Absolutely agree.

How many new shooters are there since the election of '08?

And how many of these new shooters are females?

And what's the first piece of advice well-meaning (but maybe misguided) souls give to new shooters - particularly females?

That's right - "Get a .22 and when you're all growed up you can have a Man's gun!".

One Hundred Million gun owners in the USA. No matter how you slice it, that's a lot of folks and a lot of ammo.

The only thing we learn from history is that we learn nothing from history. It has been a scant 11 months since Sandy Hook.

You want to talk shortages? Google "WWII".

For your information I just got my 686-1 back after having it done for the modification recall and the issue was with .357 not 38 special.So have you been able to find powder or primers for reloading?No place locally sells it and Midway is always out.

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There is a thread in the reloading forum titled "Daily in stock reloading notices" that has had 571 responses in the past 8 months. You will find your .357 supplies there.

The shortage is due to a number of coincidental factors. First, and foremost, is the gun grabbing terror inculcated in all of us by these massacres.

Next is the appearance of all of the .22LR caliber "assault rifle" look-a-likes and all the clones of many semiauto pistols. Shooting of these .22s is very different than the old-time, plinking, vermin control and target shooting that I grew up doing. I am a very active shooter and competitor and see casual shooters come to the range with their clone guns. They go into their favorite "gun fantasy games" mindset, load the 25 round mags and just pour bullets down range as fast as they can until they run out. Their target looks like a sieve, not a group. They pack up and leave and start frantically buying more ammo. There is no doubt in my mind that consumption is way up from what it was even 10 yrs. ago.

Third is all the new .22LR shooting games that have sprung up in recent years, i.e. Ruger Rimfire is very popular in my area. This is way different than the old Bullseye game which emphasizes ritual and accuracy.

Last are the hoarders and the gougers. I don't really know how much is a hoard, but I had a stockpile of .22 ammo before the panic. I am using that ammo up and refuse to buy during this panic. The gougers are trying to make a business out of scrounging up ammo and reselling at inflated price. I fervently hope they end up eating that ammo!!

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Bob.
SWCA 1821

I hear ya on that last part. I have a fair amount of 22 LR, but since I know I can't readily replace it, I cant shoot a brick a week like I did in the past.

Also, Iowegan's point about the proliferation of semi-auto 22 firearms is an excellent one. When the shortage hit, I pretty much stopped using my 10/22, and switched to shooting my Henry lever gun instead. Why? Well, the Henry holds 15 in its tube. If I fill it up 4 times, that's only 60 rounds,.and I can actually shoot for a fairly long time with it. With the 10/22 is tended to shoot at least a couple hundred rounds each time out with it.

Midway is accepting back orders on Winchester and Federal Eagle 22s, with expected delivery (to them) this month thru Feb of next year... hopefully they are correct !!!

Will

.22 Rimfire ammo is plentiful if you want to pay $10.00 per box of 50 rounds

I've now found and purchased some 22lr! This afternoon my wife an I were out running errands. I had a $20 certificate from Field & Stream, a new store here. So we went in looking for something else and low and behold, they had a pallet on the floor with Winchester 333s for $17.99 each. So we found a pair of employees, flirting and chatting. She was a babe! But I interrupted (rude, I know) to ask what the purchase limit was. He said 2 boxes per person. So I picked up 4, handed 2 to my wife, and we paid and left. It feels good. Now I've got to decide if I should haul them to the gun show and try to double my money, or toss them in an ammo can and forget them.

Maybe I should show up at 5:00 AM on Friday and try to score 2 more. My wife may be easy going, but getting her out of the sack early enough to drive there would be very risky.

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Dick Burg

Maybe the gun grabbers don't want you teaching your kids to shoot...

As mentioned, Midway is accepting backorders on a bunch of .22lr at close to prepanic prices. If I was running low I'd buy two or three cases and when it comes in next year (whenever) then no worries for a while. Running around on rimfire ammo safari trying to find a brick here and there.... no thanks. It stings to spend a lot of money on large purchases for what is supposed to be economical shooting, but I know I'll eventually shoot it all... always do.

Here's something I posted on a different thread a day or so ago.
I'm having no trouble finding .22 lr. Mini mags mostly.


The ammo hack for Walmart has helped me over the past couple of weeks. I've been finding CCI mini mags popping up at numerous WM stores within 5-15 miles from my house. $7.47/100 box + 6.875% sales tax.
Here's the video on how to use it if you've not already seen it.

