Why Can’t I Find .22 LR Ammunition?!?!?

[cyphertext]

Remember not every walmart carries ammo and there are a lot of blank spces out here in the SW and W.

I'm happy and lucky to have an Academy nearby that I have to drive by when traveling east and its close enough so a quick run to check out what they have isn't a problem. My local walmart is a mess though and seldom has ammo in any caliber so Academy is it. I got 2 boxes of CCI SV today which isn't much but hey it could have been worse.

Maybe so, but there are other stores other than Walmart. I lived out there in the SW desert for several years. Had to drive 45 minutes to civilization, any direction. For those folks, the internet is their friend. However, they are in the minority... many of us can spit and hit a Walmart no matter which direction we are facing. There are 3,313 Supercenters and another 499 discount stores across the country... these numbers do not include the neighborhood markets, Sam's Clubs, or the small footprint express stores that they are now trying.

 

[ladyT]

Hello everyone, i was gettin a lil curious of the 22 lr ammo shortage so i checked out a website and only one website that i have posted guns and accessories for sale on before. For the u.s. search there was over 10,000 rounds of 22lr ammo on the first page of around 10 postings. And thats just 1 page. I agree what was said earlier. If people would stop paying $50 a brick it would all end. As long as they pay, the sellers will keep buying it for reselling. I personally see no need to pay even $35 for a brick of 22 lr let alone $30. I dont need to shoot my 22's that bad. In my opinion paying 10 cents and above a round is just rediculous. Especially when i can shoot 38 specials for 10 cents. Just my opinion.

Then don't buy it. No one is being forced to buy 22lr at any price point and all of the objections to current pricing are just wasted breath. Its a new world with a new paradigm and under that paradigm the price of ammo has gone up including 22lr, a caliber that has been under priced for some time.

 

[ChattanoogaPhil]

Gander Mtn has 525rd Remington GB in stock right now. $24.99 + $5 shipping. Check out the 1522 ammo thread.

 

[686_500fan]

Then don't buy it. No one is being forced to buy 22lr at any price point and all of the objections to current pricing are just wasted breath. Its a new world with a new paradigm and under that paradigm the price of ammo has gone up including 22lr, a caliber that has been under priced for some time.

I dont buy it at that. I just pick it up at walmart when i see it.

 

[blujax01]

No, he has it right... if retail prices were raised to create equilibrium in the market, there would be no secondary market. Demand does determine price, and right now it appears that demand is higher than the retail market can keep up with, so that retail price should go up to curb demand.

I'll buy .22lr all day long at $.06 or less per round, depending on brand, from Walmart and Cabela's. Raise that to $.10 per round, and my buying would slow down.

If I am reselling ammo that I bought for $29.00 a brick for $50, and you just raised my cost (retail)to $50, it is no longer worth my time or effort, thus taking resellers out of the market, decreasing demand.

You propose price-fixing to artificially reduce demand? And whom do you propose to set these artificial prices - the government?

Folks are already screaming about sellers making too much profit. Raise the primary market price and what... they'll give away the difference? No, they will pocket it.

Or is it okay if WalMart makes a ton of money but not the Little Guy? Your price will not go down and demand will not decrease, it just takes your money out of one dude's pocket and puts it into a different dude's pocket.

Uh, no thanks. I prefer to wait for the market to correct itself. And in the meantime, if Little Dude wants to spend his days gathering ammo and reselling it to the fools who pay the secondary market price, well, more power to him. These guys are simply proving that P.T. Barnum wasn't wrong.

By the way, there is no shortage in Ohio. The store I work in has had 50 round boxes throughout this whole ordeal. You may not find the price attractive, and believe you me, we don't either. There is a big difference between "no 22LR" and "No CHEAP 22LR." If it is indeed "for the children" $3 a box or $6 a box or $8 a box isn't going to make a Tinker's Damn whether little Johnny or Suzy learns to shoot. It's still cheaper than bowling and you don't have to change your shoes.

