What should I be paying for primers, powder, etc.

rolyasm · December 21, 2009, 12:17 PM

Hi all.
Have my Hornady LNL under the tree and get to open it Christmas day. I want to start purchasing loading supplies but am not sure on pricing. I see so many different prices around that I'm not sure what a good, average price is. If anyone has some quick ideas what I should be paying for these and some online supply sites, it would be helpful.
1)primers
2)powder
3)bullets (.44 mag, .45, .308, 9mm)
4)brass (same as bullets)

Thanks.

Roly

Nate1778 · December 21, 2009, 12:25 PM

1. ~$30 per K
2. ~$20 per pound
3. ~anywhere from .02-.20 per depending on your flavor.
4. ~Anywhere from $30-100 per k (free if you pick it up off the range floor).

spacecoast · December 21, 2009, 12:30 PM

Roughly speaking, for pistol rounds powder is approx. 1-2 cents per round, bullets are 8 cents (lead round nose) and up, and primers are 3-4 cents each. Bullets are sold by the 100, 250, 500 and 1000 (it varies), powder by the 1 lb, 4 lb or 8 lb sizes (it varies), and primers by the thousand. It helps to buy online in bulk because there is $20-25 hazmat fee for powder and primer shipments. Some good sites are:

http://www.natchezss.com/
http://www.midwayusa.com/
http://www.cabelas.com/

Each of the big powder manufacturers (Hodgdon, Accurate, Alliant, etc.) has a web site with powder descriptions and loading data.

Spend some time researching powders, bullets for various purposes, etc. and you should be able to figure out what to get.

**Unclenick** · December 21, 2009, 12:46 PM

The short answer is, what the market will bear. We are just starting to come off the shortage of the last three years, so prices are a lot higher in some places than others. I saw a post the other day indicating a gun show where primers varied 2:1 in price. At this point a lot of them seem to be in the area of $30 a thousand, as Nate said. Anything under $25/thousand would be a really good price now. Since I expect them to come down, I would not buy more than I need for a few months at a time. The exception might be jacketed bullets, as the spot metals market prices affect those most. If that market is going up again (as it has been for copper) then you might not see a future break. It depends when the bullet maker do their purchasing? The competition for copper and lead is China, and the drop in the dollar isn't helping with metals.

Nate's brass prices are for once-fired. The last new .45 ACP price I saw was approaching $140/1000. Buy new pistol brass direct from Starline or Scharch Manufacturing (Top Brass). Winchester brand .308 is close to $300/1000 at Midway, so I would figure $250/1000 to be a good price. Unless you are loading for match shooting, you may not need that much rifle brass at one time, anyway?

azar92 · December 21, 2009, 06:25 PM

All the previous posters have given good feedback already. Ultimately, it depends on your area. Around here I expect to pay:

Primers: $28-$32 per 1,000
Powder: $19-$25 (pistol) $25-$30 (rifle) per 1lb cannister (excluding the more expensive Vihtavuori powders).
Brass (very caliber dependent): $26-$30 per 50 (rifle). I use free range brass for pistol, so I don't know about local pistol brass prices.
Bullets: $25-$30 per 100 for jacketed cup & core rifle. $21-$27 per 250 plated pistol.

Bullets you can find cheaper over the internet, but depending on the shipping charges it often evens out. I don't buy in large enough volumes to consider paying a hazmat fee so I only buy powders and primers locally. I think the price of powder is a bit inflated in my area, but since people are willing to pay it that's what it is...

BigJimP · December 21, 2009, 07:35 PM

In my area - I made a buy last week:

a. CCI primers were $ 35 per 1,000
b. powder in 8 lb keg was $ 150 / or about $ 19 a lb.
c. brass / I pick up range brass - so nothing
d. bullets - FMJ bullets $ 0.08 for 124 gr 9mm to $ 0.12 each for 230gr .45acp / buy in case lots.

