Unbelieavably High .22 Bulk Ammo!

[steamloco76]

Good size gun shop in the next town over had a few bricks of Federal match .22 at $179.99. A small shop here in town had 1 brick of .22 for $189.99. Funny , when Walmart gets .22 in it's still $18.99 a brick?!?!

The first shop I mentioned had 9mm HP's at regular price, $21 per box.

So, how stupid or desperate do people have to be to pay 38 cents per round for .22LR ammo? Insanity.

I am glad I took the advice in the back of my brain and bought more than I was shooting last year. Hopefully the idiocy will subside within a year, until then I'm not buying any more .22 Ammo and contributing to the problem.

 

[Xfuzz]

This ammo situation has been interesting to say the least.
Furstrating for many.
We may have to assume:

.22 ammo has double in price....forever.
The shortage is hopefully temporary.
Looks like .22 ammo will settle at---.08cents a round
.223----.55 cents

Never thought we would see prices like that.
For me, I can deal with the price increase..just don't like it.
The bad is the shortage.

 

[perrazi]

read an article last week that said winchester is about 8 months behind on current orders as of last week. this was in 22lr and centerfire handgun ammo. don't remember what it said about rifle ammo because that wouldn't matter to me. the real sticker is 22lr. if you reload and have components, you still have ammo.

 

[BAM-BAM]

Steamloco, I know the store of which you speak. They have,for years, been noted for buying ammo by the tractor-trailer load.

On top of their recent "customer service" for or at least the past 4-5 years any"good/ nice" used guns that comes in go to auction... never makes it into the case and won't sell it in the store if you happen to see it on the auction(no buy now price).

I haven't been a "regular or loyal" customer for awhile.... unless you live in Butler there's no reason to even go in!!!!!!!

It's become a joke at another shop... that is "taking care of the regulars" as best they can.. with a slow but steady stream of invientory

 

[Warren Sear]

As soon as the panic buying stops, the price of ammo will plummet. If you are stocking up on ammo right now, you have only yourself to blame for pricing being what it is.

There is no point in getting offended at a store that charging more than what you think the stuff is worth. Don't buy it if you think the price is too high.

 

[HitTheMark]

Local gunshop near me, which has always been expensive, has some .22 ammo in stock. Remington Golden Bullet 525 round value pack for $154.99, and Federal 325 round value pack for $99. So apparently .22 bulk ammo is now as high as 9MM. Last time I was there, they had a Kel-Tec SUB-2000 (used) for $2700. Never again will I walk in those doors. I get trying to make a profit, but those prices are out of the park.

Unreal!!!!

 

[k53]

Anything other than 25% over what it cost him is unacceptable. .22 ammo isn't THAT hard to get. I saw another shop in PA had a brick of CCI for $35 (500 rounds). $155 is simply an insult. he's banking on the guy coming in with his kid who has his heart set on shooting that day and being forced to buy that ammo at that price. The Kel-tec Sub he had for $2700 is still there, but now it's $1700. Kel-Tec for more than a Springfield M1A?

Well I dont know a lot about the more modern guns... But isnt Kel-tec more of a lower cost firearm? Like a $350 gun anyother time??

You know... Im lucky, I have a pretty good suply of 22 ammo. Plus at this time Im just not shooting that much. No way I would get CLOSE to paying that money. I just cant justafy that kinda price. I look around to see whats there in the stores though. I can understand it being a few extra bucks, and if I found some CCi SV for under $15 Id probably pick up a 100 pack... till then it sits on a shelf. One of my High standards is set up for 22 shorts, and I have a few bricks of farly old shorts hanging around... Looks like thats my plinker for the next year.

 

[smith17]

I can understand it being a few extra bucks, and if I found some CCi SV for under $15 Id probably pick up a 100 pack... till then it sits on a shelf.

