Hodgdon is getting on my last nerve

Lefty7mmstw said:
the 4895's are very close to varget's burn rate... v540 is too. rl16 and rl17 will approximate either 4350...
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I have my fingers around some RL16...Didn't want to recreate the wheel if 4350 or Varget was available. I'm starting new load dev on 6.5x47 LAP.
Looking like RL16 will be my jump point.
 
Beaver10 said:
I have my fingers around some RL16...Didn't want to recreate the wheel if 4350 or Varget was available. I'm starting new load dev on 6.5x47 LAP.
Looking like RL16 will be my jump point.
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looks like you are lucky to get true 4350 right now... Make her go bang with an appropriate powder and call it a day. I like rl powders better anyway, but sometimes a H or IMR offering fills the bill better...
 
Laffin....RL is temp stable. If I get the accuracy desired and within close speed of 4350. I will stock pile rl16 and call it good2go...
 
The first time I went through a H4350 shortage I switched to Reloder 16 and haven't gone back. Now with the Varget shortage going on for some time I'm experimenting with the Shooters World Precision. If it is as close to Varget as is claimed, I won't be looking for more Varget since it is 10 bucks a pound more and always scarce.
 
At the risk of getting scalped,I see virtually no one talking about VihtaVuori powders. Most sales put it at less cost than Hodgdon,when you purchase 8#'s.
 
Dialing Long Distance said:
I'm going to vent. I'm probably gonna get kicked off the forum, but I think I'm speaking for most of us when I ask if the people running Hodgdon have their heads up their --- or something. Retumbo, H4350, H1000, Varget, are all STAPLES of the Hodgdon brand, and it's like trying to find pixie dust. Do they want to lose customers? Why is it that a company who makes gunpowder, and has been doing so forever, can't keep up with demand? Are they not investing enough of their profits into the company and their equipment? You would think that the demand for their products would be incentive for them to make more of it.
Am I missing something here? For all of the powder companies out there, now is a great time for them to get their engineers and marketing teams in order and produce powders that are temp stable with comparable burn rates. When I find something that will replace my Hodgdon powders, I'm jumping ship. Their management appears to be about as in touch with their customers as Remington's marketing.
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I have been talking to dealers and from what I have been told it is likened to the hysteria back a few years ago when you could not find any 22 LR ammunition anywhere .When you did you were only limited to 3 boxes at inflated prices.
Or when going back into the late sixties there was a gasoline shortage and it was rationed out as well.
If I remember you were limited to $ 5.00 - $ 10.00 maximum and depending on whether your licensee plate ended in either an odd or even number determined when you could purchase any gasoline despite lines going around the block with people waiting patiently for their turn.
But I digress the point being supply and demand!
If people become alarmed that let's say in this case it's rifle powder is in short supply ,well they are going to start hording ( I need 5 lbs of X brand of powder for MYSELF)
If people feel threatened enough to create what I call a Stampede well very quickly supplies on the shelf will dry up.
With some of this powder being produced overseas (Sweden) all of a sudden a shortage has been created ,and by making statements about being unable to purchase a given brand of powder only adds to the confusion.
This will make things worse.
Again I mean no dis- respect however eventually as the hype dries up the powder will again return to it's normal quantities on your dealers shelves.
So in closing lets not add to or buy into the hype surrounding the availability of certain brands of Powders but rather be patient and not complain for soon enough just like with all things water will seek it's own level.
Patience Is a virtue, I just wish that I had some !
My 2 Cents Worth !
 
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Tex_Hunter said:
There isn't a single company in the world, past present or future, that can scale supply to meet demand the way you seem to think they should be able to. Its not a simple function of turn the machines up to 11 and make more product, they need raw materials (these raw materials by the way, arent just used to make gun powder so they are competing with other industries and changing prices to get what they need), they need more people to set up/run/clean/re-cycle the machines, warehouse space, shipping infrastructure, etc etc etc... those things require massive capital outlays that wont necessarily pay off in the long run once supply stabilizes. Never mind the whole aspect of their industry being extremely highly regulated which adds a significant time factor to all the steps required to scale up output.

The whole "bUt ThEy ARe lOsINg cUStOmeRs!" thing always confuses me. Yes, they may lose YOU as a customer, but No, they arent losing customers on an aggregate level, they are literally selling 100% of everything they can make right now, so the fact that you might switch to Alliant or someone else doesn't really bother them because there's hundreds of more people who will take your place in line waiting. There's no loyalty in the equation here... product out = dollars in. Its the same thing that always gets me when people complain about firearms companies with high demand product wont offer layaway , financing, discounts, T&E examples, etc etc etc... why would they? All of those things create risk or eat into margin on something that they could literally sell every single unit at MSRP or even marked up if they wanted to. Economics doesnt care about your feelings. It's not just firearms... go to a Ford dealership and try and buy a new Raptor, or a GT, or go to Chevy and try and buy a C8. Sure... sign a purchase order for full marked up price and take your spot in line with the thousands of other people. You storm out of the dealership angry and 5 other people walk in behind you who want the same thing.

Think about it, I know everyone on this forum likes to believe that cartridges like the 6.5 Creedmoor, the PRC twins, the move to large overbore magnums for ELR hunting etc are just passing fads, but they have brought new shooters into the sport in droves. This means more demand for factory ammo, and more demand for handloading components. To my original point, they are scaling supply, but if demand is growing at 10x what they can reasonably scale up supply, its going to be stocked out.

It's not exactly impossible, I was able to buy 8lbs of H1000 a few months ago, and it stayed in stock for almost a week after I placed my order, there's product out there if you are patient and willing to look for it.

So yeah... you are missing quite a lot, and showing a fair amount of ignorance in the process.
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You are speaking from your heart with a lot of truth and compassion !
 
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