 

[ladyT]

If you think prices are high now just wait till gas prices go up because of the middle east troubles. Add in the prospect of increased gas taxes from the feds and you will look back and wonder why you didn't stock up during his period of cheap ammo. Get it while its cheap.

 

[hoc9sw]

Speaking of gas, between the time I left for a hospital visit yesterday afternoon, and came back an hour later, gas was up 20 cents a gallon.

Back to .22, I stopped at Academy. They had no new 22 shipment, but still had some 50 round boxes of CCI standard vel at $3.49 / 50. That is up from $2.99 the last time they had it a few weeks ago. My WM has had no ammo except .223 and shotgun in two weeks. Shelf is very bare.

 

[cyphertext]

You propose price-fixing to artificially reduce demand? And whom do you propose to set these artificial prices - the government?

Folks are already screaming about sellers making too much profit. Raise the primary market price and what... they'll give away the difference? No, they will pocket it.

Or is it okay if WalMart makes a ton of money but not the Little Guy? Your price will not go down and demand will not decrease, it just takes your money out of one dude's pocket and puts it into a different dude's pocket.

Uh, no thanks. I prefer to wait for the market to correct itself. And in the meantime, if Little Dude wants to spend his days gathering ammo and reselling it to the fools who pay the secondary market price, well, more power to him. These guys are simply proving that P.T. Barnum wasn't wrong.

By the way, there is no shortage in Ohio. The store I work in has had 50 round boxes throughout this whole ordeal. You may not find the price attractive, and believe you me, we don't either. There is a big difference between "no 22LR" and "No CHEAP 22LR." If it is indeed "for the children" $3 a box or $6 a box or $8 a box isn't going to make a Tinker's Damn whether little Johnny or Suzy learns to shoot. It's still cheaper than bowling and you don't have to change your shoes.

You just proved my point... You state that you work at a store that has had .22lr available this whole time. The price is higher at your store, so you are not seeing as much demand for the product as the Walmart down the street for the same product. If Walmart, Academy, or whatever other big box stores were to raise their pricing so to the point where the last box on the shelf is being sold as the new shipment is being taken off the truck, it would eliminate the guys who chase down cheap ammo to resale it at the gunshow, as it would no longer be profitable for them.

It would also keep me from buying every box I see just because it is available and relatively cheap. Federal 550 value pack at $20, give me my limit please... same stuff at $40 each, you can keep them.

 

[ladyT]

You just proved my point... You state that you work at a store that has had .22lr available this whole time. The price is higher at your store, so you are not seeing as much demand for the product as the Walmart down the street for the same product. If Walmart, Academy, or whatever other big box stores were to raise their pricing so to the point where the last box on the shelf is being sold as the new shipment is being taken off the truck, it would eliminate the guys who chase down cheap ammo to resale it at the gunshow, as it would no longer be profitable for them.

It would also keep me from buying every box I see just because it is available and relatively cheap. Federal 550 value pack at $20, give me my limit please... same stuff at $40 each, you can keep them.

What you are asking for is illegal. Price fixing will get a company thrown into court on anti trust charges, a situation no company wants to experience. Then there is the customer backlash to deal with and that can destroy a business. You just have to accept the fact that the paradigm has changed due to demand and the lack of production capacity. The era of cheap 22 is over. It's gone. Accept it.

 

[cyphertext]

What you are asking for is illegal. Price fixing will get a company thrown into court on anti trust charges, a situation no company wants to experience. Then there is the customer backlash to deal with and that can destroy a business. You just have to accept the fact that the paradigm has changed due to demand and the lack of production capacity. The era of cheap 22 is over. It's gone. Accept it.

Did you read my post? Raising prices to create equilibrium between supply and demand is not illegal. Have you guys ever taken a basic economics class. By raising pricing, you can curb demand.

Are you saying that if I sell widgets, and I sell 2 of them today for $2 and tomorrow I raise my price to $4, that is illegal?



