gnoahhh wrote on Dec 25^th, 2022 at 11:04am:


Sorry gnoahhh, you are most emphatically wrong.   Do a google search for "lead toothpaste tube" & you'll find a lot on the subject.  Here are a couple:

The original toothpaste tubes were made of lead in 1850s and its usage continued till 1950s. But however detergents like soap was used as an ingredient which would cause the leaking of lead into the paste thus contaminating it. Later, tubes made of plastic were used.

Was lead used in toothpaste tubes?
The collapsible tube; however, was made of lead. During WWII, the empty containers were placed on the street for collection so the lead could be recycled to make bullets for the war effort. After the 1950's the lead-lined toothpaste tube was discontinued for a newfangled synthetic product called plastic.

Live & learn,
Wayne

Schutzenbob wrote on Dec 25^th, 2022 at 1:36pm:


Sounds like we have a winner! 

Buy a flintlock, problem solved.
Mick.

M72 LAW rocket, Hand Grenade, 8" Howitzer, Tactical nuke!
All are available in Ukraine these days.

Ammo companies are in the business of making money, so when the primers start piling up on the store shelves, prices will go down. right now, the money is in loaded ammo, so until the demand for loaded ammo subsides, there will be a shortage of primers. 

However, if you go to gun shows and keep your eyes and ears open, primers are still available at reasonable prices. I bought some at a local show for $50/thousand in October. 
Earlier, I got some from a gun show vendor for $40/thousand. furthermore, as was stated above, there are  reloaders who die or quit shooting and have inventory for sale at reasonable prices.

With the political and economic climate what it is, we can expect shortages on an off in the next few years. If things ever level out, it would not hurt to stock pile a strategic reserve and replenish every year to maintain it. 
bottom line: compare the cost of reloads with the outrageous cost of primers to the cost of factory ammo (f you can get factory ammo). The extra cost for the primers really does not move the needle compared to buying factory ammo, especially if you are shooting cast bullets, which most of us are.
Its a cost of doing business. 

I did see a book a few years ago that had a chapter on reloading and re-using primers, so I keep my old ones in case we have to resort to that. 
Joe S

With the popularity of .223 you would think small rifle primers would be the ones on short supply. I am still experimenting with using some 30 American cases (30-30 with small rifle primers) formed into 32-40 as a backup plan. 

Jack

texasmac wrote on Dec 25^th, 2022 at 12:02pm:



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Rebel wrote on Dec 30^th, 2022 at 1:50pm:


Yup, lead/tin alloys similar to today's cast bullets.  Here're are two more references:

The first toothpaste tubes were made of lead/tin alloy, and remained basically the same until a metal shortage during World War II. The War Production Board restricted consumer use of many types of metal, including tin, lead and aluminum, creating a potential crisis in the toothpaste tube industry. Aluminum industry leaders received approval for a salvage depot idea where consumers could buy a new tube product if they turned in some sort of used metal product. During the war, manufacturers began creating toothpaste tubes from aluminum and plastic while most of the lead and tin supply went for military usage.

Toothpaste in tubes is used throughout the world. Prior to WWII, toothpaste was packaged in small lead/tin alloy tubes. In the late 19th century, Washington Sheffield of Connecticut inserted toothpaste into a collapsible lead tube. The inside of the tube was coated with wax, but lead from the tubes leached into the product. It was the shortage of lead and tin during WWII that led to the use of laminated (aluminum, paper, and plastic combination) tubes. At the end of the 20th century pure plastic tubes were used.