but none of us got the quantity that we wanted. I wanted 4 KG of 2208 (Varget) and got 2kg. That will see me through the current season and hope that more arrives over our winter. In the words of the prophet, Mick Jagger. "You can't always get what you want. but always get what you need" Not that he was looking for Varget, I suspect.

Now, Primers?

 

[whatsupdoc]

Hodgon does NOT make powder, they repackage other manufactures products.

 

[Fuj]

And accurate powders is not immune to this as they are made in CANADA.

Quite a bit of the powder is actually made in the U.S. Primarily
ball powders, and if it has'nt changed, Belgium was producing
for Accurate. Now with Hodgdon controlling Accurate along
with Ramshot, It's anyones guess. It's like a shell game.

 

[Fuj]

Hodgon does NOT make powder, they repackage other manufactures products.

That's about right, but now with them gathering up companies
like IMR, Ramshot, Accurate, I'm wondering how it all works
anymore, because now they have manufacturing facilities I
would believe, or maybe just the ownership of the branded
names ?? Unclear at this point.

 

[Ned Ludd]

When reloading components become available online, they still are often gone within minutes to a couple hours. Why do you think that is? People post about the availability at online shooting forums, then everyone and their brother races to the site(s) and orders as much as they can before it is gone, regardless of whether they "need" it or not. Those posting the availability information may think they're doing others a favor, but in the long run, they are helping to perpetuate the shortage by spoon feeding those unwilling to expend a little effort on their own to find components. Hodgdon (or anyone else) can continue providing retailers with shipments of various reloading supplies, but when so many people have been "conditioned" by the limited availability of components over the last year or so to buy everything in sight at any possible opportunity, the shortages and high prices will continue.

 

[Homerange]

This explains the official situation regards the supply of powder from ADI whom manufacture for Hodgdon:

Propellant Update

Dear Sporting Shooters, It has been quite some time since our last propellant update. We would like to assure you, the factory continues to run at maximum capacity, 24 hours a day, 5 days a week, and we’re supplying as much propellant to the market as possible. Any difficulty in accessing our...

www.adiworldclass.com.au

 

[Dusty Stevens]

H4350 became available today, varget earlier in the week so. Midsouth shooters supply had it

 

[jackieschmidt]

How many factory rounds are loaded with H4198?
That might be the hardest to come by of all,

 

[skeeljc]

The last two years proves just how fragile the supply chain was. Everything was moving along just fine. No shortages and no excess supply (no rebates). Everyone could order and receive what they needed. Prices were stable. COVID probably introduced some constraints on the supply. When folks realized that they began to stock up (just in case). The supply chain was attacked from both ends. It is just that simple.

 

[spaniel]

If you monitor sites closely enough, it's surprising what you can get. I check Powder Valley multiple times per hour. Last week I secured 4lbs of N165 for my new 6.5-06AI build. Today I got 5lbs of H4831, yesterday the sc version was in stock but I missed out on that so this is backup for my competition 284Win.

Varget has been available multiple times the past several weeks.

It's promising that the faster powders are no longer that rare. The slower rifle powders still are. But at least we are trending in the right direction.

 

[jelenko]

That's about right, but now with them gathering up companies
like IMR, Ramshot, Accurate, I'm wondering how it all works
anymore, because now they have manufacturing facilities I
would believe, or maybe just the ownership of the branded
names ?? Unclear at this point.

I thought none of Hodgdon, Ramshot, Accurate [and Alliant?] make their own; i.e., they just brand and sell powders from companies that actually make the gunpowder.

 

[Laurie]

'm wondering how it all works
anymore, because now they have manufacturing facilities I
would believe, or maybe just the ownership of the branded
names ?? Unclear at this point.

Hodgdon doesn't make anything in its own factories - it buys in and/or contracts the actual manufacturing tasks out. Unsurprising really. Hodgdon Powder Co. is a successful outfit, but is very small. The outfits which make the stuff are nearly all part of multinationals these days:

ADI, Mulwala New South Wales, Australia is part of the Thales multinational (Hodgdon 'Extreme' grades, IMR-8208XBR

St. Marks Powder Co., Florida is part of the General Dynamics Corporation (Winchester, Hodgdon 'spherical', Alliant Power-Pro, some or all Accurate ball powders)

General Dynamics Corporation Canada makes Accurate extruded grades, most IMRs

P B Clermont (Ramshot ball types) is part of the Eurenco multinational group

Norma and most Alliant Reloder grades are made by Eurenco Bofors in Sweden another part of the Eurenco combine.

Vihtavuori is part of the Nammo combine (as are Berger Bullets and Lapua)

.......... and so on and so forth. Making 'energetics' is a highly specialist business these days and needs large resources, both in human expertise and money, to undertake and finance heavy R&D spends, meet increasingly onerous health & safety requirements and other very expensive demands.

Hodgdon owns Hodgdon, the original firm and IMR. It no doubt has a considerable say on what GD Canada and St. Marks make, but then so do the military. It packages, markets, distributes and undertakes the ballistic lab tests to produce loads data - not simple or minor jobs. It appears to be increasingly undertaking this work for others these days too.

 

[CJ6]

And lets not forget the 7 million new shooters last year. If only half of them bought an 8# jug........Well.... That's a LOT of powder (28 million #) to make up for.

 

[Dusty Stevens]

And lets not forget the 7 million new shooters last year. If only half of them bought an 8# jug........Well.... That's a LOT of powder (28 million #) to make up for.

Those new shooters are on reddit showing off thousands and tens of thousands worth of reloading accessories then saying someday theyll get a press and start loading, asking what a particular powder is good for when they have a dozen 8# jugs of it on a shelf. Its crazy.

 

[kiwijohn]

Not of much concern to you guys in the US but I will put it in FYI.
Regarding ADI pretty exclusively.
We recieved our first shipment here in NZ ( from only across the ditch ) in Febuary for over 12 months and it was only 8 Tonnes ( 8000 Kilos ).
Most of this went straight away in back orders for folk that had been waiting pretty much since the start of the pandemic.
I was a bit concerned as there was no BM8208 in this ( XBR8208 ) for you guys, and ADI have notified that this and pistol powders will only be made sparodically as they try to catch up world wide, with more popular powders, so I will most likely go on a hunt for another powder.
This shipment was held up in many ways due to plant workers living in one state and being locked out across the border to travel to work. It was held up in the ports in Au as there were strikes and the like as wel.
When it finally got to our waters it was anchored at sea for several weeks....... official word was no one to discharge it / handle it, store it etc. My cynical mind runs to deeper conclusions like pandemic out break on board.... so ship isolates. Which is stupid really, as the contact between stevedores (long shoremen) and ships crew is very minimal on a container ship.

We havent really had any major shortages like this for many years, and a lot of newer shooters / reloaders have been caught short and will henceforth become hoarders to some degree.... which is really just another word for planning ahead to ride out the peaks and troughs.
Small shipments of primers and projectiles are coming through but god knows what happened to Lapua!

I observed a guy buy Fed small primers for $165 / thousand a short while ago.... I just shook my head not match primers you understand just plain vanilaSRP's