Is this how it's going to be for .22LR owners?

[12Pump]

I've never bought ammo online before, but have been thinking maybe I should if that's the only way to get certain types, and maybe the best prices on much of it. Since .22LR is still absent from store shelves around me in a city of 65,000 people, I thought I'd give the online world a try. Here's what I found. A 50 count box going for $10, even for generics stuff like American Eagle. Sure, there's one for $8, but I remember only a year or so ago I could get a brick of 500 for $10 before it (gasp!) doubled to $20. Now it's $100. http://www.bulkammo.com/rimfire/bulk-.22-lr-ammo?p=1

If this is how it is and how it's going to be for .22LR, I'd be willing to sell the 1,000 rounds I currently have for the price I bought my rifle for.

Does anyone see the situation getting better? Worse? Having a .22 used to mean cheap, fun shooting. But at these prices, the "cheap" part just isn't there anymore. Makes me wonder if people will see much of a reason to buy a .22 firearm anymore.

 

[anothernewb]

22 has become a game of scrounging.

in a recent discussion at the "table of knowledge" at the local cafe (everybody knows the kind of place - where all the retired guys and old farmers and crusty curmudgeons hang out, drink coffee, and complain about what the world has become, and how to solve all it's problems - hours before any normal god fearing man would even consider getting out of bed) the subject of 22 came up. I postulated that there must be a finite limit to the hoarders, and that in my lifetime - I will expect to see estate sales or auctions, where it will not be uncommon to see hundreds of thousands of rounds of 22 available. every bubble bursts with time - no one can hoard something forever.

that being said - I submit that 22 will never exceed 80% of the cost of the next common caliber. cheap bulk 9mm can be had for .16-.18 a round. bulk 22 will probably cap out around .14 just doesn't make sense otherwise. premium 22 will continue to be readily available for those that really want it.

yes - the ones that actually use 22 for shooting small game will likely have to move to 17 caliber, but the largesse that shoot for fun will switch to 9mm or whatever else is next. it's going to be the difference between what's available and what's not. 9mm carbines may actually get far more common than they are today.

It might take a few years for 22 to stabilize, but the new normal will likely be in the .08 to .10 range, unless things like a mass dump come to fruition. But another large part will be politics - if we get a "gun safe" administration for a few years - much of the panic will subside, and their effect on the market will lessen.

Another thing that has affected the market is what people consider a "safe" supply of 22. I never used to worry about because another box was always on the shelf - the panic has affected my purchasing as well. I have resorted to stockpiling a full year supply. That's my "safe zone" I figure if I run low and things get dire again, - I will be able to either save up enough for a massive online bulk buy even at higher than insane prices, or wait it out to find additional ammo with random store visits.

 

[CoRoMo]

...I remember only a year or so ago I could get a brick of 500 for $10...

No you couldn't.

 

[TruthTellers]

I've begun to think the same thing, that shooting and reloading 9mm might be as cost effective as .22 LR. Sure, the guns wouldn't be as cheap as .22's, but at least you can shoot them.

As for .22 online prices, try this site out. I used it to find Aguila SSS last month.

http://www.gunbot.net/

 

[likesguns]

When people stop hoarding in excess of a half million rounds just because they can get to the stores before anyone with jobs can,then the prices will start to come back down.

 

[alsaqr]

The Lawton, OK Academy store always has some .22 LR on hand because they limit purchases. Neither of the Lawton Wal Mart stores ever have .22 LR on hand: It all goes to the scalpers.

 

[plexreticle]

Even at the worst of times for ammo shopping, I could always find 17HMR.

It's not as cheap as 22 but, it's less expensive than center fire ammo and it always available where I shop.

 

[JSH1]

I bought my very first 22 LR Rifle about a month ago and have purchased about 2000 rounds of ammo for between $0.06 and $0.11 per round. Considering everything else I shoot costs $0.35 to $0.65 a round to shoot I consider 22LR at $0.10 per round pretty cheap.

I used gunbot.net to find CCI online for $0.10 per round + $0.01 for shipping and bought 500 rounds. The rest has been purchased locally and has been on the shelf for days after the shelves were stocked.

EDIT: I bought 3 boxes of Federal AutoMatch (325 rounds for $20) and had a strong urge to go back and buy more even though I didn't need any more. I guess I've been reading about 22LR shortages for too long on THR! Right now I have 4 kinds of ammo so I will see what the gun likes before I buy any more.

 

[dogtown tom]

12Pump .....I remember only a year or so ago I could get a brick of 500 for $10.....

Only if "or so" = 1976.

