Your Thoughts Needed, Prime Ammo 2020

Is the basic idea here for Jim to get together some working capital to run the business because he has had trouble getting more traditional financing through the usual channels (banks) simply because his business is firearms? If so, I find this hard to believe. Now keep in mind that I know basically nothing, but there are banks that are happy to provide services for known criminals... Am I to believe that things are so bad that they're not interested in making money off someone who sells ammunition?

Perhaps I've missed the point...
 
I'm not aware of any retailers interested in selling at 10% margin, unless they decide to dump the product in favor of something else. Just my personal experience...

Here is the interesting observation - I have two very, very known brands (on the national scale) dealers. With all their brand recognition in the market place, they sell a very tiny percentage of my product output. My own brand is really tiny in comparision to these outfits, but I sell at least 35 times more than both of them combined. So, my $10 calculator tells me all I need to know and what I have to do next - go 100% DTC. So, I perfectly understand PRIME situation.

I read it as more of a means to get commitment so hes not out the capital because people said they buy, but never do. There are plenty of banks who will invest in firearms companies, but no bank likes not getting paid back haha
 
Is the basic idea here for Jim to get together some working capital to run the business because he has had trouble getting more traditional financing through the usual channels (banks) simply because his business is firearms? If so, I find this hard to believe. Now keep in mind that I know basically nothing, but there are banks that are happy to provide services for known criminals... Am I to believe that things are so bad that they're not interested in making money off someone who sells ammunition?

Perhaps I've missed the point...
You may find it hard to believe because you haven’t been paying attention to what has been going on in financing and back door attempts to shut down the firearms industry. There are more than a couple businesses right here on this forum that have had to make tough decisions due to companies, like BOA for example, that have withdrawn all financing for firearm related industries. It’s real and targeted.
 
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Fair enough. I'm just surprised these people are able to come together in a unified manner against 'us'... Always figured the almighty dollar would reign supreme. Admittedly, reading about banks & financing sounds about as fun to me as being the guy that has to lance growths on people in 3rd world countries... So not much.
 
One of the issues is states like mine that don't allow ammo to be shipped to non ffl address's. I'd gladly buy prime if I could. My 308 shoots both 175fgmm and Hornady match 178 bthp and eldm into the same group at the same velocity. 2704-2721. I tried prime at a shoot and although I didn't chrono it my dope was the same with the same zero. I load all my hunting ammo because those rifles are all for a specific task. If I could buy cases of 308 6.5 creed and 6xc that was as consistent as the above I wouldn't bother reloading those. I get .5 moa as far as I shoot my 308 and only a 195tmk load I shoot does better.
Without a dealer I can buy or order through it is off the list of ammo I can shoot. Even if it is just to get the better peterson brass over the 2 I do shoot it would be worth the price for a case every couple months.
Maybe look into some of the gun clubs for distribution also. If that's a possiblity I will bring it to our board. We have a bunch of cmp shoots and egg shoots in Ma. and since most of the twat knot crowd doesn't load here I'm sure it could work
 
I'm new to the Hide, been reading here a while, finally joined! I'm new to the precision/long range thing and also on a budget. A fully modded or boutique rifle ain't in the cards right now. How about some good, consistent ammo with hunting bullets for us off the shelf guys that have a dual use gun? Maybe some 243, 308, 30-06, 7mag? Probably the creedmoors too? I'm probably in the minority here, but I like to keep things simple, so a hunting load that would be closer to match load consistency wise that could pull double duty range and hunting would be pretty sweet IMO.
 
