I am looking to work up a loads for my 270 Win and 300 WSM. Being in California, I will be loading copper and was looking at the Barnes TTSX 130gr for the 270 WIN and 180-200gr for the 300 WSM. From the Barnes load data three powders emerged as they work well (on paper) in both cartridges. The problem is, I can’t seem to find them anywhere. The three are RL17, Hunter, and Hybrid 100V.
I made the rounds multiple times of all the gun and sporting goods stores in my area. I usually try to avoid the pesky hazmat fees associated with online purchases, but I was willing to plunk down the dollars to find what I want. I’d probably spend it in gas money anyway driving around to all the stores. Still, after scouring the web, I can’t seem to find anyone who has any in-stock. So, I thought I would turn to the Backfire community and ask if you have any suggestions on where I might find some powder. I am still fairly new to reloading and knew supplies are tight with everything going on in the world, but this seems ridiculous.
Plenty of online stores have promotions with free hazmat, especially for holidays like memorial day (hint hint). I wouldn’t bother looking for powder in brick and mortar stores unless you have a big box one like Cabela’s or something nearby. Even then their prices often are ridiculous compared to what you can find online.
For those just starting with it however, would caution to be sure to pay attention to the shipping and handling fees. As well as any Hazmat fees especially for powder. Often the deal that is ranked the best in terms of price actually is more expensive than the number two or number three ranked deal once you add in all the other fees.
Also agree with previous poster about signing up for various online places like Powder Valley. They will send you emails when they cut the Hazmat fee or shipping fee and they do that fairly frequently.