Why the mental issue with .22 Ammo Cost?

[Eddietruett]

I reload my own ammo and in my eyes there is really only 2 reasons. To save money or to taylor make better and more accurate ammo for a particular gun. Of course you can do both. When I load .38 Special, I don't use the cheapest bullets out there, generally buy what works the best for the application within reason. I figure by buying a decent quantity of coated Lead bullets, Federal primers and buying powder by the pound, my cost on loaded rounds is between 10-14 cents per round Depending on what bullet I use and if I bought primers on sale and got either free shipping and/or haz mat. With that being said, why does it bother me to pay 10-12 cents per round for match grade .22 lr ammo? It shoots much better in my revolvers than the 5 cents a round bulk .22 ammo and actually I don't even have to spend time loading it or cleaning the brass? It is basically comparing apples to apples. Its a bullet. You point it at a target and shoot it. I picked up some match .22 at Academy this week and almost put it back. I know I can load .38 a lot cheaper per round but I want clean and accurate ammo. I can't figure out why it bothers me so much to pay the same for .22. Anyone else have this problem or am I the lone nut sitting out in the desert by himself?

 

[troy fairweather]

no one wants a 22LR that is the cost off a 223 rifle, just don't make sense.

 

[Jesse Heywood]

And some of us remember when 22 ammo was 50 cents a box! I currently have 3 rifles and 2 handguns in 22, but haven't shot them for 10 years, due to the hoarding. But I did recently buy 300 rounds, so I hope to end my drought. Some of us couldn't buy 22 ammo, unless it was at a highly inflated price.

 

[CMV]

Other than my .22LR benchrest gun I don't want/need anything better than CCI standard velocity so would be just wasting money for no good reason feeding a 10/22 or 22/45 RWS or tenex.

If the greasy coating doesn't bug you, SK standard+ is good but not crazy expensive. The Wolf Match (haven't seen any in a long time, but haven't really looked either) is about same. Still a lot more than a basic brick, but lower cost.

A step down and somewhere in between match ammo & generic rmfire bulk pack is Win Super-X - maybe that would fit your needs?

 

[higgite]

Not really apples to apples. If match grade .22 ammo and bulk .22 ammo were equally accurate, or equally inaccurate, they would cost the same. In this case, apples are 5 cents apiece and oranges are 10 cents apiece.

 

[Eddietruett]

Not really apples to apples. If match grade .22 ammo and bulk .22 ammo were equally accurate, or equally inaccurate, they would cost the same. In this case, apples are 5 cents apiece and oranges are 10 cents apiece.

Great point but I was comparing the cost of .38 and cost of .22. The apples to apples comparison was that both were just bullets that were going to do the same thing, punch a hole In paper.

 

[higgite]

I guess I misunderstood your post. I thought you were bothered by paying 10 cents for match grade .22 ammo as opposed to 5 cents for bulk .22 ammo. I said the two types of .22 ammo are apples and oranges, that's all. But, if you're comparing the cost of home made .38 to the cost of store bought .22, that's more like comparing home grown tomatoes to store bought oranges.

 

[cfullgraf]

After I got into reloading, I found I could reload centerfire ammunition for not much more than the cost of 22LR ammunition and this is back in the 1980s.

I enjoyed shooting centerfire guns more than comparable 22LR guns so even though I could save a little shooting 22LR, I shoot more centerfire, I have both an S&W Model 15 (4" 38 Special K frame) and an S&W Model 18 (4" 22LR K frame). I also have some other centerfire/22LR pairs of guns.

When I don't want to collect cases for reloading, I drag out the 22LR.

 

[RandyP]

"Anyone else have this problem or am I the lone nut sitting out in the desert by himself? "

Be sure you have a full canteen or two out there. lol

I only have one rimfire that is very picky about ammo, all the rest happily gobble up name brand bulk fodder, which I find more accurate than I am these days. Even the total crapola Thunderduds, winner of the Champion Filthy Ammo award, 25 years in a row.

 

[ColtPythonElite]

Good match grade ammo as in benchrest ammo is far more than 10 cents a round.

 

[forty_caliber]

When I take my nephews to the range, they know they can shoot the .22's as much as they want and I let them pick another caliber of their choice out of the safe. They always have a great time. From this perspective, I don't really care how much it costs. It's an honor and a privilege to pass marksmanship skills on to the next generation.

I buy Federal AutoMatch by the 3250 round case. I can generally find it for about 4 cents per round. Out of my ..22 silhouette match rifle, I can hit a 3" metallic chicken at 100 yards....with a 4x24x56 scope. Accurate enough and reasonably clean burning. I keep one unopened case on hand at all times. When I crack that one open, I order another.

.40

 

[sparkyv]

Thank goodness that I haven't purchased a match grade .22 firearm! I just couldn't bring myself to plop down the cash for match grade .22 ammo. Like ColtPythonElite said, it can cost more than 10cpr.

 

[George P]

I guess it depends on the purpose. If you're into serious small bore rimfire competition, then yes, it is worth it. For ME, my .22s are for stress relief and plinking so if my handguns are minute of soda can at 25 yards and my scoped rifles are the same at 50 yards, I'm happy. To that end, the Federal Black that was on special at .025/ea functions perfectly and is "close enough for government work"

 

[jmorris]

Last century I found a particular lot of Winchester dynapoint that was on par with Federal gold match but cost less than $6/550 rounds. I bought all I could back then, still have around 25,000 rounds of it left over.

