.22

Mescalero · Post by **Mescalero** » Wed Apr 02, 2014 3:34 pm

I scored a Federal value pack of 525 rounds of .22 LR today.

piller · Post by **piller** » Wed Apr 02, 2014 3:46 pm

Great! Where?

Mescalero · Post by **Mescalero** » Wed Apr 02, 2014 3:59 pm

Local gun store.

Sixgun · Post by **Sixgun** » Wed Apr 02, 2014 4:07 pm

I'm out. Can I have them?

----

I told you guys to be patient. It's starting to filter down to you Western guys.----6

Mescalero · Post by **Mescalero** » Wed Apr 02, 2014 4:14 pm

Six,
Poke a couple more holes in the filter.

AJMD429 · Post by **AJMD429** » Wed Apr 02, 2014 5:14 pm

Mescalero wrote:I scored a Federal value pack of 525 rounds of .22 LR today.

C'mon now, April Fool's day was yesterday...

None to speak of in Indiana lately, but some places sell boxes of 50 for $5 or so ('limit one per customer').

Glad I can reload 38 special cheap; it has replaced 22 LR as my 'plinking' caliber...

J Miller · Post by **J Miller** » Wed Apr 02, 2014 5:19 pm

I'm not hurting for .22s. Course I haven't fired a round since O'Bummer got elected the first time ....

Joe

Mescalero · Post by **Mescalero** » Wed Apr 02, 2014 5:40 pm

No, it really happened.
My brother called me and I told him, now he has something to tell his ferrymates tonight.
Every time they get on the ferry, someone asks abouut .22 L.R.

WinM71 · Post by **WinM71** » Wed Apr 02, 2014 5:48 pm

I got two Winchester 555-packs at the local WalMart here in NH last weekend. I always walk through the sporting goods section & the cabinet is always empty. But there, on a cart, was a carton of the 555s with 4 boxes left. I asked the guy what the limit was, he said 3 boxes. I took two. $24.67 each.

FWiedner · Post by **FWiedner** » Wed Apr 02, 2014 6:11 pm

Part 1: Overheard in Cabela's yesterday, between 2 middle-aged fellows:

"Anybody who buys .22's these days is stupid. The whole idea of the .22 is to shoot and practice inexpensively, but these prices just don't make sense for that."

I wasn't shopping for .22's so I've got no idea what he saw that stuck in his craw like that. Just mentioned it to offer this opinion...

I understand what the guy was saying, but honestly, price is not the deciding factor for me when I shop for ammo, and believe it or not my .22's have more specific and designated purposes other than 'cheap' shooting. The guy had an opinion, he shared it, I sympathize, but I disagree with his premise. That said, I still don't know how much .22's cost at Cabela's.

Part 2:

I saw .30-30's on the shelf. Really... .30-30's. Remington and Winchester. 150's and 170's. And the price was reasonable. WOOHOOOO! Didn't buy any, but IMO, it was a sign.

This has been my bench-mark. .30-30's. I figure they are very popular, so I'm not surpsied that there would be a demand or that they'd sell out pretty quick in the recent and current environment. I usually scout the local Cabela's on Friday, but I went on a Tuesday and there it was... piles of it. Now I'll check again on Friday to see if some other joker has chased it off, or if it's still hangin' out where I saw it before.

Part 3:

Still not much variety in the .358 200gr bullets. Had some Hornady FTX (got some at home) and some Barnes TSX (those are expensive bullets). Also looked for the even more elusive Winchester .223 64gr PP. No luck, those things are hen's teeth.

AJMD429 · Post by **AJMD429** » Wed Apr 02, 2014 6:53 pm

WinM71 wrote:I got two Winchester 555-packs at the local WalMart here in NH last weekend. . . $24.67 each.

That's only 4.44 cents apiece; I remember paying $9.99/500 back in the mid-1970's and thinking it was a good deal, at 2 cents apiece. If you take into account inflation, that $9.99 box would now cost $43.60, so we really are getting a good deal, even though we like to gripe about it. (Same for gasoline, really; the $3.69/gal I recently paid would have equated to about $0.85 in 1975.)

EdinCT · Post by **EdinCT** » Wed Apr 02, 2014 7:27 pm

I bought 100 CCI Standard velocity LR for 8.99 and felt it was better than none. I was paying around .38 cents for a gal of gas around 1975 and 22 LR were 1.00 a box of 50. Glad 22's aren't 10 times the price!