DiscoRacing · December 21, 2009, 07:38 PM

wallytown here has any of them caliber bullets for around 20 bucks per hundred

Claude Clay · December 21, 2009, 07:45 PM

I'll add concerning 308; get federal gold match and shoot it only in your gun.
you will than only have to resize the neck. reload ( Varget) to the same point of impact as the federal round.
good luck

rolyasm · December 21, 2009, 07:53 PM

thanks everyone. Kind of gives me a range to look for. Sounds like a lot of the stores are about the same prices. We have a gun show coming up so I wanted to be prepared. Sometimes they really try to jack things up at our show. Thanks.
Roly

Doby45 · December 21, 2009, 11:46 PM

Last show I was at (approx 2 months ago) they were asking $50 per 1000 Wolf SPP. I looked at the guy and said "Are you joking?" he looked at me like I called his mom a bad name and I walked on.

Fullthrottle · December 22, 2009, 12:04 AM

For my local area I am paying $4.79 per 100 primers no matter the type/size. The gun shows have produced no primers or Reloading components in my neck of the woods! However the local gun stores have a fair amount of most components, primers, powder, so-so on the bullets.(been limited on .45, but .357.,38,.40sw,9mm no problem, usually Speer, Sierra, Hornady!)

December 21, 2009, 12:17 PM	#1
rolyasm Member Join Date: August 13, 2008 Posts: 66	What should I be paying for primers, powder, etc. Hi all. Have my Hornady LNL under the tree and get to open it Christmas day. I want to start purchasing loading supplies but am not sure on pricing. I see so many different prices around that I'm not sure what a good, average price is. If anyone has some quick ideas what I should be paying for these and some online supply sites, it would be helpful. 1)primers 2)powder 3)bullets (.44 mag, .45, .308, 9mm) 4)brass (same as bullets) Thanks. Roly Last edited by rolyasm; December 21, 2009 at 12:19 PM. Reason: just more junk

December 21, 2009, 12:25 PM	#2
Nate1778 Senior Member Join Date: January 21, 2009 Location: Louisville Ky Posts: 312	1. ~$30 per K 2. ~$20 per pound 3. ~anywhere from .02-.20 per depending on your flavor. 4. ~Anywhere from $30-100 per k (free if you pick it up off the range floor). __________________ "And finally, the Baby Bear looked and he said, "Somebody's sleeping in my bed, and the bastard's still there!" But Goldylocks had a Remington semi-automatic, with a scope and a hair-trigger!"

December 21, 2009, 12:46 PM	#4
Unclenick Staff Join Date: March 4, 2005 Location: Ohio Posts: 21,063	The short answer is, what the market will bear. We are just starting to come off the shortage of the last three years, so prices are a lot higher in some places than others. I saw a post the other day indicating a gun show where primers varied 2:1 in price. At this point a lot of them seem to be in the area of $30 a thousand, as Nate said. Anything under $25/thousand would be a really good price now. Since I expect them to come down, I would not buy more than I need for a few months at a time. The exception might be jacketed bullets, as the spot metals market prices affect those most. If that market is going up again (as it has been for copper) then you might not see a future break. It depends when the bullet maker do their purchasing? The competition for copper and lead is China, and the drop in the dollar isn't helping with metals. Nate's brass prices are for once-fired. The last new .45 ACP price I saw was approaching $140/1000. Buy new pistol brass direct from Starline or Scharch Manufacturing (Top Brass). Winchester brand .308 is close to $300/1000 at Midway, so I would figure $250/1000 to be a good price. Unless you are loading for match shooting, you may not need that much rifle brass at one time, anyway? __________________ Gunsite Orange Hat Family Member CMP Certified GSM Master Instructor NRA Certified Rifle Instructor NRA Benefactor Member and Golden Eagle Last edited by Unclenick; December 21, 2009 at 12:51 PM.

