2024 Powder Prices...ugh

[2ndtimer]

It is almost like Hodgdon watched what Vista was able to do with primer prices when they controlled 3 of the 4 domestic manufacturers and realized they could do the same, even better! (For them, anyway )

 

[Sporting Systems]

They have but not this strict before.

Not trying to be argumentative, just factual. That restriction came down during covid. When our OEM suppliers were out of our powders, we were purchasing through their consumer site when available, SKU limitation and 48 pounds a month per location, for our 3 locations. They were exactly like this since summer 2020. We buy A LOT of powder each month.

 

[Xmark1]

Today is a sad day.

I have been collecting powder for a long time and have enough for years to come.
However, I keep feeling the need to buy more because "what if".

This vicious cycle of "what if" panic buying is tiresome.
I have decided to halt with the nonsense.

If I need powder in the future and refuse to pay insane prices, I will just go fishing.

It's a sad day.

 

[RVTECH]

This vicious cycle of "what if" panic buying is tiresome.

Herein is a big part of the problem.

Powder and primers are 'want' items, not 'need' items. They are only bought by a certain percentile of the gun owning community.

Throw in the 'panic' want of these items coupled with what people were paying scalpers a couple years ago and I cannot help but believe the mfgs and retailers have 'adjusted' their prices to reflect what THEY had no doubt been 'monitoring' in the aftermarket of what people were paying.

I may eventually be forced to pay these ridiculous prices for certain things but it will be only be minimal amounts with no 'panic buying'.

 

[Mono1]

Holy Fu*k! Sportmans wants $75 a lb for IMR 4198 now and other IMR powders, they can keep it for that price.

Edit: I got curios and went back and checked, just 3 years ago IMR4198 was only $26 a lb. A 100% increase a year is nuts.

Yeah, Sportsmans on 185th in Hillsboro still has a horsechoking load of .223 on the shelves for now, but I expect that to be gone by June.

 

[coltemp]

Holy Fu*k! Sportmans wants $75 a lb for IMR 4198 now and other IMR powders, they can keep it for that price.

Edit: I got curios and went back and checked, just 3 years ago IMR4198 was only $26 a lb. A 100% increase a year is nuts.

It called supply and demand. If it wasn't selling at those prices the price would likely come down a little. Face it some of the highly desired powders are very hard to find and there are too many people out there willing to pay whatever to get it.
Then add in the mush for brains liar in chief we have, two state governments in OR and WA who think we are the enemy and we should have no rights. Is it any wonder the prices are up?

 

[223to45]

It called supply and demand. If it wasn't selling at those prices the price would likely come down a little. Face it some of the highly desired powders are very hard to find and there are too many people out there willing to pay whatever to get it.
Then add in the mush for brains liar in chief we have, two state governments in OR and WA who think we are the enemy and we should have no rights. Is it anty wonder the prices are up?

No No No, can't be something simple like supply and demand, it has to be some grand conspiracy that the mfg have time to monitor and copy the scalpers.

 

[Local Loader]

It called supply and demand. If it wasn't selling at those prices the price would likely come down a little. Face it some of the highly desired powders are very hard to find and there are too many people out there willing to pay whatever to get it.
Then add in the mush for brains liar in chief we have, two state governments in OR and WA who think we are the enemy and we should have no rights. Is it anty wonder the prices are up?

I doubt that the issue is that simple, when I started reloading, I choose a number of IMR powders because no one wanted them and they were cheap. Even now IMR prices have kept going up while others stayed lower or the same, Alliant and VV powders are more sought after than IMR and now IMR is more expensive. As well if memory serves, Hodgdon is trying to phase out or remove IMR since they bought them. As for people paying it there is of course going to be someone who will pay anything to get it, that being said I don't think most people will and it will force prices back down. This happened with several Hodgdon powders already like H1000, Retumbo and H4350, they raised the price to around $75 a lb and people stopped buying mostly forcing them to lower the price back down. I was even made aware that this price increase was done on purpose to get people to stop buying the popular powders and to start buying the less popular or unwanted powders since they will be cheaper due to only having a small increase in price like $2-$6 instead of the ones that went up $10-$17.

 

[P7M13]

I'm set for a few years, but always looking for values in bullets, primers and powder.

 

[Xmark1]

I'm set for a few years, but always looking for values in bullets, primers and powder.