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One of the issues is states like mine that don't allow ammo to be shipped to non ffl address's. I'd gladly buy prime if I could. My 308 shoots both 175fgmm and Hornady match 178 bthp and eldm into the same group at the same velocity. 2704-2721. I tried prime at a shoot and although I didn't chrono it my dope was the same with the same zero. I load all my hunting ammo because those rifles are all for a specific task. If I could buy cases of 308 6.5 creed and 6xc that was as consistent as the above I wouldn't bother reloading those. I get .5 moa as far as I shoot my 308 and only a 195tmk load I shoot does better.
Without a dealer I can buy or order through it is off the list of ammo I can shoot. Even if it is just to get the better peterson brass over the 2 I do shoot it would be worth the price for a case every couple months.
Maybe look into some of the gun clubs for distribution also. If that's a possiblity I will bring it to our board. We have a bunch of cmp shoots and egg shoots in Ma. and since most of the twat knot crowd doesn't load here I'm sure it could work
In CA you can have prime ship to your ffl, I have done this successfully several times.
 
This is the situation for me, I can buy from the high volume manufacturers, they produce excellent mild and consistent factory match ammo. When I do i shop for discounts and shipping efficiency.

What Jim offers is similar consistency in the accuracy, but faster, and with better brass for when I sell it to the reloading community.

I have and will probably shoot a couple thousand rounds a year, and if I can pr-plan that with prime, get the better ammo, at a better price than buying case by case, better bulk shipping, and less ffl transfers, it's all good for me.

Now if Jim and prime could offer a reloading your own brass, or brass rebate program and ease me from private selling, that would be interesting as well.

I will never reload, I wouldn't find it relaxing, i doesn't save money when you look at the time needed, compared to the results of current match grade ammo, the time needed to get similar consistency. I can make way more money with that time than I could save reloading.
 
I dont know that I would move away from reloading but if Jim offered a membership. Where I could pay and receive ammo quarterly I may just step away from the bench for my competition rifle. I know a few others who just might do the same.
 
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In CA you can have prime ship to your ffl, I have done this successfully several times.
I can do that here but it's 20% on top of the costs which makes it much less attractive when I look at what FGMM and Hornady can be bought for locally. I don't shoot the volume of many here maybe 2k centerfire 3k 22 between pistol and rifle. I shoot about 1k of pistol a month in the winter also. I purchase pistol due to time but rifle I have loaded and would like to get to purchase for prs. Everything else I run is either not enough to purchase or box ammo is way off from what I want. I don't shoot in summertime de to running a boat 7 days a week for 6 months. I do load when I have time because the basement is very comfortable in summer.
This is why I would suggest reaching out to the clubs that do prs and cmp events. Most clubs are not looking at margins in the same way as a retail store and could offer to members another avenue for group buys beyond the hide. Expanding exposure of a great product
 
I can do that here but it's 20% on top of the costs which makes it much less attractive when I look at what FGMM and Hornady can be bought for locally. I don't shoot the volume of many here maybe 2k centerfire 3k 22 between pistol and rifle. I shoot about 1k of pistol a month in the winter also. I purchase pistol due to time but rifle I have loaded and would like to get to purchase for prs. Everything else I run is either not enough to purchase or box ammo is way off from what I want. I don't shoot in summertime de to running a boat 7 days a week for 6 months. I do load when I have time because the basement is very comfortable in summer.
This is why I would suggest reaching out to the clubs that do prs and cmp events. Most clubs are not looking at margins in the same way as a retail store and could offer to members another avenue for group buys beyond the hide. Expanding exposure of a great product
wow 20% is that the law or local FFL adding that?

my FFL in CA is a small flat fee.
 
I might be in the minority.

Down the longer range hobby trail is just that. I shoot about once a month and 200 rounds lasts a long time.

I really want to start shooting prime ammo for the SD. One less variable for me vs cheaper ammo. Plus with mainly using it for fun and hunting with no comps it seems like an easy transition. Really only hunting white tail deer so a 130 gr bthp is fine.

This gives me one set of dope to worry about vs hunting round and plinking out to 600 or so.

But this also means I am only going to buy a couple of times a year.
 
