Powder and Hazmat charge

How do you get your powders

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deadeyedog270

deadeyedog270

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Joined
Oct 22, 2009
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162
Location
Maine
I got my Lee reloading manual second edition last week and have gotten through most of it.
how ever I can not find any local suppliers of powders my closest is a 4 hour drive round trip and most of time powders not in stock, I have 4 differnt powders I need plan on only 1 lb size bottles at this time
with gas prices 1/2 tank in the truck is around $40, to me it sound like it is worth just paying the $20-$25 hazmat to ship to the house.
 
Go to Powder Valley and get all of your powder and primers under a single hazmat charge.
 
Ditto Junkie. Ordering in bulk, local dealers can't begin to touch PV prices, even with S&H and HAZMAT included.
 
Both local supplier and mail order. But I prefer local obviously due to the associated haz fee.
 
The key is making the order large enough to make the HazMat charge worth it. We normally get several of us together and place a powder order for around 50 to 60 pounds of powder at a time. It's much cheaper that way.

There are a few companies that figure the HazMat into the price. Connie's Components is one: http://conniescomponents.com/index.html They mostly deal in shotgun supplies, but so many of the powders also work in handguns, I buy a lot of powder from them.

Hope this helps.

Fred
 
Does 'Local Supplier' include vendors who deliver to my town at their own expense with no haz mat fee or shipping? I talk to the vendors at gun shows or competitions, and order powder/primers in advance. They tell me the total cost and I send it to them. Then they bring the stuff to town next time they pass through (or next gun show) and meet me for the transfer. No shipping at all. No extra fee. No sales tax if they're out of state.

Most mom-n-pop vendors are extremely happy to get the business, and if their prices are a couple dollars higher, well I just saved a bundle on shipping and sales tax and haz mat, didn't I. It's win-win for both.




Option 2:
"I drive out of your way".
:p
 
ants said:
Does 'Local Supplier' include vendors who deliver to my town at their own expense with no haz mat fee or shipping? I talk to the vendors at gun shows or competitions, and order powder/primers in advance. They tell me the total cost and I send it to them. Then they bring the stuff to town next time they pass through (or next gun show) and meet me for the transfer. No shipping at all. No extra fee. No sales tax if they're out of state.

Most mom-n-pop vendors are extremely happy to get the business, and if their prices are a couple dollars higher, well I just saved a bundle on shipping and sales tax and haz mat, didn't I. It's win-win for both.




Option 2:
"I drive out of your way".
:p
Click to expand...


I never thought of the use of venders then again I am new to this and and looking to get my first supplies thank for the tip I am going to a gun show tomarrow so i will have to do some asking:)
 
I've usually relied on getting what I need from gun show vendors. Got spoiled for a little while when Sportsman's Warehouse came to town, but they couldn't make a go of it around here. The local Bass Pro Shops has a small selection of powders that includes my favorites. But since the local gun stores don't stock even the most basic reloading supplies I've always gone with the gun shows.
 
There is--for a smaller operation--an excellent reloading supplier located "nearby" in Glen Lake, MN (The GunStop)--his prices are always fair, if not the cheapest, and he does a fair business online / by phone, AFAICT. However, his variety of powders is not good for handguns, and primers there have typically been OS. So I end up ordering online--usually from Graf's or Powder Valley.

Jim H.
 
In your case I feel it's fairly obvious, gas will cost you $40 and the Hazmat fee is $22.50. I would order what you need all at once and be done with it if finances permit. Like said above, Powder Valley will ship both powder and primers in the same box for a single Hazmat fee.

I'm lucky enough to have a lot of small and a few large suppliers near me so I usually buy locally.
 
Reloader Fred: Thanks for the link to Connies. Being in Portland the shipping to here will be cheap. Their prices look good too.
 
I fully support the idea of buying from your local gunshop, I want them to make money and stay in business, but....Instead of pricing thier powder using wholesale + reasonable profit margin + Haz-mat fee (divided up), they seem to gouge on powder for some reason. A big part of reloading for me is cost savings, and if you jack up the price of components too far, that incentive ceases to exist. Therefore, I buy online.
 
I buy from a guy at the local gun shows, and I buy online. You need to buy at least 4 pounds on line to help spread the hazmat, but sometimes I want that much, or can't get what I want elsewhere.
 
Generally, when experimenting with a new powder, I'll buy a pound locally. If I have developed a load which I like, I'll make an on-line order of either a 5 lbs. or an 8 lbs. keg of the powder used in that load. i save roughly $40 when buying in bulk on-line.
 
I use both local and online, usually if you get 4-5#s youre at the break even point or aq shade better. My locals prices are abit irregular at times and this has puhed me abit toward online. We both have ben burned by suppliers, when they ship via truck for most orders then they stick him with a one pound shipment (of my powder of course) including full hazmat and shpg charges- so what can he do but pass it on.
 
Just a reminder, as we've discovered on other Reloading threads:

The hazmat fee is not required by law. It's something the carriers charge (that's the trucking company or UPS) to offset the training and paperwork they fill out to carry certain freight.

Just last month, the federal transportation law that requires training and paperwork for hazardous materials was up for renewal at Congress, and the National Shooting Sports Foundation urged Congress to renew in its current form. I suppose their thinking is that it's better to pay a hazmat charge for transporting gunpowder, rather than have no transporting of gunpowder at all. I didn't ask NSSF, so I'm just guessing at their thinking.
 
Generally, when experimenting with a new powder, I'll buy a pound locally. If I have developed a load which I like, I'll make an on-line order of either a 5 lbs. or an 8 lbs. keg of the powder used in that load.
Click to expand...

I used to buy all locally, but once the availability crisis hit, I started looking at other options, and now use the strategy above. If you buy in enough quantity online, the cost savings over local is definitely nice as well. The key is buying in enough quantity.
 
I buy online bulk. Even after the hazmat fee I am still getting powder and primers for almost half price of what the local places want.
 
I voted "shipped to my house" (usually from PowderValleyInc), but I've also bought quite a bit of powder and primers locally. I want to help keep the local shop in business.
 
Order a few 8lb lots of powder, even one and pay the hazmat/shipping fee. It will still be cheaper than local prices if ordered from Powder Valley.
 
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