VR AMMO HACK STILL WORKS ON WALMART WEBSITE - YouTube

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It's Alive !!

It is coming back. [B]Some[B] of the Atlanta Walmarts have plenty, with a 3 box /customer limit.

Only 450? For that is plenty, for others, it's a drop in the bucket. Read the following responses to your thread and you can easily deduce the answer:

Well, I slept in this morning and it was GREAT!

I let all of the crazies do their thing, standing in line in the cold dark, JUST to "maybe" get their hands on ONE brick of 22LR at the local BPS at 5am.

Me too! I have enough until the bucket I ordered is no longer back ordered.

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Not enough space

Sorry to disappoint ya there Scooter but I sauntered into Cabela's at 6:30 AM, got my $17 brick, paid up and left. Nothing crazy about that. Been getting up at 5:00 for 32 years, why would today be different?

That is all fine and dandy, however Cabelas is 75mi away and BPS is 40mi away in the other direction.

Leaving the house at or near 3am is just NOT that appealing to me, especially when it would cost between ~$18(BPS) and ~$35(Cabelas) in gasoline money for that ONE brick limit of 22LR. And besides, I am also seeing that neither have the best prices nor absolute availability of the larger caliber centerfire rounds in stock.

Today... got up at 6 a.m. Drank my two big mugs of coffee and headed out the door to Dublin... 178 miles away, to meet my wife and family for a belated Thanksgiving dinner. On the way I stopped at Bass Pro in Macon... no .22 LR ammo of any kind. On I drove to Dublin. Wal-Mart was... out. I tried a little gun shop in East Dublin. They offered to sell me 100 rds. in a plastic bag for $14.11/bag. I declined. A few minutes later the owner saw me and walked over to ask what sort of ammo I needed. I told him that I needed .22 LR ammo, but that $14/100 rd. was to rich for my blood. We talked a bit about life the universe and everything. He then told me to wait a minute. He went into the back of the store and returned with a brick of CCI standard velocity target .22 LR ammo. The little boxes were marked $4/50 rds. He had the young lady at the register scan it as $29.99/500 rds. Just a few minutes and $32.10 paid and I was out the door. Very cool. Sometimes it is good to just listen to what folks are saying. I think a lot of store owners are just as frustrated about ammo supply, etc. as are those of us who are having problems finding shootable quantities of .22 LR ammo. When I got to the house and showed my wife what I'd found she was about as happy as I was. I plan to use it when I visit my daughter and son-in-law at Christmas. I'll let them have fun shooting it in my 18-3.

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<><

Wednesday evening the wife wanted to go to Wal-Mart for some last minute shopping. I always go by the ammo counter and for the last several months they've only had 22 shot cartridges. Well to my surprise the shelves were stocked with Federal 550 bulk for $22 so I bought the allotted 3 boxes of this ammo. They also had a lot of CCI MiniMags in 100 round plastic boxes for $ 6.99. Today is Friday and I went back to see if any ammo was left and the 22 LR was all gone.
They did have Winchester WB 9mm and 38 Special in 100 round boxes so I grabbed that. Hopefully the shortage is nearing an end, at least here in western Illinois.

And therein lies the difference between those with ammo and those without ammo. Me, I have ammo but it took a lot of early mornings in line before the store opened to get it and since waking up early ( old Army habit)isn't that hard one might as well line up for ammo.

Ah but just add the $35 in gasoline to that $25/brick 22LR and you have a $60 brick of 22LR! Sleeping in was well worth the lack of effort when one lives too far from the retailer.

Really kind of strange. The twin city metro area (Mpls/St Paul) seems to be getting in 22lr & 9mm.
There are 19 Walmart stores within 30 miles of my housel. This is what I found.
Fed Champion GMJ 9mm (100rd) in stock in 4 of 19 stores.
Fed Champion FMJ 9mm (50rd) in stock in 9 of 19 stores

Fed Value Pack 22lr (550 rd) in stock in 5 of 19 stores First time I've seen these.
Fed Champion 22lr (100 rd) in stock in 4 of 19 stores
CCI mini mags 36 grain (100 rd) in stock in 3 of 19 stores. I've been paying $7.47 per 100 rd box for these.
Is this a Minnesota thing? Less shooters here? Don't know.
BTW. Three box limit at Walmart stores here.

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It's Alive !!

