Too much .223?

I noticed that too, it has been building for a couple of months now. The problem I have found is that the Walmart prices are not very good compared to a couple of local guys around here, even for the 700 rd ammo cans that they have. And Lord have mercy, their .22lr is $8 per 100, completely out of sight

jgo said:

Is it just me or there is .223 everywhere wmart even a small lgs had 2 five ft tall pallets! I wonder if a lot of manufacturers retooled after sandy hook and that is why the 22 shortage???

Click to expand...

I dont think it has affected 22, i would think retooling would take a while and be pretty expensive

I can easily believe that changing over from, say, 6.8mm to 5.56 is easy. I doubt it's possible to make .223 on the same equipment as .22lr. From what I understand, the manufacturing process has approximately zero steps in common.

It wasn't too long ago that Shooting USA had a segment on hows .22lr is made. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t5qMsmucXhI Just to give you an idea of what they have to do to get it to market.

Plenty of .223 around here, too, but unfortunately I dont think its presence is related to the absence of .22. These days Im shooting nearly as much centerfire as I am rimfire.... something a few years ago I never would have imagined.

All I know is....

Stag Arms of anti-gun/anti 2A CT now makes AR uppers in .300AAC Blackout. Both for right & left hand gunners.
I'm not much of a rifle shooter but a Ruger Scout Rifle in 7.62mm & a Stag Arms .300AAC Blackout, left hand might be in my near future.

I'm not a big .223/5.56x45mm fan so supply/logistics doesn't mean a lot to me.

Rusty
www.StagArms.com

I don't think that is what caused the .22 shortage, but yes there seems to be an inordinate amount of .223/5.56mm NATO available at all outlets near me and a lack of some other products I'd much rather accumulate.

No doubt that the .223/5.56 market is saturated. I'm not complaining though, it's better than an empty shelf!

Any predictions on how many posters ARE NOT going to take advantage of cheap and available .223, yet will be the first to complain next time there is a "shortage"?

Monk D writes:

their .22lr is $8 per 100, completely out of sight

Click to expand...

For what brand?

Though I have not seen .22LR in stock in a WM in over 18 months, I've never known them to overprice it, or ammo in other calibers, either.

Yes, I am also finding .223 Remington (especially that maker's brand) quite plentiful. Works for me, especially since I just recently got my first firearm capable of firing that caliber.

I heard its easy the way they have their machines setup only a few hours to retool for a dif caliber but maybe im wrong

Click to expand...

Rimfire and centerfire ammo are so very different that they aren't even made in the same plants, let alone on the same equipment. While centerfire trends come and go and the equipment is fairly readily converted to make one or the other, rimfire ammo has always been made and used at a very steady, predictable rate. Huge demand has completely outstripped the abilities of those old established lines to keep up, and building new production facilities is very expensive and takes a year or more.

Since it's Remington it would imply the improvements to the Lonoke, AR plant are coming on line. They recently went thru a major expansion and that would likely be one reason.

Secondly, the market is simply catching up - in military cartridges. Since it's the second panic for them, many who were wanting a back log prepared in advance or were early in the process of replenishment. They weren't going to get caught again.

It's the CIVILIAN market that is enduring their first panic - they ignored round one and scoffed there was any reason to "hoard" ammo when it wasn't their problem. But - for some reason - they panicked this last time, and created the .22 shortage that still endures.

Who's still lining up to get their two boxes early in the morning? Somebody is, the stuff isn't on the shelf yet. Even the Somali pirates aren't sailing, but .22 buyers are still stripping the shelves bare.

.223 may be plentiful but the prices are still pretty inflated in most shops I go into. I'm still thinking that just like the AR's (which can now be had for $450 new on some sites) the ammo will go back down and the market will get nice and saturated again.

Too much .223?

Pretty sure I will never see a downside to that.

During the previous panic buying spree after '08, around here .223 was impossible to find and .22 was still plentiful. Now the opposite is true. I believe the supply of .22 has not yet caught up to the recent demand caused by the latest panic and those stocking up on .223 have their cupboards full.

Any predictions on how many posters ARE NOT going to take advantage of cheap and available .223, yet will be the first to complain next time there is a "shortage"?

Click to expand...

I haven't seen any cheap 223. There is plenty of over priced stuff out there. .20 per round is outrageous IMO.

priming 22lr is completely different than priming centerfire. Eley spins their cartridges to achieve uniform priming compound distribution. I believe most other manufactures follow a similar method.

I haven't seen any cheap 223. There is plenty of over priced stuff out there. .20 per round is outrageous IMO.

Click to expand...

If you can get it to market cheaper than $0.20 per round, I bet you sell all you make.

My local LGS had pallets of the 5.56 during the Obama Drought but was selling it for $1.10 a bullet. I'm sure he made a ton of money from the new hobbyists who did not know any better. I am glad I was stocked enough for a 10 year drought and do not have to purchase any thing or reload during this time.

Is that an actual thing? Too much .223?

Bruno2 said:

I haven't seen any cheap 223. There is plenty of over priced stuff out there. .20 per round is outrageous IMO.

Click to expand...

What were you paying? 20 cents per round is darn cheap even for steel imported stuff.


M

I haven't seen any cheap 223. There is plenty of over priced stuff out there. .20 per round is outrageous IMO.

Click to expand...

If you can get it to market cheaper than $0.20 per round, I bet you sell all you make.

Click to expand...

Good heavens, yes! That's almost as cheap as corrosive Soviet surplus 5.45x39 WAS a few years ago! $0.20 a round for 5.56 nato will have a line of shooters out the door and down the block!

Brass .223 for $.20/rd? ok I'll take 5000.

At my local Wally World the Winchester 555 packs are around $24.00 when you find them they're supposed to send you a e-mail when they come in. But after 3 weeks I'm still waiting for the e-mail that's the way it goes. As for .223 in 2011 I bought a lot of brass, bullets, and powder and started reloading and the bullets have came down some I think Rocky Mountain Reloading has them for around $45.00 for 500 and free shipping.