what's normal

[Dick Chaney]

New to reloading and right now I am taking a hit buying all my supplies. I guess I am feeding into the scare. Well I have made several rounds and starting to think maybe I can wait till the prices come down. What I am asking is what are the normal prices before the scare.

Was powder always 32 dollars a pound?

How much should I spend on primers?

Brass that I bought just seems to be high at what I paid. I bought 223, 243, 30-06, 9 mm and 45 auto. average 12 per 100

What should I spend on bullets. I bought .224 500 for $80 + ship.
I bought 30 cal for 30 for 50 but for hunting.

Thanks not looking for honey holes but a point in the right direction would help. Live in hagerstown.

 

[DaemonAssassin]

New to reloading and right now I am taking a hit buying all my supplies. I guess I am feeding into the scare. Well I have made several rounds and starting to think maybe I can wait till the prices come down. What I am asking is what are the normal prices before the scare.

Was powder always 32 dollars a pound?

How much should I spend on primers?

Brass that I bought just seems to be high at what I paid. I bought 223, 243, 30-06, 9 mm and 45 auto. average 12 per 100

What should I spend on bullets. I bought .224 500 for $80 + ship.
I bought 30 cal for 30 for 50 but for hunting.

Thanks not looking for honey holes but a point in the right direction would help. Live in hagerstown.

Powder - yes. Unless you are asking about the price 10+ years ago. Powder can be found if you look for it and are patient.

Primers - Depending on the primer, anywhere from 20-50 per 1k. Again patience is the key to find what you want.

Brass - You can get it cheaper if you buy once fired brass. Lots of online retailers sell once fired brass for a god price.

Bullets - Vary depending on the bullet type, bullet weight, and the mfg of the bullet. A SMK will cost more than a normal FMJ, because of the increased cost to produce a match grade bullet.

 

[Sticky]

Prices are still a little high, gotta look carefully for the good deals and pass on those who are jacking you because of the market..

Last time I ordered anything in quantity was from Pats Reloading, got 1k 45acp once fired brass (cleaned) for $90 and 500rds of 55gr Vmax for $80.. and I thought that was a bit high, but I really needed both.

Last time I bought primers I paid $32 per 1k from Wideners for CCIBR4 match primers and AR BR primers (Fed) I paid about 35/k.

That is a bit high for powder too... Wideners sells it for about $20/lb for Hodgdon powders when they have them in stock.

Brass for the 223, consider once fired brass.. you need to deprime it, tumble it clean and resize it, probably trim and remove the crimp in the primer pocket, but I have not paid more than $80/1k rds since I started reloading for the AR.

 

[ThunderStick]

Used to be able to buy powder, any powder for around $4.00, $4.50 per pound, primers, 50 cents for a hundred, and bullets, 4 to 6 dollars per hundred...... NOT NOW! But, gasoline was 35 cents per gallon then, too.

 

[Sticky]

Used to be able to buy powder, any powder for around $4.00, $4.50 per pound, primers, 50 cents for a hundred, and bullets, 4 to 6 dollars per hundred...... NOT NOW! But, gasoline was 35 cents per gallon then, too.

I remember fillin up the mini-bike for about 35 cents.. held a gallon.. but we digress.. lol

Those items I listed were all bought in the past few months..

 

[byf43]

In years past, powder could be had (no matter what 'flavor') for about $11.50 to $14.50/lb.
Primers at one time hit $3.00/100 and I refused to buy.
I've still got some Federal primers that I paid less than $15.00 for 1,000.


Bullets....... when I was shooting USPSA/IPSC, several of us would make a group buy, and get 200 gr LSWC match boolits for $23.00/1,000.

Those days have surely gone the way of the dinosaur!!!!

Heck, I can remember buying 168 gr BTHP Sierra MKs for $9.00/100!!!


The "Good ole Days" are gone.

I remember working at a gas station in 1972, and Shell 'regular' was 26.9 cents per gallon. "Super" Shell was 32.9 cents.

Those days are lonnnnnnnnnnng gone!!

The best advice I can give, is buy what you can, when a price is inside YOUR price bracket.

I know of one local dealer that has some primers (I'm talking about within 10 minutes of my home!) and he's selling for $50.00/1,000.
I know of another that's selling for $3.75/100 with a 200 primer limit.

 

[j8064]

Reality is in today's market it's become catch as catch can. Once ago primers were a penny each and the powder needed to load a rifle round was maybe a nickel per round. Those days are long gone.

Today expect to pay $40/1000 for primers and $30/lb for powder locally (if you can even find what you're looking for.) If you do find a good deal on components, stack them deep,

 

[IndispensableDestiny]

Normal is what you are used to paying.

