WestKentucky
Member
Are airguns supplanting 22 rimfire? Perhaps the better question is should they supplant 22 rimfire? For decades 22 rimfire has been a fun round with which people learn to shoot and have informal target sessions at little expense. Guns are legitimately good, and are relatively cheap. Ammo prices have crept up, and seemingly continue to do so. The runs on supply and demand drive prices higher but prices never seem to settle back to where they were pre-panic and you can pick whatever panic you wish to view as an inflation event but they are almost interchangeable. That $10 brick in 2005 is now $25. Cost per round is still reasonable for now, but that is becoming more debatable as inflation drives prices higher.
Steel bbs and lead pellets however have not seen such steep increases. I have 2 identical containers of bbs one old and almost empty, the other new and unopened. 2010 price-$8 at Kmart and bought half price when they went out of business locally. 2020 price-$10. Pellets cost more, basically due to economy of scale but at $5 per tin of 250 that’s still very reasonable, and although I can’t say with certainty that price increases are consistent they do seem to be. I recall as a kid buying for about $3 the same tin of pellets I recently bought for $5 but can’t recall even roughly when that would have been. Likely mid 90s so again, cheap to shoot. Also less noise, less dangerous, and more legally friendly and easy to aquire for all items across the board because they are not “firearms”.
With those points in mind, has there been a shift more towards the airgun as a plinker and training tool? Are airguns more popular for light hunting applications where 22s would have been used in the past? Has ammunition availability pushed folks towards airguns more than 22s?
Personally I am scratching my head. I seem stuck on 22lr and own a bunch. The last few guns I have got are 22s and the next few I intend to buy are also 22s. They are simply fun. Perhaps I should look into airguns of similar build and quality. Perhaps other should as well. I’m not sure about my thoughts on it because I have mixed emotions on the topic. I would like other folks opinions. What I do know for fact is that I started my kids on a BB gun and they have stayed on it longer than I did simply because ammo is not as cheap and easy as when I was a kid. They have 22s as well but the primary gun that they shoot is a cheapo daisy lever carbine .177 BB gun. Maybe I should buy a decent air pistol to complement that instead of another 22
Steel bbs and lead pellets however have not seen such steep increases. I have 2 identical containers of bbs one old and almost empty, the other new and unopened. 2010 price-$8 at Kmart and bought half price when they went out of business locally. 2020 price-$10. Pellets cost more, basically due to economy of scale but at $5 per tin of 250 that’s still very reasonable, and although I can’t say with certainty that price increases are consistent they do seem to be. I recall as a kid buying for about $3 the same tin of pellets I recently bought for $5 but can’t recall even roughly when that would have been. Likely mid 90s so again, cheap to shoot. Also less noise, less dangerous, and more legally friendly and easy to aquire for all items across the board because they are not “firearms”.
With those points in mind, has there been a shift more towards the airgun as a plinker and training tool? Are airguns more popular for light hunting applications where 22s would have been used in the past? Has ammunition availability pushed folks towards airguns more than 22s?
Personally I am scratching my head. I seem stuck on 22lr and own a bunch. The last few guns I have got are 22s and the next few I intend to buy are also 22s. They are simply fun. Perhaps I should look into airguns of similar build and quality. Perhaps other should as well. I’m not sure about my thoughts on it because I have mixed emotions on the topic. I would like other folks opinions. What I do know for fact is that I started my kids on a BB gun and they have stayed on it longer than I did simply because ammo is not as cheap and easy as when I was a kid. They have 22s as well but the primary gun that they shoot is a cheapo daisy lever carbine .177 BB gun. Maybe I should buy a decent air pistol to complement that instead of another 22