Primers; What was the least you paid?

[BigDaddy]

Tonight my son asked me if he should stock up on primers. I haven't been able to go prairie dog hunting or even get to the range because of a move, Covid and a lack of a convenient range for years.
So I looked on-line. Holy Moly or, as I saw on another forum Holly Molly

$85 - $130 when did that happen?

Back to Question A: What was the least per $1000 you paid and when? I swear I remember $14-15 but that would have been when I started reloading in the early 80's

Question B: Would you stock up now? The online sites I looked at had primers in stock, but I remember Eisenhower's heart attack and at least 3 or 4 primer shortages in my reloading lifetime. On the basis of that, I would if I were an frequent shooter and reloader, but what do you think?
Is it based of shortages, price increases or nefarious future excise tax?

 

[spoon059]

I was at Green Top in Richmond yesterday. $130/1000 for SRP, I think $90/1000 for SPP.

At those prices, it doesn't make much sense to buy primers. I bought 1000 rounds of 9mm at PSA this week for $240.

Sent from my SM-S916U using Tapatalk

 

[Uncle Duke]

I seem to remember primers at 12.00 per thousand. That's some 40 or so years ago now.

Primers could commonly be had for $30.00 per thousand as late as the summer of 2019. With spring and summer 2019 rebates, they could even be had for awhile at 20% less.

Primers have generally tripled in price over the last 4 years. Sometimes priced a bit less. Oftentimes priced a bit more.

 

[toppkatt]

I just found a guy selling them for $60/1000. Only had limited amount and no Lg MAG Rifle primers :-(

 

[erwos]

Just checked. I bought a case of Federal small pistol primers for $170 (not including shipping and hazmat) back in 2020 right before the pandemic, and that was considered "high". $150 was not uncommon. I think we will eventually see $200 per case come back, but let's be realistic, we've had three years of substantial inflation and supply chain disruption, the days of $125/5k are not coming back anytime soon.

 

[Cool_Moo5e]

been buying the stuff to reload my own ammo and yeah sadly I think 9 cents a primer is here to stay for a while longer, figure people started reloading during covid then we have had the 2 wars going on so you got people like me starting.

 

[Biggfoot44]

The Current New Normal is $85/ 1000 being cheap .

At those prices buy what you will use , but don't stack deep unless you are extra paranoid .

For context , we went thru about a year of ZERO primers available thru distribution channels . People breaking out their stashes were selling $30 & up per hundred . What few hit dealers were rationed 100 per customer .

If you * needed * primers for a hunting handload , or an oddball caliber , had to suck it up , or not shoot .

 

[Blacksmith101]

If the newest ammo supply shortage has indeed begun and if it follows the pattern when the factory loaded ammo disappears the next items will be the reloading supplies including primers and finally reloading equipment.

So keep your eyes open and be aware of what the supply situation is or one day you will want to go to the range and find the shelves at your favorite ammo store BARE.

 

[erwos]

The Current New Normal is $85/ 1000 being cheap .

I bought 5k SPP for $310. The deals are out there. I don't love Ginex, but it's usable enough.

 

[guzma393]

Cheapest I've ever gotten primers were at 25 bucks/1000 from some MDS users around here 3-4 years ago.
I was able to score 4k CCI spp at bass pro shops at 3.5 cents per primer before covid started affecting things.
I remember religiously checking for primer drops during covid, scoring cases for around 5 cents per primer, mainly srp/spp.
Now that things have finally settled down, I simply just need to go on ammoseek to find the cheapest primers around. I am having good luck with murom kvb-223 primers for srp use, and even spp use for pccs and hard striking handguns. They go for 6 cents per primer. Cheapest I've seen spps were those servicios adventures primers at 5.5 cents per primer, but I haven't had a chance to but a case of those yet. I try to stay away from ginex as I really gotta crunch them on the upstrokes in my progressives, and even then, I feel like they are not seated adequately.

 

[K31]

I think I was paying under $20 a brick for CCI back in 2007 or so. I remember because I ventured into a gun store in Silver Spring about that time and they wanted $25 which I thought was outrageous.

