Here's a good reason to cast your own!

[Jayhawkhuntclub]

$3.99/50 22 LR Thunderbolts! :shock: Remington Thunderbolts?!?! Plus shipping. And that's the sale price! That's double what I can load 9mm for.

http://palmettostatearmory.com/remington-22lr-40gr-rn-high-velocity-500rd-brick.html?trk_msg=Q505F5819RIKRESPBIKHP0R3LK&trk_contact=CSVHIU1CAHQSQ7AQLGCVAQRD6S&utm_source=Listrak&utm_medium=email&utm_term=http%3a%2f%2fpalmettostatearmory.com%2fre mington-22lr-40gr-rn-high-velocity-500rd-brick.html&utm_campaign=Weekend+Deals+on+22LR+Ammo%2c+Ruger+L CP+Handgun%2c+Ruger+10%2f22+Rifle

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

A Natchez email arrived thursday, it said, "Rimfire in stock".
The cheapest listed was CCI for $3.99/50

[Shiloh]

The days of cheap 22's seem to be over.

SHiloh

[Blammer]

even when thunderbolt was available and cheap, I'd not buy it because it sucked.

[Leadmelter]

My dad bought me my first box of 22 LR for my single shot Westernfield rifle for 39 cents. Fifteen minutes later they were gone and I was hooked.
Leadmelter
MI

[runfiverun]

well that ain't on sale.
I have got some Winchester 333 packs for 17.99 at the wal-mart.
that's around 5.4 cents each.
or slightly more than my cast loads cost.

[dragon813gt]

even when thunderbolt was available and cheap, I'd not buy it because it sucked.

Same here. Hard the believe but they are worse than Golden Bullets.

[TXGunNut]

I thought this nonsense would have been over long ago. Must admit I was wrong, very wrong. Good thing I don't shoot much .22.

[RogerDat]

Meijers had CI (made in Mexico) at $5.99 for 50 while online these go for $54 per 500 round brick. These are the first Wal-Mart / Meijers boxes of 22 LR that I have seen since I saw a box of those 333 round Winchesters at Wal-Mart for about the $18 price mentioned above. That would be it for about the last year.

I see them for sale in stores from time to time, mostly at a price of at least $12 per 100 and I'm just not interested. Like someone else said I can load something else for near that price. Too bad I have not come across a bolt action in 38 special. But hey lever action works too and costs less to shoot than .22 LR

[Butchman205]

I used to practice with .22's to improve my shooting skills with a cheaper option. Then .22's got expensive.

Now I cast everything I shoot. Since I'm actually plinking with 9mm, 38's, 40 S&W, 45 acp, and 45 Colt...I've gotten waaaaay better at shooting all of those.

If I have to defend myself from a herd of squirrels I'm screwed. I can't shoot my .22's nearly as well.

But with my 38's, 9's, 40's, 45 acp & colts...I'm printing little bitty groups a lot farther out than I used to.

Casting your own is the way to go.

And since I live in rural Alabama, I have a 20" gong set up 35 yards from my front door...which I shoot 2-3 times per week.

It's amazing how practicing with your primary carry guns instead of 22's...increases your skill with your primary carry guns!!!

The initial investment for casting your own isn't that steep, and you can increase the quality, efficiency, and shooting costs savings with incremental upgrades of your casting and loading equipment.

Casting and loading your own is definitely a cost saver. And now I've gotten to the point that I enjoy casting and loading, about as much as actually shooting.

It's a win-win!

[JeffinNZ]

How much are you paying for small rifle/pistol primers? A plain base bullet in a .22 Hornet is looking cheap with only 2-4gr of powder.

[6bg6ga]

I used to buy 22's for 50 cents a box when I was young.

[Hickok]

even when thunderbolt was available and cheap, I'd not buy it because it sucked.My feelings also.

[6bg6ga]

At a recent gun show I saw 45LC priced at $50 on up. It once more assured me that all the money I have in reloading equipment was indeed a good investment. When the recent ammunition crunch hit I was glad I had my Ballisti-cast Mark IV bullet caster and two sizers one each Star and Magma.

[Garyshome]

"If I have to defend myself from a herd of squirrels I'm screwed", I have a dog that handles that squirrel problem for me.
Pick up a pellet gun, maybe a Gammo, pellets are cheap. Maybe a 9mm carbine to replace your 22 lr.

[Shiloh]

even when thunderbolt was available and cheap, I'd not buy it because it sucked.

Yep.

Shiloh

[dragon813gt]

How much are you paying for small rifle/pistol primers? A plain base bullet in a .22 Hornet is looking cheap with only 2-4gr of powder.

