Powder prices going up.

I needed some magnum powder, usually use Hodgdon but can't afford 8lbs of that anymore...
Got some Accurate Magpro ball for ok price from Higginsons, seems to be decent stuff.
 
Glad I got 8lbs of 4895 after the prices dropped a little... damn.

$100 a pound for generic rifle powder is insane. Time for another surplus run, me thinks.
 
So, $115 per lb of powder, taxes in.

7000 gn per lb.

Avg of 45 gns for 30 cal: 155 rounds per lb. So, 75 cents per charge.

LR Primers (when avail): $23 per tray of 100, taxes in (if you're lucky), 23 cents per pop.

Bullets: 40 cents to $1 or more each, depending on bulk FMJ or Match for .30 cal.

Low end: $1.38 for bulk FMJ, $1.66 for low end match (65 cents-ish per round), and $1.98 for high end match.

I love inflation.
 
Tyler said:
So, $115 per lb of powder, taxes in.

7000 gn per lb.

Avg of 45 gns for 30 cal: 155 rounds per lb. So, 75 cents per charge.

LR Primers (when avail): $23 per tray of 100, taxes in (if you're lucky), 23 cents per pop.

Bullets: 40 cents to $1 or more each, depending on bulk FMJ or Match for .30 cal.

Low end: $1.38 for bulk FMJ, $1.66 for low end match (65 cents-ish per round), and $1.98 for high end match.

I love inflation.
Click to expand...

Yup, versus 31 cents total for a reload with a gas checked cast lead 3006 round or 55 cents per round with a decent cup and core projectile. Before anyone pipes in that these represent component prices from when the dinosaurs roamed, these were actually from components purchased pre COVID around 5 years ago. Something slightly more sinister than inflation is at work here.
 
So how much are those 35 and 50 lb lots, going to go for, at the SFRC auction in 10 days? Correct me if I got that wrong. They have to ship them on a skid. Starting at lot 9600 I think..
 
Last edited:
April 1st Trudeau will be increasing the price of gas with carbon tax. Things will only become more expensive, lets hope for a 2024 spring election!
 
apu said:
Yup, versus 31 cents total for a reload with a gas checked cast lead 3006 round or 55 cents per round with a decent cup and core projectile. Before anyone pipes in that these represent component prices from when the dinosaurs roamed, these were actually from components purchased pre COVID around 5 years ago. Something slightly more sinister than inflation is at work here.
Click to expand...

Oh, I don't doubt it. I remember BL-C2, 4895, etc, going for under $50 per lb, and primers being around $30 per brick, and that was 2019 or so. Current prices seem to align with *real* inflation, not the gerry-mandered gov't figures.
 
apu said:
Yup, versus 31 cents total for a reload with a gas checked cast lead 3006 round or 55 cents per round with a decent cup and core projectile. Before anyone pipes in that these represent component prices from when the dinosaurs roamed, these were actually from components purchased pre COVID around 5 years ago. Something slightly more sinister than inflation is at work here.
Click to expand...

Of course, something more than inflation is going on.

It's called full blown shooting war.

Look around what's happening in the world and at how many manufacturers of firearms, shooting components, etc have gone out of business, had their equipment gobbled up by competitors, or sold off so they couldn't be used any longer.

This creates a huge demand/supply issue, which we're experiencing right now.

When WWII ended, it took close to ten years for manufacturers to use up leftovers. Even such things as toothpaste, made for military purposes was stored in massive quantities in warehouses in all of the major centers around the world.

I remember going to a "warehouse" sale in Calgary with my father. We went with other family members to look at what was being offered to the public for pennies on the dollar.

Tools, clothes, toothpaste, dinnerware, shoes, tents, rifles, ammunition, gas cans, jeeps, trucks, bedding, canned food, you name it.

My father bought ten cases of canned chickens and a case of toothpaste along with other necessities we used regularly and were normally much more expensive. There was no way manufacturers of new items could compete.

The same thing happened with firearms and it took fifty years to use up and dispose of most WWII leftovers.

Powders such as 4350/4831/3031 and a myriad of others were being dumped on the markets dirt cheap. Some of that stuff was still available in the early 90s.

We can't compete with government demand.

Governments around the world allowed their stocks of ammunition to dwindle to the point of nonexistence. Just look at Canada as an example.

When a rather small but very violent and active shooting war broke out in Ukraine, the shortages became obvious even to those who poo-pooed arming to protect their nations. Many felt wars were a thing of the past and would never happen again. No such luck.

When governments put in orders for anything, there's very little leftover capacity for civilian demands, which are drops in the bucket in comparison.

Right now governments all over the world are gearing up and trying to replace depleted or outdated equipment.

The people who produce the components we desire are doing what they can to supply our needs but the bread and butter government orders come first and the government pays premium prices for those components, which are also cheaper and easier to build in such massive quantities.

