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The Price of .22 Ammo Just Blew Me Away

9

997/2man

Gunny Sergeant
Full Member
Minuteman
Jul 26, 2011
1,139
3
63
Okeefukindokie, FL
Guys, I don't shoot much .22 ammo, used a box of .22 shorts on raccoons in about a year. I had 2k of assorted .22 laying around, everything from 500 packs of the Remington solids, to 6-700 rounds of Stingers that must be 10 years old.

Just priced some ammo….. holy fuck, since when is some .22 ammo $0.20 a round? You have got to be shitting me!


It's nothing for me to burn up 300 or 400 rounds of .223, I'm using some LC I bought a couple of years ago for $0.41 per round.


$20 for a box of Stingers?!?!

I had no idea, don't laugh. Unbelievable.
 
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Yeah it's crazy. Most places aren't price gouging too bad but I've seen some pretty crazy prices. I think the worst I've seen was remmington (525?) bulk pack for $65 when it should be about $25. I've seen higher quality stuff go for much more. People will buy it though. Many places won't offer bricks anymore, they split them up and give 100 round limit. Gets more people in the store
 
Welcome to the "new" world of paranoid pecker heads and gougers.
 
Have seen an 'opportunistic' SOB in Kerrville, Tx with a small mountain of Federal Match Auto boxes of 330 rounds selling at $85/box. Will never return to his not so humble establishment, even if it means figuring out how to reload a 22. NFW.
 
Gentleman, the ammo is out there check your local Armslist listing's, swapmeets, etc and work on your haggling skills! Don't pay the stupid prices people are asking it only spurs them on.

Sad to say but $45 is about the going rate on a 565rd federal bulk box now days since a few people working 'the buddy system' at the sporting goods counter at Walmart know exactly when the ammo shipment comes in and buy everything up at a low price then try and flip it for a profit .........
 
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I have not found 22lr ammo in any of the large stores (i.e. Wally World) since October of last year. I occasionally find it in other gun stores. Usually priced well over retail. Found Remington/Eley ammo at my local gun store this past week. He had about 12 boxes priced at $18.95/box. I did not buy. I have been able to pick up Lapua and Eley Black regularly from a local distributor in brink or box quantity. That has kept me going. Prices are fair for these match grade ammos. But, it does distress me that a guy cannot stroll into a local sporting goods store and not find five or six different versions of 22lr ammo on the shelves. That says that demand is out pacing supply and since suppliers are failing to respond to the market signals, there is some other "Factor" that is fouling up the free market. What is that detrimental factor?

In my opinion, it is the chilling effect of overall poor economy and more importantly the threat of additional Federal or state legislation or worse executive orders, restricting the sale of bullets, lead based bullets or ammunition in general. The USA based manufacturers are too scared to invest in production capacity expansion and the foreign suppliers are unable or unwilling to fill the gap. So, the problem is not the hoarders or the gougers, it is our own Government and US allowing them to meddle in our freedoms and rights. The market is afraid to invest even when solid demand is evident and opportunity for increased sales exists. They are afraid of our Government which is out of control and are afraid that not enough Americans will respond to bring it back into control to stabilize the market.

Irish
 
Cabela's had some for $6.95 a box a few weeks ago, limit 2 boxes. Wife and I each got 2 boxes. I think 22s will come back eventually but not at the price we've seen in the past.

Any more I can shoot cast reloads cheaper.

Last Christmas, my wife paid $225 for a brick of 500 at the sportsmans wearhouse, but they did throw in a Ruger 10-22.
 
kraigWY said:
Cabela's had some for $6.95 a box a few weeks ago, limit 2 boxes. Wife and I each got 2 boxes. I think 22s will come back eventually but not at the price we've seen in the past.

Any more I can shoot cast reloads cheaper.

Last Christmas, my wife paid $225 for a brick of 500 at the sportsmans wearhouse, but they did throw in a Ruger 10-22.
Click to expand...

