Went to a local Dicks early grand opening this morning. First 100 people got a free t-shirt and entered for a drawing. Care to guess what everyone was there for? Every third person was there to buy .22.

Men's wives were there to buy ammo, Girl friends, grandparents-the story was the same. A happy crowd that waited about an hour.

Limit was 3 one hundred rounds boxes or one bulk pack. It lasted about 10 minutes. Store promised there would be more ammo available for the Grand Event opening on Saturday.

Funny thing was they had cases of .22 Magnum and .17 HMR ammo with no limit.

Like others have said, its easier to load .38 and 9mm than find .22.

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The American dream is alive

Provided you can find pistol powders.
I've been playing with the good old calibers of late.
Brass is scarce, but the powders they use seem to be overlooked by the masses.
I am looking for 45-70 brass, .... eventuality some will turn up.
As soon as I do, all other components are already on hand.

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it just needs more voltage

Not for awhile, unfortunately.

I noticed yesterday the local Academy Sports has moved all the 22 rounds back to the Customer Service desk for rationing.

No, and when Hillary gets in it will get worse!

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Twogunnes
John 3:16

Seems to be the "new normal." In my neck of the woods, zero rimfire to be found. LGS says "it's getting worse" as far as .22 is concerned. I didn't give much weight to conspiracy theories about government purposely buying up ammo as a means of gun control but now I'm not so sure. There's a story here and no investigative journalist has really dug deeply enough. Something nefarious is going on.

If it were strictly supply-demand, the fact is that like all commodities, eventually a balance is struck in a free market. Even with all the new shooters and record sales of rimfire firearms, there ought to be adequate supply if manufacturers are truly producing what they say they are.

The few times over the past several months I've come across .22, it is ALWAYS rationed. 2-box limit. In my case I have to travel 50 miles to buy 100 rounds and usually when I get there it's sold out.

Like many sportsmen, I am thinking of selling all my rimfire guns. If you can't shoot 'em, why keep 'em?

yes and no depends on the caliber .223,9mm, 40 cal easy to get .22's getting better Try finding 10mm or 357Sig not so good I managed to get one box of them (357) and got first fired brass to load more Sig's have everything to load the 9's, .223's and 40's

I deal with Dicks in NJ usually they have 22's every Thursday reasonable prices not a hoarder but have plenty, enough to keep me shooting for a while

At academy here-its been moved (a few months ago) from the ustomer Counter to behind the Gun counter. Everything else is on regular shlves in aisles and no rationing. Last time I bought 22--wasoveeramonth ago and somelady compained that I got 200 rounds. I got my "legal" limit of two boxes and they happeed to be 100 round boxes. There was a **** loaof Aguila 22--both blue and red boxes-and Winchester in Gray and whits box, and someover-prics **** in a black box. I alost told her instead of moaning and groaning-why doesnt she simply go to the counter and ask for two boxes of Remington 100 rounders like I did.I had just left and they still had about 20 boxes of those too.

In the above--dunno why a word was ****edout as it wasnt a banned word. I was talking about the 22 in the black box which was over-priced.

Oh come now, don't make it THIS easy OK it's been a long afternoon!!!!

22lr is nonexistent in southern cali.

The sad thing about this whole situation is 22lr is easier to get than powder.

The old adage: "some people aren't worth the powder it would take to blow themselves up" is no longer relevant as it would vastly over-inflate their actual worth in the event of such a fortuitous calamity.

I would expect when the manufacturers and distributors get stocked on ammo inventory then powders should start to trickle in again too.

They KNOW that reloaders are hoarders .

Think about it - if there are 500,000 guys waiting on 8 lbs of Varget - then that is 4 Million pounds and that is just if they get 8 pounds . That could take a while to catch up since all their components are going to loaded ammo for a while.

But hopefully in six months or so . Primers had become available, brass was here and there, many bullets are creeping through , so powders should follow along . Hopefully .

I feel your pain.. No 357 sig to be found in my area at a reasonable price. I did find some at a lgs for 65.00 a box for fmj. I don't think so. They can keep it and hopefully choke on it.

Well, this is pretty much meaningless, the usual Breitbart paranoia and fear-mongering. As the article clearly states, the USPS has its own "police force"...the Inspection Service. What they purchase is a drop in the bucket. And you'll notice that this little squib about the USPS ammo purchases amounts to a mere three sentences out of the whole article.

As legally sworn law enforcement officers with broad powers of enforcement, the Inspection Service has to qualify with any number of weapons, just like regular cops, the Secret Service, and others.

And they actually haven't purchased any "large amounts" of ammo yet. All the USPS is doing right now is notifying suppliers/manufacturers they have the opportunity to sell to the USPS. No one's forcing them to sell to them. If they don't want to, they don't have to.

This is much ado about nothing. Basically a bunch of hooey.

My local Fleet Farm finally stocked up almost all cals of stock. Problem is just like gas once it goes up in price, it never falls to its previous levels. I did not notice the limit sign on purchasing in units of 100 per visit. But at the current prices, I did not see lines of customers buying either.

