Anyone ditching .22 for CF

[9.3X62AL]

I've reduced my rimfire shooting to about 5% of what it was prior to the onset of The Great Stupidity in late 2008. I am definitely on the hunt for a small 32 S&W Long revolver (S&W Models 30/31, Colt Police Positive) with 4" or longer barrel. I've considered having Alan Harton or Cylinder & Slide open up a Single Six to 32 Long also. I know, there is a Single-Seven in 327 Federal......no interest in one of those loud critters, already have a 32 Magnum and a 30 Carbine Blackhawk. I do have about 2,000 pieces of 32 SWL brass I would like to put to use, and I loathe shooting short cases in long chambers. RCBS 32-98-SWC at 900 FPS is all I need for rat and small game strafing.

[contender1]

Many folks have found ways to get around the scalping prices that are being paid by some for 22 LR. Casting their own in 32's, 38's & 9mm's is one way. The ammo shortage is slowly getting better, as less folks are using as much 22 ammo as before. That, and folks are no longer paying the scalpers as readily as before. Until the demand drops,,, the supply will not catch up.

That said,,, I personally haven't been affected by the shortages. I have always maintained a supply of ammo for my needs in many calibers, to include the 22LR. I have not bought any of the inflated scalpers priced ammo either.

[Bzcraig]

Hi...

I am not putting away my rimfires and neither is my son.

I have been able to buy .22LR and.22Mag regularly this year at several LGS.
Due to ammo consumption, I haven't been able to build as large a stash as I would like, but I still have quite a few thousand rounds of .22LR and close to a thousand .22Mag on hand.

All that after shooting several thousand rounds of .22LR through my son's H&K .22LR carbine and Henry lever-action and probably 1000 rounds through my Dan Wesson .22LR revolver in the last year and a half.

Availability is no longer a problem but price sure is! I can load 32acp, plinker .38 SPL, 9mm and .223 for less than buying .22.

[30calflash]

I believe the problems stems from the CF ammo shortage starting in '08. The prices of raw materials went up, boosting the costs. Many CF handgun shooters stopped burning 300 rounds a session and went to 22, purchasing new/used firearms and creating a demand for 22 not seen in some time.

Those used to burning 100's to 1000's at a time put a demand on 22 that no one would have ever imagined. Just think, you take your 22 bolt/10-22 and shoot a hundred rounds, go home happy.

Now the AR-22 shooters arrive and use 5X that much 2 times a week, then shoot a couple Tacticool 22 events a month. 3-5000 rounds a month with out damaging the retirement fund. Shooting events have been devised around the 22/AR platform now.

Yeah, it's not a 223 but will work for short distance and indoor ranges.

We're used to 90 rounds for an NRA bullseye pistol match or maybe 200 for a weekend prone event. Big difference.

[Outpost75]

The .32 S&W in a strong, modern revolver or scoped small game rifle is the best bang for the buck. While not as accurate at ranges beyond 50 yards as a match grade .22 LR firing subsonic match ammunition, it does equal the accuracy of typical sporting .22 rifles and is both quiet and effective. In a strong revolver like a Ruger Single Six, you can load to safely equal H&R Magnum or .32-20 ballistics if you want something which shoots a little flatter. A 580 series Remington rifle converted to centerfire and taken out to .32 S&W Long would be hard to beat. Mine happens to be in .32 ACP.

Attachment 145816Attachment 145817Attachment 145818

[Doc1]

There are two centerfire tricks I've been using since .22 became unobtanium: The first is to load and shoot .32 S&W using chamber adapters in my 30-06 and .308s. The second is to make up gallery loads for my .308 and 7.92x57 rifles using buckshot. For .308 bores, run a single-ought buckshot through a .309 or .310 sizer and load it over five or six grains of fast pistol powder. I don't have a .323 sizer for my Mausers, but I can load an unsized double-ought buckshot right into a 7.92x57 case over a few grains of fast pistol powder.

Both of these methods give pretty good accuracy out to fifty feet or so and are deadly on pests and small game. They are also very inexpensive to shoot and relatively quiet.

Best regards
Doc

[ravelode]

I have put away my.22 rifles for now. There hasn't been a box of .22 LR to be seen locally (SW MT) for 10 months and counting; except for ridiculous priced REM/ELY match at $19.99 for 50 rounds. My High Point 995 shoots cast 124 gr for 5cents an pop, even with primers at $3.49 hundred.

[ole 5 hole group]

I had a nice stash of 22lr and the grandkids keep whittling away on it. Just a couple weeks ago I took out two (2) 525 value packs and in 3 hours every last one when downrange. Big smiles and some pretty good marksmanship was on display. I'm down to about 9K and will be looking to resupply whenever there is a good price on the value packs or buckets. I no longer cast but still have a stash of cast bullets for the 38 - probably 4K but I've mainly went to the zero bullet (jacketed) for the 45 ACP. Never have seen a good deal on any type of Eley but have a case of Remington Match stashed away that produces mainly X's from a rest at 50 yards from my SW 41 but for some reason that particular bullet doesn't seem to like most other SW 41's.

What was difficult to find the past couple years were the CCI Stingers - I found 200 a couple months ago and grabbed them, as my daughter carries a 22 lr when she decides to CCW and that particular round is a nasty one.

I'm thinking future prices is what's going to do in the shooting community, as the more prices rise without a like raise in income, the less we'll see youngsters on the range and in the field - that will be a sad day for a lot of ole timers.

[Big Rack]

At my lgs in western Ohio there is quite a selection off rimfire mostly target mostly too pricey for plinking. They did have Remington SubSonic at $6.99 for 50. At the counter they had CCI 40 grain $9.99 per hundred limit 2. I think it's coming back but cheaper stuff gets hoarded that's what I'd do too.
That being said a bolt action and a revolver in .22 TCM would be neat I'd like to see more of this modern .22 Hornet.