Grizz · Post by **Grizz** » Wed Apr 02, 2014 7:28 pm

it's a "good deal" that the buying power of the dollar is off over 90% in recent memory?

I don't get it.

the dollar is so worthless that there are communities that are trying to stop people from paying their bills with u.s. currency.
there are "first responders" that are trying to keep from being paid in u.s. currency.

I can't connect those dots to good deals, but I don't need to buy ammo either.

good night all

GoatGuy · Post by **GoatGuy** » Wed Apr 02, 2014 7:59 pm

AJMD429 wrote:
Mescalero wrote:I scored a Federal value pack of 525 rounds of .22 LR today.

Glad I can reload 38 special cheap; it has replaced 22 LR as my 'plinking' caliber...

Hey Mescalero, there you go ... life is good! Enjoy.

Doc - I can't think of a better alternative plinking caliber, ...in fact it's always my 1st choice when .22's become too boring for me. I really prefer something with a little more kick and thunder than the .22 rimfires offer.

rjohns94 · Post by **rjohns94** » Wed Apr 02, 2014 8:31 pm

Good you found some Mescalero. My LGS has cases of that stuff. Hopefully it's breaking loose soon.

Mescalero · Post by **Mescalero** » Wed Apr 02, 2014 8:36 pm

rjohns,
We have talked about my .32 long before, that 85 grain mold and 3.1 grains of 700x makes a good plinking load.

Centennial · Post by **Centennial** » Wed Apr 02, 2014 8:40 pm

Federal bulk packs were still 9 to 10 dollars 20 years ago. Stayed about $15 for a long time. Now the price tag sign in front of the empty shelf reads $24.99.
I think part of the reason is demand and the other part is "quantative easing", 0 and the Fed printed so much money it de-valued our dollar.

C. Cash · Post by **C. Cash** » Wed Apr 02, 2014 8:57 pm

Good score! I haven't seen those in a looong time.

OldWin · Post by **OldWin** » Wed Apr 02, 2014 10:38 pm

I live less than a mile from the local Wal Mart. In there all the time checking for .22's and there are never any.
Of course, its the only Wal Mart between my town and the Canadian border (80 mi.), and I have a job so I can't be there when the doors open every morning.

piller · Post by **piller** » Wed Apr 02, 2014 10:51 pm

I actually saw some .480 Ruger tonight at Academy Sports and Outdoors. They are not common. I have switched to .327 Federal reloads with 5.6 grains of Universal and a lead 115 grain bullet for plinking. I had bought a couple of 250 round boxes of very cheap 9mm a few years ago, and my kids have used it in the last 2 years. That isn't much to practice with, but we are being frugal with our practice ammo.

mod71alaska · Post by **mod71alaska** » Wed Apr 02, 2014 11:02 pm

Let's share the prices we're paying for FED/REM/Win bulk .22 LR at your LGSs and Walmarts around the country. Wonder if it varies much? Right now, seems $24.67 is the best price for Winchester bulk 555 ct. right here in southern NH. I haven't seen any 22 bulk in northern NH Walmarts, yet. I check every time I go in!

Interestingly, Winchester and Remington 30-30 in 150 gr and 170 gr ammo has been available at our Walmart. $18.27 or $18.97 per box just last week. $18 something, anyway. Didn't need any, so didn't buy any. But I bought 30-30 there off and on through out the winter. I saw it online the other day for $15.25 per box/$150 a case for 150 or 170 gr. Remington Core-lokt.

Looks like we'll all be shooting this summer!

hightime · Post by **hightime** » Thu Apr 03, 2014 6:42 am

So why are .22's so hard to come by?

Owen

Centennial · Post by **Centennial** » Thu Apr 03, 2014 7:07 am

hightime wrote:So why are .22's so hard to come by?

Owen

As far back as 1978 Jeff Cooper wrote about it, calling 22LR ammo "Ballistic Wampum".
In hard times it would be better then money in the bank, good for trading/barter that has indefinte shelf life if properly stored.

In November 2007 president elect 0 said he could control guns by controlling ammo.
Citizens responded by record sales of guns & ammo, and prices spiked up. Things smoothed out.
Then 4 years later 0 gets re-elected and sparks another record guns & ammo sales, except this shopping spree hasn't really stopped. Hoarders, price gougers & scalpers, quanitive easing of the dollar all play a role.

