Where Has All The .22LR Ammunition Gone?

[tblt44]

glad I got 1000 rounds.
I used to shoot 100 rounds of 22 every time at the range ,not now I savin it.shooting 9 and 40 only

 

[carpriver]

I scored a 100rd box yesterday at Wal-Mart, and there was even some fifty round boxes on the shelf. Our stores limits you to one box of ammo per day. They appear to be getting 22 more often.

 

[gustmez1]

I am beginning to feel the manufactures are capitalizing on the panic. Why make a small mark up on 22's when they can sell the larger calibers for a larger profit. Capitalism at work which is ok in my opinion. Just my thoughts, may be wrong, but if I were in the business I would go where the money is most likely to benefit my company. Consumer response will ultimately dictate when the product will become available at a reasonable price.

 

[HorizontalMike]

IMO, at some point all these "hoarders" are going to have to dump their stashes of .22LRs into the market, because I sure do not see them at the range burning through that many rounds. I even checked with my local range owner for confirmation on that. They hadn't seen .22LR in over a year.

 

[Straightshooter2]

I was in Dick's Sporting Goods in Fayetteville, GA yesterday and I noticed a guy checking out with a brick of CCI. They were the lead, standard velocity for 39.95 and it was limit one brick per person. I got back to the firearms area and they still had several bricks of them. I bought one and, since my wife has a few .22 rifles of her own, she bought one. They also had quite a few boxes of the bulk 525 Remington Golden Bullets in stock but since I basically gave a box of those away...$20 for around 750 of them...I passed on the Remingtons.

CW

 

[LVSteve]

IMO, at some point all these "hoarders" are going to have to dump their stashes of .22LRs into the market, ........

I think you are underestimating the sheer bloody-mindedness of the hoarder/gouger types. They don't HAVE to do anything with the ammo they grabbed. There are many who are determined NEVER to take a loss on any of these games, be it on ammo, ARs, AKs, magazines or anything else. In fact, I think it was somebody on here who confessed that Sandy Hook finally gave him the opportunity to dump the overpriced AR he bought around the 2008 election. There was no way he was selling it beforehand.

I guarantee you there are a lot of muttering stack sitters all over the country who are trying to maintain the "shortage" in their area any way they can. For a start they'll be trying to do mass buys using every family member they can round up during the BPS sale to keep the "shortage" going. Just wait for the reports of same on this and other gun forums.

 

[coltle6920]

I was at my local BPS stocking up on my .357 ammo for my 686, and I thought I would pick up some 22LR while I was at it... WRONG! There was no .22 ammunition to be had, other than bird shot.

I got home, went on line and ZILCH, NADA, NONE to be found.
All "sold out".

What gives? ! Where has all the .22 caliber ammunition gone to?

You didn't say what you are shooting it in. I have a .22mag semi-auto that is picky about what I feed it. My Henry .22LR rifle and Heritage .22LR revolver are like goats and will eat anything.

Just checked out "SurplusAmmo" and they have a selection of 22LR available if you're not picky.

 

[dcxplant]

…and don't forget the preppers will use .22's for bartering.

Also, if you wanted to store 5k, 10k, heck 20k of ammo, what caliber will you have room to store it for? 12ga? .45? or the little .22LR which packs thousands of rounds so neatly.

Compare the size of 50 round boxes of .45ACP and .22 you'll see what I mean.

I think these two factors alone keep the .22's bought out.

 

[oldRoger]

The week after the Shot Show I talked to one of the partners of a large business which supplies competition shooting equipment and supplies. They normally sell truckloads of CCI-SV and Greentag.
He some other large customers had met with CCI at the show. CCI told them that they could not expect any CCI-SV for the remainder of this year.
CCI was (and probably still is) so overwhelmed with orders that they cannot see daylight.

As others have mentioned, regular .22LR ammunition is relatively inexpensive, takes little storage space, and has an unlimited shelf life, so it's perfect for hoarding.

There is no shortage of high end .22LR ammunition such as Tenex---a bit tighter than normal, yes, but available at the normal (high) prices.

 

[rburg]

Well lets start with some facts. The ammo companies claim to be producing at full capacity. They even suggest they're producing more than last year. But if that part is true, then each and every retail store should be receiving at least as much as last year. But we know they aren't.

