.22 ammo availability

[Mk42gunner]

I was in the Academy store in Belton, MO yesterday, and they had more .22 ammo than I have seen in years. Several different types, and decent quantities on the shelves.

They even had my favorite squirrel and raccoon load the CCI .22 Short HP. I did almost have a heart attack at the cost $13 something for a box of 100.

Now to get my new pup accustomed to gunfire; he already likes to tree squirrels, doesn't bark treed though.

Robert

[schutzen-jager]

only thing available here still is exorbitant priced from scalpers

[Der Gebirgsjager]

The big distributors like Midway, Sportsman's Guide, and J&G Sales seem to have an abundance of .22 ammo in stock now. Just yesterday one of them sent me a e-mail ad of 325 Federals for $20. Now if it was 500 for $15 we'd be getting back to pre-shortage days. :coffeecom

DG

[sparky45]

Just checked on Ammoseek for my favorite, Norma Tac 22 and a vendor there had it for $29.90 a brick plus shipping.

[uscra112]

I'm now going to need therapy to get over my fear that "if I shoot it, can I ever replace it?".

[Mk42gunner]

The sad thing is with high priced ammo we probably wont be seeing tons of new shooters in the future.

I can remember buying lots off .22 ammo for between $8 and $20 a brick. Even more likely was a 50 round box of ammo on sale for less than a dollar.

Of course I started working for the neighboring 84 year old farmer when I was twelve for $2.00 an hour. 1976 or so. I learned lot of stuff from Harve over the next few years.

Robert

[farmbif]

I'm still waiting for armscor 5000 case for $129 with free shipping and winchester 555 boxes and 500 dynapoints for $19.97 and minimag 100box for $7.99, thats what they were last time I stocked up before the election. I dont think I'll ever see cci quiets for $25 a brick from midway ever again. its just like the price of batteries, 3 or 4 years ago, I could buy a 1000cca battery for the $79 with 3 year warranty now the cheapest ones are about the $140-150

[uscra112]

Batteries! I priced a new one for my 2009 Explorer a couple of weeks ago. I think that's why I'm now wearing a heart monitor.

[MrWolf]

I'm now going to need therapy to get over my fear that "if I shoot it, can I ever replace it?".

Yup. I did stock up with a bit of 22 LR and 22 Mag for around four cents and six cents (I think). I should be good but that thought is always in the back of my head.

[uscra112]

I've got bricks going back to the first Clinton administration. Those are the ones I would treasure most if they weren't Thunderbolts. Stickers say $13 a brick. *sigh*

[Shawlerbrook]

The Walmart’s I frequent here in Central NYS have had 22 RF for a few months now.

[Budzilla 19]

Walmart here has Remington 1440 count buckets for $86+ tax. Get em while ya still can, I guess.

[Half Dog]

I stocked up on the cheap stuff on a Black Friday sale. They will probably be listed in my will.

[15meter]

I can beat you all. Late 60's, I'd give my next door neighbor $3.15 when he was leaving for work at the Chevy transmission plant in Toledo. He was a setup man on second shift. Next day I'd have a brand new brick of Federal shorts to run through the Glenfield.

Problem is, I was making 50¢ an hour for every hour I spent behind the wheel on a tractor in the field.

And 0¢ per hour when I was helping grinding cattle feed, feeding and bedding the cattle and chickens. And gather eggs. And gather eggs. And gather eggs. 700 to 900 layers every year. Then wash eggs.

Then stamp each carton with farm name, size and grade. It's not just for advertising, it's the law.

Then fill the cartons. Never had to grade or candle the eggs, that was Dad's job.

But did listen to a whole lot of Ernie Harwell and the Tigers.

Glad I stocked up WELL from 2016-2019.

Still not that expensive, if I was still working, I suspect I could find a job that wouldn't take me 6 plus hours to buy a brick of shorts.

And all the sporting goods stores shelves in SE Michigan are groaning with about any 22 ammo you could want and the prices are coming down.

[Handloader109]

Prices are slowly coming down. Decent supply, you can find at academy and gun stores. Buy really not cheap. Nothing is. I do laser engraving, two or three years ago I felt bad about charging $10 or $15 to engrave an item or two. Now it's $20 to do anything. And I don't feel bad at all.

[uscra112]

I can beat you all. Late 60's, I'd give my next door neighbor $3.15 when he was leaving for work at the Chevy transmission plant in Toledo. He was a setup man on second shift. Next day I'd have a brand new brick of Federal shorts to run through the Glenfield.

Since you put it that way, I can tell the story of riding bicycles down to the village in the mid-50s, (I would have been about 10), to buy shorts with pooled allowance money to run through a cousin's bolt-action single shot. 50 cents a box if I remember right. No silly age restrictions back then.

[FrankJD]

Seems like the good ol' dayze might just turn out to be today.

