The .22 Long Rifle

Plinkers aren't moving at my local gunstores. Target rifles are still selling because upper end target ammo can still be found at pre-panic prices. I have bought several cases in the past year.

With the cost per round nearing that of reloaded Centerfires, I bet buyers are taking a second thought before laying down the cash for a new ,22. A fella could almost justify getting into reloading a .22 centerfire!

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And if you cast your own bullets, it's not just reloaded .22 centerfire ammo that is equivalent in price.

Don

I have purchased 3 22rf pistols and a couple of rifles also. 22rf ammo is in short supply but available at some of the big box stores at reasonable prices. I reload 223 and the cost per round is not much more that decent 22rf. I enjoy shoot 22rf to wind up a range day so even if 22rf is getting close to reloading 223 the pleasure outweighs the small cost difference. You only live once so make the best of it.

+90% of gun owners are not willing to reload, even at current prices.

I suspect a percentage majority of them are not willing to reload at ANY price. Many many shooters will shoot less, or stop shooting altogether before they miss an episode of [insert reality show here], manufacturing their own ammunition.

So no, I do not think ammo prices are stoping the sales of 22lr firearms. A dime per round is high, but in reality its not THAT high.

The past cheap prices on bulk 22lr have seen what amounts to long term institutional WASTE of ammunition. Informal target practice ("plinking") is one thing ... but mag dump after mag dump anfter mag dump just because you can and its cheap is waste.

I would like to think current prices will teach shooters to appreciate what they have, but I would be deluding myself.

I'm betting that the problem will soon correct itself, so I haven't given up on buying .22LR guns just yet. In the meantime I've gotten into airguns, both rifle and pistol. And when I shoot my .22s, I make every shot count.

Myself - I never had a 22 as a kid, (which has since been rectified) but for getting the step-grandkids into the mix, I ended up buying a higher end air rifle. Still a hoot to shoot, and pellets are cheap, and plentiful.

yeah, the days of ripping off a 25 round mag of .22 are gone for the near future, but the air guns do a decent job. Not as fast, but I find that the concentration required helps all around so while it may not be a win/win. it's better than nothing.

22LR guns aren't going anywhere. Sales have slowed down from the stupidity just like sales of virtually ALL firearms.

I don't have a single round of "plinking" 22lr ammo that I paid more than $.06 for delivered to my front door. While that's higher than I paid I paid two years ago it's still 1/3 the price of my CHEAPEST centerfire rounds and that is only the 5.45x39 surplus. Even the cheap 7.62 and 223 on sale is $.25 per round.

For all the reloaders that "roll their own" I know you're not rolling rounds at less than $.06 per round. I got into reloading last year so I know it's not cost effective for ME yet even with the free brass I have I can't build-a-bullet for $.06. MAYBE if you cast your own bullets, get all free brass, have powder from 37 years ago, primers from 19 years ago and have your same equipment you've had for 62 years you can reload pretty cheap but it's not less than 22LR. I promise you that anyone looking to become a gun owner IS NOT going to get into reloading and then buy their first gun.

This is a blip. A LONG blip but still a blip. I still think 22LR is the best way to start beginners and if we lose our beginners then it's a losing battle anyway.

Just like 'most everything else in life, the time to buy is when demand is low.

Everything stabilizes over time. Some folks are saying it could be YEARS before the supply of .22 ammo is back to 2012 levels. Yeah. So what? A couple of years. I'm planning to live longer than that, and to own guns and enjoy shooting longer than that. (And if I don't, well, then I really don't care now do I?) So buying guns now while they're inexpensive makes sense. Even if it might cost me $0.08 or $0.10 per shot to shoot them right now.

Make your practice worth while. Make your shots count, make each one your best effort and make it teach you something. Money well spent.

Not being able to rip off a 50-round magazine at random patches of dirt really doesn't bother me. Paying $30, or even $40, for a 550-round brick of individual teaching moments for my kids to learn marksmanship ... sounds like a bargain to me.

When all this crap started, people started buying AR's and ammo like they might actually be banned. Then AR's, .223/.556, 7.62x39 ammo disappeared on shelves almost overnight. Now, AR's are all over the place and their ammo is too. I wouldn't hesitate to buy a .22 right now. Bought 2 new ones at Christmas. And if I found some really good deals on used ones, I'd buy every one I could afford. This problem will correct itself. Are people afraid to buy .22rf guns? I think many folks are. But they shouldn't be.

I just had 2 .22's stolen from me.
I am not replacing them because of both the ammo shortage and cost.

Yes I do have another 2

AFS

The folks at my LGS are saying that 22 rimfire sales have slowed down but are still fairly strong. Sales of AR platform guns are flat as a pancake and prices are dropping like a rock. Decent AR style guns are in the mid $500.00 range.

