I live in Central West Coast Florida, and 22 LR ammunition is harder to find now than it was for the first seven months of 2014. At least once every two or three weeks, a few of the Walmarts in my area would get some bulk in. Haven't had any in in almost three months, and I check availability every night for 10 stores with the Walmart App, which is 95% accurate. Once in a while they get a few 50 or 100 round boxes in, but it is too expensive to drive all over for that quantity, especially with Walmarts 3 box limit. Same for the local gun shops, and what little they get in is 50 round boxes priced at 15 cents or more a round. Shortage is not over here in FL.

Bob

If you have a Cabelas close buy, you can usually find some online if your quick. I usually buy a few bricks then make the hour round trip to pick them up. Always stop in to the gun library to see if there's any deals too.
Check slickguns periodicly and the deals pop up in the ammo section.

No problems down here in my part of the bayou state. I believe people down here have soo much ammo, they no longer have any place to store it. So it just sits on the shelves for weeks at a time. Although CCI is a little harder to find than the other. Usually if any .22lr disappears rather quick, its the CCI.

Was in a local wally world here in La and no 22rf on the shelves and with hunting season very little hunting ammo. Didn't even have the large displays of shotgun shells out like they usually do this time of the year. Frank

My local Wally World had 15,000 rounds of the CCI 100rd boxes in stock last time I was there.

roog

So you can buy the 1 box limit for a while then pick up the accumulated orders? My cabelas is 30 miles away.
If I show up at the local Dunham's on the morning the ammo's delivered I can usually get a bulk pack or even a bucket of LR. Remington, mostly.
I'd say the local ammo drought is still "exceptional" as far as rimfire goes, except for 17 HMR.

ppl just dont have the disposable income this qtr to purchase ammo. prices are dropping across the board for everything. great for the consumer w/ price wars competing for our business. I cant wait for BF2014.

Forget about Walmart. If you follow the M & P 15-22 forum under the In Stock Ammo thread you will be able to buy reasonable ammo delivered to your door. Subscribe to the thread and they send you an email when someone posts a deal with a LINK that all you have to do is click on. NO, every deal posted is not great, but there are some reasonable ones posted. I have purchased all my ammo at 6 to 8 cents per round. And many times around 5 cents a round. I don't waste my time, and gas driving around to the big box stores hoping they have something. An example was awhile ago on that forum I bought a Federal 2100 round ammo can delivered to my door, with a FREE shipping deal for $109.99. Thats a little over 5 cents per round. So, sign up and stop wasting your time at Walmart

P.S. Last week there were posts there from Cabela's everyday with ammo deals. 333 packs, goldens 525, AR tactical, Swamp people 300, and I even posted one I found at Academy CCI Mini Mags 1600 round Plano box that I bought. So they are there IF you want them.

Federal Auto Match .22LR 40gr Lead Round Nose 325rd AM22

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M&P15,9MM,M66,22-A,Glock 30SF

$55 - 200 round box at the gun show not CCI, passed !

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Painted my Mag release red

Yep I place my orders online and then pick them up in 2-3 weeks. I can usually find 3000 rounds easy in that time span, and for about $0.06 a round. Right now I'm well stocked, so not really seeking it out.

I bought on the In Stock Ammo thread awhile back. Federal Automatch from Cabela's $17.99 +5.95 shipping $23.94 delivered to my door. It's there guys you just have to wait for the right deal, and act quickly.

The shortage will NEVER be over so long as everyone keeps perusing various websites (including this one) seeking .22lr and buying everything in sight. This also goes for those who gang up at Wally World and other retailers at the crack of dawn and buy the maximum when it hits the shelves. Some of these folks brag about already having tens of thousands or even 100,000+ rounds of .22lr in their closets.
If shooters would also not pay $40-50 for 325 count bricks of Federal ammo that should sell for $16 then the price gougers would go out of business and prices would stabilize and shelves would fill up. We are our own worst enemy!

