Curious About .22LR/.22Mag Availability

I haven't shopped for either in some time...maybe a couple of years. But I've read of how hard it is to find, still, after the shortage started several years ago.

I was in Sportsman's Warehouse in Lewiston today and if there's still a shortage it wasn't apparent there. The had an entire endcap stocked full of various brands, including the Winchester M22. Several hundred Remington and Federal bulk boxes (550s and 325s) were on the gun counter. Price for run of the mill Remington, Federal and CCI was about 6 cents per round up to 7.5 cents per round for the M22.

Is this getting to be the norm? Are the shortages easing or did I just catch them on a good day?

The shortage seems to be easing. I travel quite a bit around the country and often stop at WalMart just to check if they have any in stock and most places do not have anything in the case. On line seems to be the best source and as you noted, the price seems to run 6 to 8 cents per round. Before the shortage, I would normally pick up a Federal 550 box at WalMart whenever I was there. My normal buying price was 4 cents per round for bulk .22lr but I have almost given up ever seeing it at that price again in the near to long term future.

Not as bad as it was a year ago, but still not great and not looking like it will ever be the bargain it once was.

I haven't bought it at retail in a long time. The only time I've bought rimfire in the last several years is from members on the forum and I rarely think to look for it in stores. It's still a lot more expensive than I remember it being...then again, so is everything else now. Except for AR rifles...cheaper than I can ever remember them.

What about the 'ol 2009 "it's not prudent to add another .22LR production line because once supply returns it'll be a waste of capital investment."

HAHAHAHA [emoji12]

It's 2016. Prices have gone up. If you're lucky, $30 for a 525 milk carton will be the least you pay. Same reason Cokes don't cost a quarter at the vending machine anymore.

It's never been impossible to find .22 - prices have just been up due to very high demand. You could always find it if you were willing to pay the price.

That reminds me, I should get a letter from BigBear for the case of .22LR I gave his Appleseed event ...

There is .22LR on the shelves at Walmart about every 2 weeks out here. Usually lasts for a few days with no limit on purchase amount at about $.08/rd. It's almost always the Federal Automatch 325 boxes or little 50rd boxes of CCI. Once, they had half of a display case (easily more than 50k rds) 50rd boxes of CCI "standard velocity" (which is subsonic in most pistols) so I bought a bunch of it. Much cheaper than ammo that is labeled "subsonic".

Unrelated: There actually are a lot of gun owners in this part of CA. Not sure whats going to happen now that the bullet button will be outlawed within a few months.... I can't imagine how they will deal with an estimated 80k+ legal AR-15 owners... And that doesn't include the 145k+ already registered "assault weapons" in CA. [facepalm]

I somehow keep missing the .22Mag ammo. It's always a case of "we just had some this morning" I'll have to start buying online. Grr.

Haven't seen any up here in ft fun for some time. The little that I do see is 10 plus cents a round and seems to last a few days. I have been trying to hold out for some value packs.

Two weeks ago was the 1st time I had seen 22lr in my local Walmart. With my work schedule I cant be there when they stock the shelves.
When I asked, they said they had a two box maximum. Others around me heard they had some and a line started behind me. They were sold out before I left the store.
This was the 1st and only time I have even seen 22lr for sale in a store since the shortage began.

I see 22 at Cabelas probably 7 out of 10 stops.

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Originally Posted by Aloha_Shooter

That reminds me, I should get a letter from BigBear for the case of .22LR I gave his Appleseed event ...

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Ask and he shall receive. Send me an email addy to get it to you. Need type/rounds/estimated value... I should have that info somewhere at work but if you remember off the top of your head that'd help ease some burden off the end of the year.

The Firing Line in Aurora has 22LR for sale... every....single...day. Stop hoarding, the shortage is over. 22LR is NOT the "currency of the future".

The people who were buying from Walmart and then jacking up the price (OD Green Supply) were the assholes of the industry. I will give two examples of 22LR prices at FL. Not a steal, but not a rip-off. Federal 50 rnd 40 grain solid is $3.69 a box. Federal Auto Match 325 rnd 40 grain solid is $26.95 a box. No hoarders accommodated.

