Total Shock

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Last Post 05 January 2021

CBA Member

mashburn posted this 10 December 2020

Hello to all of you re-loaders (Cast and jacketed),

I drove about 55 miles today to the biggest firearms and reloading components store in this part of the country. I had gone there about 2 months ago to replenish a few items that I was running short on and purchased them. He told me that day that he had one of the biggest orders to be delivered any day that he had ever purchased. i discovered that I didn't have as much Re7 as I thought I did. A friend of mine was in the store about two weeks ago and told me they still had plenty. I drug around and didn't go until today and was I surprised I have more firearms in my house than he had on the racks for sale and more ammunition.

Needless to say, I didn't get any RE7,the shelves were about bare. There was 4 lbs. of IMR 3031 and it is now mine. I talked to the owner and he told me that the future looked awful bleak. His suppliers didn't have any products and didn't know when or if they would have any in the near future

As for as my situation, I am in good shape but I feel for you shooters who aren't as prepared as I was. I have somewhere in the neighborhood of 30,000 primers and over 100 pounds of powder, so I am not going to be in a bind but I know some of you are and i feel for you. About 12 years ago I began preparing for such a situation and am I glad I did.. I'm sure that a lot of you have already found this in your area. When my part of the country gets in this condition, I know that those of you in other states are in a lot tougher situation.

Hang tough, we gotta get through it,

Mashburn

David a. Cogburn

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45 Comments

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Standard Member

OU812 posted this 05 January 2021

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Standard Member

Wheel Weights posted this 05 January 2021

"Lions and Tigers and Bears Oh My !"

As with the 22 RF hysteria, this too will pass.

Meanwhile buy a high power air gun and a crossbow.

They are lots of fun and airguns use cast bullets.

Pogo + 12 million new gun owners = the problem.

That's all folks.

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CBA Member

mashburn posted this 03 January 2021

Hello Eddie,

If you have read any of my past posts you would certainly know that I do not believe everything I read in the American Rifleman Rag. Matter of fact, I haven't attempted to read one in years, but ask yourself, what other political help do we have. I would like to get political here but being on good behavior, I won't.

Mashburn

David a. Cogburn

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Standard Member

JeffinNZ posted this 03 January 2021

Stop panic buying. It's a simple equation.

Cheers from New Zealand

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Standard Member

Eddie Southgate posted this 03 January 2021

Hello John,

During the last administration, when especially the .22 rf ammo was in short supply, there was only one lead smelter in the US that had anything to do with the manufacture of ammo, that was still in operation. They were being fined daily by the EPA. This information came from the pages of the American Rifleman so don't blame me for the info, I didn't create it, I am just repeating what the American Rifleman published.

Mashburn

You still believe anything the NRA says ? I been ignoring them since the '80's , they lie like an old rug .

Grumpy Old Man With A Gun......Do Not Touch .

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CBA Member

mashburn posted this 02 January 2021

Hello to OU812,

I don't need any primers, powder, bullets or cases, I have plenty of everything except the energy to get out and load some ammo.

Mashburn

David a. Cogburn

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Standard Member

OU812 posted this 02 January 2021

Lots of guys on this site have powder and primers they will sell, but the hazmat and shipping fees are very high. What powder and primers are you looking for?

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CBA Member

JimmyDee posted this 01 January 2021

I just noticed something new on the Hodgdon reloading data pages: a column with "Buy now" links. Wow! Powder for sale? Was it time to Happy Dance?

But it's a tease: every link I tried ended up telling me the powder was "TEMPORARILY OUT OF STOCK."

Maybe someone else can find a link that works... and do the dance.

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CBA Member

sergeant69 posted this 30 December 2020

i called Magma Engineering the other day wondering about the master caster i ordered and is BO till spring, if that. guy said its a 6 person co. and only 3 know how to operate a lathe and other mfg machinery. asked him why not hire more people. said they would love to but every person that answers the ad claiming to be a machinist has no idea how to operate a lathe. a CNC machine yes, but not a lathe. or, they're not fit to hire. said no one wants to actually work.

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Ken Campbell Iowa posted this 30 December 2020

johnA :: the scary thing is that we cast shooters really

ARE

the cream of the crop....

at least I haven't felt the urge to burn and loot a McDonalds just for the fun of it ...

********************

although Washington D.C. keeps popping up in my peripheral vision ...

*********************

ken, not yet astray in Ioway

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R. Dupraz posted this 29 December 2020

Do not despair John, you still have four years to buy into the shooting industry. It is my belief that we won't see much change until then, maybe. After the damage has been done.

As a side note, I needed some parts to put my vintage Saeco lube-sizer back to work and according to their web page pretty much resigned myself to forget it after sending them an e-mail a while back, no response.

A couple of weeks ago I just called them for lack of anything else to do that day and surprisingly got a friendly gent on the phone who told me that they had been required to close early this year because they were deemed a non-essential business and then were finally allowed to open late summer. they spent a bunch of money by adding machines and hiring more workers. to try to catch up on just the back orders. Six months worth. But for a manufacturer. that's a double edged sword.

R. .

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CBA President

John Alexander posted this 29 December 2020

I have hope that the folks driving this insanity with their mindless panic will eventualy realize that they are acting kooky -- or run out of money.

