Is there really a powder shortage or are reloaders spoiled?

[arakboss]

I acknowledge there are some very popular powders that are not being restocked and local retailers are failing in their efforts to obtain powder for their stores. But there are a lot of powders available online and at decent prices given the inflationary pressures everybody is dealing with.

Reloaders in recent times have had a rediculously wide selection of powders to choose from and new ones being introduced relatively often.

I wonder if that hasn't allowed reloaders to get overly selective about which powders they should have available to them.

Comparing smokeless powder to paper hygiene products, we have tons of brands and types of tp, facial tissue, paper towels, napkins, wipes, etc. Most could serve the purpose of each other, although each product might not be an ideal equivalent for the other. The same could be said for powder.

I bought a bunch of powder in the last couple of months and the prices have been fair even after factoring in hazmat and shipping. If you are limiting yourself to Varget, Retumbo that shows up on the local Bimart shelf, then you will feel like there is a shortage. If you are willing to try some different powders that will accomplish similar task then check online because there is a bunch of powder available out there to cover loads from super fast pistol powder up to the 50BMG burn range.


Edit: As for the picky powder users, there is nothing wrong with not shooting a firearm because you can't find your favorite powder. Just as there is nothing wrong with a person not wiping their backside because they can't find their favorite toilet paper.

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[Stomper]

Oh there's PLENTY wrong with THAT.


Wipe your NASTY arse!

 

[JJE76]

Brownel's has had some popular powder in stock recently.

 

[Hueco]

I'm wondering where the bidet fits in with this analogy.

 

[P7M13]

I'm wondering where the bidet fits in with this analogy.

The gold foil on the label.

@arakboss , are you and the family going to use smokeless powder to wipe when you run out of TP in the next panic?
Be sure to use triple-based powder, it will work for angina at the same time.

 

[arakboss]

Brownel's has had some popular powder in stock recently.

It has been coming and going at most of the major suppliers, although I have yet to run across Varget online. Brownells has very restrictive limits compared to some other outfits.

 

[DizzyJ]

The gold foil on the label.

@arakboss , are you and the family going to use smokeless powder to wipe when you run out of TP in the next panic?
Be sure to use triple-based powder, it will work for angina at the same time.

And anal fissures….

 

[Lennie]

Outside of WWII, more gun powder has been produced in the last one year than any other year in history. In the last year world production has increased. The challenge is that demand is greater than supply.

 

[TTSX]

I can readily go to almost any store, including a 7-11 and buy TP, etc but I can't just bop on over somewhere and buy a pound of just about anything, forget being picky. I would say there is indeed a shortage

 

[Koda]

I wonder if that hasn't allowed reloaders to get overly selective about which powders they should have available to them.

no because when you develop a handload its custom to your needs and switching a component in that recipe means you have to start over with load development. So if someone for years has been reloading a recipe... they need those exact components.

Starting over right now, its a huge problem if you want something specific. You might get lucky but probably not and if you do find something you probably should buy in bulk. There are some things that are showing up on store shelves but we are still very deep in this ammo crunch.

 

[gmerkt]

The nature of manufacturing technique and plant location dictates availability, to some extent. The extruded powders take longer to make, none are made in the US anymore. Ball powders take less time to make, those made for reloading all come from Florida. Hence in general, ball powders are easier to get.

 

[arakboss]

no because when you develop a handload its custom to your needs and switching a component in that recipe means you have to start over with load development. So if someone for years has been reloading a recipe... they need those exact components.

Starting over right now, its a huge problem if you want something specific. You might get lucky but probably not and if you do find something you probably should buy in bulk. There are some things that are showing up on store shelves but we are still very deep in this ammo crunch.

Speaking for myself, I would prefer to own firearms that will work with more than one load and or set of specific components. It would be like having a car that only runs well on one brand of a specific type of fuel. That is great when that fuel is available but not so great when that fuel is hard to find and expensive when you find it.

 

[Martini_Up]

My spam email is filled with suppliers trying to sell me ammo that is way over priced compared to thw piece of those bricks making up my ammo fort. It would seem to me with so many vendors flooding my spam box would mean there's plenty of ammo… and thus plenty of component…. Powder.