Cabelas online was the only source I needed. Unfortunately, there are no stores within several states of Florida for local pickup. The 1 box online limit now makes it not worth the trouble.

Thanks to the 'old' Cabelas online (no limit), I'm set for quite a while.

Here, in Central Florida, WM has never been worth the trouble to even check. I'll wait until I can order online again, but have to give Cabelas a lot of credit for never trying to gouge or take advantage. They've always sold at reasonable prices.

Happy shooting!

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Best Regards,
Mark

Sure if there was a Cabellas, or other sporting goods store close by. But Cabellas online has a one box limit and unless you can get a high quantity bulk box, with shipping the price becomes too high. So all I have is Walmart (worlds largest gun dealer) and Dick's Sporting Goods, which is basically useless for ammo and especially 22 LR. The local Gun Shops and Gun Shows are price gouging or just don't have any. Gunbroker prices are still too high for 22 LR, although most other calibers of handgun or rifle ammunition can be found at decent prices. That still leaves me Walmart, and the stores in my area are just not getting any bulk in.

Bob

If everybody stopped buying .22lr for one month, the "shortage" would miraculously disappear. Just a thought. Joe

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Wisdom chases me; I'm faster

On the brighter side I have seen some great deals on 22 lr rifles and handguns being sold by frustrated owners.

Try telling that to the flippers. They don't care ,they aren't shooters. They are in it to make money on the shooters.

Simple solution, don't buy from them! If they sit on their inventories for a few months then they will stop buying and flipping.

Couple of those guys seem like they are addicted to buying .22LR ammo.
Think they would be just fine knowing when they could buy more.

Yeah. It's not over here in Indiana either. Glad I don't need it anymore.

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USMC 83'-87', NRA Member.

Hi, I'm Jim, and I'm an Ammoholic

It all started after I bought my first 22. I woke up the next day and realized I now needed ammo. So I began driving around to all the big box stores trying to find some. There was nothing to be found!! "What did I get myself into" I said to myself. Then I found the In Stock Ammo thread and my thirst for ammo was solved. Wow, I can order it online, at home, from my computer anytime I needed it. At first I bought anything I could. Just to feel the rounds in my hands. But then when I had a good stock I only started buying my favorite rounds. I then realized there were other people like me out there, addicted to ammo!! So I decided to share my secret online and help others like myself. But much to my dismay people still preferred to drive around much like I did in the beginning hoping they would stumble on a rare 100 round box of CCI on a shelf. And others who would rather complain about those who do buy it, and that we are the problem. So I finally realized there is no hope for some people. Yes, I'm Jim, and I'm addicted to ammo. But I'm the one who will be out shooting anytime I want while others sit home talking about the old days, and the never to return to old day prices.

Very doubtfull pharmer, I haven't seen any .22's at WW in over a month. You can't "Hoard" what isn't available. I smell a rat at the manufacturer and distributors's door. Not one of the gun magazines is doing an investigation following where all the .22 ammo is going. All you read about it is some gun scribe that is interviewing one of their advertisers...saying that they're doing all they can to satisfiy the demand, running machines 24/7.....bullcookies! It's been over 2 years now.

According to clerks at my local Walmart, they are getting 22 ammo on a regular basis.
They told me that most of the time the same guys show up and buy all of it. Every day. So apparently a few people have accumulated a lot of 22 ammo.
They had a good inventory of almost every other caliber except 22. Apparently there is still an ongoing attempt to corner the market on 22 ammo.

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NRA LIFE MEMBER

I'm afraid some people won't consider the shortage over until they can walk into their local walmart and buy all the 22 ammo they want. If walmart was the only place I tried to buy ammo at the last couple years I would be shooting at my targets with rocks and a sling shot.

I've picked up 1450 rounds of 22lr this month at Walmart. CCI and Remington. Just need be there at the right times I guess. No not early mornings for me I work. A couple of times in the evening.