[greenwart]

i don't know what I am more nostalgic about , cheap 22lr prices or Ernie Harwell on the radio. My grandmother would listen to the game everyday. I knew the world was changing for the worse when they fired him for not being hip enough and selling more stuff. How can you fire a Hall of Fame announcer who has worked for you for 40+ years. No Class. I do miss getting CCI target loads for $1.35/50 also.

[Edward]

What Frank JD said ,and the smart ones will buy all they can afford and then some they can't /Ed

[GhostHawk]

Was in our local fleet farm, looked at the .22lr but decided I had enough. I did buy 100 rounds of Federal .22mag at a decent price.

[15meter]

Since you put it that way, I can tell the story of riding bicycles down to the village in the mid-50s, (I would have been about 10), to buy shorts with pooled allowance money to run through a cousin's bolt-action single shot. 50 cents a box if I remember right. No silly age restrictions back then.

But that was back in the day when the hardware store had dynamite sitting on the shelf, just in case you had a stump that needed launching.

Think about the handringing that would go on today over that.

[dtknowles]

Yeah, I remember $10 bricks and $1 boxes of .22's. Had to sign for them saying I was using them in a rifle. Probably 1974 ish.

I can afford more ammo than I am willing to store. I got the stuff coming out my ears along with powder, lead, tin, zinc, primers, bullets, brass, sulfur, charcoal, saltpeter, what have you. I have sold some stuff when prices were really high but I never gouged anyone. Prices were high because some things were hard to find so I was helping them out.

Tim

[gc45]

Lucky me, for having two or three lifetimes of Blazer all bought back in the early 1990's. Back then, we had a hardware store that ordered it for us at really cheap prices by the pallet size so several of us guys got together and bought several fearing price rises from the Clintons. The sad part is, I have no large pistol primers but a few so rather than shooting them up, I have switched to 22 shooting and having fun! Also, my Air Arms pellet rifle that has sat for years but now getting used every day. Thinking to get another air rifle but one I can fill from a scuba tank this time.

[dtknowles]

Lucky me, for having two or three lifetimes of Blazer all bought back in the early 1990's. Back then, we had a hardware store that ordered it for us at really cheap prices by the pallet size so several of us guys got together and bought several fearing price rises from the Clintons. The sad part is, I have no large pistol primers but a few so rather than shooting them up, I have switched to 22 shooting and having fun! Also, my Air Arms pellet rifle that has sat for years but now getting used every day. Thinking to get another air rifle but one I can fill from a scuba tank this time.

Instead of a scuba tank I use a compressor that runs off a 12 volt motorcycle battery. It charges my 9mm PCP pretty quickly. I looked into the scuba tank thing and the price to fill it and keep it certified so that someone would fill it was going to cost more than the compressor and the compressor and battery are lighter than the scuba tank.
Tim

[uscra112]

There are 12v compressors that will go high enough to fully charge the gun? Tell me more.

[dtknowles]

There are 12v compressors that will go high enough to fully charge the gun? Tell me more.

Sadly for me the price has come down quite a bit, I paid more than this but you see, good to fill to 4500 psi.

https://www.vevor.com/pcp-air-compressor-c_10037/vevor-pcp-air-compressor-pcp-compressor-12v-4500-psi-air-rifle-pump-30mpa-p_010181264195?utm_source=bing&utm_medium=cpc&utm_term=&utm_campaign=PLA-PC%E4%BD%8E-US-All-API-ecpc-20211122-mxy-0928%E6%94%B9%E4%BC%98%E5%85%88%E7%BA%A7&msclkid=446fa595ba621590ce93c1d08cf16c8f&utm_content=Ad%20group%20%231

Tim

[uscra112]

I'll be.....would have thought it wasn't practical. Almost make me want to buy a PCP air rifle now. (As if I didn't have too much on my plate already.)

[rbuck351]

Looks like I can now afford an electric pump. I don't use my pcp as much as I would like because of the manual pump. Thank you dtknowles.

[Shawlerbrook]

Stock up if you are not already. For sure it will disappear again and the price ain’t going down.

[rockrat]

Heck, I can remember $69 for a case of 22 lr. Sadly, all gone. I had a Contender that just loved that cheap Remington stuff. My Ruger MKI really liked that Imperial 22 stuff (C-I-L industries--Canadian ). All long gone.

Stopped by the local farm and ranch store last week and found some Winchester segmented hyper velocity stuff on sale. Not quite half price, but close. Bought a box to try out.

[jimlj]

There is quite a bit on the shelves at wallyworld in Mesquite NV. The price on Federal Auto Match has dropped a bit over the last month or so. A lot of people don't like it, I do. I'v shot thousands of rounds over the winter with very few duds. Some of the guys I shoot with have as much or more problems with other brands, some of it the "good stuff".

