Where Has All The .22LR Ammunition Gone?

As mentioned, Midway is accepting backorders on a bunch of .22lr at close to prepanic prices. If I was running low I'd buy two or three cases and when it comes in next year (whenever) then no worries for a while. Running around on rimfire ammo safari trying to find a brick here and there.... no thanks. It stings to spend a lot of money on large purchases for what is supposed to be economical shooting, but I know I'll eventually shoot it all... always do.
 
Last edited:
Here's something I posted on a different thread a day or so ago.
I'm having no trouble finding .22 lr. Mini mags mostly.


The ammo hack for Walmart has helped me over the past couple of weeks. I've been finding CCI mini mags popping up at numerous WM stores within 5-15 miles from my house. $7.47/100 box + 6.875% sales tax.
Here's the video on how to use it if you've not already seen it.

VR AMMO HACK STILL WORKS ON WALMART WEBSITE - YouTube
 
HorizontalMike said:
I have been on a long sabbatical, 40-45yr to be precise. ... So please explain, as it is news to me. Bring me up to speed.

I have ~450rd stored, but was looking to shoot this older stock and replenish, but that now looks in doubt.:confused:
Click to expand...

Only 450? For that is plenty, for others, it's a drop in the bucket. Read the following responses to your thread and you can easily deduce the answer:

steamloco76 said:
... I stocked-up in 2011/12 so I don't need to buy, but I can't shoot the 500 rounds per week I used to either.
Click to expand...

tblt44 said:
glad I got 1000 rounds.
I used to shoot 100 rounds of 22 every time at the range ,not now I savin it.
Click to expand...

ditto1958 said:
... I have a fair amount of 22 LR, but since I know I can't readily replace it, I cant shoot a brick a week like I did in the past...
Click to expand...
 
HorizontalMike said:
Well, I slept in this morning and it was GREAT! :D

I let all of the crazies do their thing, standing in line in the cold dark, JUST to "maybe" get their hands on ONE brick of 22LR at the local BPS at 5am. :p
Click to expand...

Sorry to disappoint ya there Scooter but I sauntered into Cabela's at 6:30 AM, got my $17 brick, paid up and left. Nothing crazy about that. Been getting up at 5:00 for 32 years, why would today be different?
 
Too Much Gas Money To Shop BF Deals

blujax01 said:
Sorry to disappoint ya there Scooter but I sauntered into Cabela's at 6:30 AM, got my $17 brick, paid up and left. Nothing crazy about that. Been getting up at 5:00 for 32 years, why would today be different?
Click to expand...

That is all fine and dandy, however Cabelas is 75mi away and BPS is 40mi away in the other direction.

Leaving the house at or near 3am is just NOT that appealing to me, especially when it would cost between ~$18(BPS) and ~$35(Cabelas) in gasoline money for that ONE brick limit of 22LR. And besides, I am also seeing that neither have the best prices nor absolute availability of the larger caliber centerfire rounds in stock.
 
Today... got up at 6 a.m. Drank my two big mugs of coffee and headed out the door to Dublin... 178 miles away, to meet my wife and family for a belated Thanksgiving dinner. On the way I stopped at Bass Pro in Macon... no .22 LR ammo of any kind. On I drove to Dublin. Wal-Mart was... out. I tried a little gun shop in East Dublin. They offered to sell me 100 rds. in a plastic bag for $14.11/bag. I declined. A few minutes later the owner saw me and walked over to ask what sort of ammo I needed. I told him that I needed .22 LR ammo, but that $14/100 rd. was to rich for my blood. We talked a bit about life the universe and everything. He then told me to wait a minute. He went into the back of the store and returned with a brick of CCI standard velocity target .22 LR ammo. The little boxes were marked $4/50 rds. He had the young lady at the register scan it as $29.99/500 rds. Just a few minutes and $32.10 paid and I was out the door. Very cool. Sometimes it is good to just listen to what folks are saying. I think a lot of store owners are just as frustrated about ammo supply, etc. as are those of us who are having problems finding shootable quantities of .22 LR ammo. When I got to the house and showed my wife what I'd found she was about as happy as I was. I plan to use it when I visit my daughter and son-in-law at Christmas. I'll let them have fun shooting it in my 18-3.
 
Wednesday evening the wife wanted to go to Wal-Mart for some last minute shopping. I always go by the ammo counter and for the last several months they've only had 22 shot cartridges. Well to my surprise the shelves were stocked with Federal 550 bulk for $22 so I bought the allotted 3 boxes of this ammo. They also had a lot of CCI MiniMags in 100 round plastic boxes for $ 6.99. Today is Friday and I went back to see if any ammo was left and the 22 LR was all gone.
They did have Winchester WB 9mm and 38 Special in 100 round boxes so I grabbed that. Hopefully the shortage is nearing an end, at least here in western Illinois.
 
HorizontalMike said:
Well, I slept in this morning and it was GREAT! :D

I let all of the crazies do their thing, standing in line in the cold dark, JUST to "maybe" get their hands on ONE brick of 22LR at the local BPS at 5am. :p
Click to expand...