Just because you can't find ammo at a local store doesn't mean it isn't out there.You can't spoonfeed people their ammo forever.How many times are people going to post that they can't find any ammo in whatever caliber.Time spent here complaining could be better spent online looking for ammo and buying at the best price available.

Just like buying a gun...We can't all get the best price out there so suck it up and do the best you can.

Sorry if I might have offended someone but you'll just have to get over it.

GunBot 17hmr rimfire ammo Buy all the ammo and supplies you want - depends on how MUCH YOU are willing to pay

Was just wondering if this comment of yours was intended as a personal attack.

I was in Palm Springs for a week earlier this month, and at 2nd Amendment Sports, they had plenty. They were limiting it to 1 box (50 rounds) per person per day, so if I lived there I'd be getting a brick every ten days. They also had more powder and primers than I've seen anywhere in a long time. If I was hurting for those, I'd have made a big shipment home.

Last year a LGS was charging $90 for 30 round Magpul PMAG magazines when the craziness was running rampant. I told them I'd never be back, and I've been true to my promise. The one LGS that continued to sell them at list price (limit of 2 per day, which was fair, IMHO) continues to get my business.

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ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒΕ

I was checking out a new-to-me gun shop the other day and they had a bulk box of Remington Thunderbolts for $139.
I was almost relieved that they had no guns I was interested in so I could walk out without buying anything. I wasn't greeted or acknowledged by the staff at all anyway so no big loss to me.

The Denver area is rich with both guns and ammo if you're patient and shop around a bit.
Lots of LGSs in this area that could really care less if you shop with them. No problem, like I said, lots of options here. Many shops are very attentive and courteous and those are frequently visited and appreciated.

There was a LOT of overpriced 22LR at the Tanner show this past weekend and it seemed to be just sitting there.
This is good to see, obviously, and is indicative of the larger trend I have noticed of 22 ammo becoming slightly more available at the "normal" retail level.

Absolutely not! My comment was directed at excessive hoarders and scalpers of powder, ammunition and reloading supplies. Forgive me, gentle soul if my clumsy attempt at being witty caused you any distress. I guess I'm just not ready for prime time.

Best,
Seldom

Can you please supply the link to the Comrade's Guide to Purchasing Ammunition and Supplies? I don't seem to have these limits written down here.

All I have is the newest book in the popular series, Not Keeping Enough On Hand for Dummies!

I'll send it right after you finish Forrest Gump's Guide to Understanding Conjecture

Well, I hate to say it, but I don't think it will ever be over. I changed my mind about that awhile back. I gave it a year but it's been almost two years running and that looks like normal to me. I have spent a great deal of time finding and buying reloading components. I have slowly built my stock to about 2 years worth of brass, powder, bullets and primers. I used to keep about 2 months on hand. If it does reverse and we get back to 2012 it won't matter to me. I'm on a need 1 buy 2 program now.

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That's just somebody talkin.

Me, I miss the old days when you could find on-line suppliers who offered part of some manufacturer's agency contract overrun at a great price.

I still shoot a fair amount of inexpensively purchased, .40 S&W 135 grain JHP as range fodder because it makes nice, round holes in the paper, is soft shooting in my PM40, and feeds with total reliability, even if I hold the pistol loosely while shooting with my weak hand.

Those were the days . . .

Just yesterday I was at GAT in Elgin, IL and the shelves were well stocked with all of the calibers that I was interested in. Prices are still high, i.e., $24 for a box of 50 Federal 38Special FMJ, but there was no limit on how much you could buy (except for 22LR). For 22LR, you were limited to 4 boxes of 50 rounds (I didn't check the price) or a single box of 333 for $30.

To the degree that I can buy what I need at GAT, the shortages are easing. But I live in Rockford, IL where all handgun ammo is hard to find, other than 45acp and occasionally other calibers of the cheap Russian stuff and I can't even remember the last time (well over 2 years) since I was able to buy 22LR locally. And prices are still far, far higher than they were before the start of this crisis, which appeared to be when Obama was re-elected for a second term.

Ammo in all calibers is readily available in Ohio.

At $5-$7 a box of 50, 22LR is still selling, so apparently that is the new "market price."

We old folks remember when a lot of stuff was cheaper. "Well, sit down boy, and let me tell you how things used to be..." Even I get sick of hearing it and I agree with most of what is said.

Lord knows the kids aren't listening.

Millennials don't remember "the good old days" and they don't care. So what that 22 used to cost $2 and now it's $6, they're not batting an eyelash. It's still a cheap date.

Besides, all the 22LR argument has been that it is "hurting the children" so I'm assuming that everyone here is shooting "Big Boy" ammo. And now that it has leveled out, the centerfire ammo increase is about 20% over 2011, much the same as everything else in this "New Economy."

Like my Old Man used to say, when I'd get to whining about : "But it's not faa-iir!":

"Boy, go get your birth certificate and show me where it says that life is supposed to be fair, and when you don't find it, shaddap or I'll give you something to cry about!"