So, is there enough ammo to have satisfied the demand? If that price is too high, which I think it is, then the supplies / inventories will build. Orders will slow and then the components suppliers will begin to get taken care of and thus my spam will begin to get filled with component "sales" or rather, "we have powder, primer and bullets!" But If folks are still buying the ammo at a frenzy even though those prices are so much more than before than I beleive the components won't be plentiful nor cheap.

that's been my experience and conclusions the past months…. Maybe few years.

thank you, Obama, for showing my what a democrat can do while in power and prompting me to save a little, all the time.

 

[arakboss]

I can readily go to almost any store, including a 7-11 and buy TP, etc but I can't just bop on over somewhere and buy a pound of just about anything, forget being picky. I would say there is indeed a shortage

The local retailers screwed the pooch but lots of different powders are available from online suppliers.

 

[Koda]

Speaking for myself, I would prefer to own firearms that will work with more than one load and or set of specific components. It would be like having a car that only runs well on one brand of a specific type of fuel. That is great when that fuel is available but not so great when that fuel is hard to find and expensive when you find it.

as far as I know all firearms do? You just have to develop a handload that works for all guns, or you can develop different handloads that work in the same gun.

But then, can you change an ingredient on a whim and expect it to be the same... safety wise?

 

[arakboss]

My spam email is filled with suppliers trying to sell me ammo that is way over priced compared to thw piece of those bricks making up my ammo fort. It would seem to me with so many vendors flooding my spam box would mean there's plenty of ammo… and thus plenty of component…. Powder.

So, is there enough ammo to have satisfied the demand? If that price is too high, which I think it is, then the supplies / inventories will build. Orders will slow and then the components suppliers will begin to get taken care of and thus my spam will begin to get filled with component "sales" or rather, "we have powder, primer and bullets!" But If folks are still buying the ammo at a frenzy even though those prices are so much more than before than I beleive the components won't be plentiful nor cheap.

that's been my experience and conclusions the past months…. Maybe few years.

thank you, Obama, for showing my what a democrat can do while in power and prompting me to save a little, all the time.

Ammo is stacking up everywhere so you are probably right about components coming back in the near future. Powder already has imho, hopefully primers won't be far behind. Bullets are everywhere. Some brass is still hard to find though, like 44-40 brass.

 

[OldBroad44]

How far would the unfussy tp user be willing to go? One ply? Coarse one-ply that is so flimsy it shreds when wet and leaves your fingers covered with excrement? old newspaper? Dry oak leaves? Dry poison oak leaves? Most of us are fussy for good reasons. Many paper and hygiene products products have perfumes that stink the place up and irritate chemically sensitive people. Many people might find many brands workable but some not. If forced to use a new brand there's a chance of poor quality or a chemical or allergic reaction. Or a brand might be inconsistent. So even if many brands might be okay, once we have one that works we usually don't want to experiment. I was seriously sick for days until I realized that I was seriously allergic to one of the additives in a laundry soap I had switched to accidentally.

People can have special uses for which only certain brands work. I like Brawny paper towels for seed germination tests. They are unusually tough as well as reliably don't contain contaminants that affect seed germination. Some paper towels stink of mold when wet and are likely full of various chemicals from mold which might affect seed germination tests. Most brands are flimsier when wet so are harder to use in germination tests. In my lab days it was said that Dove soap was gentler on your titanium centrifuge heads. One lab that worked on hormone control of development in insects lost months of work because suddenly the insects stopped developing normally. Turned out someone had changed to a different brand of paper towels in the growing bottles. The new brand was from different trees that turned out, as part of their defense mechanisms, to produce an analog of the insect hormone involved in metamorphisis, one that blocked normal insect development.

 

[gmerkt]

as far as I know all firearms do? You just have to develop a handload that works for all guns, or you can develop different handloads that work in the same gun.

But then, can you change an ingredient on a whim and expect it to be the same... safety wise?

I can only speak to my own experience. For one thing, the degree of accuracy sought determines the amount of effort expended to find the "pet load." Most hunters aren't after half a minute of angle. Target shooters, different story.

It's been my impression that sporting rifles tend to be more load sensitive than military rifles. In general. I've had a few sporting rifles that drove me nuts trying to find a good load for them. A couple, I never did find one. A couple of others, they settled down with one specific load, still shot erratically at all others. Example, I had a Ruger Mod. 77 in 7mm Mauser, after a great deal of experimentation, burned powder and wasted bullets, it would only shoot one bullet weight with any real accuracy. Another, was a Marlin Mod. 94 in .25-20 Win., it was a contemporary era gun, not an old wallhanger with a worn out bore, that one I never got a satisfactory load for.

