Reloading supplies most wanted?

[ShootinIron]

What reloading “supplies” would you most like your local gun shop to carry? Powder (pistol or rifle, manufacture), Bullets (type, (lead, HP, FMJ, etc), cal. and weight), Primers (manufacture), anything else (brass, etc.)?

 

[Redskinsfan]

Primers, pistol and rifle.

Terry

 

[Dr.Midnight]

I would be thrilled if they carried some powder and primers at a reasonable price.

 

[indygunguy]

Plated pistol bullets... 45acp, 230gr RN.

 

[chuddly]

primers and powder. If they carried those at a reasonable price i wouldnt even think about buying anywhere else. the only place local to me that sells that stuff marks it up a TON! I know the guy has to make money but he is at least 35-40% higher than the other retail stores.

 

[Leo]

I seriously researched opening a reloading shop. The business model just cannot work on a local store basis.
Those items that are subject to high frieght because of weight or hazmat charges being powder or primers are hard to make money on. Lead bullets are a point. Say cast bullets are at a distributer for $80/1000 and the shipping is $15, it is $95 coming in the door. Say you put a $15 mark up on it, that makes it $110/1000. 9 guys out of ten will say they saw them on the internet for $90 and refuse to buy.

Say the distributer has Winchester primers for $28 and a shop buys 20 boxes. Add $25 Hazmat and $25 shipping. Remember, you can only ship 50 lbs, including the required double packaging per HAZ mat. That is $2.50 per 1000 over head so it is $30.50 going in the door. If you add $4 per box markup, that is $34.50, and people get offended.

In addition to powder having the same problems, there are too many powders out there. A shop can have 45 different kinds of powder on the shelf, but 9 times out of 10 the customer wants something else. The only place I saw powder really work was a high volume shotgun place that the customers bought by the KEG or case.

The only way to really make that business work is if you have enough volume to buy the stuff a truckload at a time. Of course government zoning and insurance REALLY starts to get serious when you have a truckload of gun powder and primers on site. Most local town shops just do not have enough reloading customers to make that happen, but they bust their butts to do the best they can.

 

[chuddly]

LEO the problem with what you are saying is that you are quoteing prices that are at retail already. Heck you said primers are $28 a box but i know i got them for $25 per 1000 and you know they are making money off of it and they sold out within 3 weeks anyway. Like i said i know the guy has to make money....BUT...he gets a price break. I am also willing to pay a few dollars extra for a local shop but not the mark up for my local guy. I do understand the powder problem but carry some major brands and people will try it. If they dont want to try it then tell them its a special order and either you will get it with your next order or it will have a higher price because it will be by its self/a smaller order. I agree that not ever shop can do reloading...but from what i see VERY few carry anything.

 

[Broom_jm]

I seriously researched opening a reloading shop. The business model just cannot work on a local store basis.
Those items that are subject to high frieght because of weight or hazmat charges being powder or primers are hard to make money on. Lead bullets are a point. Say cast bullets are at a distributer for $80/1000 and the shipping is $15, it is $95 coming in the door. Say you put a $15 mark up on it, that makes it $110/1000. 9 guys out of ten will say they saw them on the internet for $90 and refuse to buy.

Say the distributer has Winchester primers for $28 and a shop buys 20 boxes. Add $25 Hazmat and $25 shipping. Remember, you can only ship 50 lbs, including the required double packaging per HAZ mat. That is $2.50 per 1000 over head so it is $30.50 going in the door. If you add $4 per box markup, that is $34.50, and people get offended.

In addition to powder having the same problems, there are too many powders out there. A shop can have 45 different kinds of powder on the shelf, but 9 times out of 10 the customer wants something else. The only place I saw powder really work was a high volume shotgun place that the customers bought by the KEG or case.

The only way to really make that business work is if you have enough volume to buy the stuff a truckload at a time. Of course government zoning and insurance REALLY starts to get serious when you have a truckload of gun powder and primers on site. Most local town shops just do not have enough reloading customers to make that happen, but they bust their butts to do the best they can.

With all due respect -- HOGWASH!

