Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Rimfires Seniors hording 22LR Ammo

Shotgun12,

You'll find a lot of .22 ammo available--most at prices well above normal retail.

I'm like bea175. I keep a good supply of rimfire ammo on hand, but haven't sold any to anybody since the panic started. Have given a few boxes away here and there, and donated a brick of .22 Long Rifle to the local hunter safety course, because they couldn't find any in the local stores.

Not sure I know what normal retail is anymore. I try to go by cents per round. I track my costs very close. Up until the end of 2013 an average cost of 6 to 8 cents per round was good, now it's more like 10 cents and often 12 cents. On line prices up to 45 cents and scammer prices double that and more. Normal isn't normal anymore.

Mule Deer,
I really wasn't looking foreword to doing this search, due to the fact that I know it would probably keep me reading well past my bedtime (us old ammo-hoardin' farts need our sleep ).
I've done many searches, and even though there are many dealers out there listing ammo for sale, when you go onto their site, you'll find that most all are 'Out of Stock', even though some even claim to have sales going on .... for ammo they don't even have in stock.
I'm glad that you are not part of this problem, as I'm sure most here are not either. I am also not a hoarder, or profiteer as I purchased all of mine at least 3 to 5 years back, when stocks were plentiful and I'm glad I did, but that's just how I operate.
I can't help but wonder what caliber(s) will be next in line to be 'in shortage'.
Whatever it turns out to be, I plan to be good-to-go whatever comes down.

Beat ya:) Bought more Federal 550 packs than I care to admit from Wal Mart for $8.97. Wife thought I was nuts when I spent over $500 on .22's. Now she thinks (sometimes) I actually knew what I was doing.

I just now did a quick search on GunBroker for ammo sold by one dealer in Missoula, MT. The search took me maybe 30 seconds to complete. Below is a list of their recently completed GB auctions of 22LR ammo, mostly all sold within the last two months. BTW, I was in this store last month, and guess what, they didn't have any 22LR ammo on the shelf for their local customers. So, where is all this ammo going, into someone's basement or is it being resold again and again and again...

GB Item #
Ad Title
# of Bids, Final Selling Price

391057324
5000rd case CCI Mini-Mag 22LR AMMO 38gr HP NOT REM
11, $706.00
379405023
5000rd case CCI 22LR TARGET Standard Velocity 40gr
14 $610.00
392449962
5000rd Case CCI BLAZER 40g 22LR ammunition 22 AMMO
23 $570.00
384625179
5000rd Case CCI BLAZER 40g 22LR ammunition 22 AMMO
14 $565.00
392478517
5000rd Case CCI BLAZER 40g 22LR ammunition 22 AMMO
13 $561.00
392457134
5000rd Case CCI BLAZER 40g 22LR ammunition 22 AMMO
20 $544.00
391067021
5000rd case Federal Game Shock 712 22LR Prem AMMO
29 $536.00
392338012
5000rd Case CCI BLAZER 40g 22LR ammunition 22 AMMO
13 $526.00
392336319
5000rd Case CCI BLAZER 40g 22LR ammunition 22 AMMO
16 $491.00
392121737
5250rd CASE Federal Champion 22LR AMMO 36gr HP
10 $480.00
391067382
5000rd case Federal Game Shock 712 22LR Prem AMMO
14 $466.00
393966288
5000rd Case CCI BLAZER 40g 22LR ammunition 22 AMMO
9 $466.00
393966178
5000rd Case CCI BLAZER 40g 22LR ammunition 22 AMMO
6 $461.00
393965640
5250rd CASE Federal Champion 22LR AMMO 36gr HP
13 $460.01
393966250
5000rd Case CCI BLAZER 40g 22LR ammunition 22 AMMO
6 $460.01
393966120
5000rd Case CCI BLAZER 40g 22LR ammunition 22 AMMO
7 $456.00
393966406
5000rd Case CCI BLAZER 40g 22LR ammunition 22 AMMO
5 $456.00
393964359
5250rd CASE Federal Champion 22LR AMMO 36gr HP
7 $455.00
380129599
5000 Case Federal American Eagle 40gr .22LR AE5022
10 $445.00
384622986
2000rds CCI Mini-Mag 22LR ammo 40gr Not REM WIN
21 $355.00
381500896
1500rd CCI STINGER 22LR 32GR HP .22 .22LR AMMO NR!
15 $291.00
384808758
3000rd Federal American Eagle 22LR 40gr AE5022 CCI
9 $270.00
386982081
2000RDS FEDERAL 810 .22LR 40GR PREMIUM AMMO 22
8 $248.00
392128197
2000rd Case Winchester Super Speed .22LR AMMO 37gr
11 $211.00
384620936
1000rd Gemtech 22LR Ammo Silencer Subsonic CCI REM
16 $180.00
386986788
1998rds Winchester .22LR 36GR Plated HP AMMO 22
15 $175.00
381499149
1500rd CCI 22LR TARGET Standard Velocity 40gr
10 $155.00
393979748
1000rd CCI 40gr SUB-SONIC .22LR AMMO SUBSONIC 22
8 $125.00
391077265
1400rds Federal Auto Match 22AM 22LR AMMO
9 $106.00
384621439
500rds CCI SUPPRESSOR 22LR 45gr HP SUBSONIC Ammo
10 $90.00

