List,
I recently talked to a friend I haven’t seen or communicated with for years who happens to be an executive at one of the large ammo/primer manufactures. I was hoping he would tell me not to worry, primers will be out on the shelves very shortly,I am down to only two thousand large pistol) but instead, what he told me worried me even more.
It seems this shortage was created by many different factors as follows:
1. There was already a shortage mostly in the small rifle primers for the war efforts in Agfhanstan and Iraq
2. Around summer last year, these ammo/primer manufactures foresaw the slowing economy and as every business, started to downsize in anticipation of the slowing economy/sales.
3. The manufactures did not foresee,underestimated) the political developments that was to come. Some didn’t think a joke like Obama would be elected, or they didn’t think the Democraps would have such an upper hand in congress and senate from the polls in Nov.
The problem is right now there are people hoarding both reloading components and ammo. The real hoarding right now is on ammo. From what I am told, the pecking order how the manufactures would like to divvy out the components are first to themselves,to make their own ammo for sale), then to other ammo manufactures. I am told that they cannot keep up with demand and cannot make enough primers quickly enough to fill the ammo manufacture’s,such as Georgia Arms) requirements. The demand is so great from manufactures that they would send a shipment to them, but they would get a order back from them that is the same order but double the size. The last the primer manufactures would think about selling to is the reloaders, after all we are, in most ways more of a niche market. Keep in mind there are higher margins from selling ammo than reloading components.
As far as the backlog, it is huge. I am told that they literally have backorders/requests for primers in 10’s of millions from mid to large size reloading component dealers.,Take a look at www.powdervalleyinc.com) notice they have backorder of 50 million primers and cannot take any further backorders? This is not just Powder Valley, but the whole nation, imagine the number of dealers, distributors who need to restock? I am told the backorders, requirements of primers are estimated in the billions industry wide in the US.
In essence, I was told the most optimistic scenario when we will see primers coming to places like Midway or Powder Valley is,hold your breath…) late this year or early 2010. My friend didn’t even want to think the worst scenario for reloaders would be.
By the way, I know someone at my club who got desperate and bought some Russian,not wolf) primers that were very inconsistent,too much umph or too little) producing large groups at 25 yards. Buy at your own risk!
Hope this gives all an idea what is going on…
I recently talked to a friend I haven’t seen or communicated with for years who happens to be an executive at one of the large ammo/primer manufactures. I was hoping he would tell me not to worry, primers will be out on the shelves very shortly,I am down to only two thousand large pistol) but instead, what he told me worried me even more.
It seems this shortage was created by many different factors as follows:
1. There was already a shortage mostly in the small rifle primers for the war efforts in Agfhanstan and Iraq
2. Around summer last year, these ammo/primer manufactures foresaw the slowing economy and as every business, started to downsize in anticipation of the slowing economy/sales.
3. The manufactures did not foresee,underestimated) the political developments that was to come. Some didn’t think a joke like Obama would be elected, or they didn’t think the Democraps would have such an upper hand in congress and senate from the polls in Nov.
The problem is right now there are people hoarding both reloading components and ammo. The real hoarding right now is on ammo. From what I am told, the pecking order how the manufactures would like to divvy out the components are first to themselves,to make their own ammo for sale), then to other ammo manufactures. I am told that they cannot keep up with demand and cannot make enough primers quickly enough to fill the ammo manufacture’s,such as Georgia Arms) requirements. The demand is so great from manufactures that they would send a shipment to them, but they would get a order back from them that is the same order but double the size. The last the primer manufactures would think about selling to is the reloaders, after all we are, in most ways more of a niche market. Keep in mind there are higher margins from selling ammo than reloading components.
As far as the backlog, it is huge. I am told that they literally have backorders/requests for primers in 10’s of millions from mid to large size reloading component dealers.,Take a look at www.powdervalleyinc.com) notice they have backorder of 50 million primers and cannot take any further backorders? This is not just Powder Valley, but the whole nation, imagine the number of dealers, distributors who need to restock? I am told the backorders, requirements of primers are estimated in the billions industry wide in the US.
In essence, I was told the most optimistic scenario when we will see primers coming to places like Midway or Powder Valley is,hold your breath…) late this year or early 2010. My friend didn’t even want to think the worst scenario for reloaders would be.
By the way, I know someone at my club who got desperate and bought some Russian,not wolf) primers that were very inconsistent,too much umph or too little) producing large groups at 25 yards. Buy at your own risk!
Hope this gives all an idea what is going on…