And therein lies the difference between those with ammo and those without ammo. Me, I have ammo but it took a lot of early mornings in line before the store opened to get it and since waking up early ( old Army habit)isn't that hard one might as well line up for ammo.
 
Ah but just add the $35 in gasoline to that $25/brick 22LR and you have a $60 brick of 22LR! Sleeping in was well worth the lack of effort when one lives too far from the retailer. ;)
 
Really kind of strange. The twin city metro area (Mpls/St Paul) seems to be getting in 22lr & 9mm.
There are 19 Walmart stores within 30 miles of my housel. This is what I found.
Fed Champion GMJ 9mm (100rd) in stock in 4 of 19 stores.
Fed Champion FMJ 9mm (50rd) in stock in 9 of 19 stores

Fed Value Pack 22lr (550 rd) in stock in 5 of 19 stores First time I've seen these.
Fed Champion 22lr (100 rd) in stock in 4 of 19 stores
CCI mini mags 36 grain (100 rd) in stock in 3 of 19 stores. I've been paying $7.47 per 100 rd box for these.
Is this a Minnesota thing? Less shooters here? Don't know.:confused:
BTW. Three box limit at Walmart stores here.
 
I think the .22 is coming back. At least to Colorado anyway.

Last 2 times that I walked into Walmart they had CCI Minimags. Monday at about 10 am the Bowles and 470 Walmart had the 100 round plastic boxes for $7.49 each and I got my three.

Today I walked into the Walmart at Wadsworth and Quincy and there were at least 20 of the 325 round CCI 'Choot EM' boxes on the shelf. At $24 for 325 a little high but I bought my 3 boxes anyway.

Local gunstore has CCI Maxi Mag .22 Magnums - both FMJ and Hollowpoint for $14 a box of 50.
 
HorizontalMike said:
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?:confused:
Click to expand...

Use this hack to get get past the "store information not available" and find out which stores actually have ammo in stock.
Works great for me.
As posted earlier, I've been finding .22 & 9mm ammo at WM quite frequently


EASY Walmart Website Hack for "Store information not available", Find Ammo Other Stores! - YouTube
 
I am a firm believer that the rimfire shortage is self-induced; not necessarily by the average shooter, but by shooters nonetheless. I'm over 60, been shooting a while, both recreationally and competitively. I know people that have NEVER owned more than a brick of .22's at one time in their lives that are sitting on tens of thousands of rounds. Their justification is that they will never run out - and I'm inclined to agree. Their annual consumption prior to the re-election of our current president (which I think drove the mass gun / ammo buying more than anything) was usually the aforementioned brick or less and now they have enough stockpiled that they are using it for furniture. Consider for instance that Federal's plant in Mississippi produces nothing but rimfire ammo, but at the rate of 1,000,000 rounds a day. One million is not a bunch divided among the representative classes - LR, Hi-Velocity, Standard Velocity, etc., etc., - and at 5K rounds per case. I do some work for a LGS on a regular basis. His wholesalers prices have risen some, but not enough to justify the "gouge 'em while you can" gun show prices. My opinion, for what it's worth....
 
Bought 5 of the 100 rd. plastic packs of Remington
standard velocity "Target" loads today from my LGS.
.22 Long Rifle @ 10 bucks per.
He also said, buy as many as you'd like.

Chuck
 
my friend and I shot a lot I mean a brick a week for years.( those were the days, but they are long gone) every time we went to Wal-Mart we would buy a brick or two. over time we both had stored a nice batch of ammo. then the shortage hit, I have enough to hold me over for awhile. My buddy told me he has over "60" bricks at home and the other day saw some for $28 a brick and bough two. I ask him why because you have more then you will ever shoot in your life time. we only shoot 200-250 rounds at a time now a few times a year. it is a sickness, he still thinks that he needs more. maybe there should be a program for hoarders to try to break them from this addiction.
 
I think I still have around 40 bricks on the ammo pile. I still try to shoot a brick when I go out to plink. Like Phil the moderator above posted, I buy in large blocks and store it. Just keep watching Midway or Midsouth or your favorite vendor and when they run a special but 5 or 6 sleeves of bricks and store them. 10 bricks to the sleeve and you are in for a lot of fun.
 
My LGS is no longer limiting us to two boxes. For the past month they've had CCI standard and ar tactical (same as mini-mags I believe), rem golden, stingers, winchester, and a few other .22. Stopped at Dick's yesterday and they a stack of rem value packs (525 rounds). I only buy the CCI standard now. I have about 5000 rounds total, 2500 are CCI and I shoot about a brick a week (one competition and two to three practice sessions). I try to keep one brick of CCI on hand in case I can't find any but I've been pretty steady for a few months now.

Sent from my DROID RAZR HD using Tapatalk
 
HorizontalMike said:
IMO, at some point all these "hoarders" are going to have to dump their stashes of .22LRs into the market
Click to expand...

If you wait for that, it's going to be another 40-year hiatus. The preppers, hoarders, etc ain't givin up their stashes (no, I'm not one.)

Get on the notify list with some of the online retailers. Have your smart phone and credit card with you at all times and be ready to pounce as soon as you get a notification (scan your drivers license to send to them)

Right now (7:22 Sunday morning) is the perfect time to go hit your local retailers.

