Comments on: Need Powder? Chris Hodgdon Talks About Supply and Demand…

By: Gordon Couger

Gordon Couger — Sun, 02 Dec 2018 21:58:23 +0000

I expect there were many like me that when we saw ammo start to dry up we bought lots of power, primers, bullets, cases, bullet molds, lead, etc and stored them against future need.

By: Gene

Gene — Mon, 30 Jan 2017 20:00:48 +0000

We ; as shooters , and hunters need to consider that hunting seasons are coming to a close , and maybe ? Just maybe , a lot of powder went in that direction for the last few months .
And the competition season is beginning on the west side of the country , with the “Berger” coming up in a few weeks . Sooooo….Just because you walked into your local supplier and couldn’t walk out with everything “YOU” wanted…well get over it . As another guy said ; the internet is a amazing place . In five minutes , I located nine suppliers for Varget , and A-4350 , so rather than whine about it , get pro-active and look for it .
I don’t have deep pockets , so I am forced to buy 1 lb’ers but I can buy them a couple a month , and I try to get the same lot #’s when possible .
Improvise ! Adapt ! Overcome ! Put on your big-girl panties and stop whining .We’re supposed to be men here . I thought….

By: Eaglesnester

Eaglesnester — Mon, 30 Jan 2017 18:51:18 +0000

I think that the first post, stating that market speculators are buying up all the powder. If this were true u would at least be able to find it somewhere. The hoarders and speculators want to sell it to make a profit. If that were the case you would at least be able to find powder. You cant find powder anywhere. So how are the speculators making money?

By: NRA Endowment Member 1967

NRA Endowment Member 1967 — Tue, 17 Feb 2015 20:11:07 +0000

I don’t know about an overall Varget powder shortage. I know we do still have some Varget around here in Illinois. Not at the big stores recently, but some of the LGS still have it or a few 1 pounders trickle in once in awhile @ $35/lb. as teasers. I got tired of searching for 1 pounders and paying thru the nose for high performance powder.
The internet is indeed a wonderful place. I would suggest spending a little time there. I found several places on the internet recently that have Hodgdon Varget in quantity. Some hold it close to the vest and won’t ship it to you. In-store local purchases only. (I didn’t feel up to driving all the way to Nebraska.) Others treat it as a commodity and want to charge some unreasonable price for it. Thankfully there are some places that the locals don’t expect massive Zombie hoards roaming around in the immediate future and are still conducting business as usual.
Brown just delivered me (2) 8# jugs of Varget to my door step from an LGS in Pa. $164 ea. The LGS here wanted $278 per 8# jug. Plus Tax, of course. Now that’s fairly unreasonable price for ANY reload powder in my book. I saved $200 after the HAZMAT and shipping fee. Go figure. And I didn’t even have to drive around for hours in frustration cursing some prepper for rat holing MY powder and buying up all of MY 22’s.

Don’t know about a Varget powder shortage, but if you are willing to do a little research and pay the shipping costs, it’s out there and readily available.
And in my opinion, Varget is well worth the extra effort to locate.
And to clarify an earlier post…No, I don’t load the 50 BMG with Hodgdon Varget. It was only a reference to varying powder weights. I load the .308 Winchester with 46 grains of Varget behind a 165 grain BTHP. The .50 Cal is loaded with 246 grains of Hodgdon H50BMG behind a moly-coated Hornady 750 grain A-MAX. So I guess I buy a lot of H50BMG in 8# jugs too.
Point of aim. Point of impact. Fun for some. Not for all.

Shoot straight

By: Jeremiah

Jeremiah — Mon, 16 Feb 2015 03:02:18 +0000

Come on, guys! You think because someone is buying powder on eBay or GunBroker, we have a shortage? It doesn’t matter how many middle men you have taking a piece of profit. We still have a shortage. If a person didn’t buy from eBay, they’d buy from somewhere else.

By: NRA Endowment Member 1967

NRA Endowment Member 1967 — Mon, 09 Feb 2015 21:12:01 +0000

Eric,
“The answer is simple?”
Please let me know what ebay site you buy reloading powders from. Ebay doesn’t sell anything that goes ‘BOOM!’
Doesn’t sound so simple to me as it does to supposedly ‘common sense’ people. Personally, I don’t want anyone trying to keep track of what I am able to do or buy legally. ie. RELOADING.
Who in your world is it that gets to decide how many rounds any one person gets to have, shoot or reload in any one time frame? Is it a number of rounds? What about loading the 50BMG? It takes almost 6 times the powder to charge the case as it does a .308. Do I get special consideration because they take more powder? If you wake up late and head out to Cabela’s and find there are no more .22’s left, Boo Hoo. If I happen to get to the store before you do, should the LGS not make a sale to me for 6 lbs of Varget powder or 15 boxes of .22’s because you “might” swing by? The LGS I go to is in business to sell guns, ammunition, and reloading supplies. If they have 25 boxes of .22 ammo, and (2)8 LB jugs of powder and I want all of them, they sell them to me. They will sell me all they have and buy more to replace them. That’s what they are in business for. Making money. Not waiting for you to maybe swing by. They don’t really care if you want one box of fifty .22’s and aren’t there. There is no one sitting around to divvy up the supply so you get yours. If I want to reload a thousand rounds a month and go punch holes in targets every day until the sun goes down, that should be no concern of anyone’s. How much powder or how many bullets and of what kind I legally buy or have on hand is also no concern of anyone’s. Stop trying to make more rules for everyone else cause you didn’t get out of the house in time to get yours.

By: RAD175

RAD175 — Thu, 05 Feb 2015 02:21:42 +0000

Well, since January 2013 we’ve heard all about stepped up production and employees working around the clock but this is two years later and I still can’t find Varget for sale. I’d sure like to see some disclosure on the distributors that are buying it all from Hodgdon.

By: Eric Gregory

Eric Gregory — Mon, 07 Jul 2014 02:47:39 +0000

The answer is simple don’t buy reloading powder on ebay or biding website. Suport your local stores and companies that sale reloading supplies and they should limit the amount of powder you can purchase at one time. (Ie one or two 8# containers of Varget per month) Powder manufactures should give priority to those businesses that sell reloading supplies and cater to sportsmen. If individuals are trying buying large quanities of powder repeatedly their requests should be rejected or limited. Well maybe not so simple

By: gene hermann

gene hermann — Fri, 20 Jun 2014 18:18:03 +0000

what i would like is a honest answer to the powder shortage and a date when powder will be available , i live in central il.

By: Don Harris

Don Harris — Fri, 06 Jun 2014 12:29:31 +0000

I think it’s a master plan to eliminate handloading & get it to where if you want to shoot, you’ll have to buy loaded ammo,
that way the feds can control it when you have to sign for it?

“The only difference between communism & socialism is the firing squad”