Have the 22's lost some of their lustre?

[model70hunter]

The .22 LR perhaps can do it all. I learned to shoot a .22 revolver 1st. Dad's old 3 screw Ruger in 4 5/8" BBL was my 1st, I inherited it when Dad passed. It still can bring home squirrels or rabbits.

As a kid I watched my Grandpa and Dad pop large beef and hogs between the eyes with the .22. They dropped on the spot.

I knew a few outlaws who never bought a deer tag nor hunted in daylight and their deer rifle of choice was a .22 LR rifle.

Once in a while you'll read about an Inuit Lad dropping a polor bear with the .22.

I have an old 3 screw Ruger, a Bearcat, a High Standard Sportsman from 1949 and my S&W 22 Masterpiece for 22 revolvers.

Ammo is loosening up, I bought three 100 round Boxes of WIN 22 LR at Wally world last week and 1 100 round box of subsonic at Cabelas today.

I also have 1 scoped 22 rifle.

I would buy any nice 22 that was under priced. I learned, My kids learned, my wife learned. I see a pattern here.

 

[feralmerril]

I refuse to belive this high priced .22 ammo is going to be forever. You cant tell me that the factorys wont go back to makeing a lot of it as they wont turn down makeing money on whats easy to sell. I havent bothered keeping up on the ammo issue as I see it as a fad like pet rocks or beanie babys. Its a crowd panic mob mentality situation and I refuse to be part of it. I would have expected better of gun people.

 

[qrachel]

I have seen in recent years model 17, 18, 617 prices skyrocket.

I dont see it personally. I have no need for a 22 revolver. I dont see it as a training tool because of the difference between 22 and 38 ammo.

But now it seems with ammo prices so high for 22, there is even less of a reason to own/shoot the 22 guns. I see people trying to sell a brick for over $100, sorry, no thanks, I will pay a couple cents more and shoot 9mm or 38spl.

Dear 59:

I bought a 617 6" 10 shooter earlier this year - I love it and see lots of folks shooting them at the range. It goes to the range with me every time and gets at least 15-30 min. of my attention.

This is only one data point, but given the resiliency of this caliber over the decades, I doubt it is in decline.

That's my POV . . . others will definitely have theirs.

Take care,

R

 

[qrachel]

I have seen in recent years model 17, 18, 617 prices skyrocket.

I dont see it personally. I have no need for a 22 revolver. I dont see it as a training tool because of the difference between 22 and 38 ammo.

But now it seems with ammo prices so high for 22, there is even less of a reason to own/shoot the 22 guns. I see people trying to sell a brick for over $100, sorry, no thanks, I will pay a couple cents more and shoot 9mm or 38spl.

Dear 59:

I bought a 617 6" 10 shooter earlier this year - I love it and see lots of folks shooting them at the range. It goes to the range with me every time and gets at least 15-30 min. of my attention.

This is only one data point, but given the resiliency of this caliber over the decades, I doubt it is in decline.

That's my POV . . . others will definitely have theirs.

Take care,

R

 

[BigBill]

Hey, nice idea for a new Classic - .22 N-Frame patterned off a .38/44 HD - that'd be like a 15-shot cylinder right?

Don't have much to add to the thread other than I sure like .22 K-frames.

I have a colt officers target revolver in 22lr also with a 6" barrel. It's built on the older 41 frame. My point is its heavy for a 22. I also have a colt police positive 22. Revolver also to compare it to my s&w k22 target masterpiece and the s&w feels better in my hands too.

A n frame 22cal could be a hot ticket........

You don't have to spend big bucks to have a decent shooting 22 revolver. There is a lot of H&R revolvers
for sale for under $200. If your on a tight budget or to have a 22 revolver to shoot till a s&w k22 shows up.

I seen a colt python selling for $2,800 today in blue in original condition. I just purchased 4 brand new s&w n frames for less than that.

 

[45solo]

No lost lustre

There are many types of gun enthusiasts. Some of us remember when we could walk into a store and buy a box of 22s for just over the price of a coke. I still have a box I bought several years ago for 59 cents for 50 LR. So when some of us see 22 ammo going for fantastic prices we freak out. Some of us pay high prices and hoard--some of us buy at WalMart for $20 and sell on GunBroker for $80.

Just quit buying the high-priced stuff and quit hoarding 22 like it won't be made anymore, and in a few months it will get back to normal.

But you DO need to sell me all your Model 17s and any other (soon to be useless as you say) 22s. Officers Target models, 3 screw Single-Sixes, and the like.

I did think the quote by Merril about thinking better about gun people was pretty funny.

We have more than our share of freaks. If you don't believe me then you haven't gone to any gun shows lately.

 

[DR505]

I think I need an old Colt Service Model ACE...that would be a nice .22 to have!

