Parking was free and cost to enter was $5. There was not a lot to say the least. There was a target 8 inch nickle Python in 38 special for $3000 and a nickle model 10 with a 2 inch barrel for $575. Neither came with box or papers.

Ammo prices were outrageous. Federal 550 22lr was priced at $90 and 333 count boxes of Winchester were priced at $60. One dealer had CCI for $25 per 100 and the 375 count boxes at $90. And yes some people paid those prices.

There was also a Husqvarna Swedish Mauser for $600. That was pretty much the things I found interesting.

That's about it.

Ya know, I've been sitting on the 19 boxes of 100 for about 5 or 6 years. I saw no reason to sell at $10 each. It was only $190 and that just not enough. But if someone offered me $25 each for them, I'd sell. CCI is good ammo but I've got other stuff and $475 would be enough. That means some fool is tossing 25 cents a round for 22s. Gawd help us.

And it brings us back to who's fault this mess is. I've maintained from the beginning the blame lies solely on the front step of the manufacturers. They can use perfume, but a pig is still a pig. Their job is to supply ammo. Their utter failure to do that means they're mismanaged.

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Dick Burg

I had one of those Pythons and sold it for $300 years ago. Sounds like I could have made ten times on it now. All I see at shows are junk or overpriced guns anymore here. I skipped the one last weekend but go to some just hoping for a deal.

I thought gun shows in MI were outrageously bad. Texas makes ours look like a shopper's paradise.

I no longer go to gun shows for several reasons. But, while vacationing in Florida a few weeks ago the city had a gun show. I know enough to get there at opening time on the first day. At one booth I spotted two 22 caliber, 325 count Federal tuna cans. The price was $20.00 a piece. I grabbed them both. Another vendor a couple aisles away had the same ammo for $35. Yet at another booth the same ammo cost $45. Unbelievable. Our own gun vendors are not helping fellow shooters. That's only one reason I don't go to gun shows. Thankfully, this time I did alright finding the allusive 22 caliber ammo.

It sounds like the M10 was fairly close to reasonable. Those shorter barrels make the price climb. Also, some folks prefer nickel.

Is that what Swedish Mausers go for now? Did it have the long barrel or was it one or the shorter (or shortened) versions?

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You're shy a few manners.

I went last weekend to the south Atlanta show. Found a 1953 Model 94 30-30 for much less than equivalent condition guns are selling for on GB. The seller was holding it for me when I went to get the rest of my cash from my wife (she was in the snack bar) and when I got back, another guy was waiting to see if I came back and bought it. He was rather disappointed. Otherwise, most ammo was overpriced although I did find some Hornady Critical Defense in .380 that wasn't a rip off. One nice model 29 for $1200 and a couple of other S&Ws that were very overpriced.

Anyway, I ended up with the pre-64 Model 94 I've always wanted.

Oh yeah, there was a Python and I'm pretty sure it was 3Gs also.

CW

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μολὼν λαβέ

I sat there and watched people lined up for hours in the sun here in Arizona to buy a couple of boxes of ammo at rip off prices at the previous Crossroads shows. I guess I'd have to say if your a gun owner and you were dumb enough to run out of ammo you got what you deserved. The lines were pretty much gone at the last show a couple of weeks ago telling me the "shortage" is over.
The only item I was running short of during this whole contrived "shortage" was small pistol primers and there's plenty of them available again. I have plenty of components and loaded ammo in all other calibers including 22s.
If you want to see this "shortage' go away in a hurry quit buying and hording ammo you really don't need! That's the solution and if you doing anything else you're part of the problem.
Jim

That's stupid money for that Colt. I sold one with the box for a widow for about $1150 a few years ago. There were others on BrokeGunner with higher starting prices that never sold.

My FFL did not want to touch it. He said they were a fad gun, all the rage for a year or two and then you could not give them away. These comments came from him as a die hard Colt fan.

That's the market on .38 nickel target Pythons, though. About three years ago, I passed on a 8" .38 with original box and stocks, for the princely sum of $795.

I'm not sure about the Swedish Mauser price but it was the only one at the show.

Went to Eau Claire gun show today. The bulk Fed 550 were going for $50 (still too high). Saw a slightly used 45 acp NG for $1075 (or close as memory gets) and a used Rock River 26 in 308 varmint for $1100. Big show for around here, but 90 miles one way at 3.69/gal in pick up.

They did cook the brauts , however.

I thought about going to the gun show today. I didn't. Maybe I will tomorrow. :|

What the!!!!!!!!!! See my signature
Are you in Dallas Houston SA what?

