Is the 22LR drought over?

[arjay]

Well,true,but over the long term I don't think prices are that far out of line.The trouble for me has been discovering the high quality stuff-yikes!

 

[BC38]

Well,true,but over the long term I don't think prices are that far out of line.The trouble for me has been discovering the high quality stuff-yikes!

Yeah, lately you can usually only find the good stuff on line, and the prices are pretty reasonable (relatively speaking), until you add in the shipping costs - and that jacks it back up to an unreasonable price

The whole thing has been one big scam I tell ya!

 

[arjay]

Don't get me started on wimmen [emoji38]

 

[RILEY31]

Our Walmart has Remington 100 round boxes of 22LR for $12.99 a box. First I have seen there in about 3 years

 

[mogwan]

In Australia we have never seen a low supply issue sometimes mini mags arnt in stock. ...

Powder can be hit and miss but never taken more than 2 weeks to get I want.

Gros21, up here in SE Queensland, we have no problems getting virtually any flavor of .22lr.

The BIG problem is finding Federal Small Pistol Primers for all our 'tuned' 9mm & .38 SPL S&W Revolver loads. It seems Federal primers arrive about 1-2 times a year and one needs to buy about 10 one thousand primer boxes at twice the price as 2014 (about US$42/box.) the idea is you keep about 7 boxes for yourself and replace the 3 boxes you borrowed from your mates when stocks were exhausted.

Same problem with Win 231- WXT- TrailBoss, etc. The same boat lands 1-2 times a year. 1LB of 231 is now about US$42 when it was $30 last year.

Even ADI powders manufactured here are hard to find for pistol loads.

A brick of Federal 510 .22lr has doubled in price to US$42/brick
from around $30/brick. CCI Stingers? We got Stingers...

 

[Ranger17]

Wife and I went to the Cabela's that was recently built here. I'm here to tell ya... they had tons of 22. CCI, Remington, Federal, Norma... on and on... everyone was just walking on by. And so did I.

So yes, demand isn't what it used to be and supply is following accordingly. Falling prices next.

I've seen the same thing at the Cabelas I'm close to (opened last year). Heck I've walked by .22 ammo and not just grabbed whatever they had; not like i'm stocked for decades of range fun, but i've found mini mags work best in my Buckmark so I dont even bother buying stuff that is only "ok". I dont need to buy ammo for the sake of buying it.
And only being in the shooting hobby for the past 3+ years, i only know current pricing and availability and dont have a historical perspective that many here do (seems to help actually). But I can say i only buy from retail, at what should be current normal retail... supporting a re-seller is not something I will do. So I am glad i can usually get what i need from Gander or Cabelas, both minutes away from my home.

 

[ladyT]

True, we do have to adapt.

BUT, this isn't the same as the 19 cent gallon of gasoline. That was 60 or 70 years ago, and it is to be expected that a lifetime of increasing taxation and inflation would result in today's gas prices.

2 cents a round was the price for 22LR ammo less than 10 years ago. What else has gone up 400%-500% in that period? In the last 10 years the price should have gone from 2 cents to less than 3 cents per round if it were just due to normal inflationary forces, and I know taxes haven't gone up that much in the last 10 years either.

No, this is something different. This has been an artificially created shortage, that then was exacerbated and prolonged by panic buying, hoarding, and profiteering. Like I said in an earlier post, now that the "normal" price is 4-5 times what it was before the "shortage" the supply is magically increasing.

Imagine that...

It is my belief that we experienced the perfect storm.
First there was a lack of manufacturing ability to meet increased demand.
2. Retail establishments didn't have contracts in place to meet any increased demand.
3. A switch from revolver and lever action 22 caliber firearms to AR and other high capacity style firearms meant that round count would go up over the usual count.
4. The "Just in Time Delivery System" that had been adopted meant there were no on hand stocks to buffer a run on product.
5. Distributors sitting on ammo to drive the prices up further.
6. Politicians talking confiscation and other restrictions on gun ownership forced many a fence sitter to finally go and buy that firearm.
7. The number of gun owners spiked causing a new demand that was not there prior to Dec 2012.
8. The rest of us seeing what was going on accelerated our acquisition of all flavors of 22 caliber ammunition so we could have some when we wanted to shoot it plus a reserve.

All of the above led provided for a perferct storm in regards to the availability of .22 caliber ammo thus creating a huge demand that could not be met.

Yes there were problems and lots of them as rural areas where there were no big box stores that were left out as the retailers fought for supplies for their customers.

And yes even retail dealers took stock off their shelf and sold it online to the highest bidder while telling their customers it was the "hoarders" fault that there was no 22lr to be had which many gun owners bought into. Granted there were some but it wasn't the the guy standing in line to buy his/her 1-3 box limit from a big box retailer. Kind of hard to amass huge quantities at that rate. Not saying it can't be done but it's hard to do when retailers place limits on the amount you can purchase.

If there is one lesson to learn from this it is to be prepared for the worst while hoping for the best. I dare say anyone seriously into shooting is going to need to have a stock of factory ammo on hand, the ability to reload the calibers they shoot and to have all of the supplies on hand they need to reload.

If history is anything to look at then we should be stocking up now during the lull. We also should keep a watch out as this sales tax per bullet idea will probably catch on as governments continue to look for more money to fund operations under the guise of they are doing something about gun violence. Such a tax will be seen as a gain for the Anti's and something that the pro gun folks will concede easily on if it keeps the anti's away even for a short period of time.

I think the present and the past are the good old days of shooting and the future especially after the November elections is looking rather bleak for our hobby.

