Getting hard to take this shortage.

[Artful]

Just got an email from Midway
http://www.midwayusa.com/product/355856/norma-usa-match-22-ammunition-22-long-rifle-40-grain-lead-round-nose?cm_mmc=pe_weekly-_-available_now-_-norma_match22_20150513_1-_-Main_Image

Norma USA Match-22 Ammo 22 LR 40 Gr Lead Round Nose
500 round brick for only $87.99

I'm not thinking this is a news worth offering.

[dilly]

What did this Norma Match-22 run before the panic? Sounds like it would not have been cheap even if Sandy Hook never happened.

If you're going to pay out the something or other just to shoot 22, it may as well be because it's high quality stuff instead of because scalpers got there first.

[rbuck351]

A couple of stores in the Anchorage area have had some 22lr on their shelves for some time now. It's Rem/Eley match at only $22.95 per 50. I assume most here are casters and can shoot just about any centerfire cheaper than that. I will park my 22s before paying that much for 22 ammo.

[lefty o]

at $8.79 for a box of 50, i have my doubts as to how good it is for match ammo. good rimfire match ammo is expensive, and this so called shortage has nothing to do with it. good rf match ammo starts around $18 a box of 50 and goes up from there.

[rking22]

Yep, thats why I have a 10meter ISU air pistol instead of the 50meter free pistol I always wanted. Too expensive to feed!

[OuchHot!]

I used to shoot competitively and many that I knew went through 6-10k rounds per year. I do not know how they do it? I can see that the Soros bought and paid for media is pushing the lefties into the White house yet again. I expect the hoarding will continue. My Olympic shooting went to air pistol and rifle. I just could not afford even the relatively cheap cci sv.

[Doc Highwall]

I just bought some Norma Match ammo for $700 a case and shot it this morning and it shot pretty well considering my barrel tuner has been tuned for Federal Gold Medal 1000B at 1080 fps. and the Norma is 1066 fps. The wind was tricky today not making he best conditions and I am planning on shooting it again tomorrow but hope to get to the range before the wind picks up.

[OuchHot!]

Well Doc, that's 14 cents a bang and if it shoots (or your tuner can make it shoot) with the top end rf ammo, that is pretty good! Maybe the major problem is with the cheaper ammo being bid up in price. I have a compressor good to 5kpsi so the pcp airguns are a good option for me. Obviously I could buy lots of ammo for the cost of that compressor but I was into airguns anyway.

The concept of $50 bricks of cheapo rf ammo just galls me.

[dilly]

I wonder if swagers that use the 22 casings to make 22 bullets go crazy over the high end brass like Norma and whatever else there is.

[OuchHot!]

In the era when I went through 5k/yr or more of cci rf standard velocity ammo, a swaging friend said he found it very consistent compared to random range pick ups. I asked if that was because mine was all one lot and brand and he thought so but couldn't get enough of the higher end stuff to be statistically certain. I am not God's gift to precision shooting and find cci sv out shot me more often than the other way around. Even then the high end stuff was near 14 cents a bang. I shot a little win gold and it was far better than I deserved.

[rking22]

My compressor only cost me 185$ , but then it takes 1/4 lb of bacon and 3 eggs to fuel it for a full tankup:)

[OuchHot!]

I still have one of those compressors and have no desire to get rid of it. But I hurt after pumping up a BSA bottle. The 220v version is a lot easier but noisy!

[Doc Highwall]

I have a Anschutz 2002CA that I refill with a 80 cubic foot SCUBA tank with an adapter. I use this in my 10 meter range I have in the basement so I can shoot 24/7 if need be.

I still have a old case of Federal 711B with the dimple in the base that I have shot a lot of 400's out of 400 possible scores with a decent X count that I used for practice because I would have some that would go poop instead of bang and end up with a shot in the 9 ring at 6 o'clock. I am keeping it for barrel warmers for the case of Federal Ultra Match 1000B that I use for real important matches.

The Wolf Match Extra I have shoots great without having to change the tuner and I have shot 100-10X with it if I do my part.

I will be doing so more tests with the barrel tuner as soon as I get some things done around here.

[tja6435]

Gander Mountain website had the 10# bucket o' bullets (1400rd) yesterday for $79.99, free shipping. It sold out in maybe 5 minutes. Just have to keep checking it

[slowlead]

I had bought bulk 22's every time I saw them cheap < 15$ per 500 for years and I still have an ample supply. I refused to participate in the panic buying frenzy, or cash in on panic pricing. If there is a free market would not foreign 22's (Aquilla, etc.) at competitive pricing supplement American manufacturers to a greater extent ? The price of lead, copper and powder does not jibe with this rip off pricing and the continuing shortage does not reflect a free market economy. This stinks of government intervention and collusion by the ammo companies. Cheap 22 rimfire is how most kids learn how to shoot. This is how they destroy the love of firearms in the American culture. But what can we do about it ?