Shoot Straight in Tampa a little more than an hour north of you has had 22lr in stock every time I've been in there for months. The last few weeks they have had it at 10 cents per round. I do agree that Walmart is tough, I haven't seen any at Walmarts near me for years. I also saw 10 cent per round 22 at both the Palmetto and Ellenton gun shows within the last month. It is out there, Walmart and the small gun shops may not be the best bet though.

Khalid already gets enough of my money. $.10/rd is $55 for a $25 Wallybox. Go on up ahead without me. I'll pile it at $.04 rd. The 10K rds I have on hand was purchased at around $.02/rd and when I bought it nobody said I was a "hoarder." Lots of "mouth" around, solutions, not so much. Joe

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Wisdom chases me; I'm faster

I agree, .10 is too much but the OP seems to want to pick it up instead of ordering online. My average landed cost has been under .07 and I only buy minimags now.

We have 2 Walmart stores in my town and neither one has had any rimfire of ANY caliber in several months. The store on the opposite side of town as me, doesn't even have price tags for it on the shelves anymore. It's all pistol, rifle and shotgun ammo now.

I just happened to find 1000 rounds of Federal Lightening I had sealed and stored in 1984 ish. Less than $2 a 50 round box, suppose a few will not fire but it's the range to test them. : >)

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Painted my Mag release red

People still lamenting a shortage of .22 ammo?

I just had 2,000 rounds of Norma TAC-22 delivered to my door - for a price that amounts to $11 per 100 rounds.

You people who say there's an ammo shortage must only use the internet to come to this forum and whine about it. .22 ammo is out there. It ain't hard to find...

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M&P's and K Frames Pleeze!

Yes,It is around if you are willing to overpay.That has already been covered in this thread.No way am I paying $55 for a brick of 500 Rounds of .22LR.

Sorry, I call bull... they may not have had it when you went, but they have had it. A quick search on brassbadger shows that 3 days ago, the Cartersville Hwy Walmart had Federal Automatch. Within the past week, both Walmarts have had the Winchester M22 1,000 round boxes.

It also has become increasingly difficult for me to find it in the last few months. My local Bass Pro used to ALWAYS have some but not anymore, perhaps cause some a-hole started buying it all up or they just aren't getting as much in anymore. Local Walmart has had it once or twice in the past year (and I never actually saw it I just heard about it). The in-stock online ammo thread has been the only thing allowing me to continue shooting my 15-22.

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M&P 15-22
1911

A 300% increase in the price of rimfire ammunition in two years does not indicate that things are "back to normal" or even approaching "normal". Like other posters have stated before me, I will not pay 10-15¢ a round for .22LR ammunition when it was 4-5¢ a round just two years ago. Component and production costs did not increase 300%, so the increase is not due to any increase in production costs, unless the ammo manufacturers are trying to recoup all of their costs for installing additional production lines immediately instead of over the lives of the new production lines. I believe that the increased cost is coming from the distributors who are enjoying a windfall as long as it appears that supply is low (and some retailers for the same reason).

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ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒΕ

Here at the wally in Mass I was talking to a clerk and the guys who are showing up daily are actually working for several dealers who do gun shows where they can sell the $26 brick from wally's at the show for $75

Based on what it was going for around here before the "shortage", $11 for 100 is not overpaying...it's just about right - and that was for American made. Good ammo like Norma was higher.

If you don't wanna pay, they you don't get to play...

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M&P's and K Frames Pleeze!

Bass Pro had 20 boxes of Winchester longs on sale today for $7 and they work just fine in my old Stevens. Haven't seen longs for years now.

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Painted my Mag release red

First time in a darn long time, our local Wally World had some .22s. CCI Swamp People brand. 300 rounds for 20 bucks. My shooting buddy was there with his wife and he saw it and called me. Paint brush into the bucket and 20 minutes later I was back painting the porch. I got two boxes, limit was three. Not the old days by a long stretch but I certainly okay these days.