That's funny because a store around here was selling .22 LR limit 1000rounds, but you could only buy if you bought a .22 (of any kind). Non returnable.
 
Is the Aguila .22LR Standard Velocity SP CENTURION worth $.061/round? Not looking for blasting ammo but for something that would do a Biathlon rifle justice.

I just got an email from CMP that my order from over a year ago may be ready to be filled.
 
I figured if I had to pay $50 or better for 500 rnds, why not buy the better stuff. So I bought Wolf MT, Wolf ME and Lapua Center-X for about the same price. Shoots excellent in my Kidd barreled 10/22 and CZ 455.
 
Sweet Jesus.


.22 Mag CCI 30 gr HPs are selling for MORE than I just paid for Winchester .45 230 gr. FMJ.

I don't know what to say.

As a kid, I bought Revelation (Western Auto) Hi-Speed .22s in 50 round paper boxes for…
















$0.59 + $0.02 sales tax Grand Total =$0.61 per box of 50.
 
I sure do miss my younger years when I could go to the store any day of the week and get a 500 round bulk pack for no more than $15 and shoot all day. On another note, here is my tip for getting some 22lr now for not so crazy prices... If you have a store such as Gander Mountain or Cabelas near you, go there and talk to an employee and find out when they get their shipments in. For me it is now Friday mornings before i go to work I will stop by at my nearby Gander Mountain. It is 1 box per customer, but typically I can score a Winchester 333 or 555 box, or something similar to that for pre 2012 gun ban scare prices.
 
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I wont pay the high fookin prices for .22lr ammo. My guns will collect dust until the prices get back to the reasonable realm. Cest la vie! One local store gets it in periodically, but the insiders get the word out to their friends who scoop it up (reasonably priced), go across the street to a firearms dealer who gives them cost plus 10 bucks/carton, and then sells them for a $20 buck a carton of 500 profit. Sound familiar?
 
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I've been paying $0.27-$0.30 a round for several years for RWS R-50. Never had an issue with availability either! LOL!!

$0.60 for Aguila? Oh hell no.
 
As a kid, I bought Revelation (Western Auto) Hi-Speed .22s in 50 round paper boxes for $0.59 + $0.02 sales tax Grand Total =$0.61 per box of 50.
Click to expand...


So if you're about my age, then gold was 36 bucks an ounce US.

Today gold is 1300 bucks an ounce US, so

.61 divided by 36.00 = 0.01694 ounces of gold multiply by 1300 = 22 bucks in todays dollars.

Such a bargain, eh?
 
997/2man said:
Just priced some ammo….. holy fuck, since when is some .22 ammo $0.20 a round?
Click to expand...
You must have been on a mission off the planet................................it is almost unbelievable though! It's really difficult to believe that supply hasn't caught up with demand?
 
I recently found an old brick (500) of Remington Thunderbolts my Dad had bought back in the mid to late '80s. The price sticker from Trader Horn was $8.75 and PA had 6% tax (or less) back then.

$9.275 / 500 = $0.018 per round
 
If you're going to give $20 a box for .22, I hope you're at least getting Eley Tenex. High end stuff has been available online regularly, mid-grade and low-ball not so much.
 
I actually bought 3 225 rd boxes of Remington hollow points today at Wally World for $11 and change per box. 3 box limit. Crazy thing is I'm in the Wal Mart at least 3 times a week, and always cruise the ammo section. It's only the second time that I've found 22 in the last 2 yrs plus.

I remember saving my lunch money and buying bricks for about $12. (Sure doesn't seem that long ago...)
 
I get lucky at Wal-Mart from time to time. I mostly pick up match ish stuff from midway when it comes around. Bolt actions don't burn through it at least.
 