[ravelode]

I have enough .22 ammo for one season of ground squirrel shooting and have not seen any on a store shelf for 10 months, so I'll stick with shooting cast 9mm in my 995 carbine for the foreseeable future.

[xacex]

I have enough .22 ammo for one season of ground squirrel shooting and have not seen any on a store shelf for 10 months, so I'll stick with shooting cast 9mm in my 995 carbine for the foreseeable future.
That is about where I am at. Cheaper now to load and shoot 9mm. I have been casting a bunch of the mihec 359-125 H/P's. I found a great supersonic load, and just loaded my first subsonic load for that bullet that will cycle in a 9mm AR. With a suppressor it is stupid quiet, and would be good for close range plinking sans 50 yards, or a rabbit/squirrel load. I have .22 to feed my guns, but to be honest I would rather not shoot it because of the cost to replace it.

[bangerjim]

Just got an email from Midway
http://www.midwayusa.com/product/355856/norma-usa-match-22-ammunition-22-long-rifle-40-grain-lead-round-nose?cm_mmc=pe_weekly-_-available_now-_-norma_match22_20150513_1-_-Main_Image

Norma USA Match-22 Ammo 22 LR 40 Gr Lead Round Nose
500 round brick for only $87.99

I'm not thinking this is a news worth offering.

Guns Etc has a whole pallet of 22LR's for around $70/500. Drive down to Mesa and save the hazmat fee and keep your $$ in AZ!

banger

[30Carbine]

http://www.natchezss.com/federal-automatch-22-lr-40-gr-sld-rimfire-ammunition-325-box.html. just saying 2 boxes cost 10.00 to ship. that's what about 5 cents a round give or take. I have all I need on hand but some of you do not so.

[Springfield]

70.00/500 is no bargain, that's what the scalpers were asking last year.

[bangerjim]

70.00/500 is no bargain, that's what the scalpers were asking last year.

No where did I SAY it was any bargain! Horrible price. But so is the price Art found on line!

22's are totally off the wall. I see them at gun shows for as much as 0.18/round! They are still there!

I have enough from the goode olde daze of $18/555 brick from WalMart.

[xacex]

No where did I SAY it was any bargain! Horrible price. But so is the price Art found on line!

22's are totally off the wall. I see them at gun shows for as much as 0.18/round! They are still there!

I have enough from the goode olde daze of $18/555 brick from WalMart.
$12.95 in 2012 at Bimart for 525 RGB's. Still have a few bricks. The limit was 4 so I made a few trips over the last sale they had. Glad I did.

[Artful]

I miss Bimart - Wallymart ain't in the same league. What's Bimart's current pricing like?

[khmer6]

The lowest I've seen this year has been just under 5 cents per round to my door. Even then I felt like I was being ripped off lol

[xacex]

I miss Bimart - Wallymart ain't in the same league. What's Bimart's current pricing like?
When they get them about $18 a box to $25 a box depending on brand. Everyone out here knows the people behind the counter, and the day they come in so they don't last long. I don't think they make it on the shelf most times. Shoot, I walk by the the sporting goods section they spot me and say "no powder,no .22 today" as I walk by the counter. To bad they don't deliver on "lucky number Tuesday." I have to make two trips a week to check my number, and check for powder or .22's. Last week they had W296 on the shelf. I have not seen that out here since 2012.

[Doc Highwall]

Lets not confuse plinking ammo with match ammo at $70 a brick. The first time in a small-bore match where a 400 score with 40X's is a perfect score, and I shot my personal best a 400 with 37X's, I came in 3rd place.........yes 3rd place. The person who won it said welcome to the ammo chase.

A good small-bore match rifle like my Anschutz costs $3700.00 on sale today
http://www.championshooters.com/index.php?option=com_virtuemart&view=productdetails&virtuemart_product_id=14&virtuemart_category_id=184&Itemid=111

and this is without sights, now add all the other equipment and the cost is well over $6000.00.
Match entry fees are not cheap either and the last thing I would want to do is handicap/sabotage myself by shopping for the cheapest ammo to shoot.