That is $75 per brick equivalent. I thought that was high until my buddy in Dallas called awhile ago and said he hit one Walmart that finally had a few boxes of CCI SV and they were $7.99 per box of 50! Maybe that is the new norm if WM is charging that.
Ed

 

[desi2358]

Prices have been crazy, people are snatching up all the ammo they see and some of them are willing to pay outrageous prices. Many small gunshops can't even get in a regular supply to sell and if they don't have any money coming in they will soon be history. The bigger shops and stores that offer more than just guns and ammo will last a lot longer. I can't fault them for asking stupid prices when there are fools willing to pay it.

Walmart of course, doesn't depend on ammo sales to stay in business and they buy direct too so they can keep a low margin on their ammo. Of course it seems to be a matter of luck to get any nowadays. If people would stop panic buying supplies willl recover and prices will go down again. Though, based on previous experience, they may never get back as low as they once were. Me, I'm shooting my muzzleloaders more, have a good supply for them.

 

[bdshort]

A local store was selling the 500 rnd bricks of Blazer for $25, but those are gone. They still have the 50 rnd boxes for $2.99, so I've been picking those up a couple at a time. I've also been buying CCI MiniMags from Wal-Mart in the 100rnd boxes for $7.99. I've only been into shooting as a hobby since Christmas, and .22 since the beginning of this year. I did happen to have some boxes left of .22 ammo I had from several years ago for a single shot Savage rifle I have, and the price tag said 99 cents!

What was the going price for ammo last year?

 

[ArchAngelCD]

AA: I agree with most of your figures except around here, I was still picking up 550 ValuePaks (not Remington) for $16-18 until November. I never noticed the .22 blip in 2008 but did see .44 Special and 45 ACP at W-mart go from $9.97 to 16 bucks in a matter of a few months.

It sounds like the prices in Texas are a little more reasonable than here in the Northeast of Pennsylvania. In any case we all agree the current prices are completely outrageous! I have a lot of bricks of 22 ammo because I bought several at a time when I found a sale. I'm thinking of throwing up 5 or 6 on Gunbroker.com and see what they will sell for. @ over $150/brick I could buy myself a new 55" big screen TV!!! And no, I would not put a big price tag on them. I would start them at only a Dollar since those crazies over there are doing all the work for you! lol

 

[KTM300RIDER]

In my humble opinion (which is not worth much) We all need to take a deep breath on the whole ammo grab deal. It absolutly absurd to pay even half of the prices people are paying for any ammo. My local police supply store is still selling 40 S&W ammo for within 2 dollars of what it was all of last year. Stop feading the bears and they will go away. Keep the frenzy up and it will only get worse.

 

[Warren Sear]

...You know... Im lucky, I have a pretty good suply of 22 ammo...

I can't count on luck, so I kept spare ammo on hand. I have plenty, and have even sold quite a bit lately. Made a good profit, too.

I knew even before the first panic in the Clinton era that it made sense to keep spare supplies on hand for just such situations. Not just ammo, but lots of stuff. I can't think of everything, but I hope to have enough to trade for something I might have forgotten or run out of, if the time ever comes.

Buy low, sell high. Anyone who buys now is crazy, except a small amount for a new gun purchase.

I have plenty of 22 ammo for sale if anyone needs some. The first round is $1. $2 for the second round. $3 for the third. $4, ...well you get the idea. No gouging going on. That's my price, and you are free to take it or leave it. No hard feelings either way. Now if someone was desperate for a few rounds because of a legitimate set of events (carelessness and irresponsibility do not count), the ammo is free.

It might be a little painful for a short time, but this phony ammo shortage event can be a valuable lesson for those willing to learn from mistakes.

 

[arjay]

I'm loading 38 specials right now with supplies I restocked in 08.It's costing me $50 a "brick" plus my time.Just wait it out and prices will come right back down.

 

[raveneap]

Totally ridiculous for those prices for .22 ammo. Hopefully no one will trade with that shop.

