.22lr MEGATHREAD

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Moved on to air rifles for my .22 pest control needs. I'll check back next year on this mess. It is what it is.
 
It sounds bad for you guys other in the US. At least here in Australia you can buy as much ammo for a 22 as you want. Sounds like your prizes are about the same as here now. But you still don't have the silly gun laws we have, I brought a second hand 22 Mossberg on the weekend and I'll have to wait a month to pick it up.
 
Went local LGS and he had some Federal match ammo ( 300 rounds) for 60 bucks plus tax.
I suspect he bought at walmart for 15 bucks.
He wont be getting any of my money on anything

I bought the same box at midway for 15 bucks a month ago, paid 15 bucks in shipping.

Drove by the local gun show this weeken early before it opened and there were over 100 hoarders and gougers in line so I did not go,
last gun show the bricks were 90 dollars.
 
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I bought years worth of lr over obamas election with a bulk order the day of sandy hook knowing I was gonna be shooting 22 for a while.
 
chazwood writes:

It sounds bad for you guys other in the US. At least here in Australia you can buy as much ammo for a 22 as you want. Sounds like your prizes are about the same as here now. But you still don't have the silly gun laws we have, I brought a second hand 22 Mossberg on the weekend and I'll have to wait a month to pick it up.

No, we don't have laws such as yours yet. What has sparked the runs on ammunition (and certain types of firearms at times) is that we see the efforts a lot to bring about such laws.

I wonder what it was like in the period leading up to the relative disarmament of your population compared to ours. Or did the laws just come about too quickly, and of too broad a nature, for such a reaction?
 
I wandered into Bass Pro yesterday at 5PM. Didn't even bother to inquire about .22LR ammo, but quipped to an associate that "I should get a gun in .25 now that I see so many boxes of ammo for that here."

He responded by asking me if I needed any .22, and that they had gotten "some bricks" in that morning. I was surprised that, that late in the day, they would still have some.

He had about six 525-count boxes or Remington Golden Bullet (that I could see) for $25 each, which is about 4.7 cents per round. I didn't bother to inquire about a limit, but I figured there would be a limit of one, and that's what I took.
 
Drove by the local gun show this weeken early before it opened and there were over 100 hoarders and gougers in line so I did not go,
last gun show the bricks were 90 dollars



So.....now we can tell "gougers" and "hoarders" by mere glances at crowds standing outside of a gun show? I guess some people are far more skilled detectives than I am! Was it 75% Hoarders/25% gougers? Vice versa? Dead even among the two? You'd think it would be a perfect situation...hoarders there to buy what gougers were selling ;)
 
^^^^

Funny thing, though...isn't it simply amazing how all those "gougers" always seem to have the same number of boxes of .22 sitting on their tables over the length of the entire gun show?

Which implies to me that they ain't selling like hotcakes, so they're not turning money hand-over-fist for the "gougers". It also implies to me that if anybody really NEEDS some .22 LR they know exactly where they'll be able to get some.

:neener:
 
There is a lot of talk but the fact of the matter is that my 10 22 which is my "fun gun" to shoot gets very little exercise lately. Shame really.
 
Indeed a shame.

However, .22 ammunition IS becoming easier to get. I'm seeing it more often in my travels back and forth between South Carolina and Virginia along the I-85 corridor.
 
A LGS here had 500 rd. bricks of Remington Subsonics but I wasn't about to pay that much for substandard velocity LRNs!! :fire: :cuss:

Oh, the price you ask? $43 for 500 rds. (8.6/rd.)!!
:barf:
Probably the most accurate LR round that Remington makes. I don't count rebranded Eley. They aren't gouging either. The MSRP is $40.
Standard Velocity is more accurate than High Velocity because it doesn't decelerate through the transonic zone downrange.
 
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A LGS here had 500 rd. bricks of Remington Subsonics but I wasn't about to pay that much for substandard velocity LRNs!! :fire: :cuss:

Oh, the price you ask? $43 for 500 rds. (8.6/rd.)!!
:barf:
Really? As mentioned, that is the normal price, Cabela's is selling the same for that price.