[Anschutz]

You won't see a good deal on Eley. The stuff shoots lights out and they don't make it to shoot tin cans with, they make it to shoot centershots in high level competitions. However, it is all I have at the moment. I've thought about trying to trade a brick for 2000 or so standard rounds. I'd still lose out on price but I hate shooting Eley out of competition. Seems like a waste to me.

[opos]

I've been shooting my pellet rifles a lot more these days...I can shoot in my garage for almost nothing....I don't hardly shoot any 22 at all any more....got quite a bit of 22lr on hand as well as 22 mag for my Single Sixes but it can just sit for now...better than a savings account. I have taken to shooting "popgun" loads in my Mosin and in a 30-06 I have...doesn't cost much...and is fun and fills the day..I also keep loading full on my 7mm and my 25-06 for when I really want to shoot...it's not that bad and my loads are dandy accurate.

[Petrol & Powder]

.22 rimfire is certainly not the bargain it used to be but it is still a useful cartridge. I didn't give up on mine but I did scale way back on shooting them. The lower grade .22 ammo is now available but it is no longer a low grade prices. I believe the prices will continue to drop as the hoarders attempt to unload their stashes and the ammunition manufacturers continue to meet the consumer demand.

I was lucky to have a small supply of standard velocity target ammunition in the brand my rifle likes. I was also able to find a little bit more recently. It is the high grade target stuff that is still obscenely expensive.

As others have stated, there are good center fire alternatives. I wouldn't say I "ditched" the .22 rimfire for CF cartridges but I did curtail my rimfire shooting to conserve my supply.

[GREENCOUNTYPETE]

I found the Lee tl314-90swc sized to .311, rolled 2x in alox and loaded over a small charge of tightwad in 30-30 cases made very nice bunny busters to help get me throught

[captaint]

I've been having a little fun with the big suppliers lately. We've all seen the "sales" on 22 rf ammo lately. I think the cheapest I have seen on CCI SV is about 8 something for a 100 box. I used to pay around 6 bux for that box. So now, I email back to the suppliers "you're close, fellas - but no cigar". Get it down to 6 dollars a box and I'll buy some". I'd love to hear what they say when they read my stuff. Ha Ha..... I don't think I've fired a rimfire round in 3 years. That's OK, I can wait....

[FergusonTO35]

I still have a bunch of .22 LR from the first Great Panic of 08-09, back when .22 LR was all that could be found around here. At the time I figured I would practice hard with .22 to save my dwindling centerfire supplies. I shoot maybe 100-200 rounds a year through my Henry H001T for pest control and lever action practice getting warmed up for deer season. I am certain the majority of it will still be around when it's time to teach my daughter how to shoot.

As an interesting aside, I remember when I was a kid (1980's) the 500 round bulk packed boxes were considered to be alot of ammo, way beyond the ordinary personal supply. That was something you would buy and pass out handfuls to your buddies. In my entire household we kept one or two 50 round boxes of .22 LR, a box of 12 gauge no. 6 game loads, and a box of .30-30 for deer and coyotes. Nowadays I bet that doesn't last the average shooter a single range session. I know my own ammo consumption is easily 10-20X what it was as a kid growing up on the farm. It's not only the hoarders who keep supplies tight but more people getting into shooting and hunting, and people firing way more rounds at the range. This translates into a much stronger and entrenched shooting sports tradition in the USA and even the world at large to an extent, certainly not a bad thing.

[OptimusPanda]

I pretty much have gone all center fire for my shooting. It's just more enjoyable for me to shoot .45, .38, or 9mm hand loads. That said, I wouldn't get rid of my rim fires. The dozen or so bricks I squirreled away pre panic just kind of sit around. Though if we get a rodent zombie apocalypse I'll be ready for em.

[Schrag4]

For the most part, yes. I still let my daughter shoot the 10/22, but since I reload my own cast 9mm for less than the price of 22LR, I can't bring myself to use it for anything else. If prices become un-stupid again, I'll start shooting it again.

[FergusonTO35]

Around here, prices on 9mm factory rounds have almost dropped to 2008 pre-election levels again and there is plenty of it on the shelf. So there is hope for rimfire ammo. I just wish we could get back to being able to find Bullseye in stock everywhere again!

[floydboy]

I built a 222 out of a Savage action about 3 years ago due to the high cost and not being able to find 22 rim fire ammo. I started out with the intent of making cheap reduced cast loads. After some experimenting I found a very accurate load of 24 grs of 4064 behind a 225415 boolit. Now I'm golden out to over a hundred yards. Since I use way more powder than first intended my cost is about $.11 each and way higher than first anticipated. A reduced load would cut it in about half. I like sitting on the front porch shooting varmits in the front yard. I guess the days of just going out and shooting a case of 22's for fun are gone for now. Another side benefit of this expensive 22 ammo is I suppose a lot of us have had a lot more practice with out larger caliber hand guns and rifles. I know I have.

Floyd

[GhostHawk]

So far this year I have shot maybe 60 rounds total, most through my Ruger pistol, maybe 20 sighting in new scope on the Ruger 10/22.
On the centerfire side I have been shooting .357, .444 Marlin, .300B0, 7.62x39 and .223.

I have just loaded 50 rounds of .223 down almost to .22lr level. Bigger bullet, 55 grain, cast myself, 4-6 grains of Red Dot and a primer.
With cheap brass these are considerably less than .22lr, shoot as straight, about the same loudness, with more punch.

The good news is that .22lr supply is getting better and the prices are coming down.
The bad news is I doubt that we will see 6 cents a round again. Looks to me like it is stabilizing around 8-9 cents each.