Glad I picked up half a dozen bricks back when it was under $20 a brick for bulk.

 

[lanceman193]

22 ammo

My friend was at 2 gunshows in Alabama the past 2 weeks. and says 22LR is selling for 10 cents a round. 223 is about seventy cents a round and 9mm anywhere from 50 to 80 cents a round. It was a little higher , but is down to those prices now. I think it will be back to almost where it was 6 months ago in 60-90 days. If out, buy what you need, and stock up when it's a lot more reasonable.

 

[Xfuzz]

Auction site .22 ammo is bringing about .18-.22 cents a round.
When I can find it I will pay up 8cents...and that irritates me.

 

[VMI77]

I certainly can't say I saw this coming, but about 2 years ago, I got tired of going to WM searching for .22, so I decided to start buying bulk bricks by the case. Sure, it required me to pay a lot up front, but I figured I would use it up in 3-4 years,and it won't go bad. Went to the same PA store's on-line auction site, plenty of FED on sale, it took a couple months, but I got a great deal, about $150/case, or $15 per brick of 550, vs $20 at the time at WM. At the time, that discount made good sense, as I was buying in bulk. I didn't realize what a bargain I got. That same case of ammo is now going for $400-700 /case on the same auction site, and has been so for months. My point is that it is not just the stores profiteering, it is our fellow shooters acting irrationally.
.22ammo is not a life saving drug, I don't think we NEED it right now.

 

[lightsluvr]

KBM
Out of curiosity, what would be acceptable in this set of circumstances for a shop/individual to price a ValuePak of 525 rounds? Not trying to set you up, just wondering.
Ed

Academy sells the 525 value pack for $19.99 as of this morning.

LL

 

[smith17]

Good to know. There was a wreck on the highway in front of our Academy today about 7:45 and I got stuck in it. I could see at least 30 guys waiting at the front door for them to open. Probably weren't trying to get to the fishing lure aisles.
I heard ours has a 1 ValuePak per person limit per day and they walk it out to the front door for you. I think at some point one has to figure in gasoline and time (if you have something other to do, like going to work) in those prices. LIke I have said previously, my best friend and hunting partner near Dallas drives around in a Suburban and hits as many W-Marts and gun shops as possible every other day. He refuses to figure in his gas, probably because it is his escape from his spouse.

 

[sophie]

Matter of supply and demand. If everyone would just cool it for a while on the .22 ammo and not hoard it like the world was coming to an end this ammo shortage will settle down. It always has eventually. Maybe it wont be as cheap as it was, but it certainly wont be as high as we are seeing now. Shoot some of what you got without fear of being able to ever buy it again. This shortage wont last forever.

________
James

 

[smith17]

James:
I think one of the things we don't realize is the number of new gun owners who have never ever thought of buying ammo before and are now looking for it. It is hard to tell those folks not to buy when they have a gun with no ammo.
Ed

 

[rburg]

At the gunshow last weekend I took along some of my excess 550 packs. We started selling them at $40. Then the first guy that came along started pealing $100s out of his pocket, buying all of them. Too cheap. So we upped it to $45 each and put 8 more up (the amount of room we'd allocated for the ammo). So the next guy bought 5 of them and his buddy bought the rest. So we put 8 more up and priced them at $50. It took a little while to sell all of those. So we were down to 2 boxes, and my son priced those at $55. One guy bought one, another bought the last. I should have priced them higher.

Went looking in the basement and garage. Found 2 .50 cal cans that were heavy. Opened them up and found 8 bricks of Winchester in one, 18 x 100 CCI in the other. Then I discovered a milk case with 15 more 550s. They'll be going to Lexington on the 16th.

I don't consider it gouging. If I was out of ammo, I'd pay what it cost to have some. Being out of ammo is worse than being out of money. At the show last weekend the guys who bought the table out both times were dealers. They put the ammo back up for sale within minutes.