I only shot a 398-28X's and came in 9th last week, you need a 400 with 30 something X's to win, and you need the best ammo you can find that your gun likes. My problem is the last time I was competing was in 2002 and I have had 10 surgeries since then, three on my spine and on my left shoulder and I shoot left handed being blind in my right eye. The last match I caused one shot to go out and the wind caught me and the shooter next to me at the same time.

The surgeries may have slowed me down but they have not stopped me.

If you see what it cost a High-Power shooter for his ammo even loading it himself the cost per round is at least .27 cents a bullet and .03 a primer, now add the cost of powder and the cost of the case divided by the number of firings that they can get out of each case. The barrel life of a High-power rifle is much shorter than a Small-Bore rifle. The High-Power shooter will be lucky to get 10,000 rounds out of their barrel, and a Small-Bore shooter can get well over 100,000 and even closer to 200,000 rounds of barrel life.

The Federal Gold Medal Match ammo I bought in 1998 cost $650 a case dealer cost, or $65 a brick then which worked out to .13 a shot then. The price of $700 a case works out to .14 cents a shot and with the shipping is rounded up to .15 cents a shot, and if your rifle shoots it very well I would buy as much as I could.

Yesterday I tested the Norma Match ammo and it shot very well, tomorrow I will test it again before making a decision of buying another 2 cases. I have to be sure of my hold and follow through to make a decision for using this for matches, absolutely no problem of using it for practice. Some of the other ammo I have shoots just under 15/16 inch out side to out side for 20 shots at 100 yards.

The shooting I do is laying down on the ground prone with a sling on a shooting mat, both scope and iron sights.

[Artful]

Doc Highwall
I'm not confusing anything
Norma USA Match-22 Ammo 22 LR 40 Gr Lead Round Nose
500 round brick for only $87.99 - may be a good buy these days for match
If your gun likes it - $70.00 for plinking isn't a good buy

I'm not happy when stores don't get in plinking at a decent price only offer you Match ammo at 3 times the price.

Or worse plinking ammo at the cost of match...

[dtknowles]

$70 a brick does not sound high for match ammo. I have paid upwards of $10 for 50 for a few brands just to test. I think I paid $12 for 50 disappointing Remington Eley rounds. It might be fine ammo but did not shoot as well as Wolf Match in my guns.

Tim

[Doc Highwall]

Artful, I am not saying you are confusing anything but I think others are missing the point between Match ammo and regular plinking ammo. The Norma USA Match ammo is what I bought for $70 a brick not the $87.99 from Midway.

Just a warning about buying 22 ammo from Midway, a friend of mine ordered a case from them and he received 100 boxes of 50 rounds each from at least 3 different lots. Midway separates the cases and the 500 round bricks into individual 50 round boxes so the lots are mixed up which is no good for match shooters. He did complain to Midway and they said that is the way they do it.

[bobob]

When I was a lad I vowed to never be short of .22s so I bought many and stacked 'em when I was young. In 1946 .22 shorts were ten cents the box of 50, but mowing yards only paid two bits, but it was silver. I shot a bolt action single shot, a Remington model 41 Targetmaster. It took me all summer to earn the $6.00 I paid for it. Over the years I laid in many thousands of rounds for very little money. I've still got a bunch. And then the commies took over our government.

Next, I bought lead and wheel weights by the ton and, of course, molds for the good stuff (.45 ACP, .44mag and a few .38s) not counting primers and powder for my rifles (all big bore that shoot heavy cast boolits). I don't own a weapon (other than my .22) unless it shoots heavy stuff well. That is, it'll kill anything that walks.

Good shooting, and lay in primers and powder. You all got the rest.

This is nothing new, you all have done the same, brass by the barrel, etc. Primers and powder for a pistol cost less than a .22. Back in the day I scrounged most of my lead, wheel weights and linotype.

Labor?

What's time to a hog?

Doc Burgess

[tazman]

I purchased a brick of Norma match from a "local" sporting goods store a few weeks ago and paid $78 for it. It was the only trustworthy 22lr ammo they had.
Since I am using it for target league shooting in my pistol, I didn't feel too bad about it.
So far(about 3 boxes into it) I am pleased with it. It shoots much better than I do in my gun. If I am on target and do my job the bullet hits the center. What more can you ask?

[crazy mark]

a guy at the last show had boxes/bricks for $.10 a round. 222 rounds = 22.20 333 rounds = 33.30 and 500 rounds = 50.00. Asked him why should I pay that price when I could load my 222 for less than $.05 a round and have the same FPS and power. Dumb look time. But wait primers are $35 per K. Told him not the ones I have at $13 per K that I bought many years ago and stockpiled.

