Hornady making primers and/or caps?

[Whiteoak15]

I just read that Hornady has opened a plant to make primers and (hopefully) caps. Will they be available to shooters or are they strictly for in-house use. If they sell to the public, I have no doubt they will be top quality offeings. Has anyone else heard about this?

 

[ord sgt]

I did not see anything about a new plant on Hornady Facebook page, only news about the SHOT show.

 

[Whiteoak15]

I went back to the barbershop where I found the article that I read in the February 2024 issue of Guns and Ammo, page 30 where author Joe Kurtenbach remarked about the new ammunition loading center and primer manufacturing plant on the grounds of the old Cornhusker Army Ammunition plant built by Hornady. Hornady has produced bullets and round balls for blackpowder fans for a long time so maybe we can hope for some luck.

 

[TxGR]

Where did you see the report? Do you have a link?

With the hundreds of small ammo manufacturers springing up in 2021-2023, and the severe shortage of primers, I wondered why nobody added capacity for primers, as they are what every manufacturer is identifying as the bottleneck. One would think a company like Hornady or Hodgdon would seize the opportunity to guarantee their own supply or expand into a new market. Nope, nothing publicly so far.

I am speculating, but I think a big factor is the unhealthy consolidation of the industry. There are scores of brand names for ammo, guns, and components, but in reality they all fall under just a few mega-conglomerates, mostly foreign controlled. That's not a free market, contributing to rising prices, artificial restrictions, and price gouging.

 

[tomme boy]

Hornady has been making their own primers for some time now. Around 2014 if I remember right

 

[Whiteoak15]

Hornady has been making their own primers for some time now. Around 2014 if I remember right

For in-house only or are they available somewhere???

 

[Okurok]

Looks like they had an explosion at their primer plant in Oct, 2023.

UPDATE: Explosion at Hornady Manufacturing claims one life, injures two others

 

[TxGR]

That's very unfortunate for the lady who was killed and her family.

I am kind of surprised, in 2023, why humans would be anywhere near where explosive compounds are being mixed.

Maybe a few months ago, I watched a video of primers being made, and employees were manually using a squeegee to spread wet primer compound onto trays, kind of like silk-screen printing t-shirts. I think it was federal and the video was old, maybe the 90's or even earlier. Still, I would expect all such work was long ago automated, both for safety and consistency, not to mention labor costs.

One would think an explosives plant would be the first type of factory to go totally lights out production.