In contrast to the Ruger 77 in 7mm Mauser, I had a Czech VZ-24/30 made for the Venezuelan Army in 7mm Mauser, that rifle would shoot any load you wanted with good accuracy. Not bench rest accuracy, but predictable and reliable shots.

These days, one of the cartridges I load is .308 Win. I shoot it in an M1 Rifle, an M1A, and an old Winchester Model 70 bolt action. I have a standarized load based on service cartridge specs. It shoots well in all three rifles. The sights on all three rifles are regulated to a common zero. Which is convenient.

How far would the unfussy tp user be willing to go?

East German Reichsbahn. Three grades below telephone directory. I think in this matter, availability can be a critical factor. What you select for your home is one thing, but when out and about ...

Probably TMI, but after I had my gall bladder removed, I carried a small packet of baby wipes with me when I was away from home. Baby wipes aren't just for babies. These days, you may purchase the same product labeled "adult sanitary wipes."

 

[arakboss]

I can only speak to my own experience. For one thing, the degree of accuracy sought determines the amount of effort expended to find the "pet load." Most hunters aren't after half a minute of angle. Target shooters, different story.

It's been my impression that sporting rifles tend to be more load sensitive than military rifles. In general. I've had a few sporting rifles that drove me nuts trying to find a good load for them. A couple, I never did find one. A couple of others, they settled down with one specific load, still shot erratically at all others. Example, I had a Ruger Mod. 77 in 7mm Mauser, after a great deal of experimentation, burned powder and wasted bullets, it would only shoot one bullet weight with any real accuracy. Another, was a Marlin Mod. 94 in .25-20 Win., it was a contemporary era gun, not an old wallhanger with a worn out bore, that one I never got a satisfactory load for.

In contrast to the Ruger 77 in 7mm Mauser, I had a Czech VZ-24/30 made for the Venezuelan Army in 7mm Mauser, that rifle would shoot any load you wanted with good accuracy. Not bench rest accuracy, but predictable and reliable shots.

These days, one of the cartridges I load is .308 Win. I shoot it in an M1 Rifle, an M1A, and an old Winchester Model 70 bolt action. I have a standarized load based on service cartridge specs. It shoots well in all three rifles. The sights on all three rifles are regulated to a common zero. Which is convenient.



East German Reichsbahn. Three grades below telephone directory. I think in this matter, availability can be a critical factor. What you select for your home is one thing, but when out and about ...

Probably TMI, but after I had my gall bladder removed, I carried a small packet of baby wipes with me when I was away from home. Baby wipes aren't just for babies. These days, you may purchase the same product labeled "adult sanitary wipes."

In general. I've had a few sporting rifles that drove me nuts trying to find a good load for them. A couple, I never did find one.


Regarding your statement quoted above, I mentioned in another thread how there could literally be a million different combinations of components for any given cartridge and it would be impossible to try them all. I have watched a lot of videos from a youtuber named Johnny's Reloading Bench. In his videos he generally puts a load together and has maybe five different charge weights that he test for a given powder. Sometimes in the testing four charge weights don't shoot great but one charge weight does. If you think about all the bullets, powders, brass and primer combos that could be assembled and then among all those different combinations of components the varying degrees of charge weights, it's mind boggling. It makes me believe that most rifles are going to have many combinations that would work well but the reloader doesn't have the time or wealth to try enough different combinations and charge weights.


The ammo manufactures have figured it out for example in the case of Federal Gold Metal Match ammo. A majority of rifles are likely going to shoot pretty well with that ammo. I think a home reloader could put together similar loads that are going to shoot well in more than one rifle they own. When it comes to results that is something that is subjective. If I developed a pet load with a hard to find powder that's running $70 a pound and gives me 1/2 MOA groups but I can get 3/4 MOA groups by using a powder that is half the price and more readily available, I would make the switch.

I have way to many firearms to find pet loads for each. Honestly I will be happy if I can develop loads with the lowest cost components and they don't blow my rifles to pieces.

 

[Catfishmoon]

I have no complaints about powder prices, and my complaint regarding lack of powder choices is because using a new to me powder, requires going thru the "laddering" process for every different projectile I load.