Cabelas just opened up here. They had a shelf of blazer bricks with a sign that said 1 brick per A guy stood in the line for an hour with six bricks. And cried when they wouldn't sell him the six. He then grabbed random people to buy them for him. They shut that down too
 
JG26_Irish said:
I have not found 22lr ammo in any of the large stores (i.e. Wally World) since October of last year. I occasionally find it in other gun stores. Usually priced well over retail. Found Remington/Eley ammo at my local gun store this past week. He had about 12 boxes priced at $18.95/box. I did not buy. I have been able to pick up Lapua and Eley Black regularly from a local distributor in brink or box quantity. That has kept me going. Prices are fair for these match grade ammos. But, it does distress me that a guy cannot stroll into a local sporting goods store and not find five or six different versions of 22lr ammo on the shelves. That says that demand is out pacing supply and since suppliers are failing to respond to the market signals, there is some other "Factor" that is fouling up the free market. What is that detrimental factor?

In my opinion, it is the chilling effect of overall poor economy and more importantly the threat of additional Federal or state legislation or worse executive orders, restricting the sale of bullets, lead based bullets or ammunition in general. The USA based manufacturers are too scared to invest in production capacity expansion and the foreign suppliers are unable or unwilling to fill the gap. So, the problem is not the hoarders or the gougers, it is our own Government and US allowing them to meddle in our freedoms and rights. The market is afraid to invest even when solid demand is evident and opportunity for increased sales exists. They are afraid of our Government which is out of control and are afraid that not enough Americans will respond to bring it back into control to stabilize the market.

Irish
Click to expand...

I really tend to think its just the hoarders and prepper freaks stock stockpiling ammo they will never shoot. That and the price gougers trying to make quick cash off of everyones hard earned buck.
 
USGILT said:
I really tend to think its just the hoarders and prepper freaks stock stockpiling ammo they will never shoot. That and the price gougers trying to make quick cash off of everyones hard earned buck.
Click to expand...

Perhaps you are right, but in free markets that are not "Fu#ked Up" by other external forces such as excessive Gov't regulations, the supply side will invest in expanded production capacity until the preppers and hoarders are saturated. Afterall, if we could buy all we want at retail, why would the profiteers want to hoard it or try to flip it, as there would be no benefit to them. This is beginning the feel like a war time economy, when government is sucking up all of the resources for defense supply and it leaves the rest unable to find what they need. But who is at war? Is the war on us? With the US Gov't buying up center fire ammo on a massive scale, it is placing stresses on the domestic manufacturers. The forces at work here are not what one would see in a truly "Free" market. Our freedoms have been eroded to the point that is is now starting to hurt. We all need to take steps to prevent further erosion.

Irish
 
Two weeks back at a local gun show 525 packs for $90 on one table! Average for a 500 pack was about $45. Saw a low of $30 to a high of $60....on tables where the ammo was actually selling.

We have been getting in tons of .22 ammo but unless the stores limit it, seems the gougers pick it up. Then list it on GB or GunsAmeica.

One local store who sells at retail or less ...sold a few cases to guys who said they represented the Boy Scouts and their local marksmanship program. He later found them selling his discounted ammo at 3 times the price on their tables. Told both guys to NEVER darken his door again.

SO happy I stocked up on .22's several years back when I got a deal through my trap club. Those $9 each 525 bricks look pretty nice now.
 
The worst part about the 22LR "shortage" is that the plinkers added the precision shooting stores to the friggin' "found a deal" websites, so they're buying up all the Wolf MT, RWS Rifle, GECO and other "low end" target/match 22LR.

$525 a case Wolf MT is now $750+shipping. Grrr
 
Laughable is all that comes to mind, paying those prices. I'm fortunate that I enjoy traditional archery and make my own longbows, arrows, and strings. I certainly don't need this price gouging crap so I'll just enjoy an earlier sport on my home archery range. I can spend hours out their having fun with archery, and so can anyone/everyone else who is fed up with this crap.
 
I bought several 5K cases of Aquila and Remington ammo from the CMP a few years ago. I use if for training in my M&P 15-22 vs 5.56 in my duty rifle. Since I've got a pretty hefty supply and did not purchase through retail outlets I was not in touch with what was happening on the street. Pretty mind boggling! I guess I need to take an inventory of what I've got and start rationing it.

