MSR Distribution vs Primary Arms
Both catalogs are synced into one shared vocabulary, so the same UPC can be counted on either side and matched across them. Everything below is what we measured in the two feeds — how much each one lists, how much of it is the same product, and what only one of them carries.
| MSR Distribution | Primary Arms | |
|---|---|---|
| Active SKUs | 2,554 | 812 |
| Distinct UPCs | 2,482 | 811 |
| Shared UPCs (both carry) | 35 | |
| Only at this distributor | 2,447 | 776 |
| Uptime | 100% | 99.9% |
| Integration | FTP | API |
| Freshness | Synced 5 hours ago | Synced 13 hours ago |
What each one lists most of
MSR Distribution and Primary Arms describe their catalogs in their own words, and we resolve both against one shared product vocabulary before counting. A category below therefore means the same thing on either side. Each list is that distributor’s own largest categories, counted in active listings.
MSR Distribution
- Firearm
- 1,119
- Magazine
- 319
- Apparel
- 258
- Parts & Components
- 146
- Safe & Storage
- 143
- Other
- 112
- Optic
- 90
- Ammunition
- 67
Primary Arms
- Ammunition
- 277
- Magazine
- 273
- Parts & Components
- 216
- Optic
- 11
- Handcuffs & Accessories
- 6
- Rail Accessories
- 6
- Safety & Protection
- 5
- Seasonal
- 4
Magazine, Ammunition, Parts & Components and Optic appear in both lists, so those counts can be read against each other directly.
Each list stops at that distributor’s eight largest categories. A category on one list and not the other is one we have not counted here, not one that distributor does not carry.
Where each one will ship it
Taken from each company’s own site on the dates shown on their individual pages. Running a drop-ship programme and naming where the parcel goes are separate questions, and most distributors answer only the first — so “Not stated” below means they have not published it, not that they refuse.
| MSR Distribution | Primary Arms | |
|---|---|---|
| Ships to your store | Yes | Yes |
| Offers drop-shipping | Yes source | Not stated |
| Ships to your customer's FFL | Yes source | Not stated |
| Ships to your customer's address | Not stated | Not stated |
| Ships NFA items to a receiving SOT | Not stated | Not stated |
Every distributor here ships to your own licensed premises — that is what a wholesale account is, not a policy any one of them publishes. Confirm anything you will act on directly with the distributor.
Which should you open?
MSR Distribution lists 2,482 distinct UPCs to Primary Arms's 811 — about 3.1× the breadth. 35 UPCs are carried by both — 1% of what MSR Distribution lists and 4% of what Primary Arms lists. Beyond that overlap, 2,447 UPCs appear on MSR Distribution alone and 776 on Primary Arms alone. If you open one account, MSR Distribution is the wider of the two on its own — it leaves 776 UPCs unreachable, against 2,447 if you open Primary Arms instead. Carrying both reaches 3,258 distinct UPCs, 776 more than MSR Distribution covers alone. The largest category in both lists is Magazine — MSR Distribution lists 319 there to Primary Arms's 273. Over the window we monitor, the MSR Distribution feed answered us 100% of the time and the Primary Arms feed 99.9%.
This is arithmetic on the counts above, not a recommendation of one company over the other. Which account is worth opening also depends on terms and on what your customers ask for, neither of which is in the catalog data we measure. What each company publishes about shipping destinations is in the table above it.
MSR Distribution
MSR Distribution runs one of the smallest catalogs Project Parabellum syncs, delivered as scheduled file drops the same way MGE's and Zanders' feeds are rather than through a live API. A sync pass here finishes quickly given the size, and in practice it works as a niche or supplemental source rather than a catalog broad enough to anchor a storefront on its own.
Primary Arms
Primary Arms syncs the smallest catalog Project Parabellum connects to today, delivered through a dealer API on the same automated schedule as the other API-connected distributors here. Because the catalog is narrow, it works best as a secondary source that fills a specific gap rather than as the account a storefront builds its general inventory around.
Applying for a dealer account
- Apply for a MSR Distribution dealer account — The catalog's small size makes this a supplemental account rather than a dealer's primary distributor. As an FTP file drop, updates land on MSR's publishing schedule rather than on demand.
- Apply for a Primary Arms dealer account — The narrow catalog makes this a supplemental source rather than a primary distributor.
Both links leave this site. Applications are submitted to, reviewed by, and approved by the distributor themselves — Project Parabellum is not part of that process and cannot speed it up or vouch for you.