I would just like it to get back to where you can go to a store and expect to find .22 there rather than have to be called by people "quick get here there is some"
The old days, you needed some you went and bought some, now it is have the spy's out there.

They are the ones who ruin it for everyone. Price gouging A-Holes.

I would think that the moment the U.S. Senate switched hands that the price of .22lr would automatically be 60% cheaper and the shelves would be full.

They WERE last night!!! Went to Wally's and the bricks of 500 were $9.96 just like the old days!!! I bought 15! No limit no lines!

Then I saw myself in the display case I had brown hair, that was a clue I was having a nightmare!

I woke up to gray hair, overweight and no .22

I Hate to keep beating a dead horse but all it would take is for everyone (and I mean everyone!) would just stop buying from these jerks for one or two months. I realize that it's hard to resist if you are truly out of .22LR but for most part I get the feeling that those who are and have been overpaying are no where near zero when it comes to their personal inventory.
No matter what, just stop buying at these inflated prices and they will get stuck with their inventory. It's simple supply and demand and in no time we will be able to saunter into our local Wally World or gun shop and pick up a brick on the way to the range.
Another thing are the online threads on sites like this where shooters lurk and wait for someone to post when ammo is in stock somewhere. I will admit I have been guilty of taking advantage of them. Problem is when you see something available at an online retailer it only lasts a few minutes because thousands pounce immediately and buy the maximum. Before the the shortage people only bought what they shoot and not hoard enough to last them decades.

That last statement is purely opinion and not supported by facts. The casual shooter may have done this, but active shooters have always bought for future needs as well as current.

For the last 20 years I have always bought by the case and never had less than a full case in reserve at any given time - most of the time two cases, until this current madness started. I'm glad I bought four cases just before the bottom dropped out.

Aside from buying ammo at a gun show or out of the trunk of someone's car I cannot say anything about the high prices we see for 22LR.

Now if someone could somehow get ahold of purchasing invoices from one or more of the big online retailers and prove we are being raked over the coals then I would agree that we should stop buying 22LR until prices come down or stabilize.

Places that offer 22LR at the old prices could very well be selling at a loss hoping to draw customers in to buy other products.

If I was a retailer selling 22LR at an honest markup and people refused to pay that price it wouldn't bother me one bit.Ammo isn't going to rot if it sits there and I wouldn't have to listen to the constant barrage of whining about purchase limits or out of stock.

We know that people are abusing the system by buying up large quantities of 22LR and selling at obscene profits but what percentage of the entire marketplace does that entail.

A rumor (or conspiracy) remains just that until it is proven to be true.

These are just my random thoughts on the subject.I'm not on drugs and didn't just step off of the banana boat.

Finally I must add...There is no 22LR shortage! If you can't find any you aren't looking hard enough.The whole argument should be solely about price and not about availability.

I have no trouble finding it, but i refuse to pay the ridiculous prices. One day i may have to but for now i'm holding off.

Majorlk,
I stand by my statement. Of course shooters be them casual or active (whatever each of those terms means) buy for their needs. I am acquainted with many shooters and my stock of somewhere around 5000 rounds of .22lr is the more than any of them on hand. Most of them only had a few bricks hanging around even though I would consider them pretty enthusiastic shooters. When we go out and shoot which is nearly every week, sometimes more, we each burn through 200-300 of 22lr rounds each. I should add that we shoot other calibers during each session.
If their usage is 1000 rounds per month they used to be able to go pick up a brick or two to replenish their inventory. This is the way it should be for crying out loud. No one begrudges you (or me for that matter) for keeping a case or two ahead. I usually would stock up when ammo was on sale (Remember $10 bricks?) which would be on a regular basis and that kept me ahead. I can't do that now. What I think is ridiculous are those who claim they have 80-100,000 rounds stockpiled and they claim they are still buying. They need to calm down.

When you are walking from your car to the store, this is a sure sign that the neckbeard is already ahead of you in line.

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WWSSD?
What would Skeeter do?