When comparing the prices of 22 LR ammunition we need to keep apples with apples and oranges with oranges. The sub-sonic is not in any way sub-standard, why would you even make that claim? It is exactly what it is advertised to be and made for a specific purpose. The price is about what it has always cost.

Ron
 
mboylen & Reloadron - the two local Walmarts have shelf tags for bulk packs of about $24-26 (depending on brand & quantity) but it has been almost two years since I've seen any on their shelves.

One thing of interest, after over 7 years without, the store on the east end of Belleville (IL) now has rifles and shotguns for sale. The store in O'Fallon is due to get theirs in a month or two when they do their remodel.
 
mboylen & Reloadron - the two local Walmarts have shelf tags for bulk packs of about $24-26 (depending on brand & quantity) but it has been almost two years since I've seen any on their shelves.

One thing of interest, after over 7 years without, the store on the east end of Belleville (IL) now has rifles and shotguns for sale. The store in O'Fallon is due to get theirs in a month or two when they do their remodel.
Oh my God, this is amazing. We have the same Wallmart and live in different states. :)

The reference being the empty spots on the shelves. I really haven't a clue what my local Walmart has in stock. About 6 months ago I was in there with my wife (I generally don't make the Walmart runs with her) and actually saw some 22 LR on the shelf. I forget what it was but bought my 2 box limit as long as it was there. Just small 50 round boxes.

The two places I have bought 22 LR in bricks (500 rounds or more) have been the Gander Mountain in Twinsburg, Ohio and Cabela's online. With Cabela's I wait till I need something like dies, primers or whatever and then add the 22 LR to my orders when they have it. The lower end stuff runs with the prices you mentioned, averaging $22 to $24 for a 500 round brick of stuff like Remington Thunderbolts.

As to rifles / shotguns? I haven't see guns in a Walmart around me in NE Ohio in a decade or so.

Ron
 
I missed the comparison between "subsonic" and "substandard". Wish I had seen it sooner.

Subsonic ammunition, as Reloadron said, is made for a specific purpose. Higher velocities aren't always better, nor desired, in ammunition. Subsonic ammunition is quieter than the higher velocity .22's and is an excellent choice for people who hunt small game and some varmints. Squirrel hunting comes to mind for me.

:)
 
I know a lot of people have been screwed by buying subsonic ammo during the panic, because it was all they could find, and then realizing it will NOT cycle MANY semis. I have a silenced AR-22 that works perfectly with subsonic. As has been mentioned it is designed for a very specific purpose and it does well for that purpose. There is also powderless 22 ammo that I use for small varmints around the house. If you have never used it then you will be surprised at how quiet it is. It really sounds about like a pellet gun because all you hear is the primer. It isn't very accurate outside 20 yards or so and fires a lighter bullet but it does okay on chipmunks and squirrels.
Caveat emptor applies I guess. Know what you are buying and you generally will not be disappointed. In general the bulk ammo is not as reliable or accurate as the "Match" ammo and the price reflects that. I have plenty of all the above mentioned ammo and don't even look for it anymore. My supply will last for a year and I will start building inventory again when I can walk into a store and buy the brands I want at a reasonable price. "Reasonable" is TBD.
 
The early .22's didn't have any powder, in fact. They were essentially a case with primer and the bullet on top of that. There were "BB caps".

The .22 was the first rimfire.

From "The ABC's of Reloading" (9th edition), by C. Rodney James:

"The second advance in cartridge design was the rimfire, developed in 1857 by Daniel Wesson of Smith & Wesson based on the tiny "cap" cartridges patented around 1845, in France, by Louis Flobert. The Flobert, known here as the BB cap, consisted of a copper tube closed at one end. The closed end was flattened to create a hollow rim which contained the priming material - the only propellent - held in place by a paper disc. The open end or mouth was crimped to hold a bullet."

"The first American rimfire was the Smith & Wesson Number 1 pistol cartridge, now known as the 22 short. It was longer than the BB cap and filled with black power. Wesson's major advancement was the creation of machinery to prime the case rim with a wet mixture, spun into the rim. This kept the dried primer in place, allowing an additional powder charge to be loaded without fear of the primer mixture falling out of the hollow rim, rendering the cartridge useless. It also paved the way for larger more powerful cartridges."