If Walmart can not keep ammo on the shelf, their price is too low. If someone can purchase ammo from a retail establishment and sell it on the secondary market for double the price or more, then the retail price is too low for the market at that time...

 

[calmex]

I have not read every post in this thread, but I read the original article that the thread is based upon. I feel it's probably correct. Here in Mexico, Technos Industries (Aguila) and CI are the only two manufacturers that I know of in operation. Most of what they make is exported and probably their factory seconds stay here for the small domestic market. At least, none of the Aguila ammo here ever seems to chamber very well in anything and I remember the stuff we used to get back in Canada from Aguila was not that bad. The "urban myth" in the Gun Clubs down here is that Technos keeps all the factory seconds for the domestic Mexican market. I would believe it. I know the SIG importer for Mexico and he tells me that SIG .22 pistols work fine with any .22 rounds sold in the States, but the Mexican Market stuff is oversized for the chambers.

My .22 Conversion kit works fine with the Mexican stuff because I had the chamber slightly enlarged. Otherwise, it was a jam-ammatic.

Be that as it may: here in San Miguel -- population of around 120,000+ depending on the time of year -- there are maybe 80 people or less who could actually BUY a box of .22 shells over the counter. You have to have a permit for a firearm registered with the Military to buy shells and even then they let you buy only one brick of 500 .22 shells a month. (Only 200 rounds of any centerfire caliber.) You could go from store to store and buy your bricks from each one because they have no way to check -- except there's only one store here in San Miguel that sells shells and even in Celaya, our closest neighbour (Pop. 460,000) there's only 2 stores that sell shells. So you are not going to "stock up" very easily.

I walked by the local store on the way home and they are WELL STOCKED for .22 shells. They have all you could want just sitting there, waiting for someone to come in and buy some at their regular scalper's price of 64.00 dollars (80.00 pesos) a brick. .22 prices here in Mexico have always been high, but I think there's some special tax on them. The Government here is openly "anti-gun" so it would not surprise me.

Anyway, the only shortage here is a shortage of people who are actually allowed to buy the product. I believe there's some truth to the original article that demand might well be higher than supplies can keep up with. I am certainly not suggesting that restricting people's "right to buy" is a good thing. I think it's horrible and has caused a lot of real problems down here. But it is the World I live in.

The weather's great though.

 

[ladyT]

Did you read my post? Raising prices to create equilibrium between supply and demand is not illegal. Have you guys ever taken a basic economics class. By raising pricing, you can curb demand.

Are you saying that if I sell widgets, and I sell 2 of them today for $2 and tomorrow I raise my price to $4, that is illegal?



If Walmart can not keep ammo on the shelf, their price is too low. If someone can purchase ammo from a retail establishment and sell it on the secondary market for double the price or more, then the retail price is too low for the market at that time...

It sure is illegal when done in concert with other companies which is the only way your plan can work.

Now you can sell your widgets for $4 but I doubt you will sell even one which brings up a very basic question and that is why are you in business in the first place.

 

[cyphertext]

It sure is illegal when done in concert with other companies which is the only way your plan can work.

Now you can sell your widgets for $4 but I doubt you will sell even one which brings up a very basic question and that is why are you in business in the first place.

The thing is, if the backlog with the manufacturers is 2 years, as some execs have stated, then the cost should be rising from them. If they are running 24x7, adding additional shifts, machinery, etc., then the cost should be going up to the distributor. Then, when the distributor is charged more, he will in turn pass those costs on, and it eventually should roll down to the consumer. That would drive costs at all the big box retailers without being collusion. If they don't start to use some type of market factors to curb demand, how will they ever catch up?

 

[hoc9sw]

Clearly prices are increasing. I have seen Academy and WalMart inching up prices on all ammo. WalMart had increases on the WWB in various calibers a month or so ago.

A manufacturer's rep told me (back in March) that all CCI lines would have increases, and that has been the case for what little I've seen since. Not horrific, but enough to make you realize it happened.