Prices range from $20-$40 per thousand by me. Average is $30. So at $.03 a primer it's the most expensive component, if you have the brass, to load a round like the 22 Hornet.

[osteodoc08]

even when thunderbolt was available and cheap, I'd not buy it because it sucked.

I've been buying 22 ammo when the prices are 8-9 cents a round or less. I actually passed on the ThunderDuds the other day when there was a shelf of them. I guess I could have bought some to keep, just incase.......

[44man]

Seen CCI Blue tag's at the store, $21 plus change for 100.
I have not checked yet but a friend has been buying from Academy.com. He bought a 200 round box of A17 ammo cheaper then .22's. I have to check them out.
It costs me $10 per 100 to load full .44 mag ammo. $13 for .500 JRH.
It was not long ago that 550 round boxes of Fed bulk was $8.

[C. Latch]

The .22lr crunch never hurt me, because I just don't shoot .22s much, and I had a lifetime supply before the crunch even started.

Problem is, my lifetime supply was for *my* lifetime. Now I have a daughter about to turn 5, one that just turned 3, and a son on the way.

I have a twofold plan to deal with this; I need to be buying .22lr whenever I find it (hoarding, making the shortage worse, I know) but more than that I need to be looking into .38 or 9mm rifles. Even on a single-stage press I can churn those out pretty quickly and eventually I'll need to get a progressive press for those two calibers. I have enough powder to feed them for a nice long time.

[Sasquatch-1]

A little perspective. I shoot with some guys who shoot 22 rim fire for accuracy. They pay anywhere from $15.00 to $25.00 for fifty rounds. At 50 yds. they can pick off a house fly when it lands on the target. BTW, I don't hang with them when they're shooting these. I'll keep plugging away with the cheap(er) stuff.

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

How much are you paying for small rifle/pistol primers? A plain base bullet in a .22 Hornet is looking cheap with only 2-4gr of powder.
Cabela's has the best price on primers, in my area, they have had winchester and CCI priced at $29.99 per 1k for most of the last year, once in a while they have them on sale for $27.99 and many times they have a coupon for $20 off of a $100 purchase...making a purchase of 4 bricks about $23 per 1K during that sale (then add about $2 tax per 1K).

[Jayhawkhuntclub]

Yeah, lately I've been getting primers at Cableas (of all places) for under $25/1000. But since 2012, I've probably averaged a bit under $30/1000.
BTW, here is my answer to the cost of 22lr: ar9. Okay, it may take me a little time to pay off the price of the build, but...
http://i217.photobucket.com/albums/cc150/Jayhawkhuntclub/IMG_1405_zpsvfvogtk8.jpg (http://s217.photobucket.com/user/Jayhawkhuntclub/media/IMG_1405_zpsvfvogtk8.jpg.html)

[Guesser]

in 1978 I did a calculation on loading 38 Special versus shooting 22 LR. I was able to cast and load 38 Special cheaper than I could buy 22 Long Rifle. Rimfire hasn't been fun since.

[Handloader109]

I've only been buying a few 22s lately due to buying my wife and daughter a Walther ppq 22 for them to get comfortable with shooting. I had a couple of hundred rounds of various brands from the early 1980s. (paid $1.68 for 50 and I found a tray of 100 cci that was $3.59) oh well, I paid $4.99 for some Mexican stuff at Academy and $7 to $9.99 per 50 for some English stuff at cabelas. But I won't be buying any more than what they will be using. I can cast and shoot 9mm too cheaply

[dverna]

The .22lr crunch never hurt me, because I just don't shoot .22s much, and I had a lifetime supply before the crunch even started.

Problem is, my lifetime supply was for *my* lifetime. Now I have a daughter about to turn 5, one that just turned 3, and a son on the way.

I have a twofold plan to deal with this; I need to be buying .22lr whenever I find it (hoarding, making the shortage worse, I know) but more than that I need to be looking into .38 or 9mm rifles. Even on a single-stage press I can churn those out pretty quickly and eventually I'll need to get a progressive press for those two calibers. I have enough powder to feed them for a nice long time.

Yep....
One reason I am looking at the Ruger M77 in .357/.38. I have thousands of .38 Spl cases and can reload for less than .22's.

One other nice thing is that with full power .357 loads it would be a decent short range deer rifle. Nothing better than hunting with your plinking rifle.

Even thought about opening it up to a .357 Max. It would be interesting to find a 200 gr load for it that would shoot to the same POI as say a 158 gr in the .357. First shot would be a mini-thumper and the magazine would hold standard .357's.

[robg]

Over here .22 magazine 500 is £35, primers £39 a 1000.gas checks the same .