On the other hand I've been buying .22WMR retail and have not been having much luck finding any of that.
 
Check gunbot.com. You can find it for .06-.10/rd fairly easily. But there's a limit and shipping eats you up. Walmarts keep them in the back usually, not on the shelves, so ask the person working there and make sure they check. It helps if you get a person not from the sporting goods section who isn't corrupt and holding it for their buddy.
 
When I was young in the late 60's, there were no terms used like "brick" "bulk pack" etc. It was simply boxes, cartons and cases. My grandfather gave me a carton of Winchester Wildcats once or twice a month. I purchased a case of Winchester hollow point ammo for squirrel hunting and rifle shooting about every other year. It cost 77 dollars per case IIRC and came in yellow boxes with a red W in them.
 
I have a couple of 100 round CCI Mini Mags from the 70s. $1.99 per 100. But gas was 45 cents per gallon and my annual college tuition was under $4000 at a top university.
 
Last gun show here in Asheville NC had federal auto bulk/350 rounds for $32/box and folks were walking by it. I would have bought some but I'm pretty well stocked up.
 
Boxer primers were in shortages, waiting lists, and sky high prices in 2008 -2010.
22 ammo has been doing the same thing since 2012.
Both seem to stem from US Presidential elections.

The American primer producers knew it was a bubble and would not invest in new tooling, they just ran three shifts a day and charged higher prices.
One upshot is that the Russians got a foothold in the primer market.
When it was all over, the cheapest primer was 2.5 cents, not 1.5 cents when it started.

Anticipating a white house party reversal, I would expect that 22 ammo will follow suit, with the old 3 cent bargain ammo being available everywhere again at 5 cents by Jan 2017.

What does it all mean?
Don't buy lots of $75 bricks now, when you can buy $25 bricks in two years.
 
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Yes this 22 ammo thing is a problem. It has now been over a year and still the ammo is some what hard to find or you have to pay outrages prices. The gun show I go to always has 22 ammo if you want to pay the high prices. I have been lucky and I have been able to find it at our local academy. I have to stand in line before they open to get, but that is the only way to get it at the regular price. I will say that it has been a while since I have seen any 22 at our local walmarts. I am a shooter and I use the ammo when I get to shoot. I do NOT get the ammo and turn around and try to sell it at the outrages prices. Just my 2 cents on this topic.
 
I rely on a couple of Facebook groups for tips about where to buy online ammo. There are always a few guys on there that seem to do nothing but scour the ammoseeks and gunbots, but also are sometimes ahead of those popular alerts. It usually sells out quickly so by paying attention to FB I've been able to keep my sons and me shooting. Scored a brick of CCI SV last week from a FLA gun shop I'd never heard of. My Ruger American loves that stuff :)
 
Last year I ordered Lapua Midas direct from Lapua in Arizona. $16+ a box, free shipping. Back when I was 12, I used to peddle my bike with a basket full of .05$ beer bottles down to the local gas station/store and get 50 .22 LR for $.55. Shorts were $.45, but were only good for tin can shooting, not head shots on marauding chipmunks around the henhouse.
 
Assuming that the existing 22 manufacturers are pumping out as many rounds as possible, it seems to me that more rounds are being produced than fired. So there will come a time when the hoarders reach capacity and prices come back down. I recognize this is a guess but since the shelves at the local WalMarts have re-filled with many calibers that were not available last year, I think that 22s will be available at pre-panic prices before the end of 2014.
 
The last time I checked, online prices were high but not crazy, and my local Cabelas has OK prices but rarely has any in stock. On the flip side, I saw some .22LR ammo at the gun show yesterday at insane prices. Everything from brand new to 40-year-old hoarder's stockpile / retirement fund. The worst I saw was $35 for a box of 50 Stingers. I didn't buy any.
 
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