Only a phuggin idiot would not blame democrats for all the gun and ammo woes. And that dude; ain't no conspiracy.

MTDD fan +10, You've nailed it in the bullseye. See it happen all the time also. You did a good job following the facts on this. We have a local dealer around here who has for the last 5 years plus marketed all his better used guns online. He gets more money for them with less hassel and no layaway problems. Would not surprise me if he wasn't doing the same with what 22 ammo he gets as there hasn't been any on his shelves for over a year.Can't blame a guy for wanting to profit but that don't build much of a local customer base or buyer loyalty either. Magnum Man

Down here...22 ammo is still difficult to come by! Wallyworld will get it but if you aren't there when they put it out, it's gone! I am just now seeing 223 rounds on the shelf there. When you find it on line, it may be a good price but they usually catch you w/ shipping. I was in a Wallyworld the other day and they actually had 50 BMG rounds, that was a 1st fer me! I see folks on craigslist selling ammo but they try to make as much as they can fer them! luckily I bought a bunch before the "scare"...

watch4bear,

Fear of what the Democrats WANT to do is definitely the reason for the ammo woes.

But the only "conspiracy" anybody's been able to find evidence for is disorganized panic buying--and I doubt most of the people doing that are Democrats, though you never know. There haven't been any exit polls of people leaving Wal-Marts with bricks of .22 ammo.

If we believe the stories about what happens to most of Walmart's 22 ammo, that'd be a pretty small poll sample to work with? ;O)

Here's what I know about the Fed. 550 packs (maroon boxes) supposedly only available at Walmart.

I have always bought them for the price and quantity, since they've been fairly accurate in most all of my rifles and shoot well in some others. And if someone needed ammo in any quantity, like youth groups, easy to lay off a bulk pack or two on 'em to keep the smiles coming.

Before the previous shortage they ran around $18.95 here, became very scarce during that shortage. Eventually some wound up for sale by the case or box, at various places other than the Walmart. And at greatly increased prices.

That tells me they were being siphoned out of the supply chain, either by someone at the distribution level, or by Walmart employees?

When that previous shortage eased, they were eventually back on the shelves at Walmart with a price increase to around $24.95 a box. No problem, still affordable enough to keep a supply on hand for the next rainy day period.

Haven't looked, wouldn't be surprised to find them available again at increased prices, from sources other than Walmart?

My own personal experience over the past year, has been seeing the Fed. Auto Match (325 count bulk) that I shoot lots of, going for triple the previous price.

Bought a box last month from a local gun shop for around $18, which is about what it was before the fun started again. Have seen it at other shops (and at shows) for anywhere from $40 to $70 a box.