 

[Jayhawkhuntclub]

Mine has lost its lustre. But that's from excessive use.

 

[kimber 22]

I don't buy the line about the manufacturers working 24/7 to turn out products. Bull! Ammo would have to show up eventually. At 100 rounds per customer the one (1) case that came into a Sportsman's Warehouse recently didn't even make a dent in the line of people waiting for the doors to open.

I fear there's going to be a lot of 22s for sale a year or so from now. If you can't feed them they have no appeal.

Dave

Let's put some numbers on it Dave - CCI says they make 3,000,000 .22 LR per day. That's 600 cases, or 6,000 "bricks." There are roughly 4000 WalMarts in the US. MaoMart is the leading seller of ammo, like it or not. That means it takes an entire week's production to get one case (or ten bricks) of .22 LR to each WalMart. This assumes that they are all the same type of ammo, too.

I'm frustrated as Hell, since I usually buy .22 ammo by the case, and nobody seems to be getting any at all, but I do believe the plants are working as hard as they can.

On top of people buying like idiots since Drunk Uncle Joe walked out onto his balcony with a 2x bbl12 ga, the number of new shooters has been growing quite rapidly over the last few years which in itself puts a crimp on our supply. (NSSF recently released some numbers - it's been 20 - 25% per year over the last three, meaning the number of new shooters has nearly doubled.) Unfortunately, we are all going to have to be patient while this mess works itself out over the next few years and manufacturers have a better idea of how sustainable the long term demand will be.

I agree with your point on .22's becoming available because of no ammo, but my bigger concern is that the inability to get product is going to force a lot of local gun shops to close their doors.

 

[ma deuce]

I'm actually surprised that good M-17s, M-18s and pre-Model K-22s aren't going for higher than they are. When I started looking around for one early last year, I saw none, zip, nada at any of the shops I tried in central/western Maryland and southern PA. Other S&Ws, yes, but not vintage .22s. I finally found one w/o box or papers for $700, and was glad to have it. (A 4-screw shipped in November, 1956, same month I was born. But I'd have bought it regardless.)

Since then, I've shot this beauty more than any other gun I own, and enjoy it every time. It's accurate, cheap to feed on my pre-panic .22 LR, and goes together with my M-19s. So I guess I have to disagree with the OP.

Still looking for a M-18.

 

[S&W-Keeper]

I like the .22, I have 4 revolvers,4 semi auto's, and 2 rifles.

 

[beach elvis]

Personally haven't thought about it, except for the shock at what they go for now compared to what I paid for mine.

IMO a shooter without a .22 in his safe is downright un-American.

 

[tgmr05]

The 22s have not lost their luster, in the least. If anything, the current trend is quite the opposite. During the recent gun craze, there was a surprising new run, and it was 22s. Not just guns, but ammo as well, disappeared. In fact, it is taking longer for 22 rifles/pistols/revolvers and ammo to reappear and be readily available, than it is the AR and other 223, 308 guns that typically disappear.

ARs are coming back, magazines are starting to show back up, and ammo is trickling in and staying longer than it was. In a little more time, things will start to return to normal, with a few spikes here and there...

And 22s will almost certainly take the longest to recover. Folks that are new, and have no ammo, will keep the 22 ammo shortage going much longer than other ammo. The number of new 22 shooters, and the volume of ammo they will consume, buy, and store will guarantee it.

 

[Tom K]

As Yogi Berra said about a popular club, "Nobody goes there anymore, it's too crowded!"

 

[indiuckian]

If this was April 1st I would have thought the original post was a joke.

As long as boys want to be men and men want to be boys there will always be a place for .22's.

The womenfolk feel the same I reckon...

The last two statements were written in a Sam Elliott voice but I doubt that came through in the post...

 

[finesse_r]

Hoarding is a Word That is Often Misused ....

A 22lr revolver is like a hammer, every home should have at least one. Eventually the hoarders will have enough, production will catch up with demand and it will once again be on the shelves. The 22lr isn't going anywhere.

I find it sad and somewhat upsetting when those people who fail to keep a stock of necessities on hand try shift the blame to "hoarders" for shortages.

Actually just the opposite is true. It is those who refuse to maintain supplies stocked up for emergencies that causes shortages. The people who buy a box every time they want to go shooting are the ones lined up and keeping the shelves empty, along with all the new shooters. Those of us who stock up when times are plentiful are not the ones out buying during the shortage.

This is true of food as well any expendable and useable commodity that is consumed on a regular basis. Those who maintain a 6 month or longer supply of food, water, ammo and other necessities, do not go buying when the panic hits. It is the person who failed to prepare in advance, not the so-called hoarder, who gets caught up in the panic buying.

Rather than accept their responsibility for being a major part of the shortage problem they like to blame the very people who helped to reduce the demand during panic times by calling them hoarders.