I think the .22 is coming back. At least to Colorado anyway.

Last 2 times that I walked into Walmart they had CCI Minimags. Monday at about 10 am the Bowles and 470 Walmart had the 100 round plastic boxes for $7.49 each and I got my three.

Today I walked into the Walmart at Wadsworth and Quincy and there were at least 20 of the 325 round CCI 'Choot EM' boxes on the shelf. At $24 for 325 a little high but I bought my 3 boxes anyway.

Local gunstore has CCI Maxi Mag .22 Magnums - both FMJ and Hollowpoint for $14 a box of 50.

Use this hack to get get past the "store information not available" and find out which stores actually have ammo in stock.
Works great for me.
As posted earlier, I've been finding .22 & 9mm ammo at WM quite frequently


EASY Walmart Website Hack for "Store information not available", Find Ammo Other Stores! - YouTube

gun broker and the other auction sites... there's plenty there

I am a firm believer that the rimfire shortage is self-induced; not necessarily by the average shooter, but by shooters nonetheless. I'm over 60, been shooting a while, both recreationally and competitively. I know people that have NEVER owned more than a brick of .22's at one time in their lives that are sitting on tens of thousands of rounds. Their justification is that they will never run out - and I'm inclined to agree. Their annual consumption prior to the re-election of our current president (which I think drove the mass gun / ammo buying more than anything) was usually the aforementioned brick or less and now they have enough stockpiled that they are using it for furniture. Consider for instance that Federal's plant in Mississippi produces nothing but rimfire ammo, but at the rate of 1,000,000 rounds a day. One million is not a bunch divided among the representative classes - LR, Hi-Velocity, Standard Velocity, etc., etc., - and at 5K rounds per case. I do some work for a LGS on a regular basis. His wholesalers prices have risen some, but not enough to justify the "gouge 'em while you can" gun show prices. My opinion, for what it's worth....

Bought 5 of the 100 rd. plastic packs of Remington
standard velocity "Target" loads today from my LGS.
.22 Long Rifle @ 10 bucks per.
He also said, buy as many as you'd like.

Chuck

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They hold no Quarter

my friend and I shot a lot I mean a brick a week for years.( those were the days, but they are long gone) every time we went to Wal-Mart we would buy a brick or two. over time we both had stored a nice batch of ammo. then the shortage hit, I have enough to hold me over for awhile. My buddy told me he has over "60" bricks at home and the other day saw some for $28 a brick and bough two. I ask him why because you have more then you will ever shoot in your life time. we only shoot 200-250 rounds at a time now a few times a year. it is a sickness, he still thinks that he needs more. maybe there should be a program for hoarders to try to break them from this addiction.

I think I still have around 40 bricks on the ammo pile. I still try to shoot a brick when I go out to plink. Like Phil the moderator above posted, I buy in large blocks and store it. Just keep watching Midway or Midsouth or your favorite vendor and when they run a special but 5 or 6 sleeves of bricks and store them. 10 bricks to the sleeve and you are in for a lot of fun.

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SWCA 1646

My LGS is no longer limiting us to two boxes. For the past month they've had CCI standard and ar tactical (same as mini-mags I believe), rem golden, stingers, winchester, and a few other .22. Stopped at Dick's yesterday and they a stack of rem value packs (525 rounds). I only buy the CCI standard now. I have about 5000 rounds total, 2500 are CCI and I shoot about a brick a week (one competition and two to three practice sessions). I try to keep one brick of CCI on hand in case I can't find any but I've been pretty steady for a few months now.

Sent from my DROID RAZR HD using Tapatalk

If you wait for that, it's going to be another 40-year hiatus. The preppers, hoarders, etc ain't givin up their stashes (no, I'm not one.)

Get on the notify list with some of the online retailers. Have your smart phone and credit card with you at all times and be ready to pounce as soon as you get a notification (scan your drivers license to send to them)

Right now (7:22 Sunday morning) is the perfect time to go hit your local retailers.

P.S. Just saw your note about your commute. Livin in the boonies is great,but all the more reason you need to be a bit of a hoarder. Plan your trips to town for early in the morning, especially Sundays.

I did combine that Cabela's trip after my Home Depot @5 AM (free coffee and donuts while we waited for the doors to open) where I saved almost $200 on supplies and materials for my basement Redo. And after Cabela's I hit up Lowes. Only you can decide the price of losing a couple hour's sleep.

