Good question. Maybe it's fun somehow. I dunno as I have never done it.

Stopped at LGS the other day and stacks of primers - at about 5 cents each - and rifle powder - but no pistol powder at all.

I prefer to get primers on sale down around 3 cents each. Might have to start buying them but he 10,000 online to make the shipping and hazmat fees acceptable.

I think it averages out, as my son and I have 10 .22lr guns. Obviously we can't shoot them all, and many have not been shot in awhile.

Its just people panic buying..... I know people who buy .22's wherever they find them, and at any ridiculous price....not me. They can keep them. I bought a .22 air rifle, and shoot that instead of .22's much cheaper and just a much fun.

I haven't purchased a single round of .22LR or .22 Win Mag since November 2012. Can't find any online at a fair price and local stores only get the $80 to $100 per brick ELY or Remington Golden Bullet at $50-$60 per brick. Haven't seen a single box of any favorite ammo like Federal 510 40 grain or CCI Standard, so my wife and I don't shoot much .22 anymore, which sucks since we collect .22LR pistols, revolvers and rifles.
Is still have ammo, but you hate to blow away something you can't replace.

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Virtue,Liberty & Independence

I'm seeing a lot of the "russian" 7.62 available for really cheap prices online. Also I've been buying 9mm and .40 as well as .223/5.56 for way reasonable prices. If you're looking to buy a box, good luck. It's out there, but I buy in bulk with free shipping.
.22lr? again, good luck. It's hit or miss. I've been stocking up on the suppressor .22 lately, way fun in the suppressed .22.
Problem is, I shoot a LOT when I go to the range. So, while not hoarding, I buy what I can as I shoot a lot of it.
If you shoot a couple hundred a year, don't buy thousands, let some filter to the people that bought a new .22 gun and can't shoot it because you have it all.
My .02 cents.

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Fight socialism. Never stop.

It seems like the availability of different calibers is down. All the local Wal Mart has is .45 ACP and .270.

Not good.

Sorry to put a damper on your "I shoot a LOT" suppressor fun but I choose to buy enough to shoot a couple hundred rounds a year and have enough saved back so I can do so for the next decade rather than leave it on the shelf for someone else who apparently has not read the tale of the ant and the grasshopper.

We have several GS hre but, not one of themI do go into--have any .22. Those like thepaceon Corona Street that I refuse togo into--ar the only ones outside of academy-who have .22. I cant get by Academy much these days as its one of thse special trip ou-of-the-way-places for me.Otherwise-id benabbing 100 or so rounds almost daily. Said GS on Corona Str, was the place that I was going to buy twobricks of .22 from last year because their WalMart and Academy price tags still on the boxes-said they were $19.95 and $21.95 respectively. So I took a $50 out of my wallet and told the guy I wanted two bricks of .22. He balked-gave a hedious laugh and said,they each were $180.00. I mentioned and pointed out the price those pricetags said they were being sold at.

I calmly replaced that $50 into my wallet and walked out the door never to look back.

PS, I also dont have a money tree growing in my back yard so--im not able-nor willing--to pay way too much for that caliber ammo. Ill still buy .22 when I have an opportunity but, right now imcenteing on something else.

I thought I had too much ammo put up at 4000 rounds of 22lr when SHTF. After I saw what was happening I started to buy it when ever I could. I would get 1000 here 500 there all or mostly at Walmart. I would not pay more than 8 cents a round. I now have 41000 rounds and I am not actively looking. If I run across some I will get it but I am almost rooting for non to be in stock when I go by. I can buy 223 Tula or 7.62 x 39 tula regularly at wally world and also 9mm is not all that crazy to see in Federal. Prices have went up a bit. I buy on line where I can get it cheaper now than Wally world. Picked up Wolf ammo 7.62 non corrosive shipped to me for 22 cents a round. I am still waiting for reloading components to come back in stock. I need 308s and powder but still have some left to get me by for a bit.

The USPS is not "stockpiling" .357 hollow points or any other type of ammo.

They have a law enforcement branch...the Inspection Service, with several thousand employees...and its agents go armed a lot. Going armed means you have to train with various weapons, just like the FBI or the Secret Service. Consider the number of large post offices in every state and territory of the U.S. and the number of inspectors needed to investigate crimes, and you'll understand their need for a lot of ammo. Just like any other LEA, they have to have enough ammo on hand to accomplish their mission.