El Paso

/10char

I was asking the OP
We probably have a lot of your neighbors up here in Ruidoso tonight, we've had about 12+ inches of snow at Ski Apache in the last week or so

OP lives in El Paso. I was not answering for myself, but of course, so do I

I agree with you Mr. Burg. What I don't understand is that years ago I read that we manufacture 20,000,000 rounds of 22 in this country EACH DAY! Where on earth is it all going? I can't comprehend that enough people are lining up each morning at Walmart and buying that much.

All Husqvarna's are M38 short rifles. Unless mint it was over priced by about $150-200 IMHO.

Oh sorry

I went to the same show. Didn't notice the nickeled M10 snubby or the Husky. Saw very little of interest: a nice 52-2, but I have one already. Hate to say it but the Las Cruces show a few weeks ago was larger and had more of interest; how about a 52-A ($4800)?

If it is us "hoarders" how come distributors cannot get .22 ammo from the factory. Last contact with our distributor, they were shipping orders from last February. Our order was not made until July. Does not look like we will be getting it anytime soon. The last brick of Winchester SuperX tht I bought ws $30, and I thought that it was overpriced! I still have enough .22 ammo to last a long time, as I do not shoot much of it. However, I will restock when prices become reasonable.

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Richard Gillespie
FBINA 102

Me too. One in nickel and one in blue. I got $750 each for mine,but I still feel like an idiot.
f.t.

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South Carolina-God's country

the cci ammo must be getting to the shelves around here, my lgs had a case of cci standard velocity in 500 rd bricks come in this week as well as a case of the cheaper cci speer ammo, his cost on the cci/speer stuff was 16.70 per brick and he let me have two bricks of each at cost

he was this generous because I let him have some from my stash a while back when no one had any and he had gotten in a bunch of 22 guns to sell and no ammo to sell with the guns

Went to Marshalltown Ia show today, $6/ free parking . Went at last minute, about an hour drive . Not a very big show but something to do. Found a 4046TSW 2 mags and box for $650 a little high I thought, but he also had a 4516 with correct box and two mags very nice for $599 still a little high but he has a reputation for being willing to negotiate, if he still has it next week at Des Moines I may try to bargain. Only 22LR I took note of was CCI at $12/100.

On way home we drove by a gun shop on Hwy 30 that Ive passed a hundred times but never stopped, the open sign was on so turned around and stopped. It was better than the gun show; not a lot in interesting guns but the place was a step back in time.
My friend found all kinds of archery stuff under layers of dust still priced at 1980s prices. The couple that own it live next door
on the acreage. They have an outdoor range 300 yds 12 lanes and an indoor 25 yard pistol range in basement. The wife said they have been doing it for 47 years. He has a lil trouble speaking at times as he had a stroke but I could understand him quite well. He used to do full service gunsmithing but hasn't since the stroke. Lots of reloading supplies and equipment archery and fishing stuff mixed with random antiques such as a horse drawn sleigh hanging from ceiling.We apologized for staying so late as they were eating dinner when we walked in, but they welcomed us like old friends. It looked like one of the places that you see on American pickers. They said the range fees were $5 hr. outdoor $20/indoor quite reasonable I thought. We spent over an hour there and wish we could have stayed longer. When weather is warmer plan on going back for the outdoor range. Just a nice surprise to run into such friendly people.


Jim in Iowa

Well, if that number is correct, consider the math:

20,000,000 x 365 days = 7,300,000,000 rounds per year

Now let's say that of the 300,000,000+ people in the US, at any time 5,000,000 of them around the country want to purchase .22lr ammo. My guess is that there are more than that, but let's keep it on the conservative side. That means:

7,300,000,000 / 5,000,000 = 1,460 rounds per person per year.

When you work the numbers out that way, if each of 5,000,000 people buy only (3) 525 round packs per year, then that alone accounts for all the ammo produced each year. I know folks that buy far more than that every year. And I don't consider (3) 525 round packs to be all that much of the course of a year.

So, are the ammo manufacturers intentionally holding back (a claim I've heard before)? If so, why? They should be cleaning up right now. I've seen messages from folks like Federal that say they're producing at the maximum level they can and have been doing so for some time.

Then I talk with preppers on another forum I'm on and find out that some have 10,000+ rounds of .22 lr and keep buying as much as they can get.

I've managed to get my hands on a total of about 1,500 rounds in the last 15 months. Of that, I've shot about 1/2 of it, so as not to use it all. Personally, until a huge number people stop snapping up all the .22lr being produced, I don't see this 'shortage' going away any time soon. Add to that any time one of the big time politicians in Washington opens their yap about more restrictive gun legislation and people start buying everything they can get their hands on again. It's a never ending circle of panic that just keeps going.

Let's not talk like that, Jim. It may hurt someone's feelings!

LVSteve:
Thanks for the information.

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You're shy a few manners.

El Paso. Prices were crazy on 22lr. For the most part I go to socialize and if there is something interesting I may buy it. Sometimes I pick up some 44-40 ammo from Genes Ammo. Basically its purely social.

