Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Rimfires What 22 ammo shortage?

Just stopped at an lgs in Rochester NH looking for Re7. None of that there but they had a pallet of Federal 22lr range packs, 800 rounds for $50, one per customer. The sales guy said it was about a typical year's worth of 22 ammo for them, delivered yesterday and expected to be gone tomorrow. Think there's some panic buying? An old subject I know but I was awed to see so much 22 ammo stacked up in one pile!

Eblake: On an extended road trip to seek out guns and ammo YESTERDAY, we stopped in 5 towns on our 280 mile venture and stopped in at least 13 gunshops, sporting goods stores and hardware stores (here in Montana the hardware stores sell guns and ammo!) and there indeed IS a 22 ammo shortage!
In fact if we had found virtually ANY 22 ammo it would have been purchased!
Only ammo in "stock" ANYWHERE seemed to be 454 Casull pistol ammo!
Its been this way for about 2 months in these parts!
Yeah your "one of" incident probably did NOT put an end to the "22 ammo shortage"!
I hope you bought your allotment.
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

I am well aware that most stores have little, if any, 22 lr ammo for sale. However, seeing that much in one place, I have to wonder if it is a production issue or a panic buying issue. And no, I did not buy any. I have enough to last at least five years and I am confident that by then, the market will have settled down again. Why contribute to the problem?

Just saw this

https://www.gunbroker.com/item/889969641

Someone must really want that bad.

Eblake: I was contemplating driving a LONG ways to a gunshow this weekend and thought to myself how can I pay for the gas and lodging.
Well a quick look over to gunbreaker showed how I can do that!
I have several of these bucket'o bullets that I paid $70.00 apiece for way back when.
I think I will sell one at these going prices!

Gunbreaker link: https://www.gunbroker.com/item/889504289

In case the link doesn't work they are still bidding on this single Remington 1,400 round bucket of bullets and the current bid is $330.00 (three hundred and thirty dollars!)!
And for your information when I sell mine I am NOT going to report the profit I make, on this bucket'o bullets, to china joes irs.
There MUST be an "ammo shortage" for this ammunition to be selling at this price - is that not correct?
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

For walk ins at Buds gun shop today.

Aguila 22LR HV, $100, limit 1(one) per customer.

The line was short.

Gunzo: Was that for a case, a carton or a single box?
I found a carton (500 rounds) of Federal Premium Gold Medal Ultra-Match 40 grain Solid muzzle velocity 1,080 FPS target ammo in one of my ammunition lockers.
It is going to be for sale also at the gunshow I am planning on attending this weekend.
If any CampFirers are interested in the Federal ammo I would rather sell it to a targeter type here than a scalper at the gunshow.
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

Yes, it's rather obvious that there is a lot of panic buying. Some people apparently think that 22 ammo will never be produced again. I am not worried about that.

I’ve got mine 😊

I remember buying those Federal bulk packs at the local Wal-Mart for $6. Those lasted a long time as we only shot targets occasionally and a few rounds a month at small game.

Now we buy the same for $30+ and we shoot it up. Maybe we should just go back to making it last.

These strange times are indeed a "sellers market" Some times a blind squirrel finds an acorn. Glad I learned from the last shortage.

You should have bought some and sent it to the poor bastid varmintguy. Sounds like he really needs it.. I wouldn't have bought any of that at that price either.

Where's this gunshow at this weekend?

I'm shooting more at the moment because I bought a Ruger MK IV Tactical earlier this fall.

I ran about 800 rounds of Winchester Bulk garbage through it to break it in and now doing testing of the various brands and loads I have on hand. Federal bulk is my go-to for general use and I zeroed the gun for it. But I plan on using it as my trapline/hunting pistol for now and I'm trying to find something that consistently shoots MOP/MOG (minute-of-ptarmigan....or grouse head). I've managed to get through all of the HV and target velocity stuff and currently working on subsonic.