From that we should assume the shortage is at the hands of the makers. And they're not telling the truth. If they were producing as much as last year, or the year before, the distribution channels would have as much or more than prior years.

Anyone who wants 22 ammo can find it. Its for sale at all the gun shows. No, not the new manufacture stuff. But gun guys have emptied their closets and what not. The standard selling price for 22s is now $.10 a round. It means the old 550 packs are $55.00, and the old bricks of 500 are now sold for $50. Even the off size bulk containers of 325 are being sold for $32.50 or the more ambitious $35. Its not just one table, at the OGCA last weekend there were probably 100 tables selling 22 ammo.

I'm a little shocked and disgusted at the new trend to zip lock assorted ammo and expect the buyer to believe the sellers count of 100 rounds. For the bargain price of $10. Of course all you can see is the headstamp. You've got to assume its the very bottom of the barrel stuff. So the simple answer is if you want a 1000 rounds, bring along $100. If you want 10,000 rounds, bring along $1,000 and so on.

The break in the rule seems to be CCI mini mags in 100 plastic packs. Those should also be priced at $10, but the asking price is often $19. Its not bad ammo. But its also not worth $.19 per shot. But if I had no ammo at all, I'd be happy to buy about anything I could. It will probably occur next year about this time.

 

[M3Stuart]

I was at a cabela's a couple weeks ago and they had the 325 boxes of Winchester .22 for $17.99 I think it was. I consider that comparable to the $20-$25 per brick that it used to be. So I got my allotment of 1 mini-brick. Other than that you have to order the CCI mini-mags at 100rds for $8-$9 - which is not a bad deal cuz they used to be $7-$8/100 anyway. Have them shipped to the store (again, cabela's). Shipping is free. Do this for some days in a row. Wait a week. Then go pick them all up in one trip.

 

[PA Guns & Ammo]

Canada has no shortage of 22 ammo. What does that tell you? It tells you that people here are crazy enough to pay high prices for it.

James

 

[ChattanoogaPhil]

Cheap .22LR bulk pack was getting more difficult to find well before Sandy Hook. With economic hard times, lots of folks shoot more .22s. Gun manufactures have been putting out tons of new .22s, particularly centerfire replicas. The S&W M&P 15-22 has been hugely popular (as well as a dozen other "black rifles" by different manufacturers), and there's lot's of new centerfire pistol replicas. Shooting suppressed has also become much more popular in recent years. This ain't your daddy's Marlin 60 and 10-22 rimfire world anymore and I think that's a significant part of the shortages we're seeing.

I don't buy the notion that the ammo manufactures are purposely limiting .22LR production to less than capacity in order to increase price. If that were the case, they could have done the same with centerfire pistol ammo which is plentiful in many retailers around here.

 

[jaykellogg]

I was in one of my LGS' recently and he had one bulk pack of 325 rounds left. I paid $30otd and he claimed he bought it wholesale for $28.

I am seeing 5.56 right now for around .40-42¢ a round.

 

[wbraswell]

In south central Texas, you should be able to find it at a gun show. Be sure and look around first, and you probably can find some at a somewhat reasonable price. It's getting better.

 

[HorizontalMike]

The insanity continues!


Just tried the Cabelas near me (60mi.) online. Had one box of 375 in my cart and went to check out and it disappeared "Sold Out"

 

[arjay]

22 shows up frequently at Cabela's and Gander, in store and online.Just have to catch it.I haven't checked Walmart in a very long time.

 

[Dashriprock]

I feel for you guys. I've notice the same thing at big box stores. Local shop near me has as much as you want, though, and the prices are not much more than they were a year ago. No limits either. Bought 1,000 rds just a few weeks back.

 

[HorizontalMike]

arjay,
Thinking about Walmart, online I get different messages that read like this:

Store information not available.
Show this number 0002946505735 to a Walmart associate to find this item in your store.

I also noted that each item/box of shells had different number. Do you think that they are just keeping all this 22LR ammo off-shelf and pull one out at a time when they get a specific request/item # to pull?

 

[tops]

Well lets start with some facts. The ammo companies claim to be producing at full capacity. They even suggest they're producing more than last year. But if that part is true, then each and every retail store should be receiving at least as much as last year. But we know they aren't.

From that we should assume the shortage is at the hands of the makers. And they're not telling the truth. If they were producing as much as last year, or the year before, the distribution channels would have as much or more than prior years.

I agree with you. Larry