.22lr MEGATHREAD

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RetiredUSNChief said:
So what's stopping you from buying a .22 plinker anyway? It's not as if .22 is going to be forever scarce or anything. Seems like a great time to work one into your budget against future availability.
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Good advice. I wish I was as positive as you are. I'm just deep down skeptical that the .22 lr round availability will improve in the near future. That would be the next 2 - 5 years.

I shoot a lot of 9mm and .38/.357 - .22 lr would only be for training and introducing inexperienced shooters in our small group to handguns without too much *BaNg* before they get their feet under them.

So far my .32 pistols and hand loaded .38's have sufficed because I can load 'em as I need 'em because we have to jump thru hoops to get .22. I'm just not confident that the lack of available and realistically priced .22 is going to end soon enough to invest the money into a dedicated .22.

VooDoo
 
Today, I was shooting my 22 today in a 15mph crosswind at a 12" gong at 200 yards. I used a ballistic calculator (strelok) to help figure out the elevation and windage and was able to make 5 out of 10 hits at 200 yards... Funny thing is I was able to see the bullet as I looked thru the scope and it really helped me understand the flight path it takes. It also revealed to me the inconsistency of plinking grade 22 ammo, but I credit some of that inconsistency to the varying wind speeds.. Regardless, in my quest to better understand long range ballistics, those 22 rounds were much cheaper than my 308 reloads. I just hope the 22 ammo remains somewhat available. I enjoy shooting it as good as anything...
 
For those that want to get ammo at walmart - do a google search for brassbadger. Another way is to search for .22 on the walmart site and check throughout the day to see if it shows in stock for your store (brassbadger is easier and based off from what the walmart site reports :) ). So far I've had about a 90% success rate in getting .22 when I have went to get it. Of course it is best to understand the various local walmarts and their ammo policies. For example, 3 local walmarts will sell ammo 24 hours, the others I've been to all will sell between 0800- 2200 (or similar messed up time). The ones that sell ammo 24 hours a day will put out the .22 as soon as they get it. Granted it might mean a trip to walmart at 11 at night - but the ammo is there. The local stores that wait until morning to put the ammo out will be the ones with a line. One local store has a guy that gets there at 0530 when ammo doesn't get put out until 0800. That day I waited in line for 50 minutes and was 6th in line. 3 others showed up after me and we alll got .22 ammo. The reason is that once the line got to a certain number of people the store then limited .22 ammo to two boxes instead of 3. Another local store will let a person buy 1 bulk pack and then (if in stock) either 1 100 rd. pack or 2 50 rd. packs. So the best thing to do is to talk with sporting goods and find out when they put the ammo out, what type of limit they have, and above all be polite. I had one store where the manager on duty went in back to see what ammo had come in because the store showed .22 in stock and the truck had delivered a few hours before (this is a store that usually puts ammo out in the morning). She found that the only ammo they had gotten in was 20 gauge shotgun shells. She was nice enough to check because I made sure to use my manners and be polite.

So it is best to be diligent, .22 is still out there for less than 5 cents a round (walmart prices on bulk packs are 4.1 to 4.8 cents a round, the local gander mountain sometimes gets in plinking ammo around the same price). And although it is frustrating to not have .22 on the shelves all the time, it is coming in stock more (at least where I live).
 
sniper69 said:
For those that want to get ammo at walmart - do a google search for brassbadger. Another way is to search for .22 on the walmart site and check throughout the day to see if it shows in stock for your store (brassbadger is easier and based off from what the walmart site reports :) ). So far I've had about a 90% success rate in getting .22 when I have went to get it. Of course it is best to understand the various local walmarts and their ammo policies. For example, 3 local walmarts will sell ammo 24 hours, the others I've been to all will sell between 0800- 2200 (or similar messed up time). The ones that sell ammo 24 hours a day will put out the .22 as soon as they get it. Granted it might mean a trip to walmart at 11 at night - but the ammo is there. The local stores that wait until morning to put the ammo out will be the ones with a line. One local store has a guy that gets there at 0530 when ammo doesn't get put out until 0800. That day I waited in line for 50 minutes and was 6th in line. 3 others showed up after me and we alll got .22 ammo. The reason is that once the line got to a certain number of people the store then limited .22 ammo to two boxes instead of 3. Another local store will let a person buy 1 bulk pack and then (if in stock) either 1 100 rd. pack or 2 50 rd. packs. So the best thing to do is to talk with sporting goods and find out when they put the ammo out, what type of limit they have, and above all be polite. I had one store where the manager on duty went in back to see what ammo had come in because the store showed .22 in stock and the truck had delivered a few hours before (this is a store that usually puts ammo out in the morning). She found that the only ammo they had gotten in was 20 gauge shotgun shells. She was nice enough to check because I made sure to use my manners and be polite.

So it is best to be diligent, .22 is still out there for less than 5 cents a round (walmart prices on bulk packs are 4.1 to 4.8 cents a round, the local gander mountain sometimes gets in plinking ammo around the same price). And although it is frustrating to not have .22 on the shelves all the time, it is coming in stock more (at least where I live).
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you say you have had a 90% success rate? There are 6 walmarts with 15 miles of me showing in stock now. everything from 550 bulk, 333 packs, 225, 100, 50.

If this is accurate and I have 6 I could hit right now for 22lr it is encouraging
 
Who perceives the situation as temporary ? I don't think anyone knows for certain.
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I highlighted the important part of the quote. Until they know for certain that it is NOT temporary, companies are not going to be willing to make permanent investments. It’s the uncertainty that is the problem.
Temporary ? This has been going on for approximately two years or more.
What is the definition of temporary, and who (what) makes that decision.
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The companies who will go bankrupt if they guess wrong will make the decision.
I know a lot of guys who simply are not seeing any .22 to hoard.
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That is exactly the definition of a shortage, is it not?

If everyone who normally buys 1 brick, buys 2 or 3 instead, and a lot of people who don’t normally buy a brick decide to buy one just in case, it doesn’t take long at all until there will be lots of people who come in looking to buy their normal brick only to find that there aren’t any. A little thought will demonstrate that buying 2 or 3 instead of 1 and adding additional buyers is all it takes to double or triple the demand.

Then, once the shortage is underway, because of the way the gun community loves to make up and spread rumors, we work HARD to make sure it keeps going.
My one local WM, one local gun store and one local pawn shop... CAN'T GET ANY .22 LR.
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Again, this is how a shortage works. People buy more than they would normally buy and people who wouldn’t normally do so, buy some. Before long, the supply chain can’t keep up and only the buyers at the very top of the food chain get what they want when they want it. The less influential buyers don’t get any or have to pay higher prices and/or wait to get some.
I honestly think the days of .05 cent per round 22LR are over. The new price is .10 per round or more... Plain and simple...
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My local gun shop has bulk packed .22LR for 6 cents a round before tax. People need to calm down, quit freaking out and quit freaking other people out, and this shortage will gradually subside just like all the other shortages before this one have.
SOLD OUT WITHIN SECONDS?

Something ain't right here.....
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YES! It’s called a shortage. Just read the thread to see how freaked out some people are about this whole deal. How long do you think it takes to sell out a few hundred bricks when thousands of freaked out people get notified virtually instantly via email, text or phone that ammo is available?
They simply are getting no ammunition...not being bought off the truck at O Dark 30. It is not being delivered.
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Again, this is precisely what a shortage is. In a shortage, not everyone who wants ammo gets ammo. If the Gander Mountain could get ammo any time it wanted, we would all go buy our ammo there and then all of us could buy ammo any time we wanted. Then there wouldn’t be a shortage. There IS a shortage and that’s why Gander Mountain can’t get ammo when it wants ammo. It WILL eventually get some ammo in, but it’s going to have to wait for it, and may have to pay more than normal to get it—because there’s a shortage and that’s what happens in a shortage.
…match grade .22 is readily available all over the place at prices pretty much the same as before the panic hit.
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Yup, and this is another major clue as to what’s going on. People are buying as much of the cheap stuff to flip, stock up (and maybe even shoot) as they can possibly manage.

I saw the same thing at the absolute peak of the 9mm shortage. It was only the FMJ practice stuff that was impossible to find. You could buy all the premium JHP, SD ammo you wanted or could afford.
 
Vodoun da Vinci said:
Good advice. I wish I was as positive as you are. I'm just deep down skeptical that the .22 lr round availability will improve in the near future. That would be the next 2 - 5 years.
to invest the money into a dedicated .22.
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Seriously...start networking with friends on .22 LR and quit worrying too much about it. It's a needless headache.

If I were living in my home state (Indiana) any more, I'd be happy to PM you and meet up over this at some convenient time during travels. But it's kinda waaaaaaay outta the way with me on the East Coast. But I'm sure you've got family and friends locally who can coordinate with this effort.

And when you consider the cost of ammunition in general, since you shoot several different calibers...it wouldn't take much money set aside, comparatively speaking, to buy a .22 plinking gun.

So here's what I say: start budgeting and saving towards that plinker. And while you're doing this, start networking to get more .22 LR ammo. All it takes to turn your attitude around, at your admitted current rate of .22 ammo consumption, would be a bulk pack or two. And you can get this simply be being diligent.
 
TennJed said:
you say you have had a 90% success rate? There are 6 walmarts with 15 miles of me showing in stock now. everything from 550 bulk, 333 packs, 225, 100, 50.

If this is accurate and I have 6 I could hit right now for 22lr it is encouraging
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Actually in my post I said "So far I've had about a 90% success rate in getting .22 when I have went to get it."

There are a couple of local walmarts (there are 10 or 12 stores within 25 miles) that I won't go to because I have called and asked about 22 and they don't have it in stock (reason I called is that it showed in stock for more than a week, which seemed very strange.) In a few hours I'll be heading to one that has ammo that came in (and only sets out in the morning). The reason, I like to shoot .22. Also the local walmarts have been getting Speer Lawman .380 in stock - but it has been selling out quick (and brassbadger doesn't show that brand in the list). .380 is a caliber some family members shoot - so I check for it when I'm at the store.
 
One of the local walmarts had .22 this morning. They have/had 30 boxes of Federal 550 rd bulk packs and about 40 boxes of Remington 225 bulk packs. It was the only ammo that came in yesterday (they put ammo out in the morning). There were about 6 or 7 people in line. Limit of 3 boxes of .22 no limit on other ammo. cost per round is 4.4 cents. Here is a pic of the ammo bought this morning.

13445706783_559cb245ee_c.jpg
 
Mike1234567 said:
RetiredUSNChief: I have no "true" friends here. Everyone always wants all they can get and never reciprocates. No one wants anything to do with each other unless there's MUCH to gain for themselves. Your method doesn't work for everyone.
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You have absolutely no friends you can arrange a network with? Sounds like what you need to do then is widen your circle. Don't attempt to network with a bunch of people only out for their own interests. Network, instead, with several people with good attitudes who maybe don't have quite the interest in shooting that these other people do. People who aren't really looking out to supply themselves for a shooting activity they don't really participat in wouldn't have any vested interest in buying and keeping for themselves.

No reason why people who don't shoot can't buy ammunition for you when they see it.

:)
 
I won't dig into numbers, as others have certainly taken care of that.

FWIW, with the many many people stocking up (call it hoarding if you want) on 22 each and every time it becomes available - the stuff will become available one day. no one lives forever, and sooner or later it will change hands to someone who doesn't want it or need it. Imagine an estate sale with a million rounds of 22 on it.
 
I've been using wikiarms and gunbot to get my 22 wiyhout having to leave my house. The cheapest I've payed was 20.99 for a brick of blazer and haven't payed more than 6 cents a round in months. I could have bought another 2 or 3 thousand rounds this week but I already have 8000 rds give or take and that will last a while. Nearly all of it came from Cabelas but I got some Federal for 1.99 a box from Gander Mountain. Guys there is plenty of cheap 22 out there you just have to be vigilant.
 
walmart is looking up

They got three cases of 550 federal and some Remington 250 packs and even some Winchester 333 most he had gotten at once in a year. Said that official limit was 3 boxes but the manager is tired of the flippers and said only one bulk box of .22 per person. The clerk sold me 2 boxes of federal cause I look a lot but don't find often. My wife was also able to get one box. Said to come back in the am may still have some.
 
It does look like it may be coming back with increasing availability to some degree...it also seems to be regional. I'm reading that some guys are finding decently priced .22 locally but I have scoured even the obscure places here locally.

There is none to be had...not at Wal-Mart, Gander Mountain, nor the local gun stores.

I'll be patient yet for another year before I buy a .22 firearm and start shooting up what .22 lr I have but I'm starting to have some faith.

VooDoo
 
The flippers are still scooping them up here, then selling to the LGSs, where they in turn are marking up to $65 a brick.
I'm still good on inventory, and it's nice to see other calibers stocked back to normal.
 
I just got an alert from Cabelas stating my last order from a week or 2 ago is backordered until 5/30, thats a first from Cabelas. Since November I've been getting 1 to 2 thousand a week online without trying which is a hell of a lot easier than wasting gas going walmart hopping. on another note I had a yard sale about 6 or so weeks ago and advertised 22 ammo on the sign and people were wating outside when I got up that morning and I ended up selling about 8000 plus rounds in 15 minutes for 5 dollars more than it cost me per brick. People really need to be patient as the ammo is there although in the last 2 weeks I've only gotten 2 email alerts while a month ago I was getting alerts every day. Whats really funny is one wall of my garage is packed with Cabelas boxes from my orders.
 
I tried ordering from GM and checkout kept failing. I must have tried 200 times... really!! The fair price got my hopes up that shooting .22 LR may be worthwhile after all. I finally called and was told it was all gone. I suggested that items should be removed from inventory as soon as they're placed in the Shopping Cart rather than having to be fully paid for because most folks are going to follow through with their purchases. I suggested that after the servers recover give buyers a few minutes to follow through and then remove the item(s) from their carts to make them available to others once again.

The agent didn't seem to care at all other than to say, "Gee whiz we're sorry." But no indication that they'll make any suggestions to improve the situation.

It's okay... this just reinforces my loathing of the problems with all rimfire cartridges due to corporate incompetence and flippers.
 
I decided to try the .22LR sprint yesterday. The local Sportsman's Warehouse receives its delivery every Thursday morning and it is pretty well known. I arrived 20 minutes early and there was already close to 50 people in line waiting. I decided to just wait in the truck as it was raining. I watched as probably another 30 or so showed up and some ran trying to get in line first. I could not believe what I was seeing. They opened the door and I went in following the hoard. There was a line at the gun counter wrapping into the main isle of the store. I got in line and finally made it to the counter. A guy was standing there handing out 1 brick of 500 round REM each. They had to have gotten 100 bricks as I actually got one of the last 5. I decided to look at the 22 WMR and there was a mass around the cabinet. They had WMR the previous day but you would have thought it was the last stuff on earth. I reached out the pick one up and some guy grabbed it right out from under my hand. I did manage to get one though. It reminded me of the black Friday videos of people getting trampled.

It was time to go so I went to check out. The line was very long and it looked like a 30-45 minute wait. So I went back to the gun counter to see what was new. A guy walked up and asked if there was any 22 left. The counter guy responded to the negative. He seemed disappointed. I decided to make his day and gave him the brick I had. I did not want to wait in line that long. I have plenty of 22lr.

I did go to the another local store that gets a shipment the same morning. 2 guys that were at sportsman's were there too. One bragging about how he sells the 22 at a swap meet. They were both looking for 22lr which the store had not received. I was looking for powder more than 22 anyway.

This is why we are having such a shortage. The MFG seem to be supplying the same stock. Like I said there were at least 75-100 in front of me and I still got a brick though I gave it away. Oh and they also had a supply of 100rds cci pack which the first 25 or so got 2 each. Until this mentality stops the supply will still be lacking.
 
bldsmith said:
Until this mentality stops the supply will still be lacking.
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This "mentality" will not stop because it's inherent human nature.

The market will recover, however, once enough factors contribute towards market recovery. Factors include things like an extended period without government scare tactics with respect to gun control measures, people stock enough ammunition to suit their immediate and near term needs, production increases, etc.

It will take a combination of these factors over time to have enough of an effect on the demand to assist in market recovery.
 
This has to be a record?

The gun shop told me a fellow came in the other day griping about the 22LR shortage - turns out he bought a brick of 22LR Blazer at a pawn shop a few towns over for $199! :what:

Around 9 months ago, I stopped in this particular pawn / gun shop on the way back to town (don't make it by them often). I picked up a couple of used DVDs for a buck each, and as I was standing in line, I spied that(?) brick of Blazers behind the counter, and asked about the price - I was told 199. I thought that was an awfully good price, and I inquired; $1.99 / 50-rd. box? The gal informed me that was $199 for the brick!

Don't know if they've had more than one to sell (there was only one on the shelf), but if so, it lasted at least 6 months before somebody paid for it!

It's a shame I couldn't have headed him off at the pass - I'd have sold him some of mine at / close to what I paid for it.
 
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