Gun Shops and Reloading Supplies

[ATLDave]

I picked Unique and W231... you can load just about anything with those 2. You could probably substitute Bullseye for W231, however. You can't, however, ignore the slow powders like H110/W296, and 2400. In rifle cartridges you can get away with 2 powders... but not all pistol cartridges are the same way, generically speaking you would need a fast (W231,) medium (Unique,) and slow (W296) powder on the shelf.

Having 3 powders that are minimally sufficient to load most handgun cartridges is not a suitable approach for a store. That's like having a grocery store that stocks one kind of meat, one kind of green vegetable, and one starch because, between the 3, you can make an adequate meal. Nobody is going to shop at that store. It's not a business plan.

 

[Dunross]

His bulk of sales is a once a month bulk order he places. Customers put in their order for primes and powder during the month and at the end of the month he places a order and the one hazmat fee is spread out so it is of no concern and since he doesn't have to keep everything in inventory, he can live with less markup. Everybody wins. Said it took a few months for customers to get used to placing their orders once a month, but now its working great. At least for him

For an LGS this seems to be the way to go. There's the initial lag period as people get used to the system, but for the regulars once they have become comfortable with it then it becomes an assured supply instead of the hit or miss that so often is the case.

 

[GE-Mini-Gun]

There are two types of shops…two. Those that sell guns and accessories and those that start that way then think it would be a good idea to sell components…typically it isn’t. Reason being you will spend a lot of cash on the components, as you’ll get a couple guys looking for “X” powder and you’ll think I need to get some of that…they buy 3 pounds and you never sell another pound of it, same thing with bullets. Most of the people I know that reload, don’t purchase from the local shop as they purchase in 16lbs of powder or more at a time, plus it’s tons cheaper than local (at least for me). Another thing, there are a million threads about what someone heard said at a gun shop counter, you need people that know reloading to sell the powder, especially shotgun…George P mentioned he loaded for 3/4oz shotgun and mentioned a couple powders he used, I can think of 4 more just for that load that can be used safely…I use two. To answer your question, I would stick with powder that covers as much as possible…Clays, Titewad, Unique, 2400, 4350, 231, Bullseye, etc., some can be used in pistol and shotgun, but this all just opinion.

 

[Eddietruett]

For an LGS this seems to be the way to go. There's the initial lag period as people get used to the system, but for the regulars once they have become comfortable with it then it becomes an assured supply instead of the hit or miss that so often is the case.

It made perfectly good sense to me and I think everyone wins. I've been members of several clubs where members tried to get together and buy bulk reloading supplies going back to the early 80's. It never seemed to work well. There was always one or two that wasn't quite ready to place and order and held up everybody else. Also another problem is money. Somebody had to use a credit card to order and collecting money took forever. Amazing between grown up friends. The LGS deal is much better.