22 rifle ammo - will it ever come down to reasonable price

Buford_Dawg

Senior Member
So, I have waited and waited for months now to purchase any 22 LR ammo. I bought 2 boxes of 50 several weeks back from Dicks just to go shoot my 22 pistol over the weekend. It is still hard to find at my local retailers and when I do find it, it is outrageous. Before all this craziness, what was the price of a 22 LR cartridge, maybe .05 per shell? I just ordered a 500 round brick off the internet for .16 per shell. With shipping, it is almost 90.00 bucks for a round of 500. Is that what we should expect from now on or do you think it will come down?
 

TrailBlazinMan

Senior Member
Ammo prices go up every year due mostly to the rising cost of fuel but also due to new manufacturing regs that make the process cost more. During the recent craziness the prices were driven up not by scalpers or shady dealers, but by people willing to pay the crazy high prices (thus spawning more scalpers and shady dealers).

Ammo is becoming more available.

That said, paying more than .12 a round for .22LR is excessive. LGS here has the 50 round boxes for $5, 100 round boxes for $10, and the 500 bulk packs for around $35 depending on brand. They do not have it in stock all the time, but are picky on what and where the buy to help keep prices reasonable. If your LGS is charging more then maybe its time to shop elsewhere.
 

buckeroo

Senior Member
I was looking at a 500 count box I bought last year at Dawsonville Pawn/Guns and the whole box was $16.99.

I am glad to have quite a few bricks in the safe. I used to buy ammo before the craze just for the heck of it. Glad I did now.

I DO wish I had a couple more boxes of CCI's "22 Quiet". That stuff is great for subdivision pests.
 

sleepr71

Senior Member
Before Sandy Hook,etc. 22LR ammo could be had for around 3.5 cents/round..some a little higher,some a little lower. CCI maxi mags/velocitors & match ammo being the highest priced. Within the last month I've found the 50 round boxes for $1.99/box,and the 325 round boxes of Remington for$9.99...or just over 3 cents/round. IMO...paying over 5 cents per round of 22LR is being gouged,unless it is premium match ammo or CCI Velocitors.
 

Sterling

Senior Member
I'd keep an eye on the local chains. I saw a bunch of it a couple of weekends ago at the mall of ga chain. Talking about 12 bricks of ccI and about twice that of federal target grade 325rnds a box. $40/$20 a box. Still out there just gotta keep calling and looking.
 

JimD

Senior Member
I learned from 2008 and bought plenty. When it comes back buy a minimum of 15-20k rounds or more. Same with all ammo/bullets/powder.
 

whchunter

Senior Member
Prices

On 1/15/2009 I bought some from SG @.037/round for
22s. I bought 38 specials @ .265/round.

I keep hearing that the high price of ammo is because people are buying and storing huge quanities. I though by now everyone would have their needs bought and stored.

IMO unless you are someone who shoots lots of rounds and does so year end and year out, having huge stores is useless and may backfire. That is unless you plan on selling your stores at a big profit...............;)
 

Sterling

Senior Member
Midwayusa is selling bricks of Federal American Eagle for just under $20 if you hurry.
 

GunnSmokeer

Senior Member
2009

In 2009 500-round bricks or bulk packs of .22 ammo were about $15. So that would be 3 cents per round. Cheap stuff, not really great quality.

I ordered a bunch of 50-round boxes of CCI Blazer .22 HV ammo, which my guns shoot just as well as Mini-Mags, for $2.30 per box, plus shipping. Under 5 cents a round even with shipping and tax and everything.

But the American dollar has lost a lot of buying power since then, and all the metals that go into ammo are internationally-traded commodities.

Then we had Obama's second term, where he put gun control back on the table and made it a priority in his regime...
 
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Buzz

Senior Member
I've literally not seen .22 LR ammo on store shelves since Sandy Hook. Literally - none.
 

hummdaddy

Senior Member
talked to a big store supplier yesterday and he said you have to be there when they put it on the shelf to beat the hoarders and gougers that buy it up...
 

dwhee87

GON Political Forum Scientific Studies Poster
talked to a big store supplier yesterday and he said you have to be there when they put it on the shelf to beat the hoarders and gougers that buy it up...

^^^ What HD says is the biggest problem. The local Academy by me gets shipments in on Mon, Wed and Sat. The guy at the gun counter says there is 15 people lined up at the doors those mornings...same 15 people every time... that buy their limit (2 boxes per caliber per day). He says the .22 is always the first to go.

Until people stop paying the "asking" price from those re-selling it, the price won't come down, and the supply will remain slim. Just like any other product, lower the demand, and the supply will increase, and the cost will decrease.
 
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.

Guest
$38.00 for a 500 rd brick is the cheapest I've found locally and always in stock.
 

clown714

Senior Member
in a word "NO".

with the value of the dollar sinking.

nothing is cheap,gas,groceries,etc...

better off to invest in lead,powder and primers.

don't shoot much .22lr anymore.

clown
 

Rainmaker

Senior Member
I hope all the scalpers and gougers who are waiting at the big box stores when they put it out get their just due. They are the problem.
Parasites in another form.

Just because they can, and just because it is legal doesn't make it "right".
 

bullethead

Of the hard cast variety
So, I have waited and waited for months now to purchase any 22 LR ammo. I bought 2 boxes of 50 several weeks back from Dicks just to go shoot my 22 pistol over the weekend. It is still hard to find at my local retailers and when I do find it, it is outrageous. Before all this craziness, what was the price of a 22 LR cartridge, maybe .05 per shell? I just ordered a 500 round brick off the internet for .16 per shell. With shipping, it is almost 90.00 bucks for a round of 500. Is that what we should expect from now on or do you think it will come down?

My local walmart has 225 count of Remington Golden Bullet 36gr HP's for $9.97. Federal 325 count 40gr Auto Match for $19.97. and CCI 375 count 40gr AR Tactical for $24.97.
They also have Winchester 100 packs of 40S&W, 45ACP and 9mm, Tula 7.62x39, and lots of Various rifle hunting ammo. It seems like either supply is catching up or demand has slightly gone down or maybe a bit of both.
 

BRANDYN

Senior Member
in a word "NO".

with the value of the dollar sinking.

nothing is cheap,gas,groceries,etc...

better off to invest in lead,powder and primers.

don't shoot much .22lr anymore.

clown

This is the sad truth. Its not that the products cost more, its that theyve printed so much money that the dollar is worth about half of what it was 4 years ago.
 
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