 

[berettaprofessor]

It's been better around here recently so hang in there. For months, I've been able to find all the Remington Golden Bullets I would ever want from Dicks. Buckets, bricks, whatever, it's always on the shelf. Fortunately, I can still afford to be picky and never buy it. I don't want any Golden Bullets and evidently neither does anyone else. And yesterday, Cabelas had the same Remington Golden Bullet bricks and some High Velocity packs. I'm looking mostly for subsonic these days. Other stuff, Federal Automatch, or CCI Standard, has shown up occasionally and more often of late where I shop and it sells out fast, even with the limits.

But local Walmarts never have it. Still scalping going on there. And LGS's have some now but it's always at the $60+/brick/Golden Bullet pricing.

I'm going to make a prediction; twenty years or thirty years from now there will be a lot of 2012-2015 production era 22LR available at estate auctions as the profiteers die. The price of 22LR will stabilize soon, as others have said, around $30/500 bulk or $50 brand name, but there will never be a glut that causes it to drop back to pre-panic levels because those who tried to profit won't ever sell it under what they paid for it.

 

[dogtown tom]

likesguns When people stop hoarding in excess of a half million rounds just because they can get to the stores before anyone with jobs can,then the prices will start to come back down.

I have two jobs (teacher and gun dealer) and have no difficulty finding .22 at local Walmarts.

 

[berettaprofessor]

Only if "or so" = 1976.

Not true. I have receipts that show me paying $8/525 for Federal Champion around 2008.

 

[dogtown tom]

berettaprofessor ....I'm going to make a prediction; twenty years or thirty years from now there will be a lot of 2012-2015 production era 22LR available at estate auctions as the profiteers die.

Please explain this economic theory.
How exactly does someone "profiteer" if they don't actually sell their hoard of .22?

 

[dogtown tom]

berettaprofessor

Quote:
Only if "or so" = 1976.

Not true. I have receipts that show me paying $8/525 for Federal Champion around 2008.

I would like to see that since that was significantly less than dealer cost in 2008. Quite likely a loss leader for a big box store, but definitely not the regular price.

 

[basicblur]

Expand your search a bit, and use the 'Net if you have to.

I'm getting plenty of online hits, but usually pass as I've got plenty.

Our local low cost gun shop has been getting increasing shipments over the last two to three months. He's only slightly higher than Walmart, and I've turned down all I've seen on the shelves for the last couple of months as the only thing I'm looking for these days is CCI Standard Velocity or the yet to be seen Federal equivalent (which has the bonus of a clad jacket) for silencer use.

I did pick up a few bricks of Blazer 22 a few weeks ago for $29 / brick, only because I have only one brick and want to give it more of a try.
He's had Winchester 555, 333, lots of CCI in 100-rd. boxes (I'm looking for bricks only), CCI Landry, Federal AutoMatch (I think $24.99) and lots more that I can't remember. He's also had tons of Remington, but I don't care for Remington so I pay little attention to them - I think the 1,400 round tubs he sold for $69.99 or $79.99.

Whatever you do, don't feed the scalpers! Unless something happens to spur another buying spurt, I feel 22 will start popping up in ever increasing numbers / areas.

The scalpers are hanging on by the skin of their teeth - they know the bottom is about to fall out, but they're hoping some panic will hit so they can unload what they're sitting on.

AFA our local Walmart...I beat the local insider at his own game long enough to stock up and supply as many folks as I knew around town that were in the market so they wouldn't have to buy at his inflated / flipper prices.

FWIW, I feel the greatest reason for the 22 shortage (there are many) is folks like me that:
1. Never owned a 22.
2. Bought a few different 22's over the last two or three years with the explosion of AR / ARX / 1911 etc. 22 firearms.
3. I've gone from not owning / shooting no 22 to burning a LOT of rounds due to the type of 22 big gun clones I've bought.
4. Multiply myself by a LOT of folks nationwide.

There's your shortage, but now that sales of the big gun clones has drastically slowed, and folks like myself have all the 22 I need, I expect the 22 shortage to end very soon.

If it wasn't for the flippers, it might well be over today!?

 

[berettaprofessor]

Please explain this economic theory.
How exactly does someone "profiteer" if they don't actually sell their hoard of .22?

They don't, but I believe that was the original intention of many of the people sitting around our local Walmart waiting for the 4:00 shipment. And now that they'd lose money, they'll act like anyone else with a stock loss and sit on it hoping that eventually it'll come back up....only I don't think it'll happen again. Even if there's another panic in 2016, with some luck, most of us will have learned and have enough stock to ride it out. Even if it has to be Remington Golden Bullets.

