What's The Big Deal With .22LR?

[TheGoldenSaber]

Ever since this gun crisis started a year ago everyone's been going nuts over the .22LR ammo. I don't get it. People have shotguns, AKs, ARs, etc. Why is everyone scrambling to get .22LR ammo?

For me, the big attraction to .22s before the crisis was they were really cheap to practice with. Now that they're not I'm thinking about just eliminating them all together. If there's ever a SHTF situation that would be about the last gun I would grab. What say you?

 

[hatt]

Just wait a little while and things will be back to normal. Then stock up a little. .22 is still cheaper than anything else so I don't know what selling off .22 guns will do other than cause you to have to buy new ones once you figure out the mistake.

 

[waffentomas]

People want what they can't have...or get. Remember when everybody though big brother would ban AR platforms and the dreaded 'assault rifle'? (assault is a verb, not an adjective) There were none to be found for months.

.22 lr is one of those things. 9mm and .380 ACP are still in short supply around here, along with .22 lr. Powder is also still sporadically on shelves. It's all slowly getting better, but I doubt prices will ever come back down to pre-panic.

 

[Nighteyes]

What I have to say is pure speculation. Now, with that out of the way, one possible reason for the run on .22LR ammo may be the long-standing "wisdom" that .22LR ammo may become one of THE barter currencies in a post-SHTF world.

In said post-SHTF world, if I could only have one rifle, the .22LR might not make the cut (though the jury is still out). If I could have TWO, one of them would most definitely be my older .22LR CZ-452 Varmint.

 

[OilyPablo]

Here are my thoughts:

1) Limited factory capacity. Just not as many rimfire factories. Sure the factories that exist are large and do have high volume, it's not like you or I can start a new factory in 6 months of something. You could theoretically start a centerfire ammo factory for less cash and yes, more common know how.

2) I hate to say it, but when the banic started all the jackaloped yaywho's figured it's easier to corner the market on something that is $20 for 500 vs. $20 for 50. These nincompoops - well some of them - planned on striking the big $ by buying low and selling high. Combined with a brazillions of people just buying and buying and buying whenever they see ANY .22LR to lay it in. I KNOW people who hardly shoot .22LR with 50,000+ rounds. 100 bricks and that doesn't seem like enough to them. I shake my head.

I'm going to read the article in AR tonight. I started last night but fell asleep reading.

 

[readyeddy]

I'm with the OP. I don't shop for or shoot 22 LR, not since the shortage.

 

[Nighteyes]

I'm with the OP. I don't shop for or shoot 22 LR, not since the shortage.

I don't shop for it either because, beginning in the early 1980's, I have managed to gradually acquire all I'm likely to need. I do shoot it from time to time, just to keep my hand in (so to speak). Even if I shot a hundred or so rounds every week, it'd still be a year or so before I'd need to break open the first intact brick.

 

[benEzra]

Even at post-2012 prices, .22LR is still cheaper to shoot than .223, 7.62x39mm, or 9mm. Even if all you can find are $4/50 CCI Stingers, that's still cheaper than just about any new production centerfire ammo on the market. You can also shoot .22LR rifles at indoor pistol ranges, they are relatively quiet, they are fun, and they are less intimidating to shoot for the young and inexperienced.

And the overwhelming majority of people stocking up on .22LR aren't people preparing for the ZOMG APOCALYPSE!!!111, but rather people who used to buy a couple boxes at a time, got caught short, and are now realizing "I'd better pick up some extra when I can so I don't run out again."

 

[leadaddict]

I have 3 kids that enjoy shooting. 22lr is the only thing I can afford to feed them in mass quantities. I haven't bought one round at these higher prices though. I had some stocked up and I've replaced it when I can with "normal" priced boxes when I can find them. I have fewer rounds now than I did last year at this time though...

 

[TheGoldenSaber]

I just think it's insane personally. I'm not waking up at 7am to fight to the death for a caliber I was never impressed with to begin with. I'm certainly not going to buy it on gunbroker or something and get raped paying literally 7-10 times what it cost a year ago. An elderly woman could shoot an AR, and certainly kids, so I don't see a big advantage with the recoil aspect. It's still cheaper than other calibers, but I'm still not paying that knowing how cheap it was. That would be like me paying $7 for a mcdonalds hamburger just because a steak is $20. Screw that.

To each their own but I think I'm just gonna ditch my 10/22. The more I think about it the more asinine it is. I would rather get what I can out of it and use that money to buy guns or ammo that I would actually want in a bad situation.

 

[Warp]

Ever since this gun crisis started a year ago everyone's been going nuts over the .22LR ammo. I don't get it. People have shotguns, AKs, ARs, etc. Why is everyone scrambling to get .22LR ammo?

For me, the big attraction to .22s before the crisis was they were really cheap to practice with. Now that they're not I'm thinking about just eliminating them all together. If there's ever a SHTF situation that would be about the last gun I would grab. What say you?

It's affordable.

EVERYBODY (that shoots) has firearms chambered in it.

It's affordable.

It's great for youth and for new shooters.

It's affordable.

It's a great training and practice aid for even the most experienced shooters.

