Scarcity of 22 LR ammo

[MichiganScott]

I'm not only a NRA member, but a NRA certified rifle, pistol, and shotgun coach, as well as RSO. Did you miss the part where I supply ammo to my son's troop? On a shooting weekend, we have over 100 boys who get to shoot 50 rounds... you do the math. I assure you that I have done more for the future of shooting sports than you.

With your "Nobody needs X number of rounds" attitude, you sound like an anti gun person... what is your next step, telling me what gun I need?

In 2012 at the height of the shortage, I supplied two Hunter Safety classes and two NRA basic pistol classes with all the .22LR they needed free of charge. In the last two years I have sold to people less prepared than myself about 7,000 rds of .22LR at my cost so they could compete in club level matches. If that excess 15,000 rounds makes me a hoarder, then I'm proud to wear the title.

Oh, I haven't purchased a single round of .22LR since the summer of 2008. Hold your finger in the wind and buy it cheap and stack it deep. It's not going to get any cheaper or easier to find regardless of who wins in November.

 

[Jayspec]

How much per rd? Joe

I pay 24 pound for 300 round boxes of cci ar tactical or if I buy 500 plus mini mag works out about 7.50 a 100. I think if you want less then 500 they want about 8.50 a box which is about a pound increase a box from a year ago. I think that's just over 10 dollars a box.

 

[pharmer]

I have trouble believing .22's are the same price in London as here. 100 packs of CCI "quiet" rds were $11 @ today's show. 500 rd bricks of Aguila were $55, still $.11/rd. Today's bargain; 10 box case of "325 rd federal target" were $299, just a shade under $.10/ rd. I guess $100 5K rd cases are gone forever.

 

[rtquig]

I have 8,000 rounds of 22's and am not a hoarder by any standard. On a normal day with the kids 500 rounds are easily shot.
I have found that people who complain about a shortage look every couple of weeks, don't find any and then say there is a shortage. If you want 22lr. get your butt up early, go online and order as much as you want.

 

[NJM15]

What gives with this 22LR shortage? Every store I go to never has any and even online they are out of stock all the time. This stuff used to be plentiful and easy to find and now it is easier to find gold than good 22LR. Sure is frustrating to have a new rifle and can't find any ammo to even shoot. Does anyone know of a GOOD source of online ammo that I can purchase? I have been to so many and all have nothing in stock and won't have any available indefinitely. Please let me know, or perhaps I should just go with a .223/5.56 AR and move on.

KH

Have you tried Bass Pro they always have .22 in stock
I have so many I am getting fussy, looking for CCI stingers or Aguia super max Managed a Bucket of golden for 69.00 1400 rds, but they are junk only good in my .22 revolvers

 

[ACORN]

My local shop has CCI, Rem, Aquila, Fed and Winch. in stock and has for months. The local Walmart hasn't had any to be seen for years.

 

[Jerry N.]

If you can't find ammo, you're not trying. I was unlucky enough to get a 22lr pistol right when the shortage hit. By using nothing more than this site and the 22lr ammo availability link, I was able to accumulate all I needed. At first I would buy anything. Soon, however, I was able to accumulate enough of my preferred ammo (copper plated round nose) that I sold off my lead round nose stuff to a friend. Now I'm able to sit back until mini mags (my much preferred round) come in around or under 10 cents per round. Sure, it's not the price I'd like, but it's there. And now I've accumulated more than I "need" which I'm very pleased with.

BTW, I have several dozen golf balls on a shelf in my basement. I also keep a lot of bottled water in my garage. I have some gas and diesel stored as well. I keep some money in the bank too. Food? Yep, some of that too. I'm blessed to have more than I need. I try to make sure I don't forget to be thankful but also to be diligent. It works for me.

 

[Mike SC Hunter]

Plenty around here at the local farm &building supply stores @ $0.10 a rd. if wanted.

 

[Andyk]

I have over 10,000 rds easily. Only buy local, never on the internet and rarely pay much over 7-8 cents a round for mini mags, less for everything else. Iand my daughter shoot over 1000 rds a month, sometimes 2 or more. Some matches have really high round counts, and I use several different types for different guns so 10K spread out over six different competition guns as well as plinking guns ain't all that much. Wish I had 25K.

 

[micocyco]

If the shortage is easing up then I will say I was glad I could help.
I only shoot my 15-22 when my grandson & I can get away , not as often as I would like. I do still look when I am buying 380 ammo my preferred carry these days & even that is getting a little easier to find & call it hoarding or not when I see it at the price I like I buy it.
As for 22lr the last I bought was mini mags for $12.97 100 box.
One person I know at WM says they do get it in but it goes out fast.
If all goes well the whole country will be rich again soon & 0.13 a round will not be a problem.
,
One thing I did wonder about is why we never see imported 22lr ?

