.22 Ammo - Will It Ever be Available Again?

[NAPOTS]

I agree with the sentiment that the .22lr shortage is a self perpetuating problem. They opened a new Sportsmans warehouse around here and they had a literal mountin of .22lr bricks with a 1 per customer limit. They still sold out in a few hours and there were people wrapped around the building waiting to get in.

I admit I'm guilty too. If I come across .22lr I will buy it on the spot because I don't know when the next opportunity will present itself.

.22 at the local walmart doesn't even make it off the truck and onto the shelf. It will be gone as soon as they get the box on the floor. I have been lucky enough to be at the right place at the right time a couple of times and have been able to buy some.

[alismith]

I agree with the sentiment that the .22lr shortage is a self perpetuating problem. They opened a new Sportsmans warehouse around here and they had a literal mountin of .22lr bricks with a 1 per customer limit. They still sold out in a few hours and there were people wrapped around the building waiting to get in.

I admit I'm guilty too. If I come across .22lr I will buy it on the spot because I don't know when the next opportunity will present itself.

.22 at the local walmart doesn't even make it off the truck and onto the shelf. It will be gone as soon as they get the box on the floor. I have been lucky enough to be at the right place at the right time a couple of times and have been able to buy some.

I'm guilty as charged, up to a point. The main reason I have about 15,000 rounds is that instead of shooting it, ever since Obama go in, I have not fired one round of it. What I've managed to find, I've put away. Normally, I would have gone through about 2,000 rnds./year but since the shortage, I haven't been shooting anywhere near as much as I normally would do.

I've gotten to the point that I no longer look for .22's and concentrate on centerfire calibers, now. If my buddy calls and wants to sell me some of his, if I have the money, I'll buy it, if not, no big deal.

So, I'm pretty much out of the equation now as far as .22's go.

The only rimfires I'm interested in are .22 Mag, but they are really hard to find.

[JTHunter]

I'm sitting on 40 rounds of .22. I'll probably burn through it and not bother trying to buy more, and definitely will not be buying any more .22lr firearms. It's way too much hassle.

"40 rounds"??
I have 2K rounds (500 rd. bricks @ $10 ea.) of the old Winchester Wildcat LRN that I sealed up 15 years ago. I don't have a range I can go to nor do I use it (much) for hunting, so it sits.
More recently, I bought some of the loose bulk stuff just to have something to use.

[El Duce]

Years ago, I bought a .22 kit for my Uzi. At the time it was cheaper than 9mm. So, I would put a brick or two in the shopping cart every time that I went to wall mart. After the first scare. I did the same. I really haven't shot a ton of .22 in a long time. But I have hooked up several people that I know were in need. I still pick it up when I can at a decent price. To pass it on. Not to make money on it.

Last weekend there was a local (LAME) gunshow. I went. We saw one rifle that me and my son were remotely interested in. Actually son REALLY wanted it. Tag said, sale or trade. Dude behind the table was ASLEEP!! We kept going back. This guy was younger than I. But long story short. I asked him what he was interested in trading. And through out some really good trade ideas. He really wasn't interested.

So, I thought that I would pull out the big gun, and say, hey. I will trade you your asking price in .22. At what I had paid for it. Not what HE was selling his few boxes for. (60.00 a brick of 500). Now in trading, he could have easily made WAY more money on selling the .22 that I was offering. But he really had no interest in trading, or really selling anything!

At the end. He said that it was his dad's rifle, and his dad wasn't there, and he didn't have a card, couldn't give me his dad's number, didn't know when his dad was going to be back.....So, we found the same rifle on gunbroker, and going to sell some stuff to get it for my son. Was really surprised that he didn't even want to talk about a .22 ammo trade. He did say that he could get it on a regular basis from his distributers. Oh well, his loss.

[308]

One of our local stores has not had .22 ammo for quite a while. Some trickles in from time to time. Oddly enough, at the recent sportsmans show, they were handing our 3000 vouchers per day that allowed people to buy (2) 300rnd boxes of CCI .22 for $20 each.

That's 1.8 million rounds they had available for that day. Not sure if the deal went on for the remaining days of the show.
Ammo is out there.

[El Duce]

You guys ever check out gunbot?

http://www.gunbot.net/ammo/rimfire/22lr/

[308]

You guys ever check out gunbot?

http://www.gunbot.net/ammo/rimfire/22lr/

I do, but the added shipping charge tends to change my mind even at $0.08/round

[JTHunter]

I do, but the added shipping charge tends to change my mind even at $0.08/round

Ditto!
Many of the big "sporting stores" are the same way. One box limit then shipping that doubles the price! Feels like - -

[jmurda]

Everybody absolutely, positively refuse to pay more than .05 cents per round. In 3 months we will be back to normal.

[rktman]

Everybody absolutely, positively refuse to pay more than .05 cents per round. In 3 months we will be back to normal.

I hope so, but it seems like we've been saying that for over a year.
Gunshow price last weekend was $50 for a real brick (500).

[NAPOTS]

I hope so, but it seems like we've been saying that for over a year.
Gunshow price last weekend was $50 for a real brick (500).

I paid less than that for .223 (steel cased wolf) in 2003.

[Aggressive Perfector]

"40 rounds"??
I have 2K rounds (500 rd. bricks @ $10 ea.) of the old Winchester Wildcat LRN that I sealed up 15 years ago. I don't have a range I can go to nor do I use it (much) for hunting, so it sits.
More recently, I bought some of the loose bulk stuff just to have something to use.

Yep. A lowly 40 rounds. I only have them because they were given to me. Last time i really shot .22lr I was 14 or so and it was dirt cheap and plentiful. Needless to say when grandpa took me to buy ammo we werent stockpiling for shortages. Wed pick up 500 rounds and spend the day pissing it away plinking with cans and such that we dug out of the garbage and maybe spend a few rounds on squirrel for dinner. Never thought we would see the day it was easier and almost as cheap to buy and plink with commie steel cased 7.62x39 & x54r.