Oh, and "BB" meant "bullet breech", meaning it was for breech loading guns.


And now you know a little bit more about the history of the wee little .22!

:)
 
The local Walmart didn't have any 22LRs since last year, according to the clerk.

Something is really broken in the system. I can't believe the gougers are the only ones responsible for this. Shouldn't Wally world and other retailers be placing more orders to fulfill the demand ?
 
The local Walmart didn't have any 22LRs since last year, according to the clerk.

Something is really broken in the system. I can't believe the gougers are the only ones responsible for this. Shouldn't Wally world and other retailers be placing more orders to fulfill the demand ?
That's right, they forgot to order more. That's why there isn't any.
 
Wanderling - I had a clerk at one walmart (back around Apr or May) that told me they hadn't had .22 at that store in almost 6 months. I thought it was funny that a store that hadn't had any in almost 6 months was the same store I had bought .22 at the previous week. Not all clerks know/care - as the .22 might sell out before they work so they never see any .22 and that is what they tell people.

Of course that is just my observation.
 
Just a few observations from a former Walmart ammo stalker who bought a LOT of ammo from various Walmarts over the last 8 months or so (just got into 22 then):
1. Just because the clerk tells you they haven't seen any in X amount of time, doesn't mean they're not getting it.
2. That particular clerk may simply not be around when the ammo is rolled out.
3. The ammo is being intercepted by insiders, so if that particular clerk is not "in the loop", they know nothing about it.
4. You may have run into an insider, who is trying to throw you off the track (just go away) so his buddies can buy it.
5. Apathy - after being asked a thousand times a day, many probably have a canned response so you'll leave them alone.

I was monitoring 30 or so Walmarts - I quickly learned which ones were dependable, and which ones had folks obviously playing games with the 22.

One obvious sign I ran across - when a clerk tells you they haven't seen any in X amount of time, and you ask a few questions (inventory shows it should be in stock), and they proceed to beat you over the head...well, you've probably run into an insider.

Usually it's a grumpy old white guy - 2 particular Walmarts I used to visit (5 miles apart) often had ammo show up on the same day. Went in one 10 times, walked out with 22 ammo 10 times. 5 miles down the road, walked in 10 times, never got any ammo, was told "We haven't had any 22 ammo in ages", then went home and watched inventory go down, down, down, gone (as he was obviously selling it).

I've seen employees tell folks they were out of 22, then saw them sell it to one of their buddies who came in 5 minutes after the former shopper left).
I had one tell me "no ammo" last night, then watched her sell a buddy some 223 when there was none on the shelf.
I've had a number of employees sell me ammo from under the counter (a Walmart no-no) - some probably just put it there for convenience (won't have to keep unlocking the case), but they should at least leave a box in the glass case so folks know they have it - how many folks glance at the case, see nothing, and keep walking?
Some of the employees that sold to me from under the counter knew I was monitoring them, and sold it to me just to get me to go away.
I've also seen some of those same employees offer up a number of brands / lots in an effort to get me to bite - when I didn't, they finally brought out the Winchester M*22 I was after. I'll take 3 boxes of that Winchester M*22 (3k rounds) instead of the 3 boxes of CCI MiniMags (300 rounds) she tried to push on me to get me to go away (obviously trying to hang onto the M*22 for her buddies).

I've got all the 22 I need, but I may start helping out some youth programs at our local range, so I'll probably soon be looking for more for the kids.
 
mboylen & Reloadron - the two local Walmarts have shelf tags for bulk packs of about $24-26 (depending on brand & quantity) but it has been almost two years since I've seen any on their shelves.

One thing of interest, after over 7 years without, the store on the east end of Belleville (IL) now has rifles and shotguns for sale. The store in O'Fallon is due to get theirs in a month or two when they do their remodel.
OK. But Remington subsonic is not bulk. It is much more accurate and there is no crack through a suppressor.
Apples and Oranges. Depends on whether you need to hit a match head at 50 feet or a match pack.
 
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You should also consider that, if you have a rifle sighted in with high velocity ammo like CCI Mini-Mags, you might have an alignment problem with the slower ammo.
This could be a particular problem with scoped rifles at the longer distances (75 yds. +).
 
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