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Friday, March 24, 2023

Observations on Ammo/Primer Shortage

    I was perusing American Hunter's website the other day and came across an article about Taylor’s & Company introducing an 1875 Outlaw revolver (a copy of the 1875 Remington), but in 9mm. It struck me as a good idea because, as a single action revolver where you have to use a rod to individually drive out the rounds, it didn't matter if the cartridges were rimmed or rimless, but also because it is so difficult to find popular revolver ammunition

    Perhaps it is different elsewhere, but there has been a dearth of even popular revolver ammunition in this area, even as shelves were stocked (nay, overflowing) with offerings in .22 LR, .22 WMR, 9mm, .40 S&W, .45 ACP, and other semi-auto pistol ammunition. It wasn't until a few months ago that I started seeing any revolver ammunition, and it was typically cowboy loads or target ammunition in .38 Special or .45 Colt with an occasional offering in .44 Magnum, and I couldn't find defensive loadings in any of the local stores I visited. 

    Today, over my lunch break, I visited a couple stores and was pleased to note that they both were finally stocking some .357 Magnum (although only target ammo as of yet), while one of the stores (Cabela's) actually had two different defensive loads in stock for .38 Special and one defensive load in stock, each, for .44 Magnum and .45 Colt. Quit an improvement over two weeks ago when I visited the same store. 

    Cabela's also had a much greater offering of gun powder in stock, although still no primers. The other store I went to (a place selling bulk ammo just north of the intersection of Five Mile Rd. and Franklin Rd., for those in the Boise area) had small pistol primers for sale, but not in a brand with which I was familiar. The price was pretty good too: $8 per 100 or $80 per 1,000.  

2 comments:

  1. 3 years ago primers had a max price of $150 per 5000.

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    1. I was paying just $20 to $25 per 1,000 in the spring of 2020. But during the height of the pandemic, the prices jumped to $200 to $250 per 1,000, and are still over $180 per 1,000 locally the last I checked for the main brands like CCI and Winchester. You can find them sometimes for less online, but when you add in the haz mat fee and shipping, it comes close to that. So $80 per 1,000 seems like quite a good price in comparison. I think the prices we are seeing now are probably as cheap as primers, bullets, and loaded ammunition is going to get.

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