Did I mention that it's affordable?

 

[Joespapa]

Ever since this gun crisis started a year ago everyone's been going nuts over the .22LR ammo. I don't get it. People have shotguns, AKs, ARs, etc. Why is everyone scrambling to get .22LR ammo?

For me, the big attraction to .22s before the crisis was they were really cheap to practice with. Now that they're not I'm thinking about just eliminating them all together. If there's ever a SHTF situation that would be about the last gun I would grab. What say you?

Absolutely agree! Sold the one I had 38 years ago lol when I quit shooting NRA bullseye. Haven't owned one since!

 

[Radagast]

Have you considered the huge number of new shooters since Obama got re-elected? They didn't all buy ARs. Many would have followed the advice of a shooting acquaintance or been gifted a .22.
Yes hoarding / scalping is an issue, but the sheer number of new shooters may have a lot to do with it.
Anyway, the problem will be self correcting within a few years. Many of the new shooters will fall back to being gun owners who don't shoot & the hoarders will curl up on their pile of ammo boxes and hibernate like Smaug the dragon until the next ammo scare. They were sleeping on pallets of primers stored from the Clinton years when Obama woke them.

If demand simply continues high then the factories will increase production to match or importers will bring more in.

 

[jmr40]

If there's ever a SHTF situation that would be about the last gun I would grab. What say you?

One of my 22's would be the 1st gun I'd grab. Most others feel the same.

A brick of 500 22's would fit in the same size as a box of 25 shotshells. In a pinch a 22 could be used as a survival hunting tool for anything deer sized and smaller. It would do much better at deterring human threats than many would think. It might not be a great stopper, but with all of my family members pointing 4-5 Ruger 10-22's with a 25 round mags in each at someone, I'm betting they decide to go elsewhere.

 

[PJSprog]

I guess if you shoot .22LR and don't care for it, then there's no reason to keep firearms chambered in that caliber. I don't personally know anyone like that. Everyone I know who shoots rimfire (including myself, that's virtually every shooter I know), absolutely loves them. Between my wife and I, we own six of them - three handguns and three rifles - chambered in either .22LR or .22WMR. I could shoot rimfire all day and never get bored.

 

[Warp]

THR doesn't do that topic ^

 

[grimjaw]

I used to shoot it because it was an inexpensive round to have a fun day target shooting at the range. I also have a .22 kit for my Glock that would let me practice with that for less than I would shooting centerfire. Not the case in either circumstance now.

For those who say, "... might as well shoot 9mm since they cost about the same": I didn't magically get extra money when .22 became more expensive and unavailable. I can't afford to shoot a more expensive round, either. In six months, I might go through 50 rounds of the aging bricks of .22 I have. Otherwise it's BP, since I have several pounds of that and many containers of percussion caps. Muzzleloading bullets aren't too much higher than they used to be, but with the lead smelting news ...

jm

 

[OARNGESI]

low recoil, less noise, still cheaper plus plinking is way more fun than any shtf imaginary situation.

 

[jrdolall]

Even at the jacked up prices we see to day .22 lr is still half the price of any center fire round. At $45 a brick it is about half the price of 5.45x39 which is the cheapest center fire ammo I know of.

There is no round that is even close when it comes to recoil so it is great for a variety of people. Arthritis, novices, kids, etc can generally shoot it without any problems.

I don't buy guns and ammo for SHTF or survival situations but if I did I wouldn't have an issue with a 22lr. Sure it won't reach out 200 yards and kill a moose but a 300 mag isn't all that effective at 20 yards on a squirrel or rabbit.

We shoot more 22 lr than any other round and it's not even close. I have conversion kits for my AR and a 1911. We shoot guns because they are fun to shoot and the old fashioned 22 lr falls into that category.

 

[Orion8472]

I think 22lr is coming back. Was at my local Bass Pro and they had a fair amount of it. Of course, they limited it to one box [if 100 rounds +]. I picked up a box of CCI Minimag round nose.

 

[itsa pain]

It's affordable.

EVERYBODY (that shoots) has firearms chambered in it.

It's affordable.

It's great for youth and for new shooters.

It's affordable.

It's a great training and practice aid for even the most experienced shooters.

Did I mention that it's affordable?

Affordable to who? Half the country does not even make 50,000 a year. Affordable to guys that had enough money anyway?

 

[Armymutt]

I saw a woman pay $58 for a box of 500 rounds yesterday. Gun shop said they ordered it a year ago. I can reload 9mm for about the same price. No thanks.

 

[WYO]

Aside from the fact that I could not this instant find components (bullets, primers, powder only) for 9mm for $58 per 500, I do not see much use for pistol caliber rifles, especially for small game hunting.

 

[tuj]

I enjoy shooting 22lr more than any centerfire caliber. Pistols or rifles.

 

[ECVMatt]

Well I am glad to see so many folks who don't like to shoot .22's, that leaves more ammo for me! I shoot all kinds of guns, but love to take my son out to the desert or the mountains for plinking, hunting, or target shooting. I use the .22 Mag and .17HMR for most of my desert hunting as well. I love my centerfires, but could not do without several .22's.