Shortages

[Craig Wilcox]

Recently took delivery of a double 12-ga, percussion ML.  So I thought I would get some #209 primers and FFg powderto make noise with it.

BUT - there seems to be a great shortage of both!  In fact, I've been trying about every shop I can think of, and the result is the same with all of them - there are NO 209 primers, or #11 primers, and very, very little 2F powder.

Does anyone know the WHY of it?  Sure wish I did!  If there were a way to steal them out of shotgun shells, I believe I would be doing some skullduggery on the side.  Can see the headlines now, "Fourteen boxes of shotgun shells robbed of their primers...."

[alacran]

What ML shotgun uses 209 primers?

[General]

  I just attended the Ft Bridger Rendevous and scored 4 tins of #11 (they would only sell 2 per customer so I went to 2 different venders) and I saw both venders had powder.  I don't recall the venders names but the one is there every year, set up by the entrance to the range.  I can't find either locally either.  The one said that he ordered 20,000 #11 but only recieved 2000.

[Craig Wilcox]

Alacran, it is the new American  Gun Craft 12 ga double barrel pistol - has 6 " barrels, weighs about 3 lb.

[Arcturus]

There are massive shortages of all kinds of consumer goods right now, to include shooting supplies.  Anything produced in a factory for mass public consumption requires a very complex system of trade that has been disrupted by the events of the past year and a half.  Lumber, machine parts, computer chips, and yes, gunpowder... There is a price to pay when you shut down the whole world.  Once a shortage becomes known, people buy up and hoard available supplies at a way faster rate than maximum worldwide production of the product can sustain.  Shortages of lots of consumer goods will last for at least a couple of years. 

[stikshooter]

What ML shotgun uses 209 primers?

The one owned by a guy that being a new owner would like to hear it go bang, so looks for other ways to make it happen
Even using a popular alternative to caps using 209 primers . The other use for said shotgun would be a expensive fence post !/Ed

[alacran]

Around the middle of August, both Wal-Mart's in my area had both 209 primers and #11 caps.
I bought 2 tons of # 11, though I'm well stocked. Just in case someone at the club needs some.
Usually Wallyworlds stock moves pretty fast.

[Osprey]

Walmarts in my area are slim pickings, none of them have caps.  I hit every one I saw between Eastern Shore of MD and the CLA show in KY and found one store in Pennsylvania that had a single box on the shelf of CCA #11, I grabbed 6 tins and was very happy!  Nothing stocked up locally since...

[oldhunter1954]

Are you perhaps close to a gun range or club that does Black Powder. I am close to Palm Bay, Florida. All us guys have 2f, 3f, black powder and #10,#11 caps, etc. I am sure someone would loan you enough stuff to make smoke. I have done it in the past.

[Gaeckle]

The Log Cabin may have what you need, give them a call

[bones92]

What is perplexing to me is how all the ammo and powder makers claim to be operating at full capacity... and I don't doubt them... but yet nothing is available in stores or online.  Is it because all the current production is going to backorders?  You'd think that supplies would catch up to backorders and we'd see stuff showing up on shelves again.  But that's yet to happen.

I can only surmise that people are just buying up everything whether they need it or not.   Just to have it.    Makes me want to just sit tight and not buy anything until supplies return.   Hopefully.

[TommyG]

Bones, I have noticed the same, although there are some stores in my area that are somewhat stocked(unmentionable ammo) once again.  I think there are a lot of moving parts and forces at work with the shortages we are experiencing today.  IMO I think this supply chain thing is going to get worse before it gets better.  I also don't believe in hoarding, but I do believe in being prepared.

[Bob Roller]

I recently sold several thousand center fire rifle and pistol primers to 2 different gun shops and still have enough for my needs.I have made primer ignition adapters to use large or small pistol primers to use on caplock rifles ln the long gone past and they work fine.These are nothing new and I think Major Ned Roberts mentions thm in his book called "The Muzzle Loading Caplock Rifle."
Bob Roller

[Bob McBride]

My Walmart only has half the shelves at 100%. My gun stores are half empty. There are 500 container ships lined up in the Gulf of Mexico to get into the Port of Houston.

The forums that support my other hobbies, Computers, Photography, and Video editing (surprise, surprise) are full to the brim with folks shocked at the fact that there is a backlog of professional quality lenses, computer graphics cards, and many other high tech items. My wife works for Toyota and their assembly lines are basically shut down waiting on critical components. Thank goodness we are the World’s bread basket….

….and yea, the mail is running late….   

Welcome to today.

[Bob McBride]

Not that you guys aren’t fully aware, but man, ‘shortages’ is all of our middle names right now.

[ghostdncr]

I recently sold several thousand center fire rifle and pistol primers to 2 different gun shops and still have enough for my needs.I have made primer ignition adapters to use large or small pistol primers to use on caplock rifles ln the long gone past and they work fine.These are nothing new and I think Major Ned Roberts mentions thm in his book called "The Muzzle Loading Caplock Rifle."
Bob Roller

I was looking through my copy just yesterday and yes, Maj. Roberts included quite a bit of info on these devices. I should probably make a few for my cap guns, just to be on the safe side...

[Bruce Mattes]

I watched a YouTube video several weeks ago that explained that many of the world wide shortages of consumer products are the result of container ships deadheading back to their ports of origin without any containers loaded aboard. I cannot  recall the exact reason for this, but the narrator of the video made it quite clear that this was by no means restricted to the United States. He stated that every major, and many minor, ports had massive quantities of empty shipping containers just sitting around taking up space. A lack of semi tractor trailer drivers is in no small way contributing to the problem.