Oh, and letter carriers are not allowed to carry firearms. You get caught carrying on the job, and your career with the USPS is probably over. There aren't going to be any letter carriers shooting customers' dogs.

Wow! That's a lot of ammo. At the rate I consume .22LR (maybe 100/mo), that would last me about 30 years.

Ah, what bliss! Sitting in your recliner in front of your stash, admiring it.

If I felt the need to shoot .22 like some of you folks seem to, I'd probably chuck all that and buy one of those pump air rifles that shoots .20 caliber pellets. 800 fps and whisper quiet without a Suppressor. No Draconian laws to worry about, no shortage of ammo and to all intent and purpose, the same weapon.

But where's the kaboom! There is supposed to be an earth shattering kaboom

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I'd like to agree with you BUT

Well, you can go: "Pew-pew-pew", can't you?

Well no, an illudium Q-36 explosive space modulator goes KABOOM, you silly Smurf

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I'd like to agree with you BUT

Exactly!

I'm sure glad I don't have a 15-22, apparently those force you to shoot bricks at a time!

After the election of '08, I mentioned to my wife something about the shortage we were having. She asked me if I was stocking up, and I took that not only as permission, but instruction. With this latest shortage, out of my abundance I've been able to give ammo to my friends. I haven't stopped buying, BTW.

I recently added a .22 LR barrel to my Contender, and I've been shooting my other single shot .22's a little more than I used to. Just try shooting a brick in one afternoon with a single shot! I like to think it's helping me be a better marksman.

I stopped shooting my .22lr and started shooting my .50 BMG more. Ammo is a lot cheaper.

My humble opinion is that now..... is the calm before the next storm. Elections are right around the corner and the next "event" will result in a renewed panic buying mode.

Powder is available at most gun shows of size, primers are out there, and brass has become obtainable again. Shelves at Walmart are getting full with everything except .22. Look at the case prices on .223 for a benchmark.

I have observed the cycle many times since Bill Clinton was first elected. The only difference is now we have folks calling each other names like hoarder, prepper, and zombie phobes. Therefore they have drank the kool aid and decayed into pointing fingers at the haves and have nots

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The American dream is alive

Well I'm glad someone has powder.

"Sorry to put a damper on your "I shoot a LOT" suppressor fun "

You couldn't put a damper on my "I shoot a LOT of suppressor fun" if you wanted to.

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Fight socialism. Never stop.

It's the wholesale jack wagons. A dealer showed me the invoice he was being charged by a wholesaler. $3.89 a box his cost! So, he has to sell a 50 rd box of .22 LR for just under $5.00 to make anything. The manufactures maintain they are selling for the same prices & I know how scuzzy those wholesale types are , blame them..... They own it.

A member of this forum posted awhile back that he had walked into a Walmart and they had 25 bricks of the 525 count Federal Champion 22lr. He bought his 3 box limit and his wife bought her 3 box limit. He then called some non shooting friends and 2 of them did him a favor and came in and each bought their 3 box limit for him. He then posted a picture of his new 12 (!!!) box stash. That is 6300 rounds and nearly half of the store's stock sucked up by a single individual.
Ladies and gentlemen, THAT is the reason there is no 22lr available. A few people wipe out the shelves within minutes and for then next several days there's nothing. The next time there's 22lr in stock the customer thinks this is the last time he/she will ever see it and buys as much as allowed and more. Couple this with the online resellers who buy everything they can and the hoarders who feel the need to have 100,000 round in their closet/survival shelter and this vicious cycle just keeps repeating.
This shortage is not caused by the government hoarding 22lr, manufacturers holding back production or alien abductions. We are our own worst enemies!
People also should realize that rimfire ammo is kind of finicky insofar as shelf life. I had a friend come over to do some shooting and he brought along some 20 year old CCI 22lr and 1 out of 3 or 4 were squibs. The first cylinder he shot through his 10 shot 617 actually had 4 that failed to ignite. By reinserting them and re-striking another part of the rim he got 3 of them to finally shoot. One never shot and another he had to put in a few additional times to make it work. This kept happening over and over again with the old ammo he had. When he put in new ammo all shot perfectly. I should add that he had the old ammo stored in a waterproof can and was always stored in his house and not in a damp basement or garage. The moral of the story is that those of you who have dozens and dozens of bricks in their closet or survival shelter had better shoot it soon than later or it will be very unreliable when you need it.