 

[cyphertext]

One thing I did wonder about is why we never see imported 22lr ?

We do... just not at WalMart.

 

[cjt50]

Aguila, RWS, Eley, Lapua, Amscor, etc etc.

The imported stuff is out there, just some of it is expensive match stuff. Shoots great, just on the pricey side for casual plinking.

 

[Joe Hohmann]

One thing I did wonder about is why we never see imported 22lr ?

I thought Agiula, Fiocchi, RWS, and Wolf (and others?) were imported.

 

[Old cop]

Gander Mt. had a sale on the stuff last month and I stocked up for myself and some friends. I hang out on a couple of local forums and have managed to keep enough .22 LR to shoot my M&P 22 Compact whenever I want.

 

[jmark1651]

Certainly has been an interesting few years. I don't hit the big retailers for 22 ammo often. Picked up 400 rounds off CCI standard velocity yesterday for 8.75 a hundred. I guess that is not too bad on todays market. This pawn shop generally has some 22 ammo. They work hard to keep it for their customers.

 

[Jayspec]

I have trouble believing .22's are the same price in London as here. 100 packs of CCI "quiet" rds were $11 @ today's show. 500 rd bricks of Aguila were $55, still $.11/rd. Today's bargain; 10 box case of "325 rd federal target" were $299, just a shade under $.10/ rd. I guess $100 5K rd cases are gone forever.

Believe it. There's plenty of other uk shooters on here to confirm it. It's quite pleasing to me being as we have to pay a high price for most other things shooting related.ive only just bought a sw mp 15 22 lr cost me 600 pound about 850-900 dollars. But I love it so I don't mind

 

[Culina]

I can honestly say I haven't bought any .22lr since about October 2012. I think I have enough left for a few more years. I don't shoot .22's that much anymore anyways. As I get older, it has become more difficult to see the impact or hole on the target so I have been mostly shooting .44's and 45's the last 10 years.

 

[Sconnie]

I still think the issue of 22LR being hard to find is more due to a monster increase in people joining the shooting sports than people stocking up whether they are hoarding or just buying for future use. A lot more 22 rifles and handguns in action means a lot more use.

I love my two 6 round revolvers for 22LR which does slow down the number of rounds sent down range. And my bolt action CZ455 isn't a ammo muncher like so many of the semi auto rifles in use by others.

But to each his own. I don't bother to go looking for 22LR at Walmart but everytime I get into a Cabela's or Gander Mountain I see one type or another. Not always the cheap stuff but often enough that my .06 to .10 price points are usually met. Although I did splurge on a box of SK Standard Plus to try for practice level bench rest shooting from my CZ.

For those who have a stash built up for their use, friends, Scout troops or the grandkids all is well. But a pox on the houses of those that buy it up to try to resell at the gun shows. Yea, this is America and capitalism is the way (I would have it no other way) but I make it a point to not make it worthwhile to them.

I used to get a fair amount from Midway but they have such high shipping and lowered the quantity that you can buy so I don't bother with them anymore.

 

[AlHunt]

but come on, there is no need to have 10000 rds. of 22 caliber LR in your basement.

10,000 isn't out of reason. Competitive shooters can burn up a lot of ammo. Around my very rural part of the world, 22 is good for everything from target practice to putting meat on the table to varmint control.

With the ups and downs of availability, several thousand rounds,at least, is just prudent. I share your frustration about readily available 22 ammo. It does pay to plan ahead. I didn't and I could use a couple thousand rounds at a reasonable cost. It'll turn up ...

 

[crracer_712]

Well, before the scarcity and higher prices, I had the foresight to purchase some ammo that I found to be of great functioning value in every 22 rifle and pistol I own. I bought 2 cases of CCI Blazer online 150 bucks shipped per case (5K rounds per case). At the time I probably had ~2500 rounds of the Federal 550 packs WalMart used to sell for 8 bucks. I've gone through about all that 8.00 ammo, little over a box left, went through one box from the two cases of CCI. I've picked up ammo over the years at gun shows when it's cheap, a brick or two here or there, and those are typically what I shoot through before getting in to my stash.

I still pick up bulk packs of ammo that I know function for me and my guns. I'm signed up with a few places for sale email notices and if there's something I like at a price and I have the money, I get some, otherwise I pass.