.22 LR Ammunition - any updates on availability?

[oldballs]

Why would one want to stock up on 22 caliber for doomsday? I'd want something a lot more deadly for such a bizarre event. Hoarding for resale could be a reason, but the only one that makes sense to me. Guys that plink a lot would want more of course. .....just wondering.

 

[AaronS]

Why would one want to stock up on 22 caliber for doomsday? I'd want something a lot more deadly for such a bizarre event. Hoarding for resale could be a reason, but the only one that makes sense to me. Guys that plink a lot would want more of course. .....just wondering.

Hunting/food gathering....plus .22 ammo will still kill a person and you can carry a lot more .22 on your person than you can larger ammo if you're on the move.

 

[rtimgray]

I would think that .22 would be very useful in a doomsday scenario. I would bet almost every gun owner has at least one .22, and then after that, the calibers probably vary a lot. If nothing else, it would be a valuable trading commodity.

As the previous poster states, hunting and food gather would be the primary use, but personal defense would be a close second. I don't want to get shot with any round, centerfire or rimfire.

The amount that can be stored or carried is another consideration, because a 500 round brick of .22 probably fits in about the same space as 100 rounds of .223.

And finally, obviously prior to the scarcity and panic pricing, would be cost. It would be within the financial capabilities of many people to accumulate 10,000 or 20,000 rounds of .22 ammo, whereas that would be much more difficult for centerfire rounds. I would say now that the gap has significantly closed, as I'm seeing 50 round boxes of .22 go for $10, and there are places to get 9mm for about the same price.

Those are just my guesses/observations: I think the shortage is attributed to the gun-glut that the country has been/is going through. A lot of those guns being sold are probably .22, so naturally everybody wants to shoot if they can, which requires ammo.

Then you have people that buy it to re-sell - that accounts for a good portion. I know that one of the local gun stores' owner routinely checks Wal-Mart to see if they have any .22s which he marks up and re-sells in his store.

Then you have preppers that are stock-piling in general.

Then you have folks like me that aren't reselling, aren't shooting (much), and aren't preppers/stock pilers, but still buy our limit when it's available, simply because it is no longer always available.

I think when you add all of those things up, demand outstrips supply, at least by some portion.

These are strictly my guesses based on my perception of the situation.

Good luck and take care.

 

[Toyboy]

This hoarding/prepper mentality is ridiculous to me. For example I have a friend in another state that has stocked up on food, ammo, water and who knows what else. He's ready he says. He has close to or over 40,000 rounds of various caliber ammo. I told him if push comes to shove and something bad does happen, he'd never have a chance to shoot up all that ammo and the next guy would inherit an ammo dump. Myself, I think it's a stupid mentality to have.

As for .22 prices, I've not purchased any since about a year before the shortage. I don't shoot all that much, so this silly pricing has not affected me at all.

 

[300UGUY]

I think the price of everything is going up, why not ammo? I don't see any cheap 9mm around here, either.

 

[drizler]

I bet it's all in Texas right about now. Since the Tin-hatters got the grand idea that the US Army was going to start the Zombie Apocalypse with that training mission they have all been manning the bunkers. Sooner or later some of em will come out, probably about the time the beer supply runs low. Maybe then they will start selling some of the hoard off, but then again I doubt it. You'll probably find 20 years down the road that some lucky grand kid is going to be shooting for free for years and wondering what the old coot was thinking when he gathered that huge stash.:confused3:

 

[buickanddeere]

Makes an ultra high powered pump air rifle look good. I Would prefer on of those that have the pump handle in the forestock instead of pulling on the barrel.

 

[rtimgray]

The shortage of .22 ammo was one of the things that spurred my son and I to get into the "sport" of airsoft. We've picked up several of the guns and have been going to a field a few times to play with groups, and (to me) it's way more fun than paintball because it's cheaper, cleaner, and the guns are essentially clones of the real ones. I could never afford a G36 in real life, but I've got one that I've used to shoot a ton of people with (and I've gotten killed way more than I've killed, but it's still a lot of fun).

Some of the airsoft rifles that we've gotten are good for shooting coke cans with. The boy picked up a sniper rifle off of craigslist that is really accurate (and painful) at 50 yards. I know that's not a long shot for a real gun, but it's good for $50 airsoft gun.

Good luck and take care.

 

[TCJatko]

I think the price of everything is going up, why not ammo? I don't see any cheap 9mm around here, either.

Is this cheap enough? Seems reasonable to me. Their shipping seems a little pricey, though.
POBJEDA Technology MAXXTech 9mm Steel Cased Full Metal Jacket, 115 Grain, 1150 fps, 1000 Round Case Packaged in Ten 100 Round Plastic Cylinders , PTG9MM

 

[bx25jim]

like one other poster stated, I also have a load of wheel weights to make my own bullets from. And, that is getting hard to come by as they are making them out of steel or some other metals now. Nobody seems to be looking at the effect that the last new/fresh lead smelting plant has been shut down. Now manufactures are having to figure out how to make ammo lead safe thanks to the EPA. Next time you are just looking at ammo, look at how the price of all ammo is going up that contains lead in it. Nearly all of it. .22 being a small round is going to be effected the most do to its size and trying to figure out how to make it the same weight and size cheaply enough to be economical.
As for the small gun shops, they are going to suffer. But, the one we have here that I posted about before, keeps our wallyworld shelves clean so he can jack up the prices and make demand more in his favor. I personally wouldn't by a BB from him. But thats just me.