Thread: Powder supply

Hi after 50 years of factory ammo I have just started reloading. as a mate said its a rabbit hole you fall down.My query is can anyone give me a rundown on powder availability in NZ and the outlook as I struggled to get powder before lockdown (Im in Tasman) Cheers Ross

It's not just powder. 99% of the components are made overseas. Shipments are arriving sporadically and manufacturers are focusing on their most popular lines.

The last container had a few types of Hornady 6.5 and 7mm projectiles. Not much else.

The last powder drop was a few months ago. Didn't contain everything.

A large portion of stuff coming in is going towards fulfilling backorders.

cheers bet place an order then...

As mentioned above there’s a bit of a squeeze with supply around the world as there’s been a huge demand within the US with 10 million new shooters since the US elections last year.

Reloading is certainly a rabbit hole but it’s very rewarding.

If your ordering powder, projectiles in the South Island a great supplier and prompt delivery is Canterbury Gunworks as they can send powder within the south, not so for the north island unless they’ve since got that sorted.

Check there website for availability or just give them a call as their service is top notch.

Yes, have a chat with your nearest shop and put yourself down for whatever bits you require. Be prepared to wait or settle for for alternatives. Prices are going up. Now's not a bad time to own a 270 or a 25-06, since they're among the least popular calibres these days.

What's happened is: US election came up -> Democratic candidate won -> People panicked and ran out and bought all the guns -> All the new gun owners (vast majority of whom do not reload) bought up all the ammo -> Existing reloaders chuckled to themselves for about 5 minutes -> Gun owners started buying presses and started reloading -> Supplies dried up quicker than the existing reloaders could say "oh shit" -> Supply and demand causing prices to skyrocketing, aided by fkn scalpers -> Manufacturers aim to satisfy increased local demand first and exports slow -> Our supplies dried up -> Here we are.

This happens every election in the states but the pandemic has compounded the idiocy and made things 5x worse. Things are only VERY slowly calming down.

We're an afterthought for ADI who makes most of our powder too. Most of that's still heading to the US or for military contracts.

Next ADI powder shipment is planned for October (doesn’t guarantee it will happen then though).
I think I read somewhere that the last shipment only filled about 40% of back orders?

Thanks guys ,its bloody hard to figure out where I am online so this has cleared it up....while I'm online I m looking to reload grandkids 243 and my 7mm08 with one powder any recommendations, was thinking AR2209 but I gather that's beyond gold as well!

Originally Posted by fosfitz

Thanks guys ,its bloody hard to figure out where I am online so this has cleared it up....while I'm online I m looking to reload grandkids 243 and my 7mm08 with one powder any recommendations, was thinking AR2209 but I gather that's beyond gold as well!

It's probably closer to platinum.

Last ADI shipment was almost 12 months late. Don't put a certainty on an October delivery.

As advised, put in a preorder somewhere and order more than you think you will need. They will knock you back if you're gready
Primers should be stocked up on. There are dribbles coming thru but blood curdling prices for the likes of CCI BR2 and BR4.
Even the good alternatives ex Europe like Fiocchi and RWS have virtually disappeared.

Add in a shortage of some dies as well.

Not many powders suitable for both calibres I use AR2206H as my all round powder works well in the .308 case which the .243 and 7mm08 are based on
Winchester has a new powder out that will work in both called StaBALL 6.5 there is a small supply at the Wholesaler your local gunshop should have no trouble
ordering some.

For those cals your probably better with 2208/Varget or 2206H/H4895. 2209 is a slower burning powder more suited to 30-06, 270 etc.

As BSA said im using 2208 for my 243 and 708 loads

2209 was often hard to get hold of before all the recent supply issues, but does work well in the 243.

2209 is gold in 243 and 708. Too hard to find now though

Originally Posted by Hbwanderer

As BSA said im using 2208 for my 243 and 708 loads

+1

Cant speak for 2209 but 2208 was gold in my 243 95gr and under