.22 Shortage

DOGBONE1

DOGBONE1

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This may be a stupid question and I'm sure I could do some silly search but I'd like recent reaction. Why is .22 in such high demand when it's not supposed to be a self defense round. I'm not trying to sound snotty but how much target practice do you really need that people are shooting everything they buy. Hoarding .22? I'm seeing .223/556 everywhere I go, 9mm the same and it's not unreasonable as far as cost goes, that's what I'm buying. Wife just got the 15-22 and we were lucky to have gotten 2 500 rd boxes because well we found it, not because "we had to have it", anyway thanks for all the insight on the topic I'm sure to get.

"Center Mass!"
 
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Quite simply, it's stupid cheap to shoot. Once the great firearms scare took place, prices skyrocketed on both weapons and ammunition. It wasn't that long ago that everyone was charging $1 per round of 223. While the weapons scare caused an unprecedented surge in sales, it also made a huge supply and demand nightmare. You now had a myriad of new shooters who were not interested in being firearms owners buying up whatever they could before total bans were enacted. Being that the AR became so expensive to feed, the shift moved towards the 22 because they are cheap to buy, cheap to shoot, and a great alternative to their more potent siblings.

People are still bulking up their own personal stash. Add to that the fact that manufacturers have a much higher profit margin on higher caliber rounds than 22, and there you go. It doesn't make sense for them to up production on a product that isn't going to yield them a profit worth their efforts.

We'll see the shift occur one day where 22 is back on the shelves, but it's going to be a while still. The good news is that 223/556 is starting to become reasonable again at around 45¢ a round.

Sent from my HTC One using Tapatalk
 
People are hoarding it and buying by the thousands because they expect the world to go to **** any day now, Walking Dead style, and when that happens, they will be kings with 1,000,000 rounds of ammo that can be traded for other goods. It's quite annoying.
 
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Decipher said:
Quite simply, it's stupid cheap to shoot. Being that the AR became so expensive to feed, the shift moved towards the 22 because they are cheap to buy, cheap to shoot, and a great alternative to their more potent siblings.

People are still bulking up their own personal stash.
Click to expand...

In other words, we are the reason there are no .22's on the shelves.
 
I think the explosion in .22 "training" weapons, and the current political climate are the reasons. We have dedicated .22 AR-15s, .22 Scars, .22 1911s, and conversions for a majority of the major handguns. They are great for training with the weapon platforms, and even at .10 to .12 cents per rounds on the high end, you still have considerable savings over .38 cents per round on the low end of .223/5.56. Then throw in the current anti-gun climate in D.C., and people are concerned. The majority of us can walk in to a store and reasonably afford 2,000 rounds of .22, 5.56 not so much :D
 
So... we are to blame? Really? Those of us who buy .22 LR ammunition for use at the range are to blame? Those of us who have for many years enjoyed taking our children shooting are to blame? Really. Come now! "We" are not to blame. "We are not to blame at all in any way.

So... who is to blame? Possibly it is those individuals who who in buying ammunition consider that they are acting in regard to what is best for themselves, their families that they might continue to participate in and enjoy the shooting sports that they so much enjoy. A possible contribution to this situation would be purchases made by individuals in anticipation of impending unwarranted restrictions on the purchase of ammunition such as are now reality in certain states/locals. Not surprisingly this mirrors similar concerns that occurred around 2008 and 2012, concerns that proved not to be unfounded.

So... who is to blame? A significant portion of the blame lies with those persons who have bought .22 LR ammunition for resale at the highest possible price. A significant portion of the blame lies with those persons who have hyped the hysteria surrounding the shortage of ammunition in the interest of page views, readership of articles or simply wanting to "stir the pot."
 
I buy it whenever I find it. We as new yorkers are no longer able to buy through online sites unless we have it shipped to an FFL holder. My wife and I both enjoy shooting on our own little range.

We don't drink, smoke, boat or golf. I won't apologize to anyone for enjoying my hobby to the fullest extent as I enter the golden years.
 
DOGBONE1 said:
This may be a stupid question and I'm sure I could do some silly search but I'd like recent reaction. Why is .22 in such high demand when it's not supposed to be a self defense round. I'm not trying to sound snotty but how much target practice do you really need

"Center Mass!"
Click to expand...

Because being a firearm enthusiast doesn't mean you only shoot your guns in self defense or for becoming more efficient at doing so.
 
imashooter2 said:
You answered your own question. You bought 2 bricks not because you needed it, but because you found it.

Everyone else is doing the same.
Click to expand...


No I bought because SHE bought a
.22 and we need it to shoot the gun.
Well looks like some folks want to take this to a pissin match and that wasn't my intent. I did do google searches and found topics dating back to July of last year that is why I said I wanted more RECENT reasons. So w/ all this said thanks for the input sorry I bored some of you!
 
Hell the Govt is buying billions of rounds, so people who are stocking up on ammo 22lr or whatever i think are smart,lets be realistic, things are not going to good and people know it...
 
BillyJack2012 said:
Because I'm buying every bit of it that I can until I reach 100,000 rounds!!!!!

Sorry, humor is all I have left to contribute to this conversation as it's been beaten to death. A google search will bring you plenty of insight, speculation, conspiracy theory and production info.

https://search.yahoo.com/search;_ylt=AgepeHh2dH2W3Qb8Ws7v2lebvZx4?p=.22+ammo+shortage&toggle=1&cop=mss&ei=UTF-8&fr=yfp-t-901
Click to expand...


