Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Rimfires At what price would you buy .22LR ammo?

While strolling through a local gun shop today, I noticed stacks of Remington, CCI, & Norma .22LR ammo. Seeing that they had some CCI standard velocity piqued my interest enough to check the price: $9.95/100 rounds. With tax that works out to 10.87 cents per round. I am not in desperate need so I passed.

I spoke briefly with the clerk and she said that we will never see the prices we saw five years ago. As I left the store, I was reminded of the exact same words concerning the price of oil when it was above $100 a barrel. I believe the same thing will happen with .22LR ammo prices that happened with oil, I just don't know when. So my question to you is: What price per round (10 cents, 9,8,7,etc.) would induce back into the .22LR market?

Thanks, RS

For a few months before the shortage took off in full swing around December of 2012 I had a premonition that the S was going to hit the .22 fan so was buying up .22 ammo a brick at a time. At that time the el cheapo stuff was around 4 cents/round and decent AR Tactical or Winchester Super X was about 6 cents per.

I've pretty well given up buying the cheap stuff so I'd pay 6 cents per round for good ammo if I could find it today.

About six weeks ago I found some Federal AutoMatch bulk packs at Sportsman's Warehouse, 325 round packs for $19.95. That works out to 6.1 cents per not counting tax so I bought two, one each week over the course of two weeks. That was the first .22 ammo I've bought in 2 1/2 years.

$19.97/500 rounds (Brick)...or the Federal 36gr. hp bulk 525 pack for $19.97... I'm not that picky..

If a guy passes up ammo when he needs it, because 'it's tooooooooooo expensive', then afore ya know it, he's quit shooting. The same guys that bitch about the cost/availability of 22 ammo, seem to be the same guys that eat out, and go to movies, drive new cars, and such.... My entertainment costs go to ammo.

That's like asking "At what price would you buy beef?" You have to be more specific. Prime rib or ground chuck?

I shoot Eley Tenex in my target rifles at serious matches and bulk pack through my pistols.

I will say that when the price of the big box cheap stuff approaches the lower grades of target ammo, I'll go with the target ammo for the most part. Just a better value, IMO, and often more available. Norma TAC-22 is a good example.

Paul

Last 22LR I bought were these 325 Federal tins offered by MWUSA for $16.?? per, limit of 5. Shipping wasn't too bad so I got the limit.

I check into WM, BPS and Cabela's from time to time as I pass by them around NC and SC but never see much available still.

What huntsman and Paul 39 said: It depends on the ammo and what I want it for.

Have spent up to 20 cents a round for target .22 LR ammo, which is still cheaper than any .17 HMR ammo I purchased in the past few years, but in both instances I'm willing to pay for the performance. Haven't yet spent more than about 6 cents a round for "gopher shooting" .22 Long Rifle, but would if Winchester Power Points showed up again.

To keep the kids shooting I'd pay what I needed to.

This is intended to be an open question. Of course price varies with quality of ammunition. In the original post, I quoted a price for CCI standard velocity that I considered too high. Had it been SK high velocity hollow points, and I didn't already have plenty, I probably would have bought some.

I have always bought .22LR by the case and did so heavily well before this latest shortage. I keep large amounts of various rimfire ammo on hand for various purposes. Therefore I am in no hurry to re-stock. The price will have to come to me. I am interested in what you want and at what price you are willing to buy it.

RS

Ditto. I still have plenty of Wolf Match target as well as plenty of AR Tactical - which is very accurate in all of my .22's - and a full case of Winchester Super-X bought in the late 1990's for about 1.8 cents each. Have seen plenty of the Federal bulk and bricks of Remington Thunderbolt at gunshows for $75 or "deals" for $65 but wasn't interested. When I saw the Federal Automatch at 6 cents each that was enough to entice me to pick up some to see how well it shoots. It's not as accurate as the ammo I have so probably won't be getting any more of it even though it's available most every Saturday at Sportsman's.

My "serious" ammo for my Ruger is the same as it was for my CZ, RWS SS HPs. The last I ordered came in at about $8.50 a box, delivered. I'm still looking for practice ammo that hits to the same POI, more or less. Aguila Rifle Match did that for the CZ, but it's pretty much Unobtainium these days.

I would welcome a HS HP substitute for the RWS, but it ain't a great time to be experimenting. None of the stuff in my stash has shot as well so far.

Yep, glad I stocked up on Aguila when it was available and "cheap"!

I've been paying 8.99/100 for mini-mags lately with no regrets.

I bought 1200 rounds (store limit) of CCI Standard this week at Cabellas. With tax and a round up for conservation it came to exactly 10 cents a round. My Cooper has shot several sub .25" groups with it so I consider it a bargain. It was the first time I've seen Standard around here in a couple of years or so and I was plumb out of it.

I've been buying different brands locally when I could find it for anywhere from 6 to 15 cents per round just depending on what it was and how bad I wanted to try it.


Dave.

A good .22lr is one of the staples of life. Much like coffee, and try and find one for 10cents these days.

When nobody could find any I had the chance to buy 5000 Ely target for $600 and jumped on at. Should have doubled it. Have some other good target ammo and regular brands that I bought earlier. Some I bought recently.

Money is gone, I have a stash, life hasn't changed and I don't think about the cost when I want to shoot.

About 15 years ago the local WM offered Fed HV for $8.98 a brick.
I put a case of 5000 in my cart and eventually made my way to check out.
Cashier scanned the case and it rang up......................$8.98.

Got out of there quick as I could.

I've still got a few boxes that I paid about $4 for. Good stuff with that funky Eley smell.

Confession is one hour before daily Mass and 4PM on Saturdays.

Still have lots of plinkin' ammo bought right years ago: WW Dynapoints and Wildcats. Some bulk pack Fed.

Now and then pick up some Mini Mags, Auto Match, or something else I like, if the price isn't over the top, but those deals have been few and far between.

Only thing I've not been able to find at a decent price the past two years, was CCI SV. Ain't gonna pay $40 to $60 a brick and that was about all I could find.

Then not long ago a bud that wheels'n deals on trades, goes to lots of smaller gun shows, asks me if I'm still lustin' after a brick of SV? Said yep.

He trots one out with a $50 price tag on it. As I was on the verge of telling him where he could put it - he grins, sez gimme $35. Results of a trade and that's about what he figured it actually cost him.

Made me grin a bit.

Wow.