the .22 ammo shortage, who are you?

[fatelk]

Yep, stole it and changed it. I think I've heard two or three variations over the years.

[dtknowles]

Maybe you should have put a smiley next to that.


Don't know about you all, but I sure can't afford to let my kids blow through .22 ammo that costs a dime a round. Even if I didn't already have plenty, I just wouldn't buy it.

Brings up another discussion here- lots of different folks from all walks of life and economic means here. Some among us are well-off with the means to drop a hundred bucks for a little plinkin-ammo. Other of us either live on fixed incomes or stretch a paycheck pretty tight raising a family, and just can't.

Reminds me of the guys who say gunpowder is easy to find- you just have to be ready to put $500 for some 8 pound kegs on the credit card the minute it comes in stock. Yea right- five hundred bucks on the credit card, for gunpowder?!? Not in my household, on my paycheck, raising a family.

Nothing against you all who have reached a point in life where you have some disposable income. That's great if you can do that. Just remember that not everyone can.

What would the price have to get down to for you to buy some? If you let the kids shoot the ammo you have it is like shooting dime a round ammo but if you sold it for that, here they would call you a gouger. I guess you could load nickel a round ammo if you cast.

When I had less disposable income I took my time shooting very little blasting. Everything was slow fire. Good time for the lesson "make every shot count".

Tim

[mold maker]

Maybe you should have put a smiley next to that.


Don't know about you all, but I sure can't afford to let my kids blow through .22 ammo that costs a dime a round. Even if I didn't already have plenty, I just wouldn't buy it.

Brings up another discussion here- lots of different folks from all walks of life and economic means here. Some among us are well-off with the means to drop a hundred bucks for a little plinkin-ammo. Other of us either live on fixed incomes or stretch a paycheck pretty tight raising a family, and just can't.

Reminds me of the guys who say gunpowder is easy to find- you just have to be ready to put $500 for some 8 pound kegs on the credit card the minute it comes in stock. Yea right- five hundred bucks on the credit card, for gunpowder?!? Not in my household, on my paycheck, raising a family.

Nothing against you all who have reached a point in life where you have some disposable income. That's great if you can do that. Just remember that not everyone can.

Ya got that right. Retirement isn't always what you looked forward to. I should have been comfortable, but now my dollars are worth less, and the interest rates on money suck.
If I felt like going to the range, the membership is 7 times what it was when I dropped out. Thank God I saw the writing on the wall and stocked up on components. When I cleaned out a safe there were 2 bricks, (Winchester yellow box) I had forgotten, with stickers @ less than $9.

[fatelk]

What would the price have to get down to for you to buy some? If you let the kids shoot the ammo you have it is like shooting dime a round ammo but if you sold it for that, here they would call you a gouger. I guess you could load nickel a round ammo if you cast.

When I had less disposable income I took my time shooting very little blasting. Everything was slow fire. Good time for the lesson "make every shot count".

Tim

Good question, good point. I guess I shouldn't say I would never pay those prices, just that I won't pay scalper prices. I suppose if that was all that was available and likely to ever be available I might, but we sure wouldn't be shooting through bricks.

As far as blasting away, I actually did more blazing away and wasting ammo when I was younger and had less money. I kind of got that out of my system and don't do that any more.

My son on the other hand, likes to just pull the trigger to hear the noise, but he's only 8. We'll practice more as he gets older. I remember when I was a teenager with my first .22 rifle, going out shooting for the afternoon with friends. A single 50rnd box or maybe two would have to last all day, none of this blasting through bricks with "banana clips" stuff until I was older and could buy my own. I think I had just as much fun when we were frugal with the ammo.

[fatelk]

I just realized what you were saying about the .22 ammo I already have being worth a dime a round. That is true, I suppose I could sell it for that (and did sell some last year). I could dump it all for a profit, but I just made the decision that this is for shooting, I already have it and will use it up whenever we want to just as if there was no shortage, and replace it when supply catches up and prices are back to somewhat normal.

