Primers As The Logistical Choke Point For Ammunition
BY Herschel Smith
4 years, 4 months ago
Jacobs tells ABC11 that his friends in the ammunition industry cite the shortage of primer as being a major factor. The primer is the chemical or device that is responsible for making the bullet combust, according to Jacobs. This key ingredient is manufactured in Italy, a country devastated by COVID-19 in recent months.
“That created this huge backlog in the need for primers,” Jacobs said.
As a result, many shops are needing to raise ammo prices. Jim’s Gun Jobbery has had to raise theirs by 100 percent.
“The manufacturer or distributor has, you know, increased the price, and so, we have to turn around and market up, in order to not lose money,” Jacobs explained.
This isn’t the first time we’ve heard primers as the critical path component for the ammunition supply problem.
On August 9, 2020 at 9:02 pm, Danny said:
Sorry, a few posts ago when the Captain mentioned reloading I bragged on my estate sale. I miscounted, I actually bought 18,000 primers, a mix of rifle and pistol. Buwhets dont go bang w/o primers – get some, get many – they have a spectactular shell life nesteled in A/C comfort. Get powder, get brass, get buwhets (Sorry, channeling Elmer), get a Lee Classic 4-hole turret press. Yes, Dillon is the shizzle but some of us have limited budgets. Get a reloading manual or 2 or 3. Standardize on caliber, me – .45ACP, 5.56 and 7.62. Yes I have a 6.8SPC cuz 10 years ago it was gonna be the .mil replacement for 5.56. Silly rabbit, they went a different direction yea same “caliber.” Yet, I can use .270 buwhets in my 6.8 SPC. Point being, availibility is drying up. Get your reloading components and tools now. Its the early COVID version of soup and TP – it will become unobtanium. Dont wait – do it NOW.
On August 9, 2020 at 9:17 pm, Danny said:
Robert and Sons has 5.56, 7.62 .300BLK and 9mm brass. Many lots out of stock. I just bought 2000 swaged, deprimed and polished 7.62 $140/500. Just bought 1500 once fired polished large primer .45ACP from Precisionbrass.net $90/500. Buy your stash NOW b4 it’s gone!
On August 9, 2020 at 10:55 pm, The Dark Lord said:
so covid19 destroys chemical factories now ??? wow … utter BS
On August 10, 2020 at 6:07 am, Marshall said:
This is why I learned how to clean and recharge fired primers for reuse. I use several non-corrosive priming compounds that I found in patents for this work. Using a small batch process, I can make ~100/day. Plus, they work perfectly in my reloads. I use them for practice rounds and save my purchased primers for more serious uses (i.e. SD and hunting ammunition). What I have learned also allows me to reload berdan primed cases and 22LR rimfire cases. It is very freeing to know that my reloading will not stop when I use my last commercial primer.
On August 10, 2020 at 7:53 am, 41mag said:
@Marshall
Care to share the process and compounds?
On August 10, 2020 at 9:45 am, Marshall said:
@41mag,
See the links here for the process and compounds:
http://aardvarkreloading.com/primers.html
Marshall
On August 10, 2020 at 9:28 pm, Danny said:
@The Dark Lord, are you in the manufacturing industry? Do you understand modern (not saying its the best model but they are geared to economies of scale). Have you ever run a manufacturing business trying to get and keep a customer that offers cash flow, your life blood if you give a whit about your employees, their livelihood and their families. What, you own a “chemical company” and now you are gonna turn on a dime and start making primers from what, your paint or pulp and paper chemical model? You are magically going to skip through the regulatory requirements to start making primers. I am the manufacturing industry. I sell to chemical companies, pulp and paper, steel, plasrics, off road mobile OEMs, food processing. Other than the companies making stuff that you eat or use to wipe your tush – they are all, wait for it, in the loo. Oh, I forgot, MAGA, bring back the industrial base we offshored for slave wages 40 years ago. But TDL says we can just retool like it was WWII and make Mustangs from our Tesla plants. What a maroon as Bugs would say. Hush, listen to the adults talking and maybe you will learn something
On August 10, 2020 at 9:42 pm, Danny said:
Oh @TDL, so now your imaginary chemical company has retooled to make primers. Who makes the brass? Have you ever been to a factory that makes virgin brass cartridge brass? Have you seen the row after row of specialized machines and tooling to turn out brass? Oh, I get it, you are gonna do a boutique earth friendly product that melts as soon as your weapon ejects it. The granola crunchers will beat a path to your door and support the tens of thousands you produce at 5 times the cost of Lake City or Remington or Winchester or CCI that produce 100s of thousands of round a DAY. Yes, Fiocchi just announced a nee factory, did you see their capex for same? 100s of $$Ms.
Wait, we need the little ammo things that come rushing out the barrel. Thats OK, my brother knows a guy whose uncle works at screw machine factory that makes a million grade 8 SCHS (socket head cap screws) a day. But wait, no lead because all the smelters were closed under Obama. Thats OK, we will repurpose tire weights from all the Pep Boys nationwide. It will be a new SBA funded FDR CCC program for patriots to start a side gig harvesting those weights? As my grandma would say – “Bless your heart”