Well I hope it starts showing up in Kentucky so I don't have to keep shipping care packages to my sons for their use. Its not easy keeping myself, my 2 sons, their wives and my 4 grandchildren in 22lr. That's 9 people so I guess I'm no longer a hoarder but just the local family distributor for ammo. Add in my gunsmith who I count as family and a few close friends that makes 15 people. Dang no wonder I never have any 22lr ammo.

I generaly hit a gunshow each week, we have alot here in central texas, sometime as many as 4 going on 30 to 70 miles apart on one weekend. I see alot of the same faces, the same firearms the same high ammo prices but I figure it like buying a lottery ticket. if you don't go, you don't find the bargins and rare firearms. Some of the stuff I've picked up in the last year or so are; Nickle M-15 ($250), M-3913 ($300), M-1917 post-war commercial ($550), Heavy Duty ($300), M-640 ($350), M-31 3 inch ($250), Colt 1991A1 Commander ($550), German Drilling ($600), SA M1A ($900) So the bargins are out there but you have to pay the money to get in and spend the time walking the shows.

SWCA 892

I hope every one of those guys racing around scooping up bricks of 22 ammo at Walmart for $22 and calling their friends to buy some on their behalf to beat the limit and then offering them at shows for $80-$90 burns in Hell. Every one of them should burn in Hell. Lousy no good gougers.

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No life story has happy end.

Don't hold back on your feelings, tell us how you realy feel about gougers. LOL

I feel your pain. I went to the Big E gunshow yesterday in Springfield, MA only because we don't have as many shows to choose from like the rest of the free world. The show was advertised as 700 tables (large by MA standards) however, the hall looked to be only half full. Got in the door shortly after the 9AM opening and was through the entire show by 10:24.

I saw one older yellow, blue and red empty ammo box that I considered for gun room color and one Chief Special with a flat latch and diamond stocks with a 6 digit serial number for $550. Other than those two items, there was not much else to see.

Between the tables full of NAZI stuff, the salami and beef jerky, the nylon holsters and bags, the cheap knives, the WWII replica stuff from China and the 12 million candle power flashlights that offer close to XRAY vision, I didn't see many "older" guns. I was looking for HE's from 1900 to 1957ish and other than the one CS, there was nothing. Of course, I am not counting those that looked like they had been dragged behind a truck down the interstate for 1,000 miles or used as a hammer.

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James Redfield
LM #497

Your post is confusing, to say the least. In the first paragraph you say that if you "were dumb enough to run out of ammo you got what you deserved." In other words, if you didn't save any ammo, right? In the second paragraph you say "If you want to see this "shortage' go away in a hurry quit buying and hording ammo you really don't need! That's the solution and if you doing anything else you're part of the problem." Would that be people that are saving ammo? How do you determine someone else's needs? Very confusing.

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Lounge Lizard Extraordinaire

Strangely enough, I heard that from two sellers I talked with yesterday. One told me he found an unfired Colt .45-minty-box and all--for about $600. Didnt buy it-been kicking himself since. Thar same gun less than a year later--was $1,500.

Cant say I will agree with you because.... someone will take it the wrong way but, just delete the hell part, and I agree 100 and TEN%

This is the problem with fad guns, especially certain pistols. One minute they are all the rage and people will sell their daughters to get one, six months later you are a fool if you pay more than $25 plus two cereal box tops.

I've seen similar things in the milsurp arena. Argentine Mausers were selling for major money and then almost overnight they dropped by at least a third. Then there was the Finnish Mosin craze that lasted a while. Prices have since softened a little on those while decent Lee Enfields have gone from an average of $225 to nearer $350.

Went to a local show yesterday too. Found a 29-3 in nickel for $700.
Plenty of other older Smiths to be had, some reasonable, some stupid insane.
Ammo, yeah right! I've all but given up on .22! And 9mm defense ammo was close to $40 a box!
But I keep going, it's something to do.
Dale

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"Long live the S&W 3rd. Gen.!"

I hear ya. On Lee Enfields, I got my first back in 1994, for $25 from a local Pawn Shop--all matching. I sold it a year or so later for $125. I then got two Lithgow Lee-Enfields in a swap--later traded them for something else.

Really?
Let's suppose you run an ammo factory.
You are turning out ammo at full capacity. And selling it all.
But, you know that once the public gets all they want, the drought will end.
Do you spend millions to increase capacity and then have the tools sitting unused when the public stops hoarding?

You have orders from the big box stores. You fill them at a fair price, and somehow all that ammo ends up with resellers. Is that your fault?

I think the blame goes to many, the hoarders first.

The only reason im not concentrating on .22 now-is so I can concentrate on getting .45--but, if I see it? ill still buy it.