[CITYREPO61]

I too am just shooting cast 38's instead of 22's. My kids seem to enjoy it just as much.

[SeabeeMan]

It's around, but it takes some patience. I've picked up a few thousand over the last few months just here and there as it comes in stock or I stumble across. I'm talking bulk packs of anything I can get and not being picky, but I won't pay more than .07 per round. Some of it has been from product notification on Midway, occasional checking on Cabela's, or just dumb luck in gun stores, both big box and LGS alike.

As a ray of hope, the new LGS/indoor range near me had so much Federal AutoMatch that they were advertising it on Facebook. I didn't feel like a 45 minute drive, one way, to get some but figured I'd check the place out a week later. They still had a pile and I picked up 2 at $17/325.

[RogerDat]

I don't think there is a shortage in terms of production. Plenty of 22's being produced but all the 5 cent a round stuff is being scooped up by scalpers or people that have been having a hard time finding any for awhile. Human nature and economics.

Ability to buy for 5 cents and sell for at least 10 cents, maybe more makes scalping a good economic decision. Anyone that has been looking all over for 22's at a reasonable price that finds them in the store at non-scalper prices will purchase the limit in order to avoid the hassle they had finding this supply.

Last gun show at least 10' of table covered with 22's might even have been two 8' tables with probably no more than 5 boxes of any brand/quantity/package. Clearly the results of scrounging what ever they could wherever they could. Come to think of it a lot of items had three of each. A common store limit. Prices were right around double what they are at Walmart and sporting good stores.

Want to guess where the 80 cent a round green tip 223 was for sale? I would do whatever I could to avoid supporting these scalpers. They have a right to charge what they want, I have a right to boycott those sales. Rather buy what is available from those that treat me decent and do without.

22's were always how we kept the kids and grandkids from shooting us into the poor house in one day. They could plink away burning through the rimfire stuff and they would get some center fire stuff for dessert when the older family members were shooting it. The plus side of this is always kept a pretty good supply of 22's on hand. And the kids are all grown, lot of the grand kids too so it should last for awhile.

[salpal48]

well guys Get used to it. These are the new prices. . weather @ your LGS, big stores or Gun shows. These prices are here to stay. aslong as everybody Buys them Up the prices will stay high. supply and demand.
Remember The gas shortage saying" Nobody's going to pay over $1 for a gallon of gas". you will pay, and pay, and pay.

[khmer6]

well guys Get used to it. These are the new prices. . weather @ your LGS, big stores or Gun shows. These prices are here to stay. aslong as everybody Buys them Up the prices will stay high. supply and demand.
Remember The gas shortage saying" Nobody's going to pay over $1 for a gallon of gas". you will pay, and pay, and pay.
+1 new price I forsee is at least 5 cents a round bottom of the barrel. There's only one direction. Remember buying AKs and SKS by the crates cuz they were so cheap and no one thought twice that they would go for over 150 a piece. In just glad primers have at least returned to normal pricing and still can catch a sale now and then. Powder is what reapply scares me. The cost per round isn't that much, but the 1# cans have shot up. 8# kegs have only increased a little bit but pistol powder still rare

[trapper9260]

well guys Get used to it. These are the new prices. . weather @ your LGS, big stores or Gun shows. These prices are here to stay. aslong as everybody Buys them Up the prices will stay high. supply and demand. Remember The gas shortage saying" Nobody's going to pay over $1 for a gallon of gas". you will pay, and pay, and pay. How true and it is a new way of life now.I got some 22lr before all of this started I use on the trap line and when I start to get to so many I will save them for the gun that shoot them and go with center fire in 32 S&W or 32ACP for the trap line in my 327 BH . I say stock up on what ever you need for reloading and ride it out after.But look for deals when they show it will not be like the price of ages ago but it is a new way of life now.For how I been seeing it .

[dtknowles]

Yes, .22LR seems to be over priced but it does not seem right to compare 22 LR to reloads. I think that a more appropriate comparison would be to other non-reloadable factory ammo or just to factory bullets. What is the cheapest .223 bullet (component) and what does it cost, my guess you will have a hard time finding bullets under 5 cents a piece and primers are around 3 cents a piece so 8 cents seems almost reasonable and you still have to assemble them. Cheapest loaded ammo I could find that was not .22 LR was going for over 15 cents a round.

I wonder, is there any cheap Mil Surp ammo to be had anywhere, under 15 cents a round?

I know that this is a cast bullet site but right now I have more money than time so I can cast or I can shoot and I enjoy shooting way more.

Tim