Can you find .22lr?

[DevsAdvocate]

I agree for the most part until #4

Numerous people have said that at least some the retailers are reporting that they are NOT getting nearly the qty as before.

Heck, the place I go to the most told me 'We get it on Thursdays around 11am, and put it out around 1pm.'

I went a couple times and they did what they said.

They used to get what they wanted. Now they say they usually get a few thousand a week (I think around 3k-7k.... rarely 10k.)

The reason for this is the aforementioned .22lr production capacity. It's a fixed amount. As long as folks like yourself are running out on Thursday at 1pm and buying up the entire store supply by 1:15pm, and multiply this across every state and store, obviously stores won't be getting "what they want" because every store wants the same thing!

 

[DevsAdvocate]

More rounds of .22 are sold than anything else every year. Demand has always been steady - and high

Remember, it's demand relative to supply. For many years the supply at hand has always been sufficient to meet existing demand. Except now, where demand has grossly outstripped supply, leading us to our .22lr malaise.

 

[DevsAdvocate]

But they could solve the problem by simply building another reservoir! Right?

Or... as I have suggested: RAISING PRICES.

Want to kill .22lr demand? Just triple or quadrouple the cost of .22lr until it costsalmost the same per round as 9mm. This will quash demand and allow manufacturers to reduce prices gradually until an equilibrium price point is achieved.

The other thing it'll do is keep the hoarders away and actually make them shoot the ammo they've been stocking away for the last 5 years. I swear, some folks have more .22lr than they will shoot in 5 lifetimes, and keep buying more!

 

[jrdolall]

Want to kill .22lr demand? Just triple or quadrouple the cost of .22lr until it costsalmost the same per round as 9mm. This will quash demand and allow manufacturers to reduce prices gradually until an equilibrium price point is achieved.

Are you suggesting that all the manufacturers of 22 LR raise their prices to a high level? Firstly, they are competitors so they are not working together to end a huge demand for their product. AND, if they did suddenly all raise the prices there would be a storm of legal actions and accusations of collusion. Only the gasoline people are legally allowed to do that. And the milk people. And the beef people. And so on...

 

[sniper69]

In the last week I was able to get 1000 rounds of minimags for around 7 cents a round. Of course it was out of stock within minutes (online retailer). With shipping it put it a touch more - but then I had other items on my order so shipping was spread across those other items as well. About a week prior I was able to buy some mini mags at walmart (limit 3 - 300 rounds). This is all without actively looking for .22 ammo (I was in walmart buying other stuff and walked by the ammo counter), online was a chance purchase because I was buying other gun related items and the company had the .22 show up in stock before I checked out).

Now if my backorder I have with one company will come into stock......



As for gun related purchases, what I've been spending lately has been going towards magazines, a new (to me) handgun, and ammo in other calibers.

 

[zxcvbob]

I have not seen any .22LR on the shelves in over 2 years. OTOH, I don't go out looking for it every morning at 07:00.

 

[HankB]

Remember, it's demand relative to supply. For many years the supply at hand has always been sufficient to meet existing demand. Except now, where demand has grossly outstripped supply, leading us to our .22lr malaise.

And the supply of many varieties of .22 - even to the LARGEST and BEST customers, the BIGGEST retailers - is ZERO.

NONE whatsoever.

IT NEVER REACHES THE RETAIL LEVEL.

And it's been this way now for years. Years!

Using the water analogy, it's not that the reservoir is low or that everyone opened their faucet at once, it's that either the pumping station is off-line or a major water main is broken or diverted upstream of the customer's tap.

 

[Slappy White]

I have not seen any at my local Walmart since the tragic school shooting in Newtown.
I live in rural Ohio. The person at the counter told me the other day that they do get it in, it just sells out immediately. And they have a 3 box limit. I've basically decided that I'll not buy another 22 LR gun.

 

[Bigdog57]

In the past year, I have found nearly none locally, and one store that had it seemed to think it had gold bullets.
But, I have found enough online to satisfy my needs, though not always the particular brand/type I prefer. I have 'notify me' placed on MidwayUSA, and have been able to order often enough, before the vendors bought it all out. Sometimes it is sold out within minutes of my getting the notify.
It is... pardon the pun.... 'hit & miss'. And I am paying well more than I'd like too, but it's a sign of the times. Those days of $8 bulk packs of 550 are long gone......

