Anyone else soured on .22lr?

[Saleen322]

mavracer Wrote: Nope I learned my lesson in 2008, I do feel sorry for folks like you who are basically SOL, one suggestion I'd make is work on precision there's plenty of high end target ammo available. Why pay $50 a brick for junk bulk when you can buy match ammo for just a bit more.

This is the truth. I haven't bought cheap ammo for decades and decent target stuff was always available and did not go up much in price when plinker grade was going up in price. For the price of what some places were asking for Thunderbolts or Mini Mags you could could get SK/Wolf or some moderate level RWS or Eley. I have good 22 LRs and you only can see the quality with good ammo so why waste your money even if the cheap stuff was available?

 

[wally]

I by dumb luck had like 60K rounds of .22lr when Sandy Hook hit, that was about a 2 year supply based on what we had been shooting. Managed to stretch it out and find a few K at $25/500 But under 10K rounds remaining now. When .22lr costs as much as I can reload 9mm for (~$0.10/round) it loses all its attraction.

However, good luck finding a rifle round that cheap!

9mm AR carbines fill the bill for us And will do about everything a .22lr will do.

 

[alexander45]

Na I have a bit over 1200 rounds of cci left from when walmart had a special one the 100 round boxes

 

[Cee Zee]

I have maybe 10,000-12,000 rounds still. I haven't shot nearly as much as before that's for sure. 10,000 rounds was maybe 3 month supply at one point in my life. But I enjoy what I shoot still. And I have guns for more reasons than just the enjoyment of shooting. A .22 is essential to my way of life to be honest. If you live in the kind of places I have lived you would know why. There are always unwanted varmints to get rid of. The worst are feral dogs that are just starved enough to be dangerous but no so starved they can't still hurt you. Dogs kept by other people coming to my house stealing the food of my dogs and threatening my kids and my wife are a good example. Or just dogs that think you are living on their turf and they want you gone. I was ready to shoot a dog that was like that once when a neighbor beat me to it. And people sometimes let dogs have pups and don't get them used to people. They're just brave enough to go around people but will rip your arm off if you try to touch them. And cats can be just as bad. A friend of mine was attacked by one and ended up with over 140 stitches because of it. All he was doing was sitting on a river bank fishing. He said it was a bobcat and maybe it was but it very well could have been a wild house cat. I've seen them double in size when they go wild. I saw one that was at least 2 foot tall on the hill behind my house not too long ago. I caught it's kitten and was raising it to be tame but it ran off pretty quick. It looked like a full grown cat but was a kitten. It was friendly enough but I think mom came by looking for it and it left with her. I don't know that. I just know it left in spite of being fed regular and it looked half starved when it first came around. Other people actually talk about a very small population of cats known as wildcats that live in the eastern US. Who knows if that's true or not. I just know what I saw. I also know that my brother treed a cat about the same size as the one I saw not more than 5 miles away (about 15 years earlier) and it jumped out on two full grown blueticks and was killing both of them until my brother kicked it off of them. He had his .22 ready just in case. There are many reasons to have them. Rabid animals are another good reason. There's nothing like a rabid fox in your yard.

 

[CLP]

Not at all. The secret is buying by the case of 5,000, not box-by-box.

that's right- buy once, cry once

 

[bhk]

Many of my finest firearms are rimfires. Tough to beat fine walnut, polished blued steel, superbly accurate barrels, great triggers, AND cheap shooting. Nope, I'll never get tired of them.

 

[The_Next_Generation]

I know how you feel OP. For a while I thought that I wouldn't get out of the "soured-on-22lr" rut. As a college kid, I didn't have much of a stockpile. Even when I got a hold of a few thousand rounds, I just didn't have the heart to shoot it.

However, that has since changed. I literally JUST got back from the range, where I had my CZ452 out. There's nothing like subsonic ammo out of a ~24" barrel on coleman propane cans at 100 yards *pop*.........*clank*

Take your 22s out on some fun targets, I'm sure you will "rediscover" your attraction for the caliber!

 

[ColtPythonElite]

Nope. During the drought I shot less plinker ammo and did more benchrest shooting in local matches and practicing for matches using higher end ammo that was easier to find and didn't have a jacked up price.

 

[420Stainless]

I never was all that gung-ho on it to begin with. I'll still keep and continue to occasionally shoot those I have, but I'll likely never purchase another firearm for .22lr. after these shortages and demand driven pricing. I like the round for rabbit and squirrel hunting, and used it to train my wife and son with. Still will to train my daughter. But I'm not about to stockpile it for those purposes.

 

[Rock185]

I'm not soured on .22LR, but shoot .22 only occasionally. I just enjoy shooting the centerfires more....ymmv

 

[Valkman]

I haven't shot much .22 and still have a few thousand rounds since before the shortage. I'll keep my S&W 41 and my 2 .22 rifles even if I don't shoot 'em much.

 

[slumlord44]

The comment earlier that you need to have a couple of years supply of ammo is a big part of the problem. Another part of the perceived problem of cost is the fact that in the several years we have had a shortage, inflation has reared it's ugly head. Everything else has gone up and so has .22 ammo. Still buy .22 guns and ammo. Not buying a ton of ammo but never did. Have a good supply that I accumulated over time. I also have graduated to more expensive target ammo over the years and as stated its price has not gone up near as much as the plinker ammo.