Everything except 22LR is stacking up on the Walmart shelves again, lasting weeks, and even getting dust on the top (mostly 50 rd boxes). 100 round boxes of 9 and 45 tend to sell rather quickly but 40 not so much as it's seems to have seen a larger percentage increase approaching the cost of 45.

As stated, 20-25% increase but I'm marking it from 4Q12!

Sure glad I was a hoarder, prepper, flipper, gouger, selfish ingrate. I'll take 20-25% return on investment in 15 months on my time and capital all day long! Plus I'm now not under any pressure to buy "the new norm". My new motto, "see it, like it, afford it, buy it!". Notice no "need it" ....

That's a decent profit but consider this. Had you bought 1,000 shares of Sturm Ruger (RGR) in late December of 2008 at $5.97 a share, you could have sold it on January 13 of this year for $80.14 per share. That's a profit of $74,170 for an increase of 1,242%. Ahhh, hindsight.

I almost did.

^^^^^
Man, oh man - where's my hot tub time machine!

I don't know, but I am curious to know whether there's ever going to be an end in sight for "Is the ammo shortage ever going to end?" threads and the facile arguments that tend to spawn therein.

(No offense meant to the OP, natch. I'm being semi-facetious.)

Not here. All the WMs in my area still have mostly bare shelves on all the popular stuff. I also noticed that any brand of .45 is moving slowly as well as a couple others. Good for me since that's the only caliber I need more of.

Mid Michigan- Dunham's looks to be fully stocked with center fire handgun ammo, 22 lr too if you want to pay $20 for 50 rds of Eley target. LGS has Minimags not cheap but reasonable if one needed them for a purpose like small game hunting.

Plenty of powder and primers in stock at fair prices.

I would say the answer to your question is a simple no. One reason is there are new shooters everyday coming into the hobby and they wonder where the 22lr is and they show up on websites asking questions. I really don't see an end unless there is divine intervention and production quadruples.

Well... When you put it into that context... Still, the market's going to stabilize eventually. I just have difficulty seeing how venting and revisiting a perennial topic is going to hasten this or help it along.

FACTS: 22 rimfire has the least profitability margin for the mfgs. Thus it was the first to go and last to come back as mfgs diverted people and mfg assetts where possible to the more productive lines. Thats just good business!! Now add the huge amount of new RF gun owners and the survivalists stocking up on the most useful ammo, again 22 RF, and you have the situation we have. It's gotten much better in the last 30 days. most places have ammo on the shelves and the prices are dropping. (SUPPOSITION) like a cow t#*d on a fire ant bed. All the people that went crazy buying are going to be about as happy as the ants in the next 90 days. Billary might be their salvation if elected. As far as all the Government buying I believe it! People are mad. (Ask the bundy cowboys) and they're tired of being shxp on by Big gvmt overreach! The obvious answer? a national police force made up of GVMT agencies. I doubt we see many more retreats when the public bows up. Especially if the conservatives loose again.

No LGS's? Is WalMart your only option? If so, that's a doggone shame...

Been saving my .22 brass...just as soon as I figure out how to reload those little suckers I'll be good to go. I wish....

The local Cabelas had a few bricks of Blazers, lots of fifty round CCI SV, Velocitors, Stingers and CB Shorts yesterday. There was a two box limit though. We bought the SVs. They were .10/rnd. For me, CCI SVs are the gold standard of .22lr ammo. Me happy.

I am thinking that if the Congress and the Senate return to the red that might put a freeze on gov't intrusions, but this is conflicted by an overly bold and possibly dictator want to be.

Seems like it would be a good time to be in the ammo manufacturing business. I wonder if the margins on .22LR are too slim for them? They could raise the price what, 50%? 100%? and still sell all they could make.

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Don't need no stinkin' sigline

I was in troy Il yesterday and stopped by a gun shop. Remington bulk packs that were repacked in zip lock bags for 7.95 per 50 with a limit of 1 per customer. What a joke.

If you want to see what an actual dictator is really like go to Wiki and do a search on Gaius Marius and Lucius Cornelius Sulla. Then do a side-by-side comparison with the guy on the Hill.

I agree but I feel you left out all the rimfire shooting teams and training now. The Ruger Rimfire Challenge went so well it's become NSSF, Progect Appleseed seems to just keep growing, and my range is more and more crowded on the weekends with instructors giving training with rimfire to new shooters and there is a ton of new gun buyers out there these last few years. I don't think production has a hope of catching up as long as they keep thinking this is just a spike in the buying. I don't see .22LR being much more available for years now. I blame the M&P 15-22...

You have brought up an important point that many overlook and that is the number of people shooting rimfire ammo is greater than the number who own guns. An example is my immediate family. My 2 sons and their wives and my 4 grandchildren along with myself shoot rimfire ammo. Only 2 of us own guns and grandma here is the one who supplies the rimfire ammo to be shot. That's 9 people shooting 22lr but only 2 gunowners in the family. When you take that into account then the situation is worse than initially thought.

It's been almost a year and a half since it hit the fan.

So why are people still standing in line, for hours at a time, to hoard ammo?