 

[Rockzilla]

$9.90 per 1k don't know when
Then I think $10 per K
Still have bout 25k or more Fed / CCI SRP not really a lot
Only thing I would need to buy 209 Shotgun primers. Maybe some SPP later setting on a "lot" of 9 brass

-Rock

 

[md123]

This thread gives me the sads.

I bought several k of Winchester SPP for $30 / k right before the wuhan corona virus was released.

 

[lazarus]

$9.90 per 1k don't know when
Then I think $10 per K
Still have bout 25k or more Fed / CCI SRP not really a lot
Only thing I would need to buy 209 Shotgun primers. Maybe some SPP later setting on a "lot" of 9 brass

-Rock

I thought I was doing good on SPP. I think I have around 15k. SRP is a lot less 5 or 6k. Most of the rest I only have 2-3k. Though I think LPP I might have 4k.

Might cheapest was $32 a bit before COVID on a few bricks. I was just getting into reloading December of 2019. And then I stocked up a fair amount spring of 2020 before every disappeared and prices skyrocketed. I've bought a lot since, so my diluted cost per primer is probably sitting around 6cpp. Some of those primers were by necessity because I got into loading something new. Some were because I stumbled on a good deal at the time, and when primers were rare and 11-12cpp, 8cpp shipped for 2 or 3 bricks seemed like a fantastic deal.

Now I am sitting on things. The only things I'd really like a some LRPM, as I have none (though I don't own a LRPM caliber. Yet). Though no hurry there. I can wait till prices come down. And I'd like some more SRP. Part of my issue is that for SRP, I own a HUGE variety. Like 1k of everyone's. I think CCI is the only manufacturer where I have more than 1k (maybe Win too?). I really don't want to have to keep working up loads as I run through bricks. Not a big deal with my 62 and 55gr plinking stuff as that is all loaded fairly mild.

So SRP, I'd really like to pickup 2-5k of someone's SRP, so I can stick with it for all of my hunting and precision loads. But I can also wait till prices (I hope!) come down a lot more. Not paying 6+CPP for a case of SRP. At least not till I am desperate.

 

[newmuzzleloader]

Back in '08 I bought a Savage 10ML II muzzleloader from Natchez. UPS left the box sitting on the front steps. Savage recommends Win. 209 or Fed. 209 shotshell primers when it's loaded with smokeless powder so I picked up a few packs. This weekend, while going through my hunting bag, I found some stashed in a pocket I didn't remember having. They had to have been bought in 08 or 09.
Winchester W209 $3.95/100
I just bought 1000 Fed 209A from Medusa Joe at $90.
Prices have more than doubled in 15 years.

 

[Doco Overboard]

I had two misfires yesterday with some Remington mag primers I used to load some test rounds.
Never ever have I had that happen in reloading thousands of hand loads for my rifles.

 

[John from MD]

.89 cents a hundred from Locks Gun Shop in Philadelphia back in the early '70's.

 

[outrider58]

I had two misfires yesterday with some Remington mag primers I used to load some test rounds.
Never ever have I had that happen in reloading thousands of hand loads for my rifles.

Large or small rifle?

 

[Doco Overboard]

Large rifle / Magnum
If my memory serves me correctly they are designated 9 1/2 by Remington.
They have a brite green or yellowish foil.
First to act up was my No 1 rifle then the other a Browning bolt gun.
One misfire in each rifle only.
First time I ever experienced anything like it with anything I ever loaded out.
The other thing is, it was each the second round expended between each rifle and there were six more consecutively issued shots with no issue and to a high degree of accuracy 1 , 2 and three hundred yards.
At 8 or 9 dollars a tray or whatever it is these days not very confidence inspiring to say the least.
Although I have read ,or seem to recall somehow understanding other shooters reporting easily crushed primer pellets with Remington products at some time or another.
I wrap all my primers in Saran Wrap prior to storage and manage them very carefully.
They should be 10 or 15 dollars a thousand but those days are evidently over.

 

[85MikeTPI]

I had two misfires yesterday with some Remington mag primers I used to load some test rounds.
Never ever have I had that happen in reloading thousands of hand loads for my rifles.

NOS or recently purchased? I'm curious if the Rem Bankruptcy was a demarcation between primer consistency ?