Powder Inflation – Price of Powder Today vs. 45 years ago

October 21st 2023Has inflation (and shortages in the supply chain) affected the powder price? You bet. You’d be surprised. Forum member “Two Time HM LR”, posted the photo above, which shows Hodgdon Powder prices from 1978 as sold by O.K. Weber in Oregon. Now the prices — $20-$44 — may not catch your attention at first. Take note that these are the prices for jugs of EIGHT POUNDS. Eight-pounders were under $45 all the time! In 1978, H4895 cost $44 for eight pounds. That’s 45 years ago. And H335 cost $20 for eight pound — that’s only $2.50 per pound. Hodgdon’s website shows that H4831 powder will be priced at $42.99 a pound by October 2023. H4831 costs $8 times more than it did in 1978 when H4831 was $44 for 8 lbs. Here are some comments made by our Forum Members. “Heck, those prices are about the same as today’s, just a smaller container.” — Joe. “I have some H4831 that is in a can marked with ‘WWII Surplus powder’ and a price of $2.75. Rick in Oregon: “We’ll never again see that either.” Unfortunately, that doesn’t work. You also have to discount the temporary gouging that we are seeing.” — Tmwinds”So I used to buy gas for 10 cents per gallon and they’d pump it, check the oil, and clean the windshield.” — Pirate AmmoOne comment suggests that powder price hikes actually track general U.S. currency inflation over four decades. You also have to discount temporary gouging we are seeing.” –Tmwinds”So, I used to buy gasoline for 10 cents a gallon, and they’d check it, check the engine oil, and clean my windshield.” –Pirate AmmoOne comment suggests the powder price increase actually tracks general U.S. dollar inflation over the past four decades. If you compare the price hikes in powder to all other prices since 1978, they may not be as bad as it seems. As a comparison, the list price of $58.50 in 1978 is equal to $276 today. It looks like the price of the same item today is around $340, so it hasn’t really increased [that much]. If someone really needs powder, they may have to pay more than suggested retail.” — Drover. Weber