I guess I have always given American shooters more credit for common sense. This should make a good Ph.D. dissertation topic for someone in sociology or maybe abnormal psychology.

Wish I had bought stock in companies making shooting supplies.

John

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John Carlson posted this 29 December 2020

Auction today here in SD. Among the more ludicrous results was five bricks of 22LR brought a total of $565. Two bricks of small pistol primers (1 WW, 1 CCI Magnum) brought $360. Some firearms brought nearly double their MSRP. Starting to look like a rough ride.

John Carlson. CBA Director of Military Competition.

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ray h posted this 16 December 2020

I found some old 2-leg Rem primers I dated 1972 that got pushed to the rear. Back then we had periods where avail was limited too. Over the years I would rebuy 25%-50% extra of what ever I used in components even to this day. As I could afford them. This has kept me out of any shortage problems over short periods when nothing was avail. Also allow me to adjust what components I needed as my shooting habits changed. Now my hunting is mainly ground squirrels and some times prairie dog so 17,20 and 22 calibers are my main interest

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CBA Member

mashburn posted this 16 December 2020

Hello offhand35,

By some of the posts it would seem that you and I are hoarders. I didn't run out and buy all off my components in a rush or over a short period of time. When I was a prairie dog shooter I would shoot 10 days a year and that does run through the ammo. I live over 50 miles from the nearest supplier of components. i started adding to my supply of components gradually and it slowly grew and I keep it at that level if possible. A lot of the powder that I have is of no use to me at the present. I have never skimped on buying a lot of different powders to work up the most accurate load that I could. A lot of my powder is left over powders from these experiments and powder that I inherited. .As far as the powder that I actually use most of the time is not in great quantities in my supplies. However, in a emergency I can work up loads with some of this left over, unused powder. When someone gets in a tight for components, I have sold a little and at only the price that I gave for it. I have given away a lot more components and ammunition than I have ever sold. I have taught people how to reload with my components at no charge, just trying to get them interested in reloading and if someone comes by needing something and they don't look very prosperous, I give them components ,because I figure I can afford giving them more than they can afford to buy them.

When you started stocking up on components about 12 years ago, I bought bullet molds for every rifle that I own. At the time I was only shooting cast in my handguns. Thanks to having the molds and discovering the Cast Bullet Association, I developed a love for shooting cast in rifles .I had loaded cast rifle ammo to keep my sons in ammo when they were growing up, that was the only way I could afford to keep them shooting. They shot something everyday.

Thanks for your post,

Mashburn

David a. Cogburn

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CBA Member

offhand35 posted this 14 December 2020

Mashburn, I am pretty much in your camp. I really have not noticed the shortage much except through what appears on forums and U-toob postings.

When it all started 3 elections ago, I began buying ahead cases of primers in sizes that I use when I found them in stock at various suppliers.. Odd brands, some from Russia, some from Brazil, some USA. This post led me to check out what I still have in stock. I was kinda surprised. Total count comes to a little over 42k. including 209's and #10 revolver caps. I have not been shooting that much the past 2 yrs, but I am retiring soon and hope to start using some of those up!

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CBA Member

sluggo posted this 14 December 2020

Thanks mashburn for the great advise. Better safe than sorry. It might be overkill but i wear a face shield when casting and reloading. It is a carry over from my old job. One trip to the emergecy room with a piece of metal in my cornea from a bench grinder was enough for me. You only get two eyes. I am well stocked for now with primers but who knows what the future holds? Waste not want not.

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CBA Member

mashburn posted this 14 December 2020

Hello sluggo,

I normally use either a RCBS or Lee de-capping die but in a pinch I've used regular sizing dies. When using a regular sizing die I use a die that is for a bigger case to avoid the resistance of sizing the case down. One thing that I do is to make sure the bottom of the die seats down on the shell holder making the resembalance of a gas seal at least. I adjust the de--capping pin down just enough to push the primer from the case head. That way if an accident should ever occur the die is making contact with the shell holder shortly after the primer is touched with the de-capping pin. I have de-primed many, many cases and never have had one fire. I always wear safety glasses just in case. When I used to seat primers with my loading press I would occasionally seat a primer upside down. If that occurs, don't push it out with a die. I take those and use the point of my pocket knife and pop the anvil out of the primer and then put the case in the shell holder and safely punch it out of the case. Like I said, I have de-primed thousands of live primers without incident but i guess there is always a first, that's why I wear safety glasses. Here is a little humor. Years and years ago the first time that I de-primed a live primer, I did the following safety precautions. I got a piece of 3/4" ply wood and put between me and the loading press and also put on safety glasses and ear plugs. Was quite relieved when there wasn't a bang or pieces of brass in the plywood.

Mashburn

David a. Cogburn

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CBA Regional Director

MarkinEllensburg posted this 13 December 2020

. I always us a universal depriming die so no sizing is going on. Go very slow, & very easy, so as not to damage the primer. If yo do this properly, they are perfectly good & safe to reuse.

I'll echo the use of a universal depriming die. I formerly have not used one and never had an issue until late summer of this year. I seated a primer sideways in a .30BR case and used my tong tool to remove it. I use Federal primers, which likely contributed to the problem. The primer detonated as it was being pushed out. Sadly this resulted in the decapping pin breaking off the custom tool. I now have to use a two step process to decap and size with a tong tool. So in the future I will always use a universal de-prime die to press out live primers.