I think we are gonna have a 22 weekend this weekend if rain holds off, been doing some scope, barrel, and trigger swapping on some 10/22s and picked up a used tacsol xring.

Sorry, I just read my post & realized I'd left out the main part.

$100 per brick, or $100 per 500 rounds, or 20 cents each.

As they say, for those that didn't squirrel up some nuts for the winter.

I have three bricks of that Aguila in my cabinet that I paid $24 a brick for. Not for sale, but I had no idea that prices had gone up so much.

At my age U try to only get BURNT once a few years bac we had a Primer shortage -I will DIE and still have a ample supply of primers--the last Ammo shortage I had plenty of reloading supplies sooooooooooo I stocked up on Rimfire Ammo --I will DIE before I shoot it all- This shortage has NO EFFECT on me as I have a Lifetime + supply--some will call me a HOARDER and I may B BUTT I refuse to gouge people.

I have sold a few primers to people I know BUTT they need them and are not scalpers.

Jim

Wow I gave a good friend 2 buckets of 22LR
Still have 3 + about 40k rounds of other stuff.

That's unreal....2 yrs ago, I paid $19.99 a brick for the same ammo. 2 bricks shipped to me was $51.00.

Insane

It has taken an upward hike in the last few days. I won't pay it.

Went to a local indoor range a few days ago and on the way out I checked their ammo shelf. They had several boxes of 22lr. The reason may have been because each 525-round box of "cheap" Remington .22lr was marked $99.99! Now - I have no idea what they paid for it so this indoor range will remain nameless, BUT GEEZE!!

This makes me really appreciate that the lgs in my original post was selling their 800 packs of 22lr for just over 0.06 per round rather than the inflated price that seems to be the norm these days. That will ensure my continued business in the future.

brownells used to put it on sale a couple times a year, about the same time I got 4 bricks of this shipped for 67, free shipping, a 20% off code. Another time I think I got 4 for 75 shipped.

Hard to believe what some folks are asking (and may be actually getting) for 22LR nowadays.

A local fella is asking $185.00 (33¢ per round) for one 550 round box of Federal bulk.

I'm not selling any of mine but apparently I'm sitting on a gold mine.

https://www.armslist.com/posts/12999572/oklahoma-city-oklahoma-ammo-for-sale--22-lr-ammo

I "found" 11,100 rounds of .22 LR that I'd forgotten about, 5x flats of 10x 222 round boxes of Winchester/Olin 36 grain plated hp.

With the other .22 LR ammo that I have around, I'm probably set for target and plinking ammo for awhile.

They pay the same for it as they did a year ago, manufacture aren't inflating the prices. The wholesalers and gun shop are. Picked up ten 100 round packs of winchester super x yesterday for $7.69 per box for guys on here that need it for there kids or grandkids, im sure wal mart gets theres from the manufacture

No shortage at all if one has the bucks.

Took the guns out and put my ammo in the safe.

I kept looking for those Bownell's deals, but never found one.

Manufacturers are charging the same price. Is the middle man, and some unscrupulous dealers/shops. Find out which ones are gouging, and do not support them in the future.

That's as funny as hell - Thanks

You would have bought "ANY 22 ammo". Funny right there. Go to Nevada, they have a chidt ton of it. The same ammo the op talks about was $180.00 a couple months ago when I was in winnemucca and reno. You can go there and buy all that you want. Guys like you that will go and buy "ANY 22 ammo" is part of the reason it's hard to find. Threads like these are funny. Im glad I have a stockpile. I dont even look for 22lr right now. Had to buy a 10/22, so I can burn up some of what I do have.

Good on you buddy. Hes part of the problem. I suspect hes retired and is one of those waiting outside of his LGS, knowing when they get their shipments in and buying all that he can. Its because of that type of panic buying that its not on the shelves, plus all the new gun owners in America.
Its a domino effect.

I bought mine a couple of years ago. Wish I had bought twice as much. Still have plenty for now, but will buy more when it comes back at a decent price.