I actually use more expensive ammo for general plinking and such these days but that’s just so I don’t waste it and prices have gone up.

 

[fotheringill]

I enjoy shooting my Anschutz in .22lr. I don't mind the cost of the rounds for the top shelf stuff. Each to his/her own.

 

[ColtPythonElite]

Thank goodness that I haven't purchased a match grade .22 firearm! I just couldn't bring myself to plop down the cash for match grade .22 ammo.

By the time you spend $1500 to $3500 on rifle and $500 to $2000 on glass and another $1000 on a mechanical rest and good rear bag, the ammo is peanuts....lol

 

[George P]

By the time you spend $1500 to $3500 on rifle and $500 to $2000 on glass and another $1000 on a mechanical rest and good rear bag, the ammo is peanuts....lol

That holds true for those of us who shoot shotgun in clay competition as well. The price for a $2K, $5K or $15K shotgun is well eclipsed over its lifetime by the costs of ammo and targets and entry fees, so you might as well buy the best you can afford.

 

[Catpop]

I guess I look at it a little differently. I am addicted to burning gun powder! If I don’t do it on a weekly basis I go into withdrawal!

So I buy the very cheapest 22 LR ammo available for my fist 50 shots each week. Minute of pine cone is adequate with me!
So like a good glass of wine or a shot of good pecosin swamp moonshine, it takes the edge off!

I then get serious and move up to 100 + rounds of centerfire reloads.

And then all is well mentally for at least a week!

 

[Wisco]

It depends what you’re after and what price point accomplishes your task.

Federal Automatch gets me 3/4” at 50 yards. $2.50/50

CCI standards get me 1/2” or better at 50 yards almost every time. $2.50/50

Eley Target gets me 1/4” at 50 most of the time. $10/50

And I’m getting most 9mm range ammo for $7-10/50, but I don’t at all try to make a comparison to 22 rimfire cost anymore than I do to the premium hunting ammo for my deer rifle. Different stuff costs different amounts.

I buy CCI standards almost exclusively, except for the MiniMags I now use to run my G19 conversion. I don’t think much about what it costs when ammo is regularly available on shelves, it just is what it is.

 

[Drail]

In my opinion the cost of rimfire ammo is not the main problem (but it IS a problem). The quality control is the main issue with rimfire ammo. Everybody is making junk today. And none of them will even guarantee their ammo to fire - they'll just give you another box of crap ammo. The last 4 or 5 bricks of rimfire ammo (any brand - any vendor) I have bought (and paid ridiculous prices for) had a failure rate that was just pathetic when fired in any rimfire handgun or rifle I own. This equates to BANG BANG BANG CLICK. All day long. If that situation does not improve I plan to sell off all of my rimfire guns. If they're going to make junk then they should not charge premium prices for it. But customers keep buying it.

 

[WestKentucky]

I feel your pain. I have some “premium” 22lr ammo that I just don’t shoot because I don’t want to replace it. I also have some factory loaded centerfire ammo that is taking up space for the same reason. I will actually shoot my reloads (not necessarily cheap reloads either) a lot quicker than I will any factory ammo including 22lr. I think it’s a mental thing where savings are adding up even though in reality I’m still spending similar money on a range session. It’s almost Easter though, and it’s about time to teach my girls about hunting eggs, so it’s time for Daddy to go burn some 22lr... and maybe some 357, 9mm, and 38spl.

 

[doubleh]

And some of us remember when 22 ammo was 50 cents a box! I currently have 3 rifles and 2 handguns in 22, but haven't shot them for 10 years, due to the hoarding. But I did recently buy 300 rounds, so I hope to end my drought. Some of us couldn't buy 22 ammo, unless it was at a highly inflated price.

I do too and remember buying gasoline for 18 cents a gallon and a brick home for $11,000 on an acre of land but those days are far, far behind us. It's called inflation and it's going to continue so get used to it. Most people shoot 22 rimfire for fun and they like to shoot a lot of it. I shoot far more 22 rimfire than I do centerfire which I reload and the cost of the 22 quickly adds up. Popping rocks, coke cans, and various other types of targets at 20-30 yards doesn't require super accurate ammo. I'm seeing perfectly acceptable ammo for this at Walmart for four cents a round now, the cost of a centerfire primer. If a person can't be happy with that cost he's going to have to find something else as a pass time.

 

[Kp321]

I have gone middle of the road with my 22 ammo, I buy the CMP special Eley @ $.07 per round and use it in all of my 22's. It functions fine in all my semi's and is as accurate as I can shoot in my bolt guns. CMP allows you to purchase two cases, 10,000 rounds, per year which is just about what I shoot.

 

[sparkyv]

By the time you spend $1500 to $3500 on rifle and $500 to $2000 on glass and another $1000 on a mechanical rest and good rear bag, the ammo is peanuts....lol

So true. Double EEK!

 

[Olon]

The way I see it, if I'm going to pay over 15 cents a round it should be something than puts a bigger smile on my face that .22LR