Powder's ONE DAY SALE ONLY Wed. 2/7

4 H335 $30ea. SOLD 2 700x $25ea SOLD 3 800x. $25ea sold 1 Titegroup $25 S SOLD 1 Auto comp $25 sold 1 imr 4895. $30 sold 1 imr SR 4756 $30 sold 2 imr 4064 $35ea. SOLD 4 4lb +1lb Silhouette $95.00ea. SOLD 4lb+1lb partial jug Enforcer $140.00 sold 4lb partial Trail Boss $120.00 SOLD...

www.northwestfirearms.com

 

[P7M13]

Powder's ONE DAY SALE ONLY Wed. 2/7

4 H335 $30ea. SOLD 2 700x $25ea SOLD 3 800x. $25ea sold 1 Titegroup $25 S SOLD 1 Auto comp $25 sold 1 imr 4895. $30 sold 1 imr SR 4756 $30 sold 2 imr 4064 $35ea. SOLD 4 4lb +1lb Silhouette $95.00ea. SOLD 4lb+1lb partial jug Enforcer $140.00 sold 4lb partial Trail Boss $120.00 SOLD...

www.northwestfirearms.com

Yeah, just saw that. No mad money, ATM.

 

[gmerkt]

Okay, about two weeks ago, I observed that Cabela's powder prices were lower than Powder Valley. At that time, Cabela's at Tulalip (Marysville, WA) had a single one pound jug of IMR 4064 for 49.99. I was in the same store today, they had a single one pound jug of IMR 4350 on the shelf, price $74.99.

They did have some large pistol primers, Federal 150 and 155. Which have been very scarce lately. I needed some magnums, so I bought 200 of the no. 155's. At $10.49 per 100.

Where is the limit for prices on powder?

 

[Local Loader]

At that time, Cabela's at Tulalip (Marysville, WA) had a single one pound jug of IMR 4064 for 49.99. I was in the same store today, they had a single one pound jug of IMR 4350 on the shelf, price $74.99.

$75 a lb, that's nuts, you can order it for less than that.

Where is the limit for prices on powder?

Wherever people stop buying it at these ridiculous prices they keep charging. It sadly won't stop unlit people do, personally I refuse to pay more than $50 but that's only for a few powders, $40 for everything else I use.

 

[gmerkt]

Wherever people stop buying it at these ridiculous prices they keep charging.

There is always the mindset of, "I'd better buy this one no matter what the price, because it may be the last." It's way beyond that for me. I'm fortunate to have what I need already, but I'm sorry for those who don't at these prices. I agree on your self-imposed price thresholds. Not long ago I paid $50 for a bottle of IMR 4198, I simply didn't have any left. So I swallowed hard and bought it. But other IMR stuff I've replaced before the big run-up in prices with Accurate powders. It was only a couple of months ago that Cabela's had Accurate 2015 on sale for $32.

 

[Xmark1]

There is always the mindset of, "I'd better buy this one no matter what the price, because it may be the last." It's way beyond that for me. I'm fortunate to have what I need already, but I'm sorry for those who don't at these prices. I agree on your self-imposed price thresholds. Not long ago I paid $50 for a bottle of IMR 4198, I simply didn't have any left. So I swallowed hard and bought it. But other IMR stuff I've replaced before the big run-up in prices with Accurate powders. It was only a couple of months ago that Cabela's had Accurate 2015 on sale for $32.

There is some logic to what you say.

About a year ago Hodgdon was having a sale with free shipping & hazmat.
H1000 & Retumbo have been unobtanium for so long that I bit the bullet and bought a bunch at $50 a pound.
I felt bad at the time but now that $75 is the new normal ....................................

 

[Local Loader]

There is always the mindset of, "I'd better buy this one no matter what the price, because it may be the last." It's way beyond that for me. I'm fortunate to have what I need already, but I'm sorry for those who don't at these prices. I agree on your self-imposed price thresholds. Not long ago I paid $50 for a bottle of IMR 4198, I simply didn't have any left. So I swallowed hard and bought it. But other IMR stuff I've replaced before the big run-up in prices with Accurate powders. It was only a couple of months ago that Cabela's had Accurate 2015 on sale for $32.

Yeah I started swapping out powders when the cost got to high to get them. Hell I remember when I started loading, no one wanted imr4064 or imr4198 for one reason or another. I even had people tell me they were bad powders and burned dirty, hell I didn't care, it was available and only cost $25 a lb. Sad part is that was only about 2 1/2 years ago. How fast things have changed and how pricy things have become, my avg. powder cost was $28 a lb back then, my highest was $38 a lb.

 

[arakboss]

There are lots of relatively good powder deals in the NWFA classifieds for the less picky among us.

 

[Xmark1]

There are lots of relatively good powder deals in the NWFA classifieds for the less picky among us.

Agreed, if you don't mind a 2-to-4-hour drive to pick it up.

 

[arakboss]

Agreed, if you don't mind a 2-to-4-hour drive to pick it up.

It might be worth it to take a trip, if stores are getting $75 a lb.

 

[Xmark1]

It might be worth it to take a trip, if stores are getting $75 a lb.

Indeed!

And today I would have made a trip, but covid has me messed up.