I don't see the prices coming down to pre-Covid levels anytime soon, maybe never.

I see our local gunshops/Cdn Tire have powder in stock now but it's at least 50% more than pre-Covid and selection is very limited. Same goes for some of our banner advertisers.

I don't expect to see much more surplus ammunition coming on the market in the foreseeable future.

Hopefully this isn't just the tip of the iceberg.
 
A Czech group just bought basically all the primer manufacturers and ammo makers in the USA last year, they had already acquired Igman prior to this purchase. Not sure how well that is going to help our supply situation.
 
Hitzy said:
A Czech group just bought basically all the primer manufacturers and ammo makers in the USA last year, they had already acquired Igman prior to this purchase. Not sure how well that is going to help our supply situation.
Click to expand...

Probably will not hurt it any more than being owned by a US company.
 
bearhunter said:
Of course, something more than inflation is going on.

It's called full blown shooting war.

Look around what's happening in the world and at how many manufacturers of firearms, shooting components, etc have gone out of business, had their equipment gobbled up by competitors, or sold off so they couldn't be used any longer.

This creates a huge demand/supply issue, which we're experiencing right now.

When WWII ended, it took close to ten years for manufacturers to use up leftovers. Even such things as toothpaste, made for military purposes was stored in massive quantities in warehouses in all of the major centers around the world.

I remember going to a "warehouse" sale in Calgary with my father. We went with other family members to look at what was being offered to the public for pennies on the dollar.

Tools, clothes, toothpaste, dinnerware, shoes, tents, rifles, ammunition, gas cans, jeeps, trucks, bedding, canned food, you name it.

My father bought ten cases of canned chickens and a case of toothpaste along with other necessities we used regularly and were normally much more expensive. There was no way manufacturers of new items could compete.

The same thing happened with firearms and it took fifty years to use up and dispose of most WWII leftovers.

Powders such as 4350/4831/3031 and a myriad of others were being dumped on the markets dirt cheap. Some of that stuff was still available in the early 90s.

We can't compete with government demand.

Governments around the world allowed their stocks of ammunition to dwindle to the point of nonexistence. Just look at Canada as an example.

When a rather small but very violent and active shooting war broke out in Ukraine, the shortages became obvious even to those who poo-pooed arming to protect their nations. Many felt wars were a thing of the past and would never happen again. No such luck.

When governments put in orders for anything, there's very little leftover capacity for civilian demands, which are drops in the bucket in comparison.

Right now governments all over the world are gearing up and trying to replace depleted or outdated equipment.

The people who produce the components we desire are doing what they can to supply our needs but the bread and butter government orders come first and the government pays premium prices for those components, which are also cheaper and easier to build in such massive quantities.

I don't see the prices coming down to pre-Covid levels anytime soon, maybe never.

I see our local gunshops/Cdn Tire have powder in stock now but it's at least 50% more than pre-Covid and selection is very limited. Same goes for some of our banner advertisers.

I don't expect to see much more surplus ammunition coming on the market in the foreseeable future.

Hopefully this isn't just the tip of the iceberg.
Click to expand...

USA just passed a 95 billion dollar bill to aid Ukranie and Israel. Guess how the reloading components will be used up? Something bigger is going to happen, I believe that this bill is to ramp-up their own surplus.
 
track said:
USA just passed a 95 billion dollar bill to aid Ukranie and Israel. Guess how the reloading components will be used up? Something bigger is going to happen, I believe that this bill is to ramp-up their own surplus.
Click to expand...

Of course there is something big going on here and ramping up their own surplus is only part of it.
Has anyone thought of going back in history to Gulf War I, Desert Storm, Bosnia , Kosovo or the Afghanistan War not to mention the other military intervention between those mentioned to check on price increases during those times ?
Toss in inflation and greed and prices are going up for consumables of all types.
Inflation might not be as high back then, but we are seeing it in higher % now or just taking notice of it .
 
FLHTCUI said:
Of course there is something big going on here and ramping up their own surplus is only part of it.
Has anyone thought of going back in history to Gulf War I, Desert Storm, Bosnia , Kosovo or the Afghanistan War not to mention the other military intervention between those mentioned to check on price increases during those times ?
Toss in inflation and greed and prices are going up for consumables of all types.
Inflation might not be as high back then, but we are seeing it in higher % now or just taking notice of it .
Click to expand...

I believe it's something deeper than reloading components and the cost. Lots of termoil in the world, more that I ever witnessed before, most unsettled in North America as well. Something is about to burst.
 
I just bought a small half empty bag of chips at the gas station. 2.50$
And the drink I got with my whopper combo at lunch was half the size it was last week. And I had to buy the paper bag to boot.
I agree that somethings got to give. It’s a run away.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom