.22LR ammo is now available, but where?

[HankB]

The difference was that the gas shortages of the 1970s were real... an ammunition shortage of any caliber (at least as of right now) is merely perceived. Quantity limits are exacerbating that perception.

Gas shortages real? I have my doubts. I was in high school at the time, and one of the guys in my class was the son of an executive for Shell Oil; according to him, his dad's biggest problem at work was finding storage capacity for the gas they were holding back from the market.

Ammunition shortages are "perceived" due to an absence of ammunition on store shelves and unavailability from online and mail order retailers. A while back, perceptions certainly matched reality.

I've seen .22 ammo gradually making its way back into the market over the past 6 months. When Bass Pro Shops opened nearby, they had plenty of CCI Mini-Mags for around 6 cents a round with no limits during their grand opening. Federal stuff was similarly priced. The local Dick's usually has .22s, although as always, Dick's prices are inflated. Ditto for Cabela's. ("Inflated" means 10 cents a round and up; sometimes WAY up.)

I haven't seen .22 at any of the local WalMarts for a couple of years.

 

[Wildbillz]

Austin TX.

Sorry

WB

 

[fouled bore]

I've been doing some reading through the different threads and keep hearing from people who say they can go to their LGS and find reasonably priced .22 on the shelf with no problem.

I'd like to know exactly what parts of the country people are finding it in. I'm curious if location has something to do with it. I'll get it started.

Please post your general location, that will help us know where you are talking about like the OP has above. Thanks.

 

[Reloadron]

The Walmart (Macedonia, Ohio I mentioned earlier did not have any 22 LR out as of yesterday but was well stocked on everything else including Remington UMC flavor .45 ACP 250 round box for $92.00. The Gander Mountain I mentioned earlier (Twinsburgh, Ohio) was well stocked including 22 LR in Winchester 555 package at $27.00 and Federal Auto Match. I forget the Auto Match prices but it was the 325 round boxes.

Geographically these locations are the Cleveland, Ohio South East suburbs.

Overall since day one of this disaster the Gander Mountain in Twinsburgh has been the best stocked.

Ron

 

[savage24]

Kansas City - a friend got lucky at Walmart 6-8 weeks ago and purchased Winchester 333 round boxes for $17 and change. A few weeks later, I saw someone purchasing a box of them at my neighborhood gun store for $34 and change. I have not seen bulk packs at a reasonable price for several months. The "cheap" stuff is running about 10 cents per round here and is in boxes of 50 or 100. I have been in Cabela's, Bass Pro, local gun stores, local hardware stores in the past 3 weeks and all of them had some .22LR in either 50 or 100 count boxes.

I'll reload and shoot my pistols, revolver, and carbine chambered in 9mm before I pay 10 cents per round for Remington Golden Bullets.

 

[tark]

I was at the Gander Mountain in Peoria two days age. Nothing but high priced English Eley target ammo. I live in the Quad City area, 160 miles west of Chicago, comprised of Davenport, Iowa and four other cities. About 500,000 people. Only one gunstore has 22s and it is a Mexican brand. Quite good ammo, actually, but at $59 dollars a brick.....it looks somewhat LESS good... We have a local Gander mountain which has nothing but the high priced target ammo.

From where I sit, we still have a shortage.

 

[Sniper66]

Here in the Lawrence, KS Walmart, they get a few boxes in, but it usually sells out the same day, often in the first hour. Has been that way for years. The Cabela's in KC,KS has been getting 22 ammo in for the last few months. It stays on the shelf for a few days. What usually comes in will be, say, Thunder Duds..then it sells out and is replaced by CCI MiniMags; it sells out and is replaced by Federal Auto Match. There might be a handful of target ammo that is pretty expensive. It is way better than it was a year ago.

 

[Delford]

In Charlotte, NC I bought 2 Winchester 555 bricks for $35 each at the despised Dick's a week before Easter and two more the next day. Last week I went back looking for spotting scopes they didn't have and they had Remington Golden Bullet 500s for $40. I left them. They had the same for $30 earlier that fall. I got 4 boxes between my wife and I.

A couple weeks before Christmas I was at BassPro in Concord and bought 2 boxes of Winchester 555 for ~$30 a box. They had an entire end cap full of them. I shop carefully (i.e.: $.075 or less) and buy them when the price is right. It's fits and spurts but fairly regular.

 

[herkyguy]

I pass on it mostly, since it's still .10 a round or so, but just about LGS has it in stock. Walmart still rarely if ever has it on the shelf. If I needed it, I could get it for reasonable costs, but I've got enough on my own shelf to wait for <.10 prices.

 

[Spooler41]

New Ammo Source

Went to have my hair cut last Friday, not only did get my usual great
hair cut, but my barber had Federal .22 LR for sale. Bought a 325 box
before I left shop. There has been ZERO .22 at the local WalMart for
more than a year, even though the Dept. Manager says it comes in every
week.

....................... Jack

 

[txblackout]

Here in Southwest Florida, it's basically a waste of time even looking for it at Walmart. The pawnshops and LGS's, on the other hand, sometimes have it at breathtaking prices.
I stopped into a gun shop in Arcadia, Florida a few weeks ago and saw a pretty good stack of 50rd CCI Quiets behind the counter. Since these are my go-to round for backyard squirrel control and I hadn't seen any in years, my hopes rose.
When I asked the price, my hopes fell again.
Ten bucks!
The last pre-panic box I bought was $2.97 at Walmart.
I guess I'll just have to let the squirrels take over my yard again.

My local academy (central texas) has probably 10,000 cci quiets. No one apparently likes them. 3.50 for a small box.

 

[txblackout]

The gas shortage in the 70's was mostly political. There really was no gasoline shortage. The 22 ammo shortage is real, but it is improving. I hate the 3-box limit imposed by retailers. But I feel it is and was a reasonable response to the shortage after the Sandy Hook incident.

Remember the sugar shortage? That pretty much happened after we embargoed deliveries from Cuba. Beer was cheaper to buy than a coke. Argentina had a toilet paper shortage.

limits always lead to hoarding, shortages and a black market. The right answer is for retailers to raise prices to whatever the market will bear. This will ensure supply and completely eliminate hoarding.

 

[montanaoffroader]

I live in Great Falls, Montana. We have 4 stores that used to carry decent amounts of .22 LR - Wally World, North40 (Formerly Big R), Big Bear Sports and Scheels.

I haven't seen any .22 at Wally World in the last 3 years. The others occasionally get some but you have to be quick to get it. Basically, if you work a job with normal hours you are out of luck.

Scheels has been getting some target ammo lately, but it's over 10 cents a round. The 2 or 3 locals have a bit here and there, but again generally over 10 cents a round.

In short, .22 LR is more available than it was a few years ago, as long as you are willing to pay the price. If you want cheap plinking ammo, forget it - at least for now.

 

[ColoradoShooter77]

When Cabela's gets a shipment of 22 LR in, sometimes it doesn't last a day. I managed to get 200 rounds of Remington Golden Bullet on my last order, but it was sold out within an hour after that.

So far, just getting 200 rounds at a time, I've built up a supply of 1500 rounds.

I know exactly what is going on, people are buying it up to go sell at gun show's for 15 cents/round, 50% mark-up.

 

[SeanSw]

Gander Mountain for me. It's more than I like to pay but it's in stock frequently and after tax with in store pickup its 7.5-8.5 cents per round. Someone has all 3 Walmarts in my are staked out. I'm not exactly hoarding .22 but I can still see things reverting again quickly.

 

[Plan2Live]

7:12pm today, Walmart on Garners Ferry Road in Columbia, Federal AccuMatch, 8 boxes on the shelf and no one around. I guess those "same dozen guys" that show up every day and buy all the .22 must have missed this batch. Myth Busted.

 

[Hammer059]

I live in south-central Pennsylvania. I never had any trouble finding .22 ammo over the past 5-6 years. However I've noticed it has gotten more plentiful. Instead of just one or two brands being in stock, now there are 4 or 5 brands, plenty of bricks on the shelves, and no limit on them.

 

[v35]

I know exactly what is going on, people are buying it up to go sell at gun show's for 15 cents/round, 50% mark-up.

How's that working out for them?

Not well, I'd imagine.

It's more like a 100% markup anyway. There are plenty of sources at 7 - 8¢ a round.

 

[Dragon breath]

Around Huntsville Al. 22lr is available at any time you want it. We have a couple of LGS's that always have it in stock, as well as Cabelas. Academy and Gander Mountain are more hit and miss for the bulk stuff, but they usually have CCI's.

 

[tkaction]

all you want in bradford ,pa. at @3.99/50 very good HV 40 grain copper plated!

 

[illinoisburt]

22LR has been regularly available in the Birmingham AL area for around 12 cents per round for plinking grade ammo. Maybe not cheap but it is plentiful.

 

[Rembrandt]

There may be a few who buy everything up and resell at gun shows....I think most are like myself who have increased their own inventories because they got tired of getting skunked at the store.

The frequency of the ammo shortages in recent years gives me no confidence that things will be better in the future. I buy when its available and put a little extra away anticipating the next panic.

 

[tarosean]

Thursday 4/7/2016 was the first time Ive seen 22LR at my local Walmart since the "panic"
I was allowed 3 boxes of CCI stingers.. lol

Yes I have seen 22lr at Academy, Gander, and LGS's etc in the neighboring towns 30-45 mins away. I have purchased and left it on the shelf for others depending on my mood that day.

 

[Teachu2]

There may be a few who buy everything up and resell at gun shows....I think most are like myself who have increased their own inventories because they got tired of getting skunked at the store.

The frequency of the ammo shortages in recent years gives me no confidence that things will be better in the future. I buy when its available and put a little extra away anticipating the next panic.

I agree. It used to be 500 rounds on hand was a lot. Then I moved to the mountains and Obama renewed his lease - I now have 6000+, and may stock up if supply increases.

 

[JTHunter]

Yesterday, for the first time in a VERY long time, the Walfart store in O'Fallon, IL had .22LR ammo at a reasonably good price. Not going to say much about the quality of the ammo as you have your own opinions but it was Winchester bulk hollowpoints (36 gr.) in the 555 round boxes for only $27.88 ($0.0502342/rd.).

Works for me. Got 2 of the 7 boxes they had.