 

[nathan]

They are still rare to find. The ones on the shelves cost an average of $5 for a small box. Its going to get worse as we re heading to another recession soon as predicted by experts . Its designed by the Federal Reserve every seven yrs and we re due for one . The last was 2008. Well, thanks to the Corporate New World Order as they control everything ---just as they manufactured events leading to every conceivable events in history. Its social engineering to a desired outcome.

 

[Da Yooper]

I have 2 Walmarts up here one reduced its gun & ammo section of sporting goods so much that what they do have is a joke.

The other has signs stuck on the ammo cabinet that says they are out of 22. I have talked to the dept manager & was told they get 22 in & it seems to be bought up by the same guys. When I asked to talk to the store manager I was told he is to busy to talk to me. So I asked the manager of sporting goods if they could put the 22 ammo out at a different time so more folks who cant get it could be able to & he blew me off & told me they want it sold ASAP & they dont care how that happens. It seems that no matter when I get there when they supposedly get any it is gone. So I no longer buy any thing from Walmart.

Our Dunhams closed in December & Gander Mountain gets some in so I am told but have never actually seen any.

 

[DevsAdvocate]

Are you suggesting that all the manufacturers of 22 LR raise their prices to a high level? Firstly, they are competitors so they are not working together to end a huge demand for their product. AND, if they did suddenly all raise the prices there would be a storm of legal actions and accusations of collusion. Only the gasoline people are legally allowed to do that. And the milk people. And the beef people. And so on...

Here's the thing: if demand is as high as it is for .22lr, even if a few manufacturers raised prices over others, they would come out ahead.

1. Those who keep their prices low keep their profits constant, but supply low as well. If volume is a fixed number, you're only getting x profit out of it.

2. If a few manufacturers raise prices they come out ahead. As we've established, demand is high enough, so some people out there who didn't hoard .22lr will still need to buy the stuff, so these guys earn more money.

Eventually, once prices get high enough, demand will wilt and they will have to come back down again. But the companies who raised prices will come out ahead with more profit over ones who kept it the same.

 

[JohnKSa]

But they could solve the problem by simply building another reservoir! Right?

Another reservoir wouldn't help. They would either need more water coming in to supply the reservoir or a drop in demand in order to solve the problem.

And the supply of many varieties of .22 - even to the LARGEST and BEST customers, the BIGGEST retailers - is ZERO.

NONE whatsoever.

IT NEVER REACHES THE RETAIL LEVEL.

That is incorrect. The big retailers are regularly getting in decent quantities in my area. It's just selling out very rapidly--usually before it even hits the shelves. There are folks who line up at my local Wal-Mart for hours waiting when they know a shipment is coming in.

It IS reaching the retail level but the big retailers who haven't changed their prices are selling out so fast it rarely makes it to the shelves.

Using the water analogy, it's not that the reservoir is low or that everyone opened their faucet at once, it's that either the pumping station is off-line or a major water main is broken or diverted upstream of the customer's tap.

The reservoir (shelves) is empty and the demand is sufficient to snap up anything coming out of the taps very rapidly. The result is that most of the time when the faucets are turned on (someone goes to the store) little or nothing comes out.

If everyone who used to buy a box of .22LR when they went to the big retailer of their choice now buys 3 boxes, the demand triples. If some of the people who didn't used to buy any boxes now buy a box or two, it goes up even more. My guess is that the demand right now is 3x or 4x normal at LEAST. There's no way that the suppliers can triple or quadruple their output without huge investments in machining and facilities. Until the suppliers decide that this demand level is the new normal and start making the major investments required to increase supply to meet the new demand, or until the panic abates, things will not change.

 

[danez71]

The reason for this is the aforementioned .22lr production capacity. It's a fixed amount. As long as folks like yourself are running out on Thursday at 1pm and buying up the entire store supply by 1:15pm, and multiply this across every state and store, obviously stores won't be getting "what they want" because every store wants the same thing!

You're reading my post to fit your predetermined answer.

I said I went a couple times. I bought 2 or 3 boxes. Not every thing on the shelf.

They used to sell a few thousand a day.

They are only able to get a few thousand per week now.

Your theory doesn't address why the retailers are not getting the same supply while also stating the mfgs are producing at the same or better rate.

 

[HankB]

That is incorrect. The big retailers are regularly getting in decent quantities in my area.

Absolutely not. The major retailers in my area are NOT getting decent quantities; some varieties, they are not getting ANY.

Either that, or EVERY clerk at EVERY retailer is telling me the exact same LIE.

