Why is there a rimfire ammo shortage?

[Gator 45/70]

Mai David, Our scalping as you call it is indeed a law for business's to ad here by, It does not apply too the Motley Kwewes of Old Mullets that camp out at the wally world sporting goods at 5 am. Only later too post it the same day at double or triple the price on Choupics web site

I saw plenty of 22lr. 22mag. and .17 hmr for sale along with a few powders and 40.00 per 1k of primers at a local maw and paw place, Problem being is a 50 rd box of CCI round nose lead heads started at 6.00 a box, The bottom line is I passed on the 22lrs, Never bothered too ask about the other rounds,

The increased number of gun owners, the high capacity 22lr guns available, the political climate- no- the FEAR of the current administration is more accurate, the unknown future and the practical limit of how much the manufacturers can produce are al factors. True hoarders, the preppers and the like, are probably only a small portion of the problem based on my own seat-of-the pants perceptions. Those who buy for themselves simply because it's available are definite contributors. To me there is a difference between honest capitalism and scalping. Scalpers are helping cause the problem to advance their greed. I don't need lectures on capitalism. I'm a capitalist. Scalping is illegal when a tropical storm or hurricane approaches in many states. I see no difference between scalping on plywood and scalping on ammunition. During a hurricane ammunition and plywood can both be necessities. I will start buying .22lr again when the prices are no longer usurious. If that means the supply I have has to last the rest of my days, I can live with that.

I inventoried lots of primers when I was shooting tens of thousands of rounds every year. Since I transferred to a different area a few years ago the powder and primers are not going as fast so I will shoot reloads to my heart's content. If I'm really lucky I'll live long enough to use all of my primers.

David

[dakotashooter2]

If you are over 50 think back to the first .22 you shot. It was probably a single shot or bolt action. I could spend all day hunting gophers and not go through 50 rounds. Now days Maybe 5-10 % of the market is single shots and/or bolts. The market share is semi auto guns and it's a lot easier to blow through a brick in an afternoon. Just look at the growth and popularity of the AR style .22 rifles. The price of CF ammo has also driven some shooters back to the .22. I think shooting competitions have also grown the last several years pulling in new shooters and shooters that have not even looked at a .22 in years.

I rarely shoot .22 despite having 4 rifles and 2 revolvers but about 2 years before the shortage started I began buying a couple bricks a year when they were on sale. I probably have about 3K but that's probably enough to last me 10 years. I did buy the last 2 bricks my small town has had in 3 years but they sat on the store shelf for at least 3 months before I finally grabbed them, giving someone else plenty of opportunity to get them. I will continue to buy when I can but that is just because I now have a grandson that I hope to keep in ammo when he is ready to start shooting in a few years. At some point the hoarders will have to stop buying. They will run out of space, money or their wives will find their stash and many new shooters will get frustrated with the shortage of ammo and just give up.

I do think we may see an increase in demand for some of the old .22 centerfire cartridges like the hornet,bee,fireball and etc.

[Wally]

I bought seven 525 Value packs from a vendor in the fall of 2012 on sale for $15.99 each... I am not sure why I did, but I felt that I better do so. Shortly thereafter this shortage non-sense started and I never saw then available again. I shot very little .22 RF last year as I realize the availability and cost of replacing my stock is just bad news. I had thought the manufactures would have either imported or increased their manufacturing capacity ... I see neither happening. Makes no sense to me to buy .22 RF ammo at 10¢ a round when i can load CF ammo for less than that. I enjoy shooting the CF ammo more anyway.

Seems to me that many interested in shooting start w/the .22 RF ...if they cannot get ammo or the cost is too high, it will dissuade them from getting into this hobby. If enough don't, the balance of pro vs anti gun electorate will change and the liberals will take advantage of the situation with more anti-gun laws.

Sure hope that this situation improves very quickly...as I know many are hurting not having it be available at a fair price.

[Mausermeister]

I haven't bought any 22 ammo since the two cases of Automatch I purchased in October 2012. I can find plenty of the cheaper plinking 22. Prices are 2x - 3x what they were before.

The problem I am having is finding match 22 ammo. The only match 22 ammo I have seen available anywhere is Eley, which was extremely expensive before this nonsense started and I couldn't afford to shoot it then.

I'm not going to run out anytime soon. Still have about 35000 rounds of the cheaper stuff and several bricks of match ammo left, but I have not been shooting it the last couple of years like I was before.

