Purchasing Powder:Has this happened to you?

TheNatureBoy · May 31, 2009, 06:48 AM

I recently visited Doves Gun Shop in Princeton, Wv. hoping that I would find shelves loaded with shells, bullets, powder, primer, etc. Long story short, didn't happen. I ended up purchasing powder that I normally would not. Not that theres anything wrong with the powder I purchased its just that I cut my teeth using Reloader and IMR powders and I've pretty much stuck to those. My question is....has the inability to purchase powder that you prefer/normally use forced you to try powders you normally don't use?

Magnum Wheel Man · May 31, 2009, 09:12 AM

yep... doing lots of expirementing this summer

billcarey · May 31, 2009, 09:56 AM

Yep.

snuffy · May 31, 2009, 10:29 AM

Nope! Why? Because i normally keep a good stock of powder on hand, as well as primers, bullets. I use a lot of surplus powder, got a bunch a little over a year ago, as well as enough primers to tide me over. The only thing I'm short on right now is SP primers, I ONLY have 2m left! With around 1M loaded for my 40 and 357 sig, I'm not going to run out this year.

All this panic buying is kind of humorous to guys like me that think ahead. Not that those that simply want to load a few rounds are at fault, those that are hoarding NOW are the ones that need a butt kicking!

plainsman456 · May 31, 2009, 10:36 AM

It has made me get some powders that i was wanting to try but never did.Needless to say i have found some more good loads to use.Good Luck

CrustyFN · May 31, 2009, 10:50 AM

Quote:

Nope! Why? Because i normally keep a good stock of powder on hand, as well as primers, bullets. I use a lot of surplus powder, got a bunch a little over a year ago, as well as enough primers to tide me over. The only thing I'm short on right now is SP primers, I ONLY have 2m left! With around 1M loaded for my 40 and 357 sig, I'm not going to run out this year.

All this panic buying is kind of humorous to guys like me that think ahead. Not that those that simply want to load a few rounds are at fault, those that are hoarding NOW are the ones that need a butt kicking!

I agree. I haven't had to buy any different powders yet either. I have enough primers, powder and bullets to last this year and part of next. I bought all of my components when the shelves were full long before the panic buying started.

Rusty

rn22723 · May 31, 2009, 12:28 PM

Always have a shopping list with alternatives, but thing are getting bettere.
What many people may not know, is that most gunpowders are imported.

And, buy when you can if you wait to made a single large purchase you could be waiting for a long time.

IMR powders are made in Canada or Austrialia
Alliant are made in USA, Sweden, or Swiss made
Win are made in USA
Hodgdon are made in USA and Austrialia
Accurate are mainly Czech made
Ramshot has powders made in USA, Belgium, and Czech
VV well where else but Finland.

So as a whole things are getting better with more 8# jugs showing up in the pipeline.

Steviewonder1 · May 31, 2009, 09:07 PM

I use two kinds of powder. Unique and AA2. I buy a pound of each when I go to my Gun Store after loading lots of ammo, read that as Monthly. These powders take care of all of my Pistol calibers that include 38/357Mag, 9MM, 40S&W, and .45ACP. It is good to have all of the variables down to 2 powders and lots of it for those. I also have a bit of Titegroup, Clays, and Universal Clays to play around with.

Teuthis · May 31, 2009, 10:24 PM

Perhaps this shortage has one good side to it. We are all having to experiment with unfamiliar powders. They are all good powders, and they all work. So though I settled on my powders and recipes decades ago, it is not a bad idea to learn some new tricks. Some new things have come along since I did my experimenting, so I don't mind.

saands · May 31, 2009, 11:36 PM

Nope ... I'm not trying anything new ... I, too, have enough for now. But ... around here, it wouldn't matter, the answer would still be no ... not because we all have enough powder, but because there aren't ANY powders on the shelf. I called a reloading shop the other day and asked if they had ANY primers ... the guy says "Sure do ... I have some small pistol magnum match ... but that is all I've seen for a month!"