I’m in on subscription or membership model. I have no time nor desire to reload. If the ammo starts piling up then maybe I will be “forced” to shoot more. My boys are getting old enough to hunt with and if there were reasonable prices on 6.5 Creed, .224V and 6.5 Grendel solids I would be all in. Label some .17HMR and .22LR and I’m ecstatic

Reloaders like to reload for the sake of reloading. It’s a separate hobby from shooting or hunting. I have friends who like to do it and I will gladly pay them to work up special hunting loads if bullets aren’t offered from Prime.

Prime will have to address the availability and delivery timeframe issues with a solid refund policy. No ammo = no stalling on refunds. With a system in place and viable model, private investment dollars are plentiful to absorb the risk of supply chain hiccups. No need to burden the customers with financing the whole venture. A commitment to purchase should be all the capital the customers need to provide.
 
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Looks like a lot of options were added.

Screenshot_20191124-071417_Chrome.jpg
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I wonder if the prices on the newer offerings are place holders, or what they will actually be charging?

$37/20 rounds (1.85/round) for 6GT seems really high, even with premium brass. For reference it's an almost 20% markup over buying Berger Factory 6 Creedmoor (Lapua brass w Berger bullets) @ $1.55/round.

ETA: Prime 6 Creed is $1.45/rd with Peterson brass and 107 SMKs, so at least closer to Berger, though I'd happily pay 10 cents/rd for the better components. I wonder who Prime is planning to use as a source for 6GT brass?
 
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I get that it’s not a choice and you have to ship to a FFL, but why the high charge for transfer of ammo at the FFL? That’s what I was asking.

It's taking money away from the business. If you were selling ammo, would you want to have people buy ammo and ship it to you vs buying ammo from your store? Buds gun shop has already hurt the small shops bad enough as it is, my ffl said certain items he can buy cheaper than his cost from his suppliers. This is why the local gun stores have gone to a $40 transfer fee on guns shipped from Buds.
 
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I’m in on subscription or membership model. I have no time nor desire to reload. If the ammo starts piling up then maybe I will be “forced” to shoot more. My boys are getting old enough to hunt with and if there were reasonable prices on 6.5 Creed, .224V and 6.5 Grendel solids I would be all in. Label some .17HMR and .22LR and I’m ecstatic

Reloaders like to reload for the sake of reloading. It’s a separate hobby from shooting or hunting. I have friends who like to do it and I will gladly pay them to work up special hunting loads if bullets aren’t offered from Prime.

Prime will have to address the availability and delivery timeframe issues with a solid refund policy. No ammo = no stalling on refunds. With a system in place and viable model, private investment dollars are plentiful to absorb the risk of supply chain hiccups. No need to burden the customers with financing the whole venture. A commitment to purchase should be all the capital the customers need to provide.


Isn't this kind of how the one ammo company operated and burned quite a few people? I can't think of the company name off the top of my head.
 
I get that it wasn't a subscription based setup but they did pre orders for group buys which were charged at the time of the order being placed and some never received the ammo or refund. I hope prime figures out a solution because their ammo shot good.

The comment from haystax about the no ammo=no stalling in refunds is the part that I agree with and needs addressed. If for some reason they don't fulfill the order in a timely manner, then a refund should be issued before the subscriber's credit card company can no longer issue a statement credit.
 
I ordered 115gr 6CM and received it within five days. The SD's I measured were relatively low compared to other ammo but not as low as has been posted around. However, every rifle barrel is different and there is no guaranty every rifle will shoot the same. All in all I think the Prime 6CM ammo is probably the very best on the market for whatever that is worth. It also doesn't hurt that Prime is using Peterson LR primer brass which is what I have been loading.
 
My suggestion to prime is to diversify. Produce other levels of ammo that are not match quality. Producing hunting loads is a great option. Appeal to hunters. Anything 6.5 cm sells. Example hornady sells different levels of ammo, American gunner, match, black, etc that appeal to different levels of shooters. If I want to break in a new barrel American gunner 6.5 cm is a great choice. The guy that buys a off the shelf 6.5cm for 5-600 probably isn't looking at prime ammo. If I were ordering my match ammo, why wouldnt I order some hunting and plinking ammo for the kids.