[Sasquatch-1]

Here are links to some hand loading calculators. Plug in the numbers and it gives you the cost.

http://www.trapshooters.com/pages/rlcalcadv/


http://ultimatereloader.com/tools/reloading-costs-calculator/


http://www.handloads.com/calc/loadingCosts.asp



in 1978 I did a calculation on loading 38 Special versus shooting 22 LR. I was able to cast and load 38 Special cheaper than I could buy 22 Long Rifle. Rimfire hasn't been fun since.

[Butchman205]

How much are you paying for small rifle/pistol primers? A plain base bullet in a .22 Hornet is looking cheap with only 2-4gr of powder.

A year or so ago, good friend gave me some (old but stored properly) CCI-12k of small pistol primers and 14k of large pistol primers. They are the old white boxes with red and green printing. He doesn't load, and I gave him some 223 plinkers for his generosity.

I haven't eaten half of them up yet, and no misfires as of yet. I don't use them for defensive loads, just plinkers only...but every single one has performed flawlessly.

Another older family member gave me a good mess of powder he doesn't use much anymore...so I'm pretty much loading for free. Anytime either of those guys need some plinkers...they find a pretty good size bag of them dropped off.

Nothing like good friends!

[gwpercle]

I thought this nonsense would have been over long ago. Must admit I was wrong, very wrong. Good thing I don't shoot much .22.

I thought so also.....what has me worried is if ms clinton politics her way into office ( voters do not elect the president ) the shortages and prices will be astronomical. And don't think it can't happen.

[Tenbender]

When I was a kid I bought 22's at a local country store for a cent a piece. Don't know how much a box was. Never had that much money !

[dtknowles]

................... I have a 20" gong set up 35 yards from my front door...which I shoot 2-3 times per week................



I can't be reading this right, sounds like a waste of ammo. How could you miss?

Tim

[Butchman205]

I can't be reading this right, sounds like a waste of ammo. How could you miss?

Tim

You're correct. I hardly ever miss...I shoot groups top, bottom, right, left, center...then shoot groups between those. It's a steel gong and I spray it with bright orange marking paint, then it looks very similar to a shoot-n-see when hit.

But when I do miss where I'm aiming, I can see where it strikes...

Sorry if it seems too easy for you, but it works for me.

Butch

[dtknowles]

You're correct. I hardly ever miss...I shoot groups top, bottom, right, left, center...then shoot groups between those. It's a steel gong and I spray it with bright orange marking paint, then it looks very similar to a shoot-n-see when hit.

But when I do miss where I'm aiming, I can see where it strikes...

Sorry if it seems too easy for you, but it works for me.

Butch

That makes more sense.

Tim

[Big Boomer]

Not every .22 LR pistol likes the same ammo ... Way back in the '80s I had a used Ruger Mk. I and it shot Remington Thunderbolt better than any ammo available and it was all cheap enough then that I tried them all. An old friend (and college buddy) and I were out shooting at glass beer bottles we picked up along the strip mine roads and threw out on a frozen-over strip mine lake one day in southern Ohio. He said you shoot until you miss and then I'll shoot until I miss. I went through 4 magazines and never missed a bottle. We had to throw out more bottles and he took his turn and never missed a bottle. He insisted that he was buying that pistol from me that day and I sold it to him for $ 200. New ones at the time were only about $ 150. Thunderbolt was dirty and cheap then but it shot very well from that pistol. Big Boomer

[djgoings]

I've had Federal American Eagle 22lr, 40g solid ammo on back order at MidSouth Shooters Supply for over 3 years. Last Friday I got an email stating 50 boxes (50 rounds/box) had arrived in stock. They wanted to know if they should ship the 2500 rounds or wait for the balance to arrive. I instructed them to ship the 2500 rounds. They honored the $1.89/box of 50 price. With shipping just over 4.2 cents/round.

[Jack Stanley]

The .22lr crunch never hurt me, because I just don't shoot .22s much, and I had a lifetime supply before the crunch even started.

Problem is, my lifetime supply was for *my* lifetime. Now I have a daughter about to turn 5, one that just turned 3, and a son on the way.

I have a twofold plan to deal with this; I need to be buying .22lr whenever I find it (hoarding, making the shortage worse, I know) but more than that I need to be looking into .38 or 9mm rifles. Even on a single-stage press I can churn those out pretty quickly and eventually I'll need to get a progressive press for those two calibers. I have enough powder to feed them for a nice long time.

Time to teach the oldest one how to pull the handle on the press while keeping her fingers out of the way huh?

Jack

[unique]

I used to buy 22's for 50 cents a box when I was young.


Me too but could only afford to buy one box but that was good for an afternoon of fun.