I thought I'd just start a separate thread on this to gauge interest and kind of think out loud.
As some folks know, there have been some changes in the rules regarding importing bullets from Canada. This means that Matrix Ballistics can't ship their bullets to the US any more. For folks not familiar with Matrix bullets, they're a heavy for caliber option for a few different bore diameters with the 160gr 6.5mm and the 165/175gr .270 bullets being some of the most sought after. With the limited number of alternatives out there, losing access to these bullets is similar to when Wildcat Bullets shut down some time ago. There are still 150gr SMKs available for the 6.5mm and the 170 EOL for the 270 but those are about it.
The question I have is whether or not there's enough of a market to be worth the effort to begin importing the bullets in the US. I've already reached out to Steve at Matrix about this to see what his thoughts are. Here are the potential issues right now:
- Is there enough of a market?
- Is there a viable alternative to the Matrix bullets available in the US?
- Will the current market be willing to accept a moderate price increase?
- Will Matrix be able to meet production demands if the US market expands?
I'm a big fan of the Matrix bullets for use in the high capacity 6.5s and 270s just because there aren't many good alternatives as far as lead core bullets go. There are monometal options, but those come at an added expense per bullet and the necessity of running a faster twist than what would be required from a lead core bullet of similar weight/length.
Since the Matrix bullets are primarily a hunting/LR shooting bullet it seems like the LRH crowd would be the group most likely to support a US distributor for these bullets. If there's enough of a market for them it might be worth it for either an existing retailer to act as an importer or for somebody to start a new distribution network for them. Maybe it just makes more sense for a US based manufacturer to start producing a comparable product (along the lines of the 131 ACE from BlackJack bullets) and build the market. Or maybe there's really only a handful of us who would even have a use for a 175gr .270 bullet and it's not worth anyone's time, money or energy and folks like me need to stop whining! LOL
As some folks know, there have been some changes in the rules regarding importing bullets from Canada. This means that Matrix Ballistics can't ship their bullets to the US any more. For folks not familiar with Matrix bullets, they're a heavy for caliber option for a few different bore diameters with the 160gr 6.5mm and the 165/175gr .270 bullets being some of the most sought after. With the limited number of alternatives out there, losing access to these bullets is similar to when Wildcat Bullets shut down some time ago. There are still 150gr SMKs available for the 6.5mm and the 170 EOL for the 270 but those are about it.
The question I have is whether or not there's enough of a market to be worth the effort to begin importing the bullets in the US. I've already reached out to Steve at Matrix about this to see what his thoughts are. Here are the potential issues right now:
- Is there enough of a market?
- Is there a viable alternative to the Matrix bullets available in the US?
- Will the current market be willing to accept a moderate price increase?
- Will Matrix be able to meet production demands if the US market expands?
I'm a big fan of the Matrix bullets for use in the high capacity 6.5s and 270s just because there aren't many good alternatives as far as lead core bullets go. There are monometal options, but those come at an added expense per bullet and the necessity of running a faster twist than what would be required from a lead core bullet of similar weight/length.
Since the Matrix bullets are primarily a hunting/LR shooting bullet it seems like the LRH crowd would be the group most likely to support a US distributor for these bullets. If there's enough of a market for them it might be worth it for either an existing retailer to act as an importer or for somebody to start a new distribution network for them. Maybe it just makes more sense for a US based manufacturer to start producing a comparable product (along the lines of the 131 ACE from BlackJack bullets) and build the market. Or maybe there's really only a handful of us who would even have a use for a 175gr .270 bullet and it's not worth anyone's time, money or energy and folks like me need to stop whining! LOL