[bedbugbilly]

A year or so before the "Bamarama" shortage, a friend and I started shooting 22s frequently - I hadn't done it in years since I was a kid. I even bought a couple of new rifles and pistols - then the shortage hit. We got sick and tired of getting up early, going up to Tucson to stand in line for a number and then wait our number to be called and hopefully be able to buy some 22 ammo at Sportsmans Warehouse. Numerous times, one box was allowed per customer and by the time our number was called, all the boxes were gone. The last time we did it, my only choice left was a 100 count box of CCI 22 shorts - which I bought even though my pistols/fifles needed LR. I had a Henry lever gun back un Michigan so I took them back there to shoot small critters on the farm. Frustrated, mad and generally PO'd, I parked all of my 22s and eventually sold some of them. Heck, I could load 38s and 9mm cast for way less than the super inflated prices of the 22s.

Flash ahead to now. I'm 79 + years old. I'm not in the best of health and my eyesight isn't the best either. But a little personal reflection on life makes a person realize that life is to short and you can either sit around and complain or make each day count and enjoy things. Yes - I wish it was like it was when I was a kid and I could go to the hardware store and buy 22 ammo at a penny a round - but those days are long gone - as are the days of loading cast 38s and 9mm for less than 22 ammo costs because now, primers and powder are at inflated prices.

Before we left AZ to come back to MI for the summer, I counted up what 22 ammo I had there and then what I have here in MI - about 1,200 rounds - 1,200 rounds that I "saved" because I didn't know if or when I could replace it. I started looking online and MidwayUSA had Federal Match on sale in case lots and Midsouth had Aguila on sale in case lots. Yep, I know - some folks like these brands and some folks curse 'em - but personally, I am a "plinker" and don't shoot competition. I'm not one who blamed blame a lot of rounds in a hurry and I only "compete" with myself - hoping the next shot is better than the last, but if it isn't, oh well. I like to shoot at various odd distances and enjoy taking out cans and such things as dum dum suckers.

I ended up buying 2 cases of Federal Match and 3 cases of Aguila - a total if 12,500 rounds and each came out to 7 cents a round. Yes - 7 times what I used to pay for 22 ammo per round when I was a kid - but hey, I'm 7 times older than I was back then. I can live with the 7 cents a round for plinking ammo and I'll finally be able to shoot the 22s I have without worrying about having ammo. I have a Henry Frontier model that I picked up that was NIB a couple of years ago at a super cheap price - before we left AZ, I bought a Ruger 10.22 from a friend at a very fair price (his Dad gave him all of his guns and he already had one) - and I can finally shoot my Dad's coveted Winchester Model 63 without feeling guilty about using up my once dwindling supply of ammo. So life is good for the moment.

If there is one thing that I have learned through the years though, it is that the wind can blow in two directions - and it can change directions in a heartbeat. The way this country is so screwed up right now, I have no illusions about future shortages nor prices inflating - it is strictly a question of :when"' Just as a person try to put money away for a rainy day, it is worth trying to do the same with ammo if you hunt or just enjoy shooting. Just my humble thoughts.

[Kestrel4k]

Good post, thank you.

[jimlj]

bbb, I also remember 1 cent ammo. When it was 1 cent, I had to work an hour to buy a 50 round box. Before retiring I could buy over 4 boxes of 325 round Federal auto match for an hour of easier labor. Heck, the burger flippers at McD's can buy 3 50 round boxes for an hours labor. I think 22 ammo is cheap today. What's the saying?? Buy it cheap and stack it deep? I likely have more stashed than I will shoot the rest of my life, but when the grand kids show up, I always go into a panic and buy more.

[dtknowles]

Good point. Disregarding gouging, .22 lr is cheaper today than it was half a century ago adjusted for inflation. That is as it should be as we should be more productive and efficient today after a half a century of development.
Tim

[barnetmill]

bbb, I also remember 1 cent ammo. When it was 1 cent, I had to work an hour to buy a 50 round box. Before retiring I could buy over 4 boxes of 325 round Federal auto match for an hour of easier labor. Heck, the burger flippers at McD's can buy 3 50 round boxes for an hours labor. I think 22 ammo is cheap today. What's the saying?? Buy it cheap and stack it deep? I likely have more stashed than I will shoot the rest of my life, but when the grand kids show up, I always go into a panic and buy more.

I just ordered 10 boxes of that and with insurance and tax it was about $213 plus some change from targetsportusa. Shipping is free.

[JimB..]

Trying to remember when I lost bought any rimfire, it’s been a long time. Post Clinton, but still a long time.

[GhostHawk]

1979 I was working for Marvin Windows in Warroad Minnesota. At the Marvins owned hardware store if you worked for marvins they had a 60% discount on everything, and they would cash payroll checks. Did not take me long to start buying at least 1 brick of .22LR ammo per check. Had a nice little range in a gravel pit about a third of a mile from where I lived. The other thing that got bought every check was a case of beer. We had a long shelf above the target stands big enough for 20 beer bottles. First guy to take down his 10 won, we almost always had a case of beer or a 20$ bill for the payoff. Once I started soaking the labels off Miller clear glass bottles my Ruger 10/22 with stock iron sights started winning regularly against everyone with a scope. Made it harder for them to get on target. It all looked like gravel.

I can be an evil bastard at times.