 

[C.S.63]

The LGS I shop at has been holding small amounts of ammunition for folks that buy a firearm, usually 1-2 boxes of practice (hardball) per gun or 1 hardball and the other SD. For 22LR he is only selling to those buying a firearm, anything left over ends up on the shelves with limits. His only price increases has been what he passes on from the distributors.

Been sitting on a supply of LG Pistol primers and have thought of selling or swapping part of it for reloading components (FMJ bullets)
Those 380 95gr fmjs have come in handy for my 9mm.

 

[ArchAngelCD]

Academy sells the 525 value pack for $19.99 as of this morning.

LL

Too bad they didn't leave off the first 1 like before 2008!

Although, in today's selling environment that is not a bad price at all...
Shooting .22LR ammo was always the cheapest ammo available. While it still is it's not nearly as cheap as it was 5 years ago. Sure metal prices have gone up but they didn't go up over 100%, they went up 7%. The ammo industry took a page from Rom Emanuel's book, never let a good crisis go to waste! They raised the prices during the last shortage and never brought them down.

 

[foxeye]

They were selling Rem bulk packs of 525 at the gun show this weekend for $30.00, limit 2 packs per customer. Walmart had a shelf full of .223 at alamost $19.00 a box, but said they were sold out of the 5.56 in no time and it had a list of $11.99 a box. Why is the .223 more expensive than the 5.56?

 

[beemerphile]

That's cheap. My shop had a CCI round for $100. Of course it came with a box. I have seen S&W guys pay over $100 for an empty box. At least this one had a round in it.

 

[execsbcman]

how mauch is enough?

I am not disrespectful to people or a fellow member of this forum, but as an avid firearm collector and range shooter I am missing your point. The current craze on ammo deprives many people the ability to purchase reasonably priced ammunition to enjoy the sport. With a bad back and living so far out what is the purpose of purchasing ammunition at your current rate? Yes there is a shortage but unless you are going to war with someone hopefully not here in the US why the buying spree? Is it just that you have time to purchase and want to stock pile or are you reselling? Whatever the reason you fit into the mold of the people buying just to buy. This is why there is a shortage. Again I am not being disrespectful but your post makes absolutely no sense,

I keep hearing that 22 is non-existant, but not so. I live in a small town in the middle of no where. Its 30 miles to the nearest McDonalds, Walmart or LGS. I am disabled with severe back problems and don't get out much. In spite of that, I have purchased over 1000 RDS of 22 since the beginning of the year....all at regular prices, and mostly at Walmart. Today I went out of town to the Doctor. I stopped at
Walmart and scored the last 2 boxes of 22 in the store(2x225rds). 2 weeks ago I stopped at a LGS and got a 525 round box of Blazers for 26.95. A couple weeks before that I was by another Walmart and got their last box of 22's. It was a 325rd box of Federal Auto match(maybe 375rds, can't remember). A week before that was in Walmart for groceries and got the last 22's again..this time CCI AR22 ammo, then stopped at the LGS on the way home and got 200 CCI mini mags and 50 stingers. If I lived where I could check these places multiple times per week I could no doubt have had much more.I don't know, maybe I am just lucky. Now 9mm is another matter. I haven't seen any for 3 weeks. Even the LGS is out

 

[revolver59]

Any shop or individual, trying to cash in, in a situation like this,is surely scum and not worth dealing with for any reason. I would not give my money to these thieves under any circumstance.It will be just a matter of a few weeks, before everything goes back to their normal prices. All it is is that the panic has raised the sales up,and emptied the shelves. That does not in any way shape or form mean that the shelves won't be filled back up again. DON"T GIVE YOUR MONEY TO THESE HYPOCRITES.We as Americans should stick together and united in these situations,not f--k each other.

 

[ghawke]

I probably can't say anything that already hasn't been said, just that I would not patronize this store, unless he had some smokin deal on a smith and Wesson. There's alway an exception to the rule.
Greg