Who's buying up all the Vihtavuori powder, especially N105? Midway,Widener's, Natchez, Mid-South----all out and have been for a month or more. Did the military get it all or is Vihtavuori's supply not able to keep up with demand? I was planning on adding it as my third powder since I also need some more primers soon but it doesn't look like that will happen.
Mike in Tennessee

Ya know Mike, I was at our local Sportsmans Warehouse, and they were completely out of N-110 and N-105. Curious, huh ?

I've noticed several shortages lately, especially brass. ? I think we're in a period of unrest where legislators are making noises about limiting quantities of this or that. The general response, of course, is to make sure you have "enough" on hand.

I'm as guilty as anyone and restocked primers and powders recently. looking at bullet reserves as the price seems to be climbing fast.

Tman- I hope that you're assumption is wrong, for all of our sakes. The shortages may just be seasonal. We've just closed one autumn season, & are not yet geared up for another. Bullet prices will probably continue to rise, as both we & Canada now export much of our copper. My guess is that it's probably going to China, like everything else we have of value.

I haven't bought rifle bullets in a while and was shocked at what they're going for now a days.

I had to wait 2 months to get a pound of W748, and then the store only got 2 pounds, no idea when they would get more. I refuse to buy it online, shipping is ridiculous, $50 for a pound of powder...

I'm finding primers hard to get in this area and CCI is right here where I live.

I asked about shortages and such specifically at SHOT.

From industry insiders, the only problem is with Sportsman's Warehouse. They have an absolutely crazy inventory system that doesn't allow for individual stores to stock locally popular items. In other words, a Miami store has to order snowshoes and a Billings store has to order saltwater lures.

If you run out of one kind of powder, you also have to order a kind you can't give away at that store. Nutty as a squirrel on meth.

But on the whole, there are no shortages of anything, except temporary ones here and there. The industry has largely caught up with the humongous military contracts that made primers and other components hard to find a while back. Everything is much more expensive now - due to the skyrocketing metals market. But supplies are there and the reloading pipeline is running nearly full.

Thanks Rocky!

Unfortunately for me, there aren't a lot of places to buy powder and primers and such, and I hate the thought of paying the $20 HAZMAT charge for shipping. The Sportsmans Warehouse had been reliable up to this point, but the last 2 times I've been there, they have been COMPLETELY out of N-110, N-105, H-110, 296, AA#'s 2, 5, and 7. It's getting ridiculous.

went to cabelas "kanasas city" in jan. to get powder and primers and the shelves were bare. had veary limited supply of powder and almost no primers of any size or brand.the help said they where having a hard time getting restocked from supplyers.after that went to another gun shop that i have gotten supplys from, same story they had no primers at all but had the same limited powder supply they always have.

If you're going to order online, shipping isn't bad if you order 2 or 3 8 pounders.

:o

Plus, you get 8lbs for 110-120, so you're saving a good amount on each lb.

The larger gun shops that I frequent have limited quantities of powder, primers and shot on their shelves. Some of us saw this coming and built up a stash. I hate to think this is a sign of hard times ahead. All the best...
Gil

I hope not, too, but remember that most places let their inventory drop at the end of the fiscal year (January, in many states) to minimize the inventory taxes. That normally leaves January and February store shelves a bit scantily stocked, as ordering and shiping need time to catch things back up. Yet another example of how our crazy-quilt system of taxation interferes with the marketplace, forcing business decisions that trade alone would never bring about, and with that, ironically, a reduction in other taxable activity. Let's look forward to March being a better shopping season.

I found a great deal on some mis-priced primers, they were the price of a year ago... $16 per 1000, now they are $26... I bought all of them. :)

Good advice.. I made 2 orders at Powder Valley Inc last year that ran about $600 each for primers, powders and bullets.. Larger orders will make the hazmat fee real cheap..



If you're going to order online, shipping isn't bad if you order 2 or 3 8 pounders.

:o

Plus, you get 8lbs for 110-120, so you're saving a good amount on each lb.

I haven't noticed any shortage of powder in the Houston area. In fact, Gander Mountain for once seems to have a fully stocked cabinet. 10ring (http://www.10ring.com/) (NW Houston area) also has a good stock of powder although they do not carry every single offering from every powder manufacturer. They did have a lot of Vitavhouri N130 and N120 the last time I stopped by. Been a few months since I was at Carter's Country (http://www.carterscountry.net/) but they carried a good supply then. I find it ironic that 10ring, a hole-in-the-wall operation, charges about $3 less per lb than Gander Mountain. Last I saw, Carter's was competitive too.

I've noticed that Vitavhouri can often be hit and miss. I called 10ring and inquired about Vitavhouri in general and N105. No N105. Moreover, Vitavhouri only makes 2 shipments per year and with the US $ being so weak, the price of Vitavhouri is not very competitive, so retailers see less demand and are ordering less. This is all according to 10ring.

Overall, I am not seeing any problem with powder shortage, but everyone can see the price of brass and bullets going up due to strained supply of commodities (copper, lead ... effects of war and China I presume)