December 21, 2009, 06:25 PM	#5
azar92 Senior Member Join Date: April 16, 2009 Location: Utah Posts: 209	All the previous posters have given good feedback already. Ultimately, it depends on your area. Around here I expect to pay: Primers: $28-$32 per 1,000 Powder: $19-$25 (pistol) $25-$30 (rifle) per 1lb cannister (excluding the more expensive Vihtavuori powders). Brass (very caliber dependent): $26-$30 per 50 (rifle). I use free range brass for pistol, so I don't know about local pistol brass prices. Bullets: $25-$30 per 100 for jacketed cup & core rifle. $21-$27 per 250 plated pistol. Bullets you can find cheaper over the internet, but depending on the shipping charges it often evens out. I don't buy in large enough volumes to consider paying a hazmat fee so I only buy powders and primers locally. I think the price of powder is a bit inflated in my area, but since people are willing to pay it that's what it is... Last edited by azar92; December 22, 2009 at 10:54 AM.

December 21, 2009, 07:45 PM	#8
Claude Clay Senior Member Join Date: March 14, 2007 Location: CT Posts: 325	I'll add concerning 308; get federal gold match and shoot it only in your gun. you will than only have to resize the neck. reload ( Varget) to the same point of impact as the federal round. good luck __________________ NRA Instructor -- NRA Basic Pistol & Re-Loading Make a fire for a man and you warm him for the night Light him on fire and you warm him for the rest of his life

December 21, 2009, 12:30 PM	#3
spacecoast Senior Member Join Date: October 14, 2009 Location: Sunshine and Keystone States Posts: 4,461	Roughly speaking, for pistol rounds powder is approx. 1-2 cents per round, bullets are 8 cents (lead round nose) and up, and primers are 3-4 cents each. Bullets are sold by the 100, 250, 500 and 1000 (it varies), powder by the 1 lb, 4 lb or 8 lb sizes (it varies), and primers by the thousand. It helps to buy online in bulk because there is $20-25 hazmat fee for powder and primer shipments. Some good sites are: http://www.natchezss.com/ http://www.midwayusa.com/ http://www.cabelas.com/ Each of the big powder manufacturers (Hodgdon, Accurate, Alliant, etc.) has a web site with powder descriptions and loading data. Spend some time researching powders, bullets for various purposes, etc. and you should be able to figure out what to get.

December 21, 2009, 07:35 PM	#6
BigJimP Senior Member Join Date: February 23, 2005 Posts: 13,195	In my area - I made a buy last week: a. CCI primers were $ 35 per 1,000 b. powder in 8 lb keg was $ 150 / or about $ 19 a lb. c. brass / I pick up range brass - so nothing d. bullets - FMJ bullets $ 0.08 for 124 gr 9mm to $ 0.12 each for 230gr .45acp / buy in case lots.

December 21, 2009, 07:38 PM	#7
DiscoRacing Senior Member Join Date: December 19, 2008 Location: milton, wv Posts: 3,640	wallytown here has any of them caliber bullets for around 20 bucks per hundred

December 21, 2009, 07:53 PM	#9
rolyasm Member Join Date: August 13, 2008 Posts: 66	thanks everyone. Kind of gives me a range to look for. Sounds like a lot of the stores are about the same prices. We have a gun show coming up so I wanted to be prepared. Sometimes they really try to jack things up at our show. Thanks. Roly

December 21, 2009, 11:46 PM	#10
Doby45 Senior Member Join Date: January 19, 2009 Location: Powder Springs, GA Posts: 213	Last show I was at (approx 2 months ago) they were asking $50 per 1000 Wolf SPP. I looked at the guy and said "Are you joking?" he looked at me like I called his mom a bad name and I walked on.

December 22, 2009, 12:04 AM	#11
Fullthrottle Senior Member Join Date: October 24, 2009 Posts: 280	For my local area I am paying $4.79 per 100 primers no matter the type/size. The gun shows have produced no primers or Reloading components in my neck of the woods! However the local gun stores have a fair amount of most components, primers, powder, so-so on the bullets.(been limited on .45, but .357.,38,.40sw,9mm no problem, usually Speer, Sierra, Hornady!) __________________ When seconds count, why is help minutes away?