[dakotashooter2]

I don't even throw out my 38 sp brass that has cracked necks. I trim them down to "short colt or 38 S&W" length and load them up. They make a great low recoil load that are 1/2 the current cost of .22 and will probably be what my grandson learns to shoot handgun with.

[9.3X62AL]

David 2011's explanation makes a lot of sense to me--sort of a "perfect storm" of economic negatives that have combined to result in scarce supplies and high prices. I love how the Captain Mensheviks all line up to blurt out how $75-$100 bricks of 22 LR ammo are perfectly normal and just a part of the Capitalist Miracle. Sorry, but I don't buy that--it is greed and theft, period--and thankfully I am not obliged to deal with jerks of that kind due to my hobby interest in casting and reloading. It is still wrong as hell, and if someone objects to the terms "scalper" or "hoarder" as used in this context, perhaps THIEF or GRIFTER is more to the point and a more succinct descriptor that might be hitting a little too close to home.

[LeadRecycler]

We had our town-wide yard sales last weekend. I saw one house with anything gun related -- 3 of the 525 packs of .22LR, priced at $60 per. I offered $60 for all 3, and the lady kind of chuckled. She asked if I had bought any .22 lately. I smiled at her, and said no, I hadn't. I refuse to pay stupid prices for it. She told me I was unlikely to find any for a "reasonable" price. It was then I pointed out to her that she left the Wal-Mart receipt tucked into the flap of one of the boxes...$25 per box, bought the day before.

[9.3X62AL]

We had our town-wide yard sales last weekend. I saw one house with anything gun related -- 3 of the 525 packs of .22LR, priced at $60 per. I offered $60 for all 3, and the lady kind of chuckled. She asked if I had bought any .22 lately. I smiled at her, and said no, I hadn't. I refuse to pay stupid prices for it. She told me I was unlikely to find any for a "reasonable" price. It was then I pointed out to her that she left the Wal-Mart receipt tucked into the flap of one of the boxes...$25 per box, bought the day before.

Classic!

[Mausermeister]

We had our town-wide yard sales last weekend. I saw one house with anything gun related -- 3 of the 525 packs of .22LR, priced at $60 per. I offered $60 for all 3, and the lady kind of chuckled. She asked if I had bought any .22 lately. I smiled at her, and said no, I hadn't. I refuse to pay stupid prices for it. She told me I was unlikely to find any for a "reasonable" price. It was then I pointed out to her that she left the Wal-Mart receipt tucked into the flap of one of the boxes...$25 per box, bought the day before.

And her response was????

[Zymurgy50]

We had our town-wide yard sales last weekend. I saw one house with anything gun related -- 3 of the 525 packs of .22LR, priced at $60 per. I offered $60 for all 3, and the lady kind of chuckled. She asked if I had bought any .22 lately. I smiled at her, and said no, I hadn't. I refuse to pay stupid prices for it. She told me I was unlikely to find any for a "reasonable" price. It was then I pointed out to her that she left the Wal-Mart receipt tucked into the flap of one of the boxes...$25 per box, bought the day before.

Makes me wonder how many more she had hiding to bring out when they sold those three.

[9.3X62AL]

I don't mean to begrudge a dealer or vendor an honest profit for stocking and selling the goodies I enjoy buying and using--please let me be clear on that. But the example cited by Recycler states the case succinctly, that avaricious azzhats are sticking it to folks that just want to enjoy our sport--and it annoys me smartly. They AREN'T HELPING, not in the least.

[jcwit]

Hey! Wasn't she only meeting the new current fair market price?

[9.3X62AL]

Hey! Wasn't she only meeting the new current fair market price?

Mi nalgas......

[jcwit]

Mi nalgas......

No idea what that means, being as I live in the U.S., English is my language.

[Sweetpea]

I got it...

Just use your imagination...

[Cmm_3940]

Better yet, use Google Translate...

[jcwit]

No good

[LeadRecycler]

And her response was????

I didn't give her time to respond, as I was walking away at that point. I don't believe she said anything, anyway. Just stood there with a look on her face like she was trying to figure out who I am. That's the one nice thing about being the "new guy" in a town this small; not everybody knows you.

[Bullshop Junior]

No idea what that means, being as I live in the U.S., English is my language.

There is a awesome little tool out there called google translate.

[jcwit]

Well whoop de doo, why not just say BS.

After all it is what it is, isn't it?

By what some here and on other forums think that was exactly what she was doing.