It's just selling out very rapidly--usually before it even hits the shelves.

So much of it IS being intercepted before it hits the retail shelves . . .

 

[Hammer059]

I seem to agree with HankB… In my area (SE Pennsylvania) my observations have been that the small gun shops always have at least some kind of .22 ammo, while the "big stores" like Cabela's, Dunhams, etc hardly ever have any. I don't go to any of the big stores anyway.

I just spent about $0.11 per round for 600 rounds of round nose Mini-Mags… Normally around 10 cents/round is my limit but I'm running low on Mini-Mags and the scrap metal business has been good to me

Thanks for all the comments though, it's interesting to hear what the situation is in different areas. I wish the best of luck to all of you in your quest for the elusive .22lr!

 

[jeepmor]

Oregon area - PDX

I haven't been able to find it for quite a while now. Last time I bought a brick from a retailer, big or small, was years ago, literally.

I just overpaid for some off Midway since I was actually able to get some. Did one of this mixed caliber deals. Regardless, it's nice to have another couple bricks. Prices were higher than needed, spent $100 plus shipping for two bricks of 22lr bulk and 2 50 round 45acp boxes.

That might be a deal, not sure, been that long since I've found bricks to buy from a retailer.

 

[Blade First]

Absolutely no association on my part, commercial or otherwise, to this link:

www.AmmoSeek.com

Was referred to this site by a friend who manages to monitor it regularly and make buys regularly. He has more free time than I do.

 

[Hammer059]

I never understood the way the term "hoarder" is thrown around with a negative connotation. They should be instead be referred to as "preparers". I guess folks are just jealous that some people had the good idea of stocking up on ammo. It is thanks to stockpiling that myself and others were able to shoot for about a year when .22 was very scarce.

In my opinion, it is NEVER a bad thing to have too much of an important item, especially something potentially life-saving such as ammunition.

I have 20+ bungee cords in my truck in case one breaks while I'm working. I don't NEED 20 bungee cords, so does that make me a bungee cord hoarder?

My neighbor doesn't NEED four motorcycles, does that make him a motorcycle hoarder?

Gold is scarce, yet my Dad has some gold stashed away that he'll probably never touch. I guess he's a gold hoarder, huh?

Water is scarce, yet I have 100 or so gallons of emergency supply water that I don't NEED, but it makes me feel better to have extra. Does that make me a water hoarder? (These are all rhetorical questions, I don't really give one if anyone thinks I'm a "hoarder" or not)

Call it what you will, I call it being over prepared. Rather have too much than too little ammunition, anyone that says they'd rather be underprepared is either a fool or lying out of spite. If you're reading this and you have 500,000 rounds of .22lr stocked up, it may be excessive but that's awesome and keep it up, you smart over-prepared people!

 

[JSH1]

Absolutely not. The major retailers in my area are NOT getting decent quantities; some varieties, they are not getting ANY.

Either that, or EVERY clerk at EVERY retailer is telling me the exact same LIE.

So much of it IS being intercepted before it hits the retail shelves . . .

The large retailers in my area don't bother to put it on the shelf because there is a line of people that want to buy it.

 

[markm_04]

Midway USA, right now

 

[Hammer059]

Dang, MarkM, you were on that deal like a beggar on a bologna sandwich, as my football coach used to say.

Not bad, too bad I don't have anything in .223….. yet

 

[markm_04]

Haha, I will take that as a compliment Hammer. I don't need any though. I can get it cheaper than that pretty much whenever I want. I just figured with all the discussion about people not seeing any for years I would remind people what it looks like and that it IS out there.

 

[Hammer059]

It was most definitely a compliment, Mark!

I too can get it cheaper and in abundance, but like you said, I'm sure many will appreciate the tip!

 

[oneounceload]

And the supply of many varieties of .22 - even to the LARGEST and BEST customers, the BIGGEST retailers - is ZERO.

NONE whatsoever.

IT NEVER REACHES THE RETAIL LEVEL.

And it's been this way now for years. Years!

This is simply NOT true. I have found 1400 round buckets of Remington and 100 packs of CCI Mini Mags at decent prices at my local Gander Mtn - recently BTW. The Rem was .05 and the CCI was .075.

Plenty at the flea markets at prices I refuse to pay as well as at a local indoor gun range. Still shooting up stuff I bought way back when....as in a case of 6250 for $95 OTD......Not that price any more unfortunately, but they still go bang.