When searching for powder on line, one would believe that there's noe, when googling why, many would believe that it is because of hoarding. Have we really all been reduced to this out of fear? Thoughts? Any locals in Edmonton want to sell some Varget so I can reload .308?
New reloader can't find powder.......
- Thread starter 66spitfire
- Start date
Honestly powder is in super short supply right now and has been for awhile. Because of this, every time a store gets powder, people are stocking up for the long haul and cleaning the store out. It will take a little while before things get sorted out. Varget has been in short supply for awhile now.
CreamySmooth
CGN frequent flyer
You have to keep looking at your local stores, or suck it up and pay shipping. I've had good luck with Higginson Powders... Usually have more than the rest anyway.
The Outsider
CGN Regular
IMR 4064 is just as good for 308, and seems to be more available.
- Location
- fraser valley
thats whats been killing our powder, the hoarders. as soon as they hear we have new stuff in they come and buy it all, were actualy concidering putting a limt on it so others have axcess to some to
I deal with Higginsons all the time and its not hoarders in Canada causing problems. You're paranoid. Higginsons finally got another shipment in friday and they didn't get half of what they ordered and I think they may have got hosed on the pricing. 8lbers are now $220 instead of $184
- Location
- fraser valley
i can say 100% working at a shop it is also hoarders. i get 4350 in and by the next day 10 bottles are bought by 1 guy. i ca;ll that hoaring and evertytime we get it its the same thing. sells to 1 or 2 guys and its gone.
its not the whole issue but its a big part of it. i see it daily at work
its not the whole issue but its a big part of it. i see it daily at work
- Location
- West Quebec
arcticcathonda
CGN frequent flyer
- Location
- Southern Alberta
I don't think it is hoarding, at some point the market has to saturate and the need should go down. Have people been hoarding since 2011?....
Schecter 81
Regular
- Location
- Edmonton Area
Really?! 32 pounds? I shoot a fair bit too, but unless you are shooting a 50 bmg, that is running into SEVERAL thousand rounds for a year. That is hoarding. Why cant people purchase for 1 season then place then next order so the rest of the reloaders can purchase. I have 5 pounds of H4831SC for my .284 and will probably need more before the end of the summer. I will order another 5lbs in the next couple of months when I see some available...not 25lbs, 5lbs. I just ordered 6lbs of US869 for my Lapua. That will likely only last the first couple of hundred loads of my season so I will need a few more pounds, but I will order those when I am down to 2lbs, Higginson has said that it has been reasonable steady. That leaves powder for everyone. I don't need to order my next 2 years of powder supply today because it showed up.
Canadian Tire has some stuff on their website because there are 1 or 2 in Ontario that regularly stock reloading stuff. If I were in your shoes I would order and wait.
Varget: $32.99/lb Part number is 75-4187-4
H4895
I prefer this over Varget for my .308) $32.99/lb, Part number is 75-3799-4
They have primers as well. I like CCI200 but I won't get them from CT as they are ridiculously priced @ $5.99/100.
I've never ordered from CT but it's worth a shot.
Varget: $32.99/lb Part number is 75-4187-4
H4895
I prefer this over Varget for my .308) $32.99/lb, Part number is 75-3799-4They have primers as well. I like CCI200 but I won't get them from CT as they are ridiculously priced @ $5.99/100.
I've never ordered from CT but it's worth a shot.
I'm using H4895 at the moment as well as IMR. Would you happen to have any data or even targets to post online. One of the shops I drive by on my way home seems to have 4064 pretty regularly.
We can trade with China and get Quality Control gun Powder....................or not LOL.
- Location
- Over the rainbow
I don't get it. Someone walk me through how this 'hoarding' thing is supposed to work. It just doesn't make sense to me.
* If Joe C. Hoarder walks into his local gun shop and buys all the Varget on the shelf, assuming he doesn't have infinite space to store it somewhere, that just means he's going to have a #### ton of Varget and won't need to come back and buy any for a while.
* If Joe buys all the Varget on the shelf, shoots a few pounds of it, then decides that his hoard is getting low and he needs to top it up, he's only going to be buying a few pounds of it. He won't look like a hoarder any more.
* If Joe actually shoots all of that Varget in a time frame that's short enough for him to be coming back and needing to buy up all the Varget again then he's not hoarding-- he's just buying what he needs because he shoots a lot.
The idea that Joe comes in and buys all the Varget every time it shows up just doesn't make any sense. Where's he putting it all? Does he have 10,000 pounds of Varget stored in a bunker somewhere and is thinking of picking up a second bunker because he's running out of space?
As far as I can see, this is just supply and demand. There are N reloaders in Canada who, combined, need to consume X amount of powder every year. Whether they buy it in big batches or in small batches doesn't really matter-- over the course of any given period of time they're still going to be using the same amount of powder (assuming they shoot the powder they acquire and don't have infinite space to store it). The amount of powder coming into the country, or being manufactured locally, is either going to meet that demand or it's not. Clearly right now there is more demand than supply.
One thing I can see that would be problematic wouldn't be 'hoarding'-- it would be 'scalping'. I've heard about this in the US, where guys who don't even shoot will come in and buy up all the .22 LR as soon as it hits the shelves and then sell it at a ridiculous markup.
Anyway, I'm dumb. Maybe I'm missing something.
* If Joe C. Hoarder walks into his local gun shop and buys all the Varget on the shelf, assuming he doesn't have infinite space to store it somewhere, that just means he's going to have a #### ton of Varget and won't need to come back and buy any for a while.
* If Joe buys all the Varget on the shelf, shoots a few pounds of it, then decides that his hoard is getting low and he needs to top it up, he's only going to be buying a few pounds of it. He won't look like a hoarder any more.
* If Joe actually shoots all of that Varget in a time frame that's short enough for him to be coming back and needing to buy up all the Varget again then he's not hoarding-- he's just buying what he needs because he shoots a lot.
The idea that Joe comes in and buys all the Varget every time it shows up just doesn't make any sense. Where's he putting it all? Does he have 10,000 pounds of Varget stored in a bunker somewhere and is thinking of picking up a second bunker because he's running out of space?
As far as I can see, this is just supply and demand. There are N reloaders in Canada who, combined, need to consume X amount of powder every year. Whether they buy it in big batches or in small batches doesn't really matter-- over the course of any given period of time they're still going to be using the same amount of powder (assuming they shoot the powder they acquire and don't have infinite space to store it). The amount of powder coming into the country, or being manufactured locally, is either going to meet that demand or it's not. Clearly right now there is more demand than supply.
One thing I can see that would be problematic wouldn't be 'hoarding'-- it would be 'scalping'. I've heard about this in the US, where guys who don't even shoot will come in and buy up all the .22 LR as soon as it hits the shelves and then sell it at a ridiculous markup.
Anyway, I'm dumb. Maybe I'm missing something.
The Outsider
CGN Regular
There should be lots of data in any reloading manual, as IMR 4064 has always been a top powder for 308, 300 Savage etc.
I'm even using it for 358, which is a 308 necked up to 35 caliber, (great results also)
My notes show that I'm using 44.5 gr of IMR 4064 behind a 165 grain bullet giving me velocity of around 2650, in my pre '81 BLR in 308.
This is less than 300 fps behind my 30-06 using the same Hornady SP bullet.
Varget is a very good and versatile powder, but it's not the only powder that works great for 308 or any other caliber.
Also, the powder supply seems to be starting to return to normal, on a recent trip to the US, I noticed the shelves looking much better than they were even a few months ago.
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