To the man who wanders through life expecting the store shelves to always be full anytime he wants something, anyone buying more than he does is labeled a hoarder.

If a few more of these people would maintain even a minimal stock of most necessities, these panic spikes in supply and demand could be mitigated to a large extent. But no. It is easier for most to just blindly wander along and then cast blame on someone else.

Are we now to call those with more than a few guns hoarders of guns, those with savings hoarders of money, those with several cars hoarders of automobiles? For that is where the word hording eventually leads. It lays the ground work for eventual confiscation of other peoples supplies in emergencies and that is why this word is being introduced into everyday usage by newspapers and other mass media. It is a way to demonize those who prepare for disasters and bad times.

So it bothers me to hear that disgusting word being parroted and so badly misused here on this site in this situation.

It might have some application to those who try and stock up during the panic shortages, but there are not so many of those and they are a very small part of the cause of the current shortages. In reality they are just panic buyers who realize too late what being unprepared leads to. They are certainly going to pay a serious premium for their actions and be left holding a lot of over priced ammo when the prices do come back down.

The wording "Hoarder" is an emotionally charged demonizing word that should not be used lightly or without explaining exactly what is meant by the word. It is no different than any other stereotyping word, such as the worst of the racial epitaphs, or other racial comments that are intended to inflame without support and without thought.

 

[lamb]

I find it sad and somewhat upsetting when those people who fail to keep a stock of necessities on hand try shift the blame to "hoarders" for shortages.

Actually just the opposite is true. It is those who refuse to maintain supplies stocked up for emergencies that causes shortages. The people who buy a box every time they want to go shooting are the ones lined up and keeping the shelves empty, along with all the new shooters. Those of us who stock up when times are plentiful are not the ones out buying during the shortage.

This is true of food as well any expendable and useable commodity that is consumed on a regular basis. Those who maintain a 6 month or longer supply of food, water, ammo and other necessities, do not go buying when the panic hits. It is the person who failed to prepare in advance, not the so-called hoarder, who gets caught up in the panic buying.

Rather than accept their responsibility for being a major part of the shortage problem they like to blame the very people who helped to reduce the demand during panic times by calling them hoarders.

To the man who wanders through life expecting the store shelves to always be full anytime he wants something, anyone buying more than he does is labeled a hoarder.

If a few more of these people would maintain even a minimal stock of most necessities, these panic spikes in supply and demand could be mitigated to a large extent. But no. It is easier for most to just blindly wander along and then cast blame on someone else.

Are we now to call those with more than a few guns hoarders of guns, those with savings hoarders of money, those with several cars hoarders of automobiles? For that is where the word hording eventually leads. It lays the ground work for eventual confiscation of other peoples supplies in emergencies and that is why this word is being introduced into everyday usage by newspapers and other mass media. It is a way to demonize those who prepare for disasters and bad times.

So it bothers me to hear that disgusting word being parroted and so badly misused here on this site in this situation.

It might have some application to those who try and stock up during the panic shortages, but there are not so many of those and they are a very small part of the cause of the current shortages. In reality they are just panic buyers who realize too late what being unprepared leads to. They are certainly going to pay a serious premium for their actions and be left holding a lot of over priced ammo when the prices do come back down.

The wording "Hoarder" is an emotionally charged demonizing word that should not be used lightly or without explaining exactly what is meant by the word. It is no different than any other stereotyping word, such as the worst of the racial epitaphs, or other racial comments that are intended to inflame without support and without thought.

Wow, whats that about. Can't beat a 22cal

Thanks,

 

[H Richard]

Lets see, Single Shot 3rd, 22/32 Heavy barrel, K22 Outdoorsman, K22 Combat masterpiece (pre18). 17-4, Mod 63, I guess I could count the Mod #1 2nd Issue. I did get the OUtdoorsman out today, and shot it for the first time, 1 1/2" groups at 10 yards. Not too shabby for an 84 year old handgun.

 

[Lobster Picnic]

I remember reading a columnist in Cairo when the Arab Spring was happening...he said handguns were at the absolute top of the list of desirable commodities at that time...and it didn't matter what caliber, it just mattered that your household had a way to repel invaders. If your house didn't have a gun, you joined forces with a house that did have a gun.

I also remember in the L.A. riots the left-leaning citizens who were in for a rude awakening when they flocked to gun stores in an attempt to protect their property, only to be told of the background check and 5-day waiting period. Instant karma's gonna get you.

What's a handgun worth, when having one is the difference between keeping everything you have and losing everything you have?

To bring it full circle, no, the classic S&W .22 revolvers have not lost any lustre. The K-22 may be the ultimate teaching tool for new shooters, and there are a lot of new shooters.

 

[03Fatboy]

NO it has not