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
Words are weapons sharper than knives - INXS
The pen is mightier than the sword - Edward Bulwer-Lytton
The tongue is mightier than the blade - Euripides
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
Words are weapons sharper than knives - INXS
The pen is mightier than the sword - Edward Bulwer-Lytton
The tongue is mightier than the blade - Euripides
There are 12v compressors that will go high enough to fully charge the gun? Tell me more.
Cognitive Dissident
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-compre...20group%20%231
Tim
Words are weapons sharper than knives - INXS
The pen is mightier than the sword - Edward Bulwer-Lytton
The tongue is mightier than the blade - Euripides
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.)
Cognitive Dissident
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.
Stock up if you are not already. For sure it will disappear again and the price ain’t going down.
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.
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".
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.
Good post, thank you.
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.
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
Words are weapons sharper than knives - INXS
The pen is mightier than the sword - Edward Bulwer-Lytton
The tongue is mightier than the blade - Euripides
Trying to remember when I lost bought any rimfire, it’s been a long time. Post Clinton, but still a long time.
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.
I truly believe we need to get back to basics.
Get right with the Lord.
Get back to the land.
Get back to thinking like our forefathers thought.
May the Lord bless you and keep you. May the Lord make His face to shine upon you and be gracious unto you
and give you His peace. Let all of the earth – all of His creation – worship and praise His name! Make His
praise glorious!
BP | Bronze Point | IMR | Improved Military Rifle | PTD | Pointed |
BR | Bench Rest | M | Magnum | RN | Round Nose |
BT | Boat Tail | PL | Power-Lokt | SP | Soft Point |
C | Compressed Charge | PR | Primer | SPCL | Soft Point "Core-Lokt" |
HP | Hollow Point | PSPCL | Pointed Soft Point "Core Lokt" | C.O.L. | Cartridge Overall Length |
PSP | Pointed Soft Point | Spz | Spitzer Point | SBT | Spitzer Boat Tail |
LRN | Lead Round Nose | LWC | Lead Wad Cutter | LSWC | Lead Semi Wad Cutter |
GC | Gas Check |