P.S. Just saw your note about your commute. Livin in the boonies is great,but all the more reason you need to be a bit of a hoarder. Plan your trips to town for early in the morning, especially Sundays.
 
Last edited:
HorizontalMike said:
That is all fine and dandy, however Cabelas is 75mi away and BPS is 40mi away in the other direction.

Leaving the house at or near 3am is just NOT that appealing to me, especially when it would cost between ~$18(BPS) and ~$35(Cabelas) in gasoline money for that ONE brick limit of 22LR. And besides, I am also seeing that neither have the best prices nor absolute availability of the larger caliber centerfire rounds in stock.
Click to expand...

I did combine that Cabela's trip after my Home Depot @5 AM (free coffee and donuts while we waited for the doors to open) where I saved almost $200 on supplies and materials for my basement Redo. And after Cabela's I hit up Lowes. Only you can decide the price of losing a couple hour's sleep.

It takes some advance planning, logistical forethought to make it work and admittedly living in the 'burbs has it's advantages. But there is ammo out there that can be had for a reasonable price.

The "Old Days" are long gone. We'd better get used to it.:cool:
 
Last edited:
It is going to be hard to raise a next generation of shooters if .22 ammo stays this scarce and expensive.

I find it hard to believe that it is all supply and demand but I also find it hard to believe that anyone could manipulate the situation this long without it coming out. I find it very puzzling and suspicious.

I buy .357 ammo, it is expensive but the brass is reusable and I like having some factory HP ammo around for just in case. In fact, I am planning to try some Hornady .357 FTX ammo soon just to see if it is all that and a bag of chips as reported.
 
Local WMs latest excuse as I overheard when cashier was answering another persons questions yesterday. We only get one shipment of ammo in a week (lie Nr 1 before I walked away) Lie Nr 2 just heard as I walked away was: "I havent seen any 22 in over three months come to this particular store" when in fact, they have had it many many times. I scored one visit-two boxes of 555 22 lr, other visits 3 boxes of 50 rounds, other visits 2 boxes of 325 etc--same with 9mm.

I walked away shaking my head at his blatant lying. That cashier KNEW I knew better because-he was the one that sold me most of what I mentioned above.

The guy he was speaking with, was TRYING to get interested in shooting and wanted a rifle for himself as well as another for his teenaged son. What a way to get introduced into the world of shooting.
 
RonS said:
It is going to be hard to raise a next generation of shooters if .22 ammo stays this scarce and expensive.
Click to expand...

True statement. I have tried to do my part.

Donated 1100 rounds of .22lr to raise money for the Colorado Recalls and they were won by an out of state bidder that then had me give them to the Boy Scouts. Donated another 1100 rounds to them myself directly after so they had enough total to do the fall shooting event.

There is a local instructor who teaches concealed carry and a large portion of his clientele are young women whom he teaches with a Ruger SR.22. He got another 1000 rounds from me.

I purchase .22 when I find it as posted above, but a lot of my small stash of it then goes out to others. If we want to keep our guns - We must recruit and educate as many new shooters as we can.
 
HorizontalMike said:
I just gave your "hack" a go at it and it indeed allowed me to do the "find a store" routine, but still ZERO luck on the 22LR thus far. :mad::(
Click to expand...

Just keep watching it. For Week or so I saw nothing, then over the past 10 days I saw a bunch of stuff come in. Went to three different stores and ended up with over 1,000 rds. Only takes about 10 minutes work on your computer and no money spent on gas. As of today I noticed that all mini mags are sold but there are bricks (550) of Federal at three different stores. Also, don't know how many WM in your area. I have 19 stores within 20 miles of my house.
 
Mydogmax said:
Just keep watching it. For Week or so I saw nothing, then over the past 10 days I saw a bunch of stuff come in. Went to three different stores and ended up with over 1,000 rds. Only takes about 10 minutes work on your computer and no money spent on gas. As of today I noticed that all mini mags are sold but there are bricks (550) of Federal at three different stores. Also, don't know how many WM in your area. I have 19 stores within 20 miles of my house.
Click to expand...

My closest WM is ~30mi., and then another 19 or so farther than that but less than 50mi. The gasoline differential is the killer.
 
At a walmart in middle of Fl I missed the 9 mm and 22 lr by one day.the guy said they had federal and cci .They had 38 & 40.
got a 100 pack of 40 for 37.56.
gonna pick up some 22 there soon.
I'm gonna buy 2 bricks off 22 when it comes in
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

LVSteve
When delivery drivers foul up
Replies
26
Views
876
glenwolde
glenwolde
chief38
Dinner plans went south - but we recovered, changed course and had a fantastic evening!
Replies
22
Views
645
CalifEd
C
BabaBlueJay
Sticky 22LR in Gallon Bag
Replies
5
Views
307
desi2358
D
pasound
56 days gone without a trace
Replies
22
Views
1K
StephenWhoDat
StephenWhoDat
LVSteve
Something oddly jarring tonight
2
Replies
31
Views
1K
mtgianni
M

Latest posts

Back
Top