Sour grapes says the grasshopper.

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The American dream is alive

Bow. Arrows. Flint.

There is NO 22 ammo shortage and this post sums up the situation very well. I can load 9mm or 38spl for around a nickle a round and that's what I'm shooting now.
I expect these hoarders will eventually get their just desserts.
Jim

Wrong on several counts.

1. You cannot reload any caliber or 5 cents a round. I can't evn find brass for less than 18 cents a round. Powder like brass is expensive and increasing in price. Primers in the $40-$45/ 1,000 not counting hazmat fees.

2. On 22lr there is enough production to provide every gun owner 110 rounds a year. It takes 2.2 years for manufactures to provide 2 bricks of 22lr to 1/4 of the gun owners if they run 24/7/365. There simply is not enough production

Wrong: Really! So you're familiar enough with my particular situation to make such a comment?

1.Actually you're wrong and you probably shouldn't comment unless you're familiar with a specific situation. I have an adequate supply of reloading components on hand purchased before the Obamination construed "shortage" and that's what it costs me to reload a round. I used to put in time as a range officer and I salvaged enought pistol brass to last me a lifetime. My brass costs essentially zero.

2.Many 22 owners don't shoot regularly and there was NEVER a problem with 22 availability before this hoarder mess brought on by the current situation. 22s up until this time could be regularly purchased for around $10.00 per bulk 500 and were available everywhere. My family shoots a lot so I always bought in cases of 5000 and again have an ample supply on hand.

No disrespect meant to anyone but I could see .05/round being true.

Let's consider only the very basic requirements.

* Brass = free since you can pick up at range
* Primer = .02 - .04 depending on purchase, so lets use .03 as median.
* Powder = .01 - .04 again depending on purchase, so let's use .025 as median
Projectile = free if you cast your own from scrap

So that's .055 (5 and a half cents), round up or down but it still works. Now you have to not consider anything else as a cost since all other costs have been recovered by being a reloader for many many many years. Your time is free since you are retired or doing this after work hours.

As with anything there are many variables and these numbers are not gospel and in no way should be taken as the truth or only possible outcome.

Forget about pellets. Those GAMO pellets are going for $7.99 per 50.

I don't know why some people keep posting they can't find XYZ centerfire ammo. Since at least last summer we've only been short of rimfire. So much 9mm and 223 on shelves some boxes are actually getting some dust on them. If you truly haven't seen 9mm etc at your local Wally store its strictly a very local issue.

The only shortages are .22 rimfire and reloading powders. About half of the reloading powders are out of stock any given time. The rimfire is usually snapped up by store employees or bought so quickly it gives the appearance of a shortage. Its not because the factories are not producing it.

Not to worry!!!

Hillary gets elected and it will get worse!!!

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Twogunnes
John 3:16

Food doesn't kill people, fat food kills people. Eventually we'll all be buying organic food that all tastes the same. Maybe when Obamacare's death panels kick in they'll start feeding all of us Soylent Green. As far as ammo goes, I've quit trying to find more than a couple of 50 round boxes of .22's. I buy all the reloading supplies I can when I find them. So far, I've been able to have enough on hand to keep shooting for quite a while. Reply if you get the Soylent Green comment.

Solent Green = People.

22 is available at a couple LGS, although not at pre-panic prices.

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Greg

My local Academy has been out of 30-30 & .303 for sometime now. You can forget about that 300 blackout too. Also 5.45 of any kind has dried up and can't be found. As for center fire ammo most retail outlets are just one delivery away from empty shelves again. You may think CF has recovered but it hasn't yet. To be on the safe side one should be planning for the next interruption in ammo supplies as it will surely occur again, sooner than later. Same goes for reloading supplies even though powder is sill hard to come by.


BTW it is a production issue. For 22lr it will take 2.2 years of 24/7/365 days of nonstop production just to provide 25% of gunowners 2 bricks of 22lr.

What? You don't need to spend that much for pellets. I have a Crosman 2240, so I can shoot in my house on a rainy day, and I buy mine through Amazon, 500 for $7.99.

I go REAL cheap!!!

Daisy Airgun Pellets 177 Cal 7.29 Grain Flat Nose

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Really? U saw it in Wikipedia?