I just bought a 325rd box of Federal Auto Match for $24.99 at Ark Tactical yesterday and they had plenty of it.

My point exactly. By posting this stuff about people not being able to find .22 ammo we perpetuate this myth of "shortages". It's idiotic. 22LR ammo is everywhere and easy to find. Perhaps not so in more remote areas of the state where there are less retail options.

I would have to assume that FL and Ark have a small customer base compared to bigger box stores. None of our lgs or big box stores on the western slope have ammo on a consistent basis. With 4 children and 2 adults here we would go through 2 to 3 500 round bricks a month from April to October. I wish we had stores with that kind of availability here. I bought 6 boxes of Auto Match when it appeared here in Delta at Walmart last fall. That's long gone and was the only time I have seen 22 LR in bulk any where. I check 2-4 times a month when I happen to be in such stores. I would agree that 22 LR isn't the currency of the future. It seems to be the currency of the last 5 years. [Coffee]

I haven't bought .22 in a long while.. well besides some gemtech suppressed stuffs.

Last time I bought it, I think it was .06/rd after shipping. Got like 10k rounds.. so I was set.. I still look occasionally, even though I really haven't made a dent in it. I understand that prices are going to rise, so I don't expect to see it that cheap again. I will not pay the .12+/rd for it that I'm seeing online.

If I had 10,000 rounds of anything- I would prob never have to look for it again. Well, except maybe 9mm.

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Originally Posted by PSS

I would have to assume that FL and Ark have a small customer base compared to bigger box stores. None of our lgs or big box stores on the western slope have ammo on a consistent basis. With 4 children and 2 adults here we would go through 2 to 3 500 round bricks a month from April to October. I wish we had stores with that kind of availability here. I bought 6 boxes of Auto Match when it appeared here in Delta at Walmart last fall. That's long gone and was the only time I have seen 22 LR in bulk any where. I check 2-4 times a month when I happen to be in such stores. I would agree that 22 LR isn't the currency of the future. It seems to be the currency of the last 5 years. [Coffee]

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Sometimes you have to look online to find items that you cannot find locally... IN STOCK $22.99/box of 325rds https://www.natchezss.com/federal-au...n-325-box.html

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Originally Posted by sneakerd

My point exactly. By posting this stuff about people not being able to find .22 ammo we perpetuate this myth of "shortages". It's idiotic. 22LR ammo is everywhere and easy to find. Perhaps not so in more remote areas of the state where there are less retail options.

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Sorry you're so offended by a question. But saying it's "everywhere" is just as idiotic, maybe more so, than saying there's a shortage. It damn sure isn't everywhere. There are maybe a dozen or more stores that sell ammo in this area. One has rimfire ammo. NONE of the others have it.

I'll have to order some. Still smarts to buy 22 LR for .10 cents a round delivered. Can't say I blame manufacturers from being reluctant to ramp up production. I've read that 22 LR is relatively difficult to produce. Here they can keep prices good for them and have a guaranteed market for all their product. I still think they should increase prices until it's less attractive to people that buy with the intent to resell. It would also attract more attention to competition. I'm really surprised that all retailers don't run their prices up until product stays on the shelf. I wouldn't like it but would totally understand and feel like a capitalist society would even it out eventually. Discount stores keeping the price of a highly desirable product at an artificial low price is what is fueling the problem IMO.

http://www.armslist.com/posts/539683...mini-mag-22-lr

I want that pile right there. Actually seeing a lot of it on armslist today.

A guy on armslist in golden has 51 boxes of minimags.

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Originally Posted by Jamnanc

A guy on armslist in golden has 51 boxes of minimags.

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Lol

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Originally Posted by izzy

http://www.armslist.com/posts/539683...mini-mag-22-lr

I want that pile right there. Actually seeing a lot of it on armslist today.

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Looks like what's left in my safe after putting all the cheap stuff up in cans... :-)

I got some of the CCI 300rd tactical packs and some of the "Choot Em!" packs put away for a rainy day too.

