Is the Obama Administration Embargoing Powder?

[Capybara]

I was a gun shop last week to pick up some reloading supplies and I had a nice long conversation with the owner and we ended up on the subject of powder non-availability. FWIW, the owner of the store is pretty knowledgeable, not known as a dispenser of FUD.

He asked me if I knew where a lot of gun powder is actually manufactured and I replied "Eastern Europe and Canada" because that is my understanding in doing a little research. He told me that the word he is getting from his various powder distributors is that at the east coast ports, when large shipments of powder are lined up, there has been some sort of systematic delays put in place that is basically only allowing one container ship containing powder to unload at a time. This is resulting in massive delays for the ship owners and frustrating the distributors, retailers and of course, us reloaders. Of course, he didn't have details but he did say that his distributors are claiming that the delays could be another Obama Admin tactic that makes gun owners the target while not needing Congressional approval.

I know it could just be gun store FUD but it does seem suspect that the supply of primers, frankly, is pretty good right now, yet powder remains as scarce if not scarcer that it was during the height of the panic. Anyone have an intel or research on this? Don't know if it is true but something about powder availability is beginning to not feel right, just like .22 LR availability. Yes, we had a crazy panic but ammo availability, other than .22 LR has also bee pretty great compared to late Spring.

Wish I was an investigative journalist, I think this could be B.S., but if true, it would be interesting to find out what the cause of the continuing powder shortage. The manufacturers claim they are making plenty, yet many popular powders are not available at all and have not been for many months.

Thoughts?

[Ferrum]

I'm not saying that it isn't possible, but my first thought would be that there are multiple ports on each coast... Why wouldn't the divert to alternate, or originally manifest, to different ports to prevent bottle necking?

[kurac]

maybe its a safety thing, one ship full of powder at port is bad enough, line up 3-4 and if one goes up in smoke they can all go.

[Cypriss32]

No, There is a limited amount of powder that can be allowed in threw the ports at a time. Its getting here, but its selling so damn fast. The feds are doing **** to stop it, nor are there any hodgen fires. Leave the rumer's at the door.

[stilly]

QUICK! To the Batmobile! We need to get the word out in off-topi- DAMN, still blocked! ****ing bird...

QUICK! call the dude who knows the dude who is a neighbor of that dude on channel 5. He is an investigatory journalist...

:flickcig:

Who IS stuart anyways?

I kid. Yes I can make jokes too now. (right?)

I have to agree With Divernhunter though, I think all of that ammo is eating up a lot of our powder. Congress better stop this soon!
What kinds of .22lr rounds are using H110 and WC846 though?

HAR!

[Divernhunter]

Probably not but the gov is buying an huge amount of ammo.
That will use up quite a bit of powder.

[gunboat]

obama won't "embargo" powder -- he will add a obama care tax to it --

[Knife Edge]

No embargoes. Since the ammo shortage there have been numerous reloading companies buying commercial powder in bulk. In talking with store owners normal amounts are flowing in, people are just buying two kegs at a time or walking out with a dozen or two 1# containers. Inventory is increasing however.

[Capybara]

Yeah, it didn't sound "official" to me, but I was intrigued though since Dear Leader is doing everything he can that doesn't require House approval to make life tough on us, even though his minions in California are doing a pretty good job of hosing us.

[Dutch3]

I heard something similar at a LGS yesterday. The claim was that BATFE has restricted/reduced the amount of powder that can be contained in a single shipment by truck. Supposedly, distributors' warehouses are empty due to the supply chain being bottlenecked.

Probably FUD, but I'll add it to the rumor mill.

[at_liberty]

Probably not but the gov is buying an huge amount of ammo.
That will use up quite a bit of powder.

I believe this is the best theory. The extraordinary quantities of ammunition rounds ordered by the fed agencies (Obama and the liberal agenda) has to stress dedicated military and government production to the point where they have to go outside that supply chain and intrude on commercial capacity. That is probably the motive of the massive orders in the first place.

[Manolito]

This is nothing more than my take on the world today. Democrats are a group we tend to lump into people that do not like guns and all that. The truth is most rural Democrats are hunters and own guns. I believe the shortage is nothing more than those that don't visit gun forums and keep active are all putting away a little now that they see the true Obama. When you take 3 million guns and the average person probably likes 5K 22's if he pays attention and you wake up those that keep one box of 50 22's because he just figures go to the store and buy. Now you have a tramenous drain on supply. Think about 3 million guns and each owner puts away 100 rouns of each caliber he owns. You end up with a shortage just like when we were suppose to have a tp shortage and we made it come true.

Just my take on this shortage. The government isn't smart enough or organized properly to pull off a scheme to control ammunition hell they can't figure out how to deliver water to hurricane victims in less than 7 days.

[stilly]

This is nothing more than my take on the world today. Democrats are a group we tend to lump into people that do not like guns and all that. The truth is most rural Democrats are hunters and own guns. I believe the shortage is nothing more than those that don't visit gun forums and keep active are all putting away a little now that they see the true Obama. When you take 3 million guns and the average person probably likes 5K 22's if he pays attention and you wake up those that keep one box of 50 22's because he just figures go to the store and buy. Now you have a tramenous drain on supply. Think about 3 million guns and each owner puts away 100 rouns of each caliber he owns. You end up with a shortage just like when we were suppose to have a tp shortage and we made it come true.

Just my take on this shortage. The government isn't smart enough or organized properly to pull off a scheme to control ammunition hell they can't figure out how to deliver water to hurricane victims in less than 7 days.

Your math might be a tad off but I know what you are saying. The only thing I would say to play devil's advocate is:
The problem with the DEMOCRAT gun owners is that they think the right to keep and bear arms only really applies in a hunter's mentality. Yes, you have the right to keep and bear arms against a deer or elk or bear Etc. and therefore do not need a thirty round mag to hunt a deer with an uzi... (yeah WTFE, STFU Clinton...) Anyways.

CHEERS!

[sdkevin]

Bought all I could afford from Powder Valley months ago at semi-reasonable prices.

Checking my map.. don't think there is a port nearby.

[at_liberty]

<>Democrats are a group we tend to lump into people that do not like guns and all that. The truth is most rural Democrats are hunters and own guns. <>

Maybe a California aberration but no indication of that being true in the rest of the country. "Rural Democrat" is an oxymoron. If there are many, they didn't grow up there...more likely associated with academic socialists from urban areas.