I don't know how these guys can keep their doors open if their distributors can't even get them a little stock!

Saands

Sevens · June 1, 2009, 07:19 AM

Quote:

My question is....has the inability to purchase powder that you prefer/normally use forced you to try powders you normally don't use?

Nope, and I'll tell you why. It's because I have a bunch of powders on hand. And it's not because I was "planning" on an upcoming tough time for components. If that were true, I would have a bunch of primers stocked up... but I do NOT!

And when I say "a bunch of powders on hand", I don't mean that I have 4 or 8 pounds of Bullseye. I have only a can and a half of it. My "bunch of powders" is an array of 13 different one-pound cans that I have in my cache.

Every so often, I'd pick up a new powder that I'd never used before in hopes that I could find a new mousetrap. Often, it's because I've read about it over a long time or sometimes, it's because of the comments I read in here.

Some examples...
Blue Dot. Never used Blue Dot before, but a lot of 10mm loaders have had good luck with it, so I tried it a couple years ago and I really like it in 10mm. I can also use it in light .30 Carbine loads.

Power Pistol. Lots of folks talk about it in this forum, so I picked up a can. Now I'm on my second can and on the lookout for more of it. Good stuff!

2400. I've only been reading about 2400 for about the last 20 years... I finally picked up a bottle of it to do some .357 Mag and .30 Carb loads. Works very nice in the .357 loads I've made thus far.

Unique-- this stuff is quite possibly the most popular powder of the last 50 years, outside of target loads and Bullseye or 231. So a couple of years ago I grabbed a can of it. I don't like it, and don't use it hardly at all.

What's next? I've been thinking I'd pick up a can of Universal (Universal Clays) because a lot of folks really like the performance of it. I probably won't ever buy anything from Vihtavuori ($) and RamShot (lack of widespread data). But then, never say never...

ForneyRider · June 1, 2009, 09:06 AM

I'm still experimenting quite a bit so have several powders for each application.

Shoulda, woulda, coulda bought 8lbs of Varget. But R15 and IMR 4064 doing quite well in it's place.

Airborne Falcon · June 1, 2009, 09:27 AM

I'm experimenting with VV these days - never really used any of it before.

Hording the heck out of most of my cache. I'm down to about 150 pounds of powder - but I still have a good selection and enough to keep me running my presses through the summer and on into the fall if I got in a pinch.

Still grabbing what I can from time to time when I see it on the shelves at a decent price ... but definitely experimenting with a bunch of VV I picked-up last December. (Rather than just letting it sit there.)

May 31, 2009, 06:48 AM	#1
TheNatureBoy Senior Member Join Date: September 6, 2007 Posts: 1,204	Purchasing Powder:Has this happened to you? I recently visited Doves Gun Shop in Princeton, Wv. hoping that I would find shelves loaded with shells, bullets, powder, primer, etc. Long story short, didn't happen. I ended up purchasing powder that I normally would not. Not that theres anything wrong with the powder I purchased its just that I cut my teeth using Reloader and IMR powders and I've pretty much stuck to those. My question is....has the inability to purchase powder that you prefer/normally use forced you to try powders you normally don't use?

May 31, 2009, 09:12 AM	#2
Magnum Wheel Man Senior Member Join Date: July 26, 2006 Location: Southern Minnesota Posts: 9,333	yep... doing lots of expirementing this summer __________________ In life you either make dust or eat dust...

May 31, 2009, 10:29 AM	#4
snuffy Senior Member Join Date: May 20, 2001 Location: Oshkosh wi. Posts: 3,055	Nope! Why? Because i normally keep a good stock of powder on hand, as well as primers, bullets. I use a lot of surplus powder, got a bunch a little over a year ago, as well as enough primers to tide me over. The only thing I'm short on right now is SP primers, I ONLY have 2m left! With around 1M loaded for my 40 and 357 sig, I'm not going to run out this year. All this panic buying is kind of humorous to guys like me that think ahead. Not that those that simply want to load a few rounds are at fault, those that are hoarding NOW are the ones that need a butt kicking! __________________ The more people I meet, the more I love my dog They're going to get their butts kicked over there this election. How come people can't spell and use words correctly?