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Originally Posted by brutal

Looks like what's left in my safe after putting all the cheap stuff up in cans... :-)

I got some of the CCI 300rd tactical packs and some of the "Choot Em!" packs put away for a rainy day too.

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Better be careful telling the masses you have more than 1K .22LR rounds, you'll forever be labeled a horder; one that contributed to this shortage.

The difference between a hoarder and a prepper is what you want vs what you have.

No possible reason to let this thread go off the rails over personal differences of opinions. Please be civil with one another. [Flower]

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Originally Posted by kidicarus13

Better be careful telling the masses you have more than 1K .22LR rounds, you'll forever be labeled a horder; one that contributed to this shortage.

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It's asmo's fault, he kept posting his backdoor links to Cabela's .22LR. [Coffee]

FWIW, I always left some on the shelf for the next guy in... I also scored a decent size lot on CL last year.

Caught someone (sort of) red-handed when I found jugs of powder stashed in the clothing dept at Cabela's once. Being the honest, helpful sort, I put it all back on the shelf. Yea, I'm that guy. Had a good chuckle to myself standing in the long checkout line imagining the douche that came back in the store after checking out his two jug limit only to find the stash gone. Maybe he got them, maybe not.

If you're too lazy to get out to one of the local shops that posted inventory, PSA has Fed automatch 325rd box for $24.99 with free shipping if you buy 4.

http://palmettostatearmory.com/feder...=12%3a00+Deals

That's 0.0768923076923077/rd

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Originally Posted by sneakerd

My point exactly. By posting this stuff about people not being able to find .22 ammo we perpetuate this myth of "shortages". It's idiotic. 22LR ammo is everywhere and easy to find. Perhaps not so in more remote areas of the state where there are less retail options.

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I wouldn't call the Fort Collins and Loveland area remote and it is not easy to find up here unless you are willing to pay $0.10 + per round or buy match ammo.

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Originally Posted by brutal

If you're too lazy to get out to one of the local shops that posted inventory, PSA has Fed automatch 325rd box for $24.99 with free shipping if you buy 4.

http://palmettostatearmory.com/feder...=12%3a00+Deals

That's 0.0768923076923077/rd

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Out of stock

I picked up a few boxes of CCI standard velocity at Cabelas the other day. I havent seen much on the shelf here in Trinidad for quite some time.

BEFORE all the panic started, I had a lot of .22 lr ammo, but I shot a lot also. I would shoot about 1k a day two or three days a week. I bought two cases a month for a couple years and got lucky enough to make it through most of this. I will admit, I traded quite a bit off for gunss and scopes and such. I felt guilty trying to sell it, and what I did trade for, I would ask the amount they wanted first. I always gave them more, but still felt a little guilty.

Something that many people forget to account for is the growth in the number of shooters nationally in the last 10 years. There are unprecedented levels of first time gun owners and documented record-breaking gun sales month after month. I always recommend that new shooters start with a .22LR and work their way up from there. It's also one of the best calibers for teaching youngsters how to shoot safely.

Record demand is indeed keeping it off the shelves in many places, but I believe the reasons for the demand are generally healthy.

We have plenty of .22LR available at MachineGunTours if you guys need it.

alan

https://www.ar-15.co/threads/156692-...9-99-free-ship

I just seen a bunch of 100 packs of good winchester .22 (in plastic trays not cardboard boxes even) at walmart when i was there the other day......but that was in idaho LOL. I almost bought some too, just out of habit.

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Originally Posted by newracer

Out of stock

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Back in stock. As of this morning anyway.

newracer is right about NoCo. Most of the Walmarts haven't had 22LR for so long they don't even have a slot for it in the ammo cabinets anymore and the signs about not having 22s are all dog-eared and worn. Some gun shops might have CCI for a premium and very very rarely will SW have 5 or 10 boxes behind the counter, but never tell anyone so you have to hope and ask. Very nearly all the 22 ammo I have purchased in the last 4 years or so has been online.

This one too.

http://www.basspro.com/Federal-Auto-...ct/1311201402/