 

[greyling22]

I don't know about "soured" but it's sure a lot less fun to shoot at $30+ a box and wondering if you will be able to replace that once it's gone.

kind of like my centerfire calibers. they're a lot less fun knowing that my cheap lead has dried up and I'm going to have to start buying it.

 

[MedWheeler]

Nope. Shot quite a bit the other day, though not as much as I have done before, and that was only because I was there to test-fire some other guns I own but had not yet shot.

What I did shoot from the one .22LR pistol I had with me barely made a scratch in my stock of ammo.

 

[Thermactor]

When I got back into guns several years ago, I bought a new Smith and Wesson 22A, and I just loved it. So much fun, and accurate. I then found a cool vintage old 101 Duramatic High Standard in excellent shape. Just as much fun, and about as accurate. Reliable, too, with the original mag. After that, my dad gave me the old Stevens Buckhorn rifle that he bought new when he was a kid in the 1930's. Simple, but fun and loaded with vintage vibe.

But now, after 2 years of .22lr ammo shortages, all of the luster has worn off the .22lr cartridge for me. I bought another beat up old Mossberg rifle that I thought would revive my interest, but it hasn't. The appeal of .22 was cheap and available ammo. I still have many many hundreds of rounds, as I kind of stopped shooting the stuff regularly when the shortage hit. So it isn't the lack of ammo.

Even if ammo becomes widely available again, I don't see myself ever getting excited about .22's again. It'll be a good cartridge to start my kids on, but that's it's only redeeming quality. I know that the next time a run on ammo comes, .22lr will be the first to disappear, and the last to return to the shelves. And overpriced when it does.

What's your opinion? Anyone else soured on .22lr? I think it's more fun to shoot 9mm and .38 Special.

I like the 22 conversion slide kit for the P226. It really helps ease me into the mood of things when I go down to the range. Then I slap on the 40 slide and let hellfire rain down.

 

[Keb]

Jeesh, I might have to tell the story about a lady giving me 36 bricks.

Anyway, I have maybe 14 22's to put them thru.

I shoot prairie dogs with only 22 these days, a CZ 452zx.

( and I do bring two grandboys to use them up )

 

[Jim NE]

I still have probably 2500 rounds of .22, maybe 3000...so I'm not out of ammo, but .22lr ammo has shown itself to be the most volatile in terms of availability. It was unlikely that guns chambered in .22lr were ever going to be banned after Sandy Hook, but people still horded it all. THAT'S why I'm unlikely to ever get too wrapped up in guns of that caliber again.

I should emphasize that I'm not depressed or bummed out by .22lr....I'm uninterested in it. If I see a model 17 S&W for sale, I'm not at all curious about it. If .22lr ammo is 70 or 80 percent the cost of budget 9mm, I'll just buy 9mm.

 

[Shooting Sports]

Greetings from Australia
Your temporary (Hopefully) shortage of 22LR is depressing.
Here in Australia, we have not had any shortages at all.
Several dealers actually have deals for bulk sales (> 5000) rather than limits.
Current price for 5000 HP is $200 USD to $300 USD depending on brand
CCI, SK, WInchester, Remington, Highland all plentiful.
The Remington Bucket of Bullets is popular here at $63 USD.
However with not many semi-auto 22LR rifles in usage we don't use many.

 

[Deog]

Laxammo.com. Always has 22lr when I stop by for some boo lets.

 

[bluetopper]

Yes, .22lr has soured on me and on account of it I've sold my two Hi Standard target guns within the last month. I've got $1400 of gun money to play with now.

 

[dakotaduke]

Not soured at all...still shooting my .22s probably to the tune of a couple of 100 rounds a week. Last year I dragged out my two old High Standard Supermatics..a Tournament and a Trophy both Model 107s and have had a blast ever since. Sure ammo can get a little scarce sometimes, but my Supermatics really only digest lead well so am still finding that at my LGS. Plus I shop our local gun shows here in South Dakota carefully and have walked away with several 500 round bricks. I also shot my .45 ACPs, but reload for them.

 

[chris in va]

I can reload 9mm for about the same price as .22LR so I'll plink all day long with 9mm pistols

And if you cast, it's considerably cheaper. 22 is fun out out of my lever action, but I haven't put any through my CZ Kadet in...oh, two years.

 

[Inebriated]

I'm completely uninterested.

Have about 4-5k since before the shortage, haven't bought or shot any myself in the last couple years now. Let new shooters at it, and keep it because I have a few rifles that are too sentimental to sell, but I have no interest at all in shooting .22.

Partially due to the hassle surrounding getting it, but more due to the fact that I'd rather just work on drills with my carry/defensive guns than just keep pelting a golf ball 20 yards away...

 

[Omaha-BeenGlockin]

No ammo available here---I've passed on several .22 guns because of that

Not selling any of my .22 chambered guns but not shooting them at all either---I do have some ammo stocked up but now its saved for a rainy day

 

[lxd55]

my opinion is this: you had better get used to it because this is just part of a larger plan.