Our future is wholly dependent on how many vote and how vocal we are at the local and state levels. If all we do is talk and complain on web sites we will lose. We have to put our time, money and vote behind people who support us or run for office ourselves. There is no other way we can be sure that we will be able to continue to enjoy our hobby and pass it along to our children and those who have yet to try it.

JMHO

 

[mauser9]

Price of 22 magnum rounds are kinda heartbreaking. Lucky to fine the CCI and Rems for $15 per 50 rounds. One LGS near by was asking $22!!! Heck have seen centerfire for cheaper.

 

[ladyT]

My local Academy got some Hornady 22mag 30gr in for $13.99/50

 

[HKSmith]

Here are some real world numbers. In Sept. 2009 I bought 3000 rounds of CCI MiniMag for $6.49/100 from an online retailer (I still have the invoice); that was the best price I could get at the time. The same ammo at my LGS is now $8.99/100; that's without any comparison shopping and is about a 40% increase over almost 7 years, not a 400% increase. I don't think any .22 LR ammo was 2 cents per round less than 10 years ago; that sounds like a 1980's price.

Another long-range comparison that I've mentioned before on this forum is that in 1964, when I was a senior in college, I did a lot of .22 LR shooting. I paid $5.00 per brick of Federal Monark (their bargain brand then) or a penny per round. Applying an inflation calculator, that's 7.7 cents per round in 2016 dollars. That's slightly more than the price I've been paying recently at my LGS for Federal Auto-Match ($23.99/325). The same is true for reloading components and centerfire ammo; they're cheaper now than they were over 50 years ago when adjusted for inflation. These may be the "good old days" and we just don't know it!

 

[Ranger17]

just thought, while i know there's another thread for .22 ammo, that i'd let y'all know Gander sent out a holiday sale flyer showing mini mags at 7.99 (their usual price) on Saturday both online and in stores. They've done this in the past, i've scored the 5 box limit when able. I'm a couple mins from the Gander here so just pick up in store and save the ship (plus the store has a tendency to have a 1 box limit on this) but they usually have some reasonable ship promos as well.

Anyhow just wanted to send the note, as i'm sure i wont be the only one wanting to get some target time in this weekend.

 

[e3mrk]

The Fin Feather and Fur I go to always has plenty of 22 cal. Last week They had a sale and The Shelves were full.
Wally World doesn't have any but a few have been caught Cherry Picking the Orders on Friday and taking it to Gun Shows to sell at a huge profit.

 

[CATI1835]

The Fin Feather and Fur I go to always has plenty of 22 cal. Last week They had a sale and The Shelves were full.
Wally World doesn't have any but a few have been caught Cherry Picking the Orders on Friday and taking it to Gun Shows to sell at a huge profit.

Last gun show I went to, today, there were a number of sellers with .22 ammo. The prices were all over the place, but NONE of it was flying off the tables. I hope the Walmart flippers are losing their butts...

I did score two 500 round bricks for $30, .06/rd, OTD. I felt OK with that.

 

[DWalt]

Friday night, the local Academy had a lot of .22 LR, various brands, on the counter. The lowest price was Winchester 550 round bulk packs at $29.95, with the 500 round Remington bulk packs at the same price. All of the 50 round boxes were a dime or more per round. The had re-instituted a purchase limit of one bulk pack or one brick of 50 round boxes. Several weeks ago they did not have a purchase limit.

 

[CA Escapee]

Just an update. I bought a brick of M22 at Bass Pro in Denver last week for $56.99+tax.

Cabela's in Thornton, CO has buckets (1400 rnds) of Remington Golden Bullets for $89.99+tax.

No shortage around Denver.

Bill

 

[CATI1835]

Update today. Just returned from a local (Waco) gun show. There was more .22 ammo on the tables than I have seen in years. Just inside the entry was one seller with a couple of dozen guns but a table overflowing with .22 ammo. He had stacks behind the table 4 feet high of almost every flavor you could imagine. I saw about 25 of the Remington Bucket of Bullets, 1400 rounds, for $84, out the door. If you consider an 8% sales tax, that is just over $77 a bucket, just over .05/round. Other varieties at similar prices. And guess what - they were not flying off the table. Maybe we have reached the tipping point. Maybe the market is becoming saturated. I hope so.

 

[Gamecock]

Update today. Just returned from a local (Waco) gun show. There was more .22 ammo on the tables than I have seen in years. Just inside the entry was one seller with a couple of dozen guns but a table overflowing with .22 ammo. He had stacks behind the table 4 feet high of almost every flavor you could imagine. I saw about 25 of the Remington Bucket of Bullets, 1400 rounds, for $84, out the door. If you consider an 8% sales tax, that is just over $77 a bucket, just over .05/round. Other varieties at similar prices. And guess what - they were not flying off the table. Maybe we have reached the tipping point. Maybe the market is becoming saturated. I hope so.

Maybe he waited too late to unload. I certainly hope so. Love to see hoarders get stuck.

 

[DWalt]

" I saw about 25 of the Remington Bucket of Bullets, 1400 rounds, for $84, out the door"

About two weeks ago, the local Academy store had those buckets of 1400 for $69.95 plus tax (a nickel per round). And quite a few buckets were on the shelf. I haven't been back since, so no idea if they are still there or not.

 

[Wee Hooker]

I've been getting Federal auto match at $19.50/325 rounds pretty much at will ( from two different stores) for the last couple of months. That's about 6 cents a round for ammo that is a cut above the normal Remington / Winchester bulk fodder.

Call it hoarding if you like but buy a box or 5 every week.
There will be more lean times ahead!

 

[Longhorn1986]

I didn't see any .22 LR when I looked at the local Wally-World this afternoon.