My last few thousand primers cost me $33.00/1000. I have all I need for a while. I haven't bought much powder, but I picked up some H110 not too long ago for about $24.00.

I don't think I've overpaid on bullets either. But I haven't seen any great deals for bulk, either. By bulk I mean 500 or more. Scarcity is the issue. I'd pay extra for a few hundred Nosler .30 cal 125 grain BT right now.

Patience is a virtue. My biggest peeve is that finding bits of what I need online means more orders, and therefore more shipping costs.

We can't compare anything now to 10 years ago. Metals are way up in cost, so is energy. It takes both to make the components we use in reloading.

 

[DaemonAssassin]

Dick, the only way to really be able to get bullets on a good deal , is to go with blemished bullets. Sierra sells them out of their factory (no mail order) with a maximum purchase of 100 pounds spread across a max of 3 calibers/bullet types, per person, per day. I have done the math and the only way to save money on that kind of a trip would be, go out with 3 friends in a pickup truck and stay for 5 days. That equates to 500 pounds per person by the end of a week. The quick math in my head was that if I did it with my dad and 2 of my friends, we could get 2000 pounds of bullets that would come to about 130,000-140,000 pcs, by the time the dust settles. Mind you, that we would have to go out with about 10-15k, but we wouldn't have to buy bullets for a looooooong time.

Midway has a blemished bullet sale from time to time, and the last time I got in on it, I picked up 500 168gr Hornady A-Max bullets for about 115 shipped for the first order. I went back a bit later and picked up another 1k for about 225 shipped. My dad stocked up on some of the blemished bullets for some of the calibers he loads for too. At the time 168gr A-Max were going for about 30 bucks per 100 pcs. So we saved some money by doing that. Blemished bullets do not have anything that would alter the BC of the bullet, it is just imperfections in the coloration on the copper jacket.

 

[rico903]

The primers Im seeing locally are $45-$50 per 1k

 

[Pinecone]

It also depends on which powder, which primers, which bullets, etc.

Some powders were (and with some shops still are) under $15 per pound, but most around $20. Some powders are closer to $30 and a few up around $36. And some shops are selling for well above those prices.

Primers are about $30 per 1000 at places that are not raising their prices during these times. But before, around $26 - $35 depending. Match primers are more than non-match due to quality control.

Bullets are HIGHLY variable. By caliber, by weight, by design, by company. Larger calibers are more expensive to to more material in each. Same thing with weight. Design comes up in that match bullets are more expensive than basic bullets, and high end hunting bullets are very expensive. Part of this is the quality control and part is research and development costs spread over the number sold. People shooting match bullets tend to shoot a LOT of bullets. Hunters tend to shoot a LOT less. Some companies are mass production (Sierra, Hornady, etc) and some are much smaller and more boutique makers.

As for what is used to be a LONG time ago. When I started reloading in the 70s, I could cast bullets and reload .45 ACP for less than the cost of .22 LR. And .22 was still very cheap.

Powder was around $7 - $10 per pound. Primers were in the $5 - $8 per thousand. And I could get linotype metal for $3 per pound.

I have a can of Bullseye on the shelf that is marked $8.90. With a 3.8 grain load, that works out to over 1800 rounds or a powder cost of 0.48 CENTS per round.

 

[Dick Chaney]

I should have asked before I purchased. I bought western Cartridge Company 223 brass once fired. Just wondering if I got a lemon. Using in an Ar. Filling with barnes 55gr jhp and imr 4064 using rem 7.5 primers.. About 24 grains of powder.

Thanks for all the replies it looks like if I am going to be doing this for a while I need to buy now when I see stuff a little cheaper. Now another question how much is enough of primers and bullets. powder is only 5 lbs.

 

[byf43]

Now another question how much is enough of primers and bullets. powder is only 5 lbs.

I learned long ago, "Buy it cheap. Stack it deep."


I still have several thousand 200 gr .45 acp LSWC boolits from years ago. (They don't go bad.)


Primers - I've not sweated the panic.
I don't think there is a 'maximum' quantity that you can have, onhand.
If someone shows me some documentation, well, I'll stand, corrected.

I hadn't bought shotshell primers in many, many, years. I finally broke down and bought a couple of bricks, when my youngest son showed an interest in shotguns.
That's a whole 'nuther' subject.

 

[Pinecone]

I should have asked before I purchased. I bought western Cartridge Company 223 brass once fired. Just wondering if I got a lemon. Using in an Ar. Filling with barnes 55gr jhp and imr 4064 using rem 7.5 primers.. About 24 grains of powder.

Thanks for all the replies it looks like if I am going to be doing this for a while I need to buy now when I see stuff a little cheaper. Now another question how much is enough of primers and bullets. powder is only 5 lbs.