May 31, 2009, 09:07 PM	#8
Steviewonder1 Senior Member Join Date: February 16, 2009 Location: John's Creek, Georgia Posts: 328	Powder??? I use two kinds of powder. Unique and AA2. I buy a pound of each when I go to my Gun Store after loading lots of ammo, read that as Monthly. These powders take care of all of my Pistol calibers that include 38/357Mag, 9MM, 40S&W, and .45ACP. It is good to have all of the variables down to 2 powders and lots of it for those. I also have a bit of Titegroup, Clays, and Universal Clays to play around with.

May 31, 2009, 10:24 PM	#9
Teuthis Senior Member Join Date: April 9, 2008 Location: Southern Arizona Posts: 537	Perhaps this shortage has one good side to it. We are all having to experiment with unfamiliar powders. They are all good powders, and they all work. So though I settled on my powders and recipes decades ago, it is not a bad idea to learn some new tricks. Some new things have come along since I did my experimenting, so I don't mind. __________________ Oderint dum Metuant

May 31, 2009, 09:56 AM	#3
billcarey Senior Member Join Date: February 3, 2009 Location: Florida Posts: 273	Yep.

May 31, 2009, 10:36 AM	#5
plainsman456 Senior Member Join Date: December 31, 2008 Posts: 260	It has made me get some powders that i was wanting to try but never did.Needless to say i have found some more good loads to use.Good Luck

May 31, 2009, 12:28 PM	#7
rn22723 Junior member Join Date: December 10, 2001 Location: Burbs of Minneapolis Posts: 676	Always have a shopping list with alternatives, but thing are getting bettere. What many people may not know, is that most gunpowders are imported. And, buy when you can if you wait to made a single large purchase you could be waiting for a long time. IMR powders are made in Canada or Austrialia Alliant are made in USA, Sweden, or Swiss made Win are made in USA Hodgdon are made in USA and Austrialia Accurate are mainly Czech made Ramshot has powders made in USA, Belgium, and Czech VV well where else but Finland. So as a whole things are getting better with more 8# jugs showing up in the pipeline.

May 31, 2009, 11:36 PM	#10
saands Senior Member Join Date: November 14, 1999 Posts: 1,573	Nope ... I'm not trying anything new ... I, too, have enough for now. But ... around here, it wouldn't matter, the answer would still be no ... not because we all have enough powder, but because there aren't ANY powders on the shelf. I called a reloading shop the other day and asked if they had ANY primers ... the guy says "Sure do ... I have some small pistol magnum match ... but that is all I've seen for a month!" I don't know how these guys can keep their doors open if their distributors can't even get them a little stock! Saands

June 1, 2009, 09:06 AM	#12
ForneyRider Senior Member Join Date: December 4, 2007 Location: Forney, TX Posts: 725	I'm still experimenting quite a bit so have several powders for each application. Shoulda, woulda, coulda bought 8lbs of Varget. But R15 and IMR 4064 doing quite well in it's place. __________________ When all is said and done, there is a lot more said than done.

June 1, 2009, 09:27 AM	#13
Airborne Falcon Senior Member Join Date: August 5, 2005 Location: Capital City, SC Posts: 138	I'm experimenting with VV these days - never really used any of it before. Hording the heck out of most of my cache. I'm down to about 150 pounds of powder - but I still have a good selection and enough to keep me running my presses through the summer and on into the fall if I got in a pinch. Still grabbing what I can from time to time when I see it on the shelves at a decent price ... but definitely experimenting with a bunch of VV I picked-up last December. (Rather than just letting it sit there.) __________________ What you think about, you do ... what you do, you become.