 

[blujax01]

You just proved my point... You state that you work at a store that has had .22lr available this whole time. The price is higher at your store, so you are not seeing as much demand for the product as the Walmart down the street for the same product. If Walmart, Academy, or whatever other big box stores were to raise their pricing so to the point where the last box on the shelf is being sold as the new shipment is being taken off the truck, it would eliminate the guys who chase down cheap ammo to resale it at the gunshow, as it would no longer be profitable for them.

It would also keep me from buying every box I see just because it is available and relatively cheap. Federal 550 value pack at $20, give me my limit please... same stuff at $40 each, you can keep them.

No it hasn't. We sell out damn near every week. We just pay the going rate to our suppliers (several - we are on the phone all the time searching) and mark it up accordingly and limit purchase to two boxes per visit. My guess is that some shops are reluctant to go that extra mile for the measy margin. But it gets folks in the door and we do what we can to keep them coming in.

If WalMart charged $70 a brick folks would grumble all the way to the cash register. And they would sell out.

 

[cyphertext]

Clearly prices are increasing. I have seen Academy and WalMart inching up prices on all ammo. WalMart had increases on the WWB in various calibers a month or so ago.

A manufacturer's rep told me (back in March) that all CCI lines would have increases, and that has been the case for what little I've seen since. Not horrific, but enough to make you realize it happened.

They are increasing, but not near to the levels as would be needed to put some folks on the sidelines.

 

[cyphertext]

No it hasn't. We sell out damn near every week. We just pay the going rate to our suppliers (several - we are on the phone all the time searching) and mark it up accordingly and limit purchase to two boxes per visit. My guess is that some shops are reluctant to go that extra mile for the measy margin. But it gets folks in the door and we do what we can to keep them coming in.

If WalMart charged $70 a brick folks would grumble all the way to the cash register. And they would sell out.

You "sell out damn near every week"... but you previously said that there is no shortage and you have had ammo in the store during this whole ordeal. So, it sounds like your store has found the equilibrium price to move the product, but at a rate where you are restocking right as, or soon after, the last piece of stock has been sold. You don't have folks lined up at your counter every morning looking to buy all that they can, right?

Walmart probably would sell it at $70 per brick, but at what rate? I bet it would last longer than the 5 minutes it does now... they might actually have time to put it on the shelf.

The idea isn't to kill demand, but it is to throttle demand back to where it is equal to supply, not 50% higher than supply.

Now, that is all theory... I've been able to get ammo, from Walmart even, quite regularly so I don't really want to see high price increases... but for those complaining about lack of availability, hoarders, etc., it is simply supply and demand, and since supply can't be ramped up, pricing is one way to control demand.

 

[NJM15]

You "sell out damn near every week"... but you previously said that there is no shortage and you have had ammo in the store during this whole ordeal. So, it sounds like your store has found the equilibrium price to move the product, but at a rate where you are restocking right as, or soon after, the last piece of stock has been sold. You don't have folks lined up at your counter every morning looking to buy all that they can, right?

Walmart probably would sell it at $70 per brick, but at what rate? I bet it would last longer than the 5 minutes it does now... they might actually have time to put it on the shelf.

The idea isn't to kill demand, but it is to throttle demand back to where it is equal to supply, not 50% higher than supply.

Now, that is all theory... I've been able to get ammo, from Walmart even, quite regularly so I don't really want to see high price increases... but for those complaining about lack of availability, hoarders, etc., it is simply supply and demand, and since supply can't be ramped up, pricing is one way to control demand.

Picked up some 5.56 ammo at Dicks sporting goods yesterday and also a one hundred round box of Winchester super X for 10.00 limit one per customer. They haven't had any 22's for 7 weeks up to yesterday, I usually could count on buying 22's each week there. Thinking that would continue I sold a box of 333's to a friend of mine for 25 bucks right after that the shortage started, go figure !