I have a similar issue with a bunch of surplus ammo I have- 8mm, 30-06, 7.62x25, etc.. I bought it all a few years back when it was super cheap, and now it's all worth a lot more than I paid. I'm reluctant to shoot it because I won't be able to replace it. Unlike .22, they're not making the old cheap surplus anymore.

[dragon813gt]

I have bought from scalpers. Sure was nice to be shooting on the range instead of sitting on a gun forum griping about people engaging in capitalism.

Quoted for the laughs and the truth. No one is ever happy. I was called a hoarder when I was buying cases of 22 before the shortage. I was called an idiot for buying a brick a week when money was tight and I couldn't afford a case. I have not bought from a scalper because I was prepared. I've been shooting one to two bricks a week this whole time. Haven't sold one box because I bought it for the step daughter and I to shoot up. Want to know what I'm going to do when cases become available again? I'm thinking it's going to be a pallet this time so I have some leverage over cost. Maybe when the next shortage happens I can take advantage of all those people that are forced to pay $50+ per brick. I mean after all, they are being forced to pay those prices while their families are held at gunpoint.

Have I mentioned I find 22 discussions highly amusing?

[fatelk]

Have I mentioned I find 22 discussions highly amusing?

Amusing and enjoyable both I assume, from your level of participation.

Just kidding, of course. I enjoy the discussion too. I've participated in quite a few threads on the subject. Everyone has their opinion on the subject and we all like to talk about it ad infinitum. I think I've inadvertantly irritated a couple people with my opinions, but I honestly mean no disrespect. To each their own; if you need ammo and can afford scalper prices- more power to you. I sure don't mean to sound condescending, judgmental, or moralistic about it.

I also am not a high-volume shooter like some of you guys. My kids are young, so while my son especially likes to empty the magazine, after 50 or 60 rounds he's done. I don't shoot competitively so it's rare that I would shoot through a 50rnd box of .22s myself. It would take me months to go through a brick.

As to hoarding- I was pretty embarrassed when I moved last year. I dug out all my ammo cans from every nook and cranny in storage. One good friend of mine organized a crew of nearly a dozen to come help us load up the moving truck and several even made the 100 mile drive to help on the other end (until then I didn't realize how many good friends we have there).

We got all the ammo cans loaded onto a trailer, and guys were talking and laughing. I was embarrassed and worried that they would think I was some kind of nut survivalist or something (it really was a lot). One guy joked that he'd never seen so much ammo all in one place, even during two tours in Iraq. He laughed at me looking embarrassed and said 'don't worry about it, we're all just jealous!'

I got rid of a fair amount of it last year to help pay for the move, but I still have way more than I need. I have absolutely no problem with people stocking up. I think a whole lot of folks are going to stock up when it starts becoming more available, which of course will affect availability for probably quite a while.

I've had a number of friends and acquaintances ask me about ammo. These are people who in the past would stop at the store on the way to the range to buy a couple boxes for the day. Now they don't want to be caught without at least a couple bricks in the closet. I think it will come back, but yeah, it could still be quite a while before there's any semblance of "normal".

[olafhardt]

One day it dawned me that when I was poor, I thought 50 cents a box was a good price for 22 lr. Now thar l am older and have more than ten times the income, a box for 5 dollars seems like a good deal.

[rking22]

I'm just the oppsite, anything more than 59 cents for 50 seems outragious , yeah, my wife says I need to get with the program too. Rational mine says that when I bought that 59cent ammo I was making $2.25 HR, a gallon of gas was 39cents, and a sundrop was a quarter! Dosen't mean it dosen't hurt my feelings! So I worked about 15 minutes for that box of 50 in 1975, now I should be happy with 10$ a box,..... Not gonna happen. Not when I can load a box of 38s or hornets in less time and for less $$$$.

[Lefty Red]

I would like to see everyone just not buy 22lr ammo for a month or two. That will bring the prices down! Those horders and scalpers will be worried enough to stop. They have bills and Christmas to buy this year.
Jerry

[rking22]

they can send me 22s for Christmas, Used to always get some 22s from Mom an Dad in my stockin!