Primer Availability

[Strikenmike]

Drove 2 hours to the Cabelas in Hammond, Indiana to get 3 pounds of IMR4350.  While I was there I thought I would pick up some CCI BR2 primers.   NOT!  Nothing, Nada.  Clerk said it is not likely to get better anytime soon.  Does anyone know where Benchmark2 primers can be found in stock?

[carbineman]

Don't know where you have been the last 14 months or so but since BO was elected as POTUS, you have a better chance of picking up Pixie Sticks with your buttcheeks than you do locating certain primers.

That being said, there are some that are available and most likely you will have to send away and pay the hazmat fee to get them shipped to you. You may also not be able to find the exact ones you want but may have to substitute with what you can find.

Gander Mountain in my area has primers but the price is up from what they used to be, while Scheels has held it's price somewhat, but primers are gone in a hurry when they get them in. I call ahead most of the time and they set some aside for me if they get them in.

Check at
Midwayusa
Grafs
Wideners
Midsouth
Basspro
Cabelas
Powdervalley
Natchez etc. etc.............

[rdmallory]

Natchez  has Small pistol (CCI) in stock yesterday $33


Doug

[LaOtto222]

I just scored on 5K CCI 500 primers Now I just need a few more magnum large pistol and standard large rifle primers and I will be set for a while. You just have to be patient, keep looking and do not be choosy about what you get.

[sr sawyer]

Primers around here are 37.00 to 70.00 a thousand if you can find them.  Powder is on average 25.00 a pound for IMR and 30.00 for Hogdon and not necessarily the numbers you want.  Is this about what yall are seeing

Thought things would get better, and availabilty has, but prices are a B*%#@

Thanks, Ken

[Strikenmike]

LaOtto222 you say not to be choosy.  Other hand-loaders make it sound as though the "right" primer can greatly affect the accuracy of a load.  So, what is the truth.  At these prices, I sure don't want to load something that is not going to be accurate.  I have been looking for CCIBR2 primers.  I have Winchesters on hand.  Is there any real difference?

Thanks

[Graybeard]

Truth is some times changing primers makes a big difference and some times it makes no noticeable difference. Problem is you never know which it will do. Switching from standard to magnum and vice versa tho is gonna make bigger changes seldom for the better.

I prefer CCI Primers and in the days before costs skyrocketed so I loved the CCI BR primers in my loads but now they run double the cost of standard primers even CCI primers.

I'll mostly take what I can get but refuse to buy other than what I'm used to unless I buy in large quantities so I can rework my loads. If I can get 5000 of them I'll change but I won't even take a few hundred if different than what I'm used to.

[LaOtto222]

+1 on what Bill said. When I said not to be choosy I meant that you need to buy a large quantity so you can re-develop a load, if you need to. I bought 5K of Wolf 223 small rifle primers. I wanted Remington 7 1/2 primers (my preferred primer for small cases), but they are next to impossible to get in any quantities, so I bought the Wolf primers, but in a large enough quantity to make it worth while to load develop. Good Luck and Good Shooting

[Graybeard]

Like LaOtto I ended up with 5000 SR primers because it's all I could find when I began to run quite low on them. I really REALLY prefer CCI BR4 for all my SR use but couldn't find them and couldn't have afforded them if I had found them.

My next shortage was small pistol magnum primers and I wound up with 10,000 Federal as again that was all I could locate. I don't really need that many but figure I can perhaps use them as trade material locally at some point to get something I do need more. When buying mail order that hazmat fee has to be taken into account so it tends to make ya buy larger quantities to spread it out over the entire shipment to help reduce the amount it adds to the cost per round you fire. Buying both powder and primers when you mail order is the smart move and is what I did.

In fact buying powder and primers was my only gun related purchase last year as money was running short. I turned down Federal primers locally both SR and SPM as they were only willing to sell 100 of each per customer and wanted more for them than I have in what I ordered even factoring in hazmat and shipping costs. Since I have no loads worked up with them the 100 wouldn't even have allowed me to work up a new load but with 5000 to 10,000 of any primer that gives plenty to work up loads then have a long term supply of them left to load those newly worked up loads for me to shoot for a long time to come.

Fact is if I don't get busy shooting and do more of it than I have the last few years I have more than a life time supply of ammo and components to make more on hand at this time. Now at the rate I used to shoot before my shooting partner and best friend Billy Doss died I'd go thru all I have now within a year or two.