The name of my theory is "22LR Anti-Liquidation Idiocy."

It's just a theory....Another is my theory that someday, some will look back on it and view me as the Nostradamus of ammo supply.

 

[berettaprofessor]

I would like to see that since that was significantly less than dealer cost in 2008. Quite likely a loss leader for a big box store, but definitely not the regular price.

Okay DogTown Tom, I was slightly off. It wasn't 2008, it was 2006, and it wasn't $8.00, it was $8.99. See the attached receipt, dated 10/28/2006. This was the regular price for Federal Champion Value Packs at Cabelas's in 2008. You could buy boxes and boxes of it any time you walked into the store. And I did buy it, at least a box almost every time I went in for awhile. Kept buying until it rose to $13.99 after a couple of years and then quit. And I'm still shooting some of it.

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[huntsman]

Funny thing I hear more bitching about .22lr than the high price of centerfire ammo, I guess that plan to shoot .22lr instead of centerfire didn't last.

 

[C0untZer0]

Walmart has removed .22LR ammo from their online inventory system, so its an expensive proposition to just drive around to local Walmarts looking for ammo.

 

[berettaprofessor]

And now maybe you're wondering why I've got a scanned receipt from 2006?

What can I say? I'm a pack rat. I keep receipts that were for gun purchases, and a few years back, when I realized they were fading, I scanned them. Sometimes they had other purchases on them.

 

[Walkalong]

It will get better one of these days. Don't sell all your .22 guns just yet.

 

[Rembrandt]

Over 50% of my gun collection is chambered in .22.........can't reload .22, so I buy all I can find.

 

[Swing]

Having a .22 used to mean cheap, fun shooting. But at these prices, the "cheap" part just isn't there anymore.

Indeed. I've never been a huge fan of anything rimfire, but the .22LRs appeal was the ammo was dirt cheap and available everywhere. Now neither of those things are true. Other than shooting subsonics through a couple suppressed .22s, I don't really shoot the .22s much.

I do think, however, sometime the supply situation will normalize and sanity will return to the market. I could be wrong though.

can't reload .22, so I buy all I can find.

You can, but I wouldn't bother personally.

 

[dogtown tom]

berettaprofessor

Quote:
I would like to see that since that was significantly less than dealer cost in 2008. Quite likely a loss leader for a big box store, but definitely not the regular price.

Okay DogTown Tom, I was slightly off. It wasn't 2008, it was 2006, and it wasn't $8.00, it was $8.99. See the attached receipt, dated 10/28/2006. This was the regular price for Federal Champion Value Packs at Cabelas's in 2008. You could buy boxes and boxes of it any time you walked into the store. ....

Up until 2005/6, Academy sold 50 round boxes of CCI Blazer 9mm for $3.86 a box. It cost them more than that, but just like your .22 from Cabela's it was a loss leader item.

You would be surprised how many items at WalMart/Cabelas/etc are sold at a loss........just to get you in the store.

 

[danez71]

I cant find 22lr locally other than completely stumbling upon the purple unicorn or, a little more frequently, some Ely match sub sonic at $10 per 50.

And, IMO, its bovine scat that I cant find it locally.

But.....a couple minutes on the net....


Federal game shock @ 7.32 cents ea.Its good stuff.

http://www.natchezss.com/federal-game-shok-rimfire-ammunition.html
•Bullet Weight: 40 Grains
•Bullet Style: Plated Lead Round Nose
•Muzzle Velocity: 1260 fps
•Muzzle Energy: 141 ft. lbs.




CCI Blazer @ 9 cents ea. LRN equivalent of CCI MiniMags

http://www.lg-outdoors.com/proddetail.asp?prod=LG_63214&source=A10001
Caliber: 22 Long Rifle
Bullet Type: Round Nose
Bullet Weight: 40 GR
Muzzle Energy: 135 ft lbs

The last 1k I bought was 500 ea from 2 different sources that totaled just about 8.8 cents ea. delivered to my door for CCI Blazer. Before that was CCI Minimags to my door at 10.2 cents.



My limit is 10 cents in a store so I was ok with 10.2 to my door.

I don't buy from private resellers as an effort not to feed the problem.



ETA: Does anyone have any experience with the Armscor?

I normally like to keep it at least 130 ftlbs and this is only 127 ftlbs.

Heres a case of 5k at 419.99.

http://www.ammofast.com/products/armscor-precision-22lr-copper-coated-hv-hp-36-gr-5000-round-case
Caliber: .22LR HV
Grain Weight: 36
Bullet Type: JHP
Muzzle Velocity: 1260 fps
Muzzle Energy: 127 ft/lbs