First of all, the prices you're quoting from a distributor are high. Secondly, when you buy/ship in bulk, you don't buy just 20 boxes of primers...you buy 200, which still won't weigh more than about 100 pounds, so your overhead is NOT $2.50...it's $.50.

I understand the point of business is to make a buck, but when local businesses buy 50 pounds of powder for $20/ea, pay a SINGLE $27.50 hazmat fee (it went up) and then turn around and label the container with $38.50...that's just price gouging, plain n' simple.

What I want from a reloading store is, well...reloading components! I want primers, powders and bullets, all at a fair price. I'm not expecting to pay the same price I would from a huge online store, but I don't want to see a nearly 100% markup, either.

There was a time when the retail price of a manufactured product was very predictably 600% of the cost of production. If it cost $4 to produce a pound of powder, it would retail for $24. This model worked very well. These days it seems everything is "speculative", which is a nice way of saying it's not tied to cost of production OR even to supply and demand. Whether it's gasoline or reloading components, they are being treated as commodities and vendors just keep charging more and more for it, to see what consumers might actually pay.

With enough dumb consumers out there, the prices go up and stay there, the proprietor makes a very good profit, and the cycle continues.

 

[mdemetz]

Two dealers I know of use truck freight with local delivery to avoid hazmat fees. One of them orders a skid of stuff at a time from a distributor and gets a price break on shipping.

 

[Leo]

I have been called out fair enough. To start with, I actually received 5000 Winchester 209 primmers this morning. The factory box inside the mandatory over pack was 14 pounds. Also in the box was 10,000 Small pistol primers, in two factory boxes that weigh about 5 lbs a piece. The over pack box and the other packing weigh about 6 lbs, plus you forgot that even after the hazmat, you still have to pay shipping. This bill was $22.
So the bulk quantities do not work out as well as one would think.

I have actually shipped Pallets of stock, and paid the frieght bill. You have to really have a lot of pieces to break even, and a local shop just does not have that kind of volume.

If you know a retail place that sells a steady supply of Winchester Primers for $25/1000 out the door please let me know, I will never again mail order or pay haz mat. I cannot depend on a guy that can "sometimes" get some. The best I have seen even at gun shows in the last couple years is $32 per 1000. Please do not muddy the water with 3rd world commie products, as that is not apples to apples. I have no Idea what it costs to make powder, but I have the distributers price chart. I do know that it takes less than $5,000 parts and labor to make a brand new top of the line Jeep Cherokee, good luck getting one for that.

Now pay the insurance, lights, zoning, licensing, and other taxes, and all the accounting it takes to run a retail store. No one is getting fat selling primers and powder out of a local retail establishment.

 

[deanald2pt0]

Maybe I'm just not looking in the right places, but it's hard to find places around Indy that have much of a selection in the way of reloading components and equipment at a reasonable price.

I used to get powder and primers from Indiana Gun Club, but haven't been up there in a while.

 

[chuddly]

Cabela's had CCi's for $25 per 1000...if you dont get them there Granger Guns has Winchester and another brand (popular brand but cant think of what it is) EVERYDAY of the week for $30 a 1000. There are 2 that i know of so they both cant be loosing money. Also primers and powder dont take up that much space so retail space isnt really the issue here either.

I have been called out fair enough. To start with, I actually received 5000 Winchester 209 primmers this morning. The factory box inside the mandatory over pack was 14 pounds. Also in the box was 10,000 Small pistol primers, in two factory boxes that weigh about 5 lbs a piece. The over pack box and the other packing weigh about 6 lbs, plus you forgot that even after the hazmat, you still have to pay shipping. This bill was $22.
So the bulk quantities do not work out as well as one would think.

I have actually shipped Pallets of stock, and paid the frieght bill. You have to really have a lot of pieces to break even, and a local shop just does not have that kind of volume.

If you know a retail place that sells a steady supply of Winchester Primers for $25/1000 out the door please let me know, I will never again mail order or pay haz mat. I cannot depend on a guy that can "sometimes" get some. The best I have seen even at gun shows in the last couple years is $32 per 1000. Please do not muddy the water with 3rd world commie products, as that is not apples to apples. I have no Idea what it costs to make powder, but I have the distributers price chart. I do know that it takes less than $5,000 parts and labor to make a brand new top of the line Jeep Cherokee, good luck getting one for that.