According to Hodgdon site, max load of 4064 for a 55 grain bullet is 23.0 grains, and that is a compressed load. Meaning the bullet will crunch the power when you insert it. And you have to be careful filling the case, as it may overflow if you don't tap it as you fill and use an extended powder funnel.

Lyman 49th shows 26.0, max, also compressed.

Personally, I would start lower and work up to that load.

 

[Pinecone]

I have never been able to get the numbers to work for reloading shotshells.

 

[Dick Chaney]

Pinecone now you have me worried. Being a rookie I made one misake it is Imr 4064. I called barnes bullets about that bullet and got there powder info. They told me minimum of 23 and max of 25.7 that is why I started at 24 grains. How accurate is there info and should I be worried. It is a new bullet they put out for midway only... Benchmark powder they told me min 24 max 25.6 also . Thanks

 

[Sticky]

Pinecone now you have me worried. Being a rookie I made one misake it is Imr 4064. I called barnes bullets about that bullet and got there powder info. They told me minimum of 23 and max of 25.7 that is why I started at 24 grains. How accurate is there info and should I be worried. It is a new bullet they put out for midway only... Benchmark powder they told me min 24 max 25.6 also . Thanks

If I look up some load data for similar 55gr bullets (and there will be some variation from Mfr to Mfr and bullet to bullet) I find that Hodgdon lists the max for 4064 in a 55gr wt at 25.7 (compressed), and many list pet loads in the 25-25.5gr range for 4064. If I check the IMR data, it lists loads from 23.0 to 25.7 for the 55gr projectiles.. I think you are safe but.. I prefer to start a small string of test loads (5 rds per charge load wt) and load from min to max in about .25gr increments... then, based on performance, I will go back and load some up perhaps a little tighter on the second round of testing. I will take my best loads from the first round and load them up +/- .1 gr and see how those do. This will lead me to a load for that gun and bullet/powder/primer/case combination that will give accurate, repeatable performance in that gun.. change any of the variables, gun, case, primer, powder, bullets, etc.. and I start the process over again.

It takes a while, a few sits at the bench and a few trips to the range, but after two load sessions with 55gr Hornady Vmax loads in my Varminator, I wound up with a very repeatable 1/2 moa load. In an AR, that ain't bad and there isn't a rifle I've owned that I couldn't achieve submoa loads out of, just gotta do the research and load testing to find out what your gun likes the best.

I know with some of my bolt guns I can usually find a sweet load in the low range and then it hits again just shy of max loads. These can really be tweaked a lot, since you are working with a bolt, not an AR action (distance to rifling, etc can be optimized for accuracy), but in an AR you have to work within the limits prescribed and figure out what it is that THAT gun likes! In my quarter bore Rem700 I can shoot a load that will put ragged holes in the target all day long from a 100yd benchrest. This is a load that I worked up for shooting out West, needed long range accuracy and I tested it out to 500yds (spent a couple months of weekends working on that load, testing and getting used to shooting that distance).

My goal when reloading is to find the most accurate combination of components that will yield consistent results in differing conditions (hot, cold, wet, dry) and with a little research, you can easily accomplish this.

 

[Sticky]

Oh, don't be concerned about 'compressed loads', just be careful in how you load them, as the bullet will be pushing the powder down as you seat it, meaning the case will likely be filled to the shoulder area when charged with powder. You can 'gently' tap the case on the bench a few times to 'settle' the powder in the case. Be careful when handling charged cases that you don't spill any powder out when loading compressed loads. The other trick is to use a long tube to drop the powder in the case with a compressed load rather than just dumping it directly into the case. It helps to get the powder more evenly packed in the case as it is metered in. I have a powder funnel set that has a drop tube extension that I use anytime I load compressed loads.

The 4064 is a long cut powder and doesn't meter as well as some of the ball powders(and doesn't 'settle in the case' as well as some of the spherical or ball powders), but I have been loading long cut powders in my quarter bore for years with great success. I dump a charge just a tad under wt and trickle to final weight with most rifle loads.

 

[Pinecone]

The big thing is, ALWAYS START LOW AND WORK UP.

Start with the minimum recommended load or 10% below the max load and work up to the desired or max load.

If Barnes recommended that range, you should be fine, but again, start low and work up. The max pressure is dependant on YOUR gun. Chamber size, bore size, throat depth all work towards what is a maximum safe load.

Compressed loads are not a huge deal, but you need to be aware of them. Mainly in that if they are too big, you have to work to get them in the case to seat the bullet. And some compressed loads will push the bullet out some, so you may need to crimp.

I would say compressed loads are not where you want to start reloading.

 

[Dick Chaney]

Went to cabelas today and found out prices Are cheaper there. Primers 10.00 cheaper and powder was 22.00 a pound. No bullseye though or varget.