You said a "google search" and then you posted a link to a Yahoo search. :confused:

Great.
Now what the heck are we supposed to do? :confused:


:D :D
 
DOGBONE1 said:
This may be a stupid question and I'm sure I could do some silly search but I'd like recent reaction. Why is .22 in such high demand when it's not supposed to be a self defense round. I'm not trying to sound snotty but how much target practice do you really need that people are shooting everything they buy. Hoarding .22? I'm seeing .223/556 everywhere I go, 9mm the same and it's not unreasonable as far as cost goes, that's what I'm buying. Wife just got the 15-22 and we were lucky to have gotten 2 500 rd boxes because well we found it, not because "we had to have it", anyway thanks for all the insight on the topic I'm sure to get.

"Center Mass!"
Click to expand...


DOGBONE1 said:
No I bought because SHE bought a
.22 and we need it to shoot the gun.
Well looks like some folks want to take this to a pissin match and that wasn't my intent. I did do google searches and found topics dating back to July of last year that is why I said I wanted more RECENT reasons. So w/ all this said thanks for the input sorry I bored some of you!
Click to expand...

Huh! I guess the part in purple there has a meaning to you that is different than what the words you used state.
 
BillyJack2012 said:
Because I'm buying every bit of it that I can until I reach 100,000 rounds!!!!!

Sorry, humor is all I have left to contribute to this conversation as it's been beaten to death. A google search will bring you plenty of insight, speculation, conspiracy theory and production info.

https://search.yahoo.com/search;_ylt=AgepeHh2dH2W3Qb8Ws7v2lebvZx4?p=.22+ammo+shortage&toggle=1&cop=mss&ei=UTF-8&fr=yfp-t-901
Click to expand...

Add to it a rumor I just made up, which is: The antis are buying up all the popular rounds so "gun nuts" cant have any.
 
DOGBONE 1...you can't take the responses personally on these threads...there is no way to tell what direction they are going to go...sometimes you get the answer you want and sometimes it takes off in a direction that doesn't make any sense...took me a long time to figure that out and get thick skinned...also the 22lr ammo has been beat to death and you will get a lot of frustrated answers...find what you can and enjoy your shooting....:)
 
jimmib said:
DOGBONE 1...you can't take the responses personally on these threads...there is no way to tell what direction they are going to go...sometimes you get the answer you want and sometimes it takes off in a direction that doesn't make any sense...took me a long time to figure that out and get thick skinned...also the 22lr ammo has been beat to death and you will get a lot of frustrated answers...find what you can and enjoy your shooting....:)
Click to expand...


Much appreciated! Thanks
 
Well we went from 80 million gun owners to 100 million + gun owners. The advent of AR style 22's and other large capacity 22's
 
The night of Sand Hook (a Friday) I stood in my LGS buying up everything in .223 I could find. Cart full of mags. It then hit me...literally as I stood in the aisle...22 I mused, everyone is going to go for .22 once .223 is tapped put. I then bought every single box of .22lr they had. By the next week the frenzy was in full force and .22 has never recovered.

I have 12,000+ of .22 as of today. A marginal amount IMHO.
 
Too many people wearing tin hats...


That being said, I really don't understand the whole "using it as currency" theory. I mean sure, you technically could; but the only people who would buy/trade with you are others with the same caliber weapon, which by looking at everyone around here, probably has their own little stockpile. In other words, I would imagine the pool of people who would give two craps about your ammo would be pretty small...

EDIT: The pool of people who have your caliber, don't have their own little stockpile, and would actually accept ammo as currency.
 
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It has been covered by most of the responses here. .22 "trainers" have become very popular. Many of them have the feel and functionality of their big brothers. I know a few agencies around me that have purchased .22s to train with. This has pros and cons, but everything does. There's nothing perfect for training, you run in to so many variables that there are just to many to list. The .223 shortage was due to the great and immediate increase in the 5.56/.223 rifles that became available and then not soon after they became available there was in many peoples mind the threat of loosing the chance to get them. There is a real threat to gun ownership, don't get me wrong. I also believe that after obtaining so many 5.56/.223 variants people became interested in something "different"....different calibers. I believe I read a article in one of my NRA rifleman magazines about the ammo shortage and it gave a good break down of the numbers of gun owners old and new to the market and then the numbers as to ammo purchases including the infamous "Homeland Security theory". Homeland security has so many agencies under its title such as USCG, Air Marshals etc etc and that is why they were getting such a high 5.56/.223 allocation. The article also had interviews with ammo producers and many of them claimed .22LR fell to the wayside as their plants had retooled and increased shifts on production just to meet the 5.56/.223 demand. As with most things with the AR, give it time it will catch back up. I don't know when, and the scarcity of .22 does make it difficult to shoot as much with my two boys. Patience now days is an uncommon virtue for many of us. Myself regrettably included.
 
Pretty simple........Because a .22 round is better than having nothing at all.

Plus if ever a time is needed. They make great varmint hunting weapons. So u can easily take down some food when you need it. Plus they are much more quieter than the bigger calibers. So in survival mode (while hunting food). You shoot the .22lr to harvest ur food and no one around u can pin point where the shot came from (if they can even hear it).

Save the bigger calibers when u need to take down 2 legged creatures that may pose a threat
 
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