Now pay the insurance, lights, zoning, licensing, and other taxes, and all the accounting it takes to run a retail store. No one is getting fat selling primers and powder out of a local retail establishment.

 

[Leo]

When Veldon and Mike Smith ran Indiana gun club, they had a pretty good business with powder and primers. They were primarily shotgun related, but they had othe stuff also. I only used to buy kegs and cases from them but I think they had some products in 1 lb containers. I hear the new guy is pretty good, but I have not been there since 2006. I know there are some pretty avid shotgunners around here, maybe we could get an update.

 

[Leo]

Where is Cabelas? Do they have quantities, like 5000 of a size at at time? There was one in Merrillville at 30 & I 65 last I was up there. They were not very good to deal with last I was there, but that was several years ago.

 

[LFD102]

There's no good places in the Indy area for supplies or equipment with out having to order them?

 

[indygunguy]

There's no good places in the Indy area for supplies or equipment with out having to order them?

There are good places. The Indiana Gun Club has good prices on powder and primers. Plainfield Shooting Supplies has good prices on powder and primers. Bradis is stocking primers, Lee dies, and even has Berry's bullets (and congrats to Bradis on gun shop of the year!). And if you are looking for lead bullets, you can't go wrong with Scroggins Gun Shop in Martinsville.

 

[LFD102]

There are good places. The Indiana Gun Club has good prices on powder and primers. Plainfield Shooting Supplies has good prices on powder and primers. Bradis is stocking primers, Lee dies, and even has Berry's bullets (and congrats to Bradis on gun shop of the year!). And if you are looking for lead bullets, you can't go wrong with Scroggins Gun Shop in Martinsville.

what about Presses and other related equipment or am I just looking in the wrong places

 

[Slim400]

Reloading supplies

Reloading supplies I understand that there is a need for a reloading supply in the metro area are almost anywhere and I would tell you that I have seriously considered this idea contacted each of the manufacturers and talk to them about what's involved to become a distributor or dealer it can be done for as little as $10,000 to get started I can also tell you this but after I looked at a recommended stocking list it won't scratch the surface to those that believe their dealer is getting rich I will tell you that a really well-stocked store with sufficient quantities and selection to meet most customers needs the number we came up with was somewhere right around 250,000 here's the problem the profit margin of 25% to33% on the product what you will actually sell it for if you keep those funds in the bank and for a significant period of time you make better money on the bank with no hassle for those that don't believe this all I have to say you just take your quarter of million and give it a shot on top of that with the reloading store you have a huge liability issue being that if you sell anything with the word once fired on at you will find it very difficult to impossible to purchase a liability insurance also someone was talking about buying powder in large bulk quantities and repackaging it try to find an insurance liability company for that we often heard horror stories about court system anybody with enough capital to get this done that wants to get involved with it when they have trouble buying insurance and risk everything that they might have when somebody bought the supplies and couldn't read a book and follow recommended guidelines and then decides that because the weapon exploded it is this dealer's problem all I have to say is give it a shot I am not trying to be smart or wise I am just telling you the way to look at this lock up 250,000 in stock it taks a long time to get your money back all so most vendors dont take back stock which stock that dose not sell you will discount till it moves or trash it

 

[wsenefeld]

Powder (pistol/rifle), primers (pistol/rifle), bullets (fmj plinking). I've never bought from a local shop because the mark-up is too high. $22-$28 for 1lb of powder, $34-37 for 1k primers, and $17.99 per 100 bullets of 115gn fmj for my 9mm...

For $20 I can buy 100 rounds of 9mm live factory ammo in brass cases. There was no discount at this store for buying in larger quantities. If you reload to save money, you just can't do it that way.

 

[chuddly]

Where is Cabelas? Do they have quantities, like 5000 of a size at at time? There was one in Merrillville at 30 & I 65 last I was up there. They were not very good to deal with last I was there, but that was several years ago.

as to where they all are i have no idea. A buddy of mine picked some up for me when he was in there last (about a 3 weeks ago). He walked out with about 6k primers and they still had plenty of them left (all cci 500 small pistol)