The small dealer that had it for $18, now keeps it out of sight when he gets some in and mostly available for regular customers that he knows want it to shoot, not to resell.

Some Wal-Mart employees have been implicated on diverting .22 ammo from store shelves, but there are a lot people showing up when Wal-Marts open on the days when rimfire ammo will be out.

And then there are the Internet "helpers" who immediately post when .22 ammo is found in any store, anywhere--or on any Internet site.

Supply and demand. The ammo companies are jumping through their arses to make the stuff, but the panic buyers/hoarders/scalpers are jumping through their arses too.

So what if you don't have multiple thousands of rounds of the stuff on hand. Find something else to do instead of squirting away a brick of .22's in the backyard. Take a class in something, read some books, take a little trip, build something with your own hands- anything to take your mind off the 'plight' (and maybe improve yourself in the meantime). My point is, if we collectively thumb our noses at the situation and stop the panicking and ranting about imaginary conspiracies things will get back to normal. As soon as there is no market for the scalper's wares they'll stop scalping. As soon as the apocalypse predictors realize that that's not likely, the hoarding will stop. As soon as the guys who get panicky if they don't have 10,000 rounds minimum stashed get a grip, the panic buying will stop. Result- plenty of ammo on the shelves.

Most of us are too young to remember, but during WWII there wasn't any fresh ammo to be had for love nor money. Unless you had a demonstrable need for .22's (such as a farmer with a vermin problem) you simply couldn't buy any- and those guys only got an occasional box or two. What did shooters do? They simply stopped shooting for a while. Guess what- the world kept on spinning, the sun continued to rise in the east, and things eventually got better.

Take a deep breath, sit back and have a beer, and laugh at the idiots who are deceiving themselves by contributing to a panic.

I enjoy plinking as much as the next guy but I refuse to be a party to all this nonsensical hoarding and paying artificially inflated prices. I have channeled my interests in a different direction, to whit cast bullets in CF .22's, and am having a blast, literally.

Buy yourself rifle chambered in 22 Hornet , a lb of Lil'Gun, few hundred round boxes of 40 gr Hornady V-max's. Go hunting and enjoy shooting .

That one way, for sure--IF you can find Hornet brass!

But there are even cheaper solutions. I'm finishing up a magazine article on that very subject right now.

I'd better start hoarding airgun pellets now in order to beat the rush following your article.

You don't need a pile of Hornet brass. Light loads of powder and cast bullets are super easy on brass. They'll last 'forever'.

Great post, gnoahhh. I suggest archery. A $6 arrow can be shot many, many times.

As a kid i never run out of slingshot ammo , we lived on a dirt road and the state keep it graveled on a regular basis . I always had a pocket full of small rocks

Once again; think it through. Those who are out of 22 ammo, are the same ones who said the government will never come after our guns. The non- believers if you will. The same dolts who refused to believe the evidence in front of their faces

"Senator" Barak Obama

ban the manufacture, sale and possession of handguns? Yes.
ban assault weapons? Yes.
mandatory waiting periods and background checks? Yes.

Exit poll that, and I think you'll find your answer.

All we can do is keep a cool head, and exercise the power of the vote- both in the voting booth and with our wallets.

Not all of those out of .22 ammo had their heads in the sand. Many, many people (most, I would posit) are very casual shooters who might only get out a couple times a year to shoot some tin cans or what have you. I wouldn't expect a guy who shoots a box or two a year to have stockpiled 15 bricks for a rainy day, no matter his political astuteness. Likewise there are a lot of people who simply can't afford to lay in a stunning amount of ammo for a rainy day. Things like food, rent, car payments, and school clothes have a tendency to take priority. Hoarding serves no good at any level, but especially so when the average Joe can't grab a box or two of .22's to take his kid out to the boonies to do a little plinking- that kid grows up deprived of an experience that could well sway him in later years to vote intelligently when gun related matters come up. Think about that unintended consequence the next time a buddy brags about cleaning out the shelves at WalMart.