It takes some advance planning, logistical forethought to make it work and admittedly living in the 'burbs has it's advantages. But there is ammo out there that can be had for a reasonable price.

The "Old Days" are long gone. We'd better get used to it.

I just gave your "hack" a go at it and it indeed allowed me to do the "find a store" routine, but still ZERO luck on the 22LR thus far.

It is going to be hard to raise a next generation of shooters if .22 ammo stays this scarce and expensive.

I find it hard to believe that it is all supply and demand but I also find it hard to believe that anyone could manipulate the situation this long without it coming out. I find it very puzzling and suspicious.

I buy .357 ammo, it is expensive but the brass is reusable and I like having some factory HP ammo around for just in case. In fact, I am planning to try some Hornady .357 FTX ammo soon just to see if it is all that and a bag of chips as reported.

Local WMs latest excuse as I overheard when cashier was answering another persons questions yesterday. We only get one shipment of ammo in a week (lie Nr 1 before I walked away) Lie Nr 2 just heard as I walked away was: "I havent seen any 22 in over three months come to this particular store" when in fact, they have had it many many times. I scored one visit-two boxes of 555 22 lr, other visits 3 boxes of 50 rounds, other visits 2 boxes of 325 etc--same with 9mm.

I walked away shaking my head at his blatant lying. That cashier KNEW I knew better because-he was the one that sold me most of what I mentioned above.

The guy he was speaking with, was TRYING to get interested in shooting and wanted a rifle for himself as well as another for his teenaged son. What a way to get introduced into the world of shooting.

True statement. I have tried to do my part.

Donated 1100 rounds of .22lr to raise money for the Colorado Recalls and they were won by an out of state bidder that then had me give them to the Boy Scouts. Donated another 1100 rounds to them myself directly after so they had enough total to do the fall shooting event.

There is a local instructor who teaches concealed carry and a large portion of his clientele are young women whom he teaches with a Ruger SR.22. He got another 1000 rounds from me.

I purchase .22 when I find it as posted above, but a lot of my small stash of it then goes out to others. If we want to keep our guns - We must recruit and educate as many new shooters as we can.

Just keep watching it. For Week or so I saw nothing, then over the past 10 days I saw a bunch of stuff come in. Went to three different stores and ended up with over 1,000 rds. Only takes about 10 minutes work on your computer and no money spent on gas. As of today I noticed that all mini mags are sold but there are bricks (550) of Federal at three different stores. Also, don't know how many WM in your area. I have 19 stores within 20 miles of my house.

My closest WM is ~30mi., and then another 19 or so farther than that but less than 50mi. The gasoline differential is the killer.

At a walmart in middle of Fl I missed the 9 mm and 22 lr by one day.the guy said they had federal and cci .They had 38 & 40.
got a 100 pack of 40 for 37.56.
gonna pick up some 22 there soon.
I'm gonna buy 2 bricks off 22 when it comes in

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S&W Shield 40 owner

yes, going rate is 10 cents a round ........, manufactures are not making many as much more profit in the center fire stuff - in fact : Obamah and his crew are playing games with .22 ammo as its about the only caliber you cant really reload yourself . On the center fire ammo - he's trying to control the primers ......go figure

I just came across a box of Federal Champion ammo in the .22 ammo thread that was going for $105! That is beyond ridiculous. Someone needs to be flogged.

The good old days...

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CCI-22LR-Price.jpg (115.9 KB, 47 views)

Our local wally world here has not had any 22 since last year. When I go there each time I usually see some value packs (winchester) in 45 or sometimes 40S&W. No 9mm or 38 special. There is usually one or two customers before me and whatever they ask for they don't have on the shelves. No buckshot nor any slugs. Don't know if the early risers are buying it up to hoard or resell as I refuse to get up that early just to get 22's. Last time I was there they had 4 value packs 45 and a few boxes of 40S&W. Don't think it's going to change anytime soon. But Academy and Cabela's always seem to have a way better selection. Frank

Went to nearby city this morning an hour early for a meeting, just to visit the local walmart about 9am. (bout 30 miles away). Saw two stacks of 22lr fed auto match, with 3 box limit. Guy looked at me and said he called people up yesterday to tell them it was coming and I was the first to show up. Bought 3 boxes and told him I wasn't there from learning about it on the phone, but strictly chance.

He looked at me kinda funny, and I held my temper.