I just purchased my first .22lr Ruger 10/22 carbine last week. I like it so much that I have a 10/22 Takedown model coming my way too. With 'only' 1,000 rounds (they would have lasted a lo-o-o-o-ng time out of my Single Six) on hand, I doubt I will be ripping off 25 round magazine blasts, but taking my time with each shot, this .22LR rifle is a hoot!

If you can buy your 22.LR ammo by the case from your local lgs and wait for delivery. 2013 I ordered in Jan and arrived Aug. In 2014, ordered case in Jan and will see when it arrives. I have to give my lgs money in advance, before he will place with his distributor. $455.00 incl tax and shipping for Aquila Match Rifle. Aquila SV is $350.00 a case incl tax and shipping.

I know one thing for sure I am NOT buying another rimfire rifle!
The .22 rimfire truely was part of the American hunting experience. The trainer we all cut our teeth on and got for our "First Gun". Yea I'm sentemental about em.

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Still have that rifle I cut my teeth on, Dad's Winchester MD63 and I've been shooting it for 45 years, now I want something in bolt action so yeah I'll be buying a new.22lr, ammo shortage or not

The past cheap prices on bulk 22lr have seen what amounts to long term institutional WASTE of ammunition. Informal target practice ("plinking") is one thing ... but mag dump after mag dump anfter mag dump just because you can and its cheap is waste.

I would like to think current prices will teach shooters to appreciate what they have, but I would be deluding myself.

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+1 the grasshoppers may be crashing and burning but this Ant is still going

looks like a single six was the right .22 pistol to buy.

I certainly shoot less .22 than I did. Used to be a buddy and I would go to the range and between a couple of rifles run through the better part of 500 rounds without thinking twice. Now its rare for me to shoot more than about 100 rounds at a time, as its very uncertain how long it will take to replace.

I'm still buying 22 rifles but it's mainly because I really got into squirrel hunting. So instead of shooting 22lr at the range I'm more interested in setting up and improving squirrel rigs.

I would think sales have slowed. None of my friends are interested in because ammo is hard to find, and we are all basically reloaders of one kind or another. So for the last year, and well into this one, we are concentrating on our centerfires. Even though the reloaded centerfire isn't less expensive than a new .22 long rifle, it's close enough that the extra fun factor is worth it.

I doubt I will be ripping off 25 round magazine blasts

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Still just amazes me when I go to the LGS that has an indoor range. You can hear guys with 9mm's or 40's just blasting away as fast as they can pull the trigger. That's a LOT of money to piddle away in a couple of seconds.

Maybe this will make people think a little more.

things will go back to more normal times and prices eventually. just be patient.

btw, this is a great time to take up smallbore precision shooting because the 22lr high-end stuff is still at normal prices.

If you belong to a private gun club in your area and they shoot .22LR competition in pistol or rifle, chances are there will be someone in each group that will sell you at his/hers cost. I did summer 2013. There are 5 out of 12 in our club discipline that buys by the case and will sell to anyone if a club member.

Local LGS store or fellow that operates out of his home, e mailed me last week to have me post on our club bulletin board that he had 25 boxes of Federal Gold Medal, #719, 1200fps, @ $6.00 a box.

In the last 4 months I purchased 6 22 rifles and a 22 revolver. I'm all in. I'm finding ok priced LR as I travel around 4 States.

Still just amazes me when I go to the LGS that has an indoor range. You can hear guys with 9mm's or 40's just blasting away as fast as they can pull the trigger. That's a LOT of money to piddle away in a couple of seconds.

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Agreed but it isn't much different than a guy with a $20,000 bike he poured $5000 in engine upgrades into and another $5000 in bolt-on bling then sits there on bike night and turns a $300 tire into blue smoke. :banghead:

Sorry, thread drift. I have a couple 39As and Model 60 in the locker for plinking and some old beat up Armscor M16 cloney thing out in the barn for dispatching vermin. But if I wanna seriously slow it up I still grab the Ted Williams single shot lever that was my first. Stupid heavy little Sears carbine with irons is still as accurate as anything else I own.

I wonder what amount of damage this ammo "PROBLEM" has done to the sales of .22 Rimfires?

I can only speak for myself but if I see a nice little 22 LR for a good price I buy it. I lean towards the older 22 rifles and handguns. Overall the current situation with 22 LR hasn't bothered me but I sure would not pass on a sweet deal on a 22 LR gun if one came along.

Every trip to my outdoor range involves a little 22 rifle or two. Shoot some center fire and then some 22, then center fire, then some 22. Sort of breaks up the day and gives the shoulder a rest.

Ron