The manufacters say they cannot keep up with demand. (don't know about that; How much ammo was produced during WWII?)

But then lead mining and smelting of it has ceased in the US. We're told don't worry "recycling" will keep up with demand.
Soon we'll be dependant on enemy nations and former enemy nations for ammunition and components.
At the same time eco-extremist efforts, the media, and public sentiment, all focused to ban lead is "full steam ahead".

JB · Post by JB » Thu Apr 03, 2014 9:46 am

The hoarders and gun traders buy it up in my area as soon as it hits the shelves. An FFL friend told me that one of his distributors said they had just received a HUGE load of 22LR from a manufacturer. But since the 22LR ammo shortage, their sale of 22LR firearms have been slow. The distributor told my friend that 22LR ammo would only be sold to those FFL's buying a firearm as well. It's their way of using the shortage to move excess inventory. So it's out there, but there are many reasons we aren't seeing it on the shelves.

Hillbilly · Post by **Hillbilly** » Thu Apr 03, 2014 3:13 pm

Carson City, NV "soft opened" a Sportsmans Warehouse last weekend....nary a Long Rifle or short in the whole place. Lot's of 5.56 and .223 though...

hightime · Post by **hightime** » Thu Apr 03, 2014 3:14 pm

Boy I'm not sure hoarding accounts for the shortage. It seems like my local shops aren't even getting any. How can one hoard if it doesn't come in?

Udy · Post by **Udy** » Fri Apr 04, 2014 8:08 am

hightime wrote:Boy I'm not sure hoarding accounts for the shortage. It seems like my local shops aren't even getting any. How can one hoard if it doesn't come in?

Bingo

At the local bi-mart they get a shipment every 5-6 weeks they say, and that is only a few boxes at a time, not even full cases. I am guessing that's because they break them up and distribute what ever they get to all the retail outlets so all the stores get a few boxes every month.

I've read all the articles in the rags about the supply and demand problem. If its truly a function of over buying then who in the hell is buying them. Short of a few people on this board I don't personally know anybody who has purchased .22 ammo in the last couple of years, because there is none.

Mescalero · Post by **Mescalero** » Fri Apr 04, 2014 9:50 am

The last gun show I went to, there was plenty of .22LR, but it was priced higher than I was willing to pay.
I will make the one on the 21st and see if that has eased off some.

hfcable · Post by **hfcable** » Fri Apr 04, 2014 11:23 am

Mescalero wrote:rjohns,
We have talked about my .32 long before, that 85 grain mold and 3.1 grains of 700x makes a good plinking load.

i like that round also, and the 32 H&R

anyone have pet loads for either of these......something especially accurate and/or good small game load?

BrentD · Post by **BrentD** » Fri Apr 04, 2014 12:06 pm

If folks were smart and willing to do the work, it would be interesting to see a .22 LR reloadable round developed. Preferably one that would work in a .22 rimfire chamber. Maybe even w/o changing the firing pin strike. But at least a reloadable round that would work in existing .22s. If someone put their mind to it and had the skills to manufacture the primers and brass, we would all be back in business. Or maybe someone would return to selling primed brass cheap. That was available not too long ago.

Brent

Blaine · Post by **Blaine** » Fri Apr 04, 2014 12:38 pm

Mescalero wrote:The last gun show I went to, there was plenty of .22LR, but it was priced higher than I was willing to pay.
I will make the one on the 21st and see if that has eased off some.

Around here, it's been fairly obvious that GunShowFolk have bought up WallyWorld Value Pacs and are re-selling them for up to 100 bucks a 525 box.

Mescalero · Post by **Mescalero** » Fri Apr 04, 2014 12:46 pm

Somehow it seems to me that such behaviour should be a crime.

Centennial · Post by **Centennial** » Fri Apr 04, 2014 3:54 pm

I'd like to see 22 rimfire factories set up , one in every state, at least one factory for a few states in some cases. I think they would be a good employer and would have no problem selling product. Prices would come back down to reasonable. Montana, Arizona, and Texas would be good states to start it in. Eventually they could make primers.

jnyork · Post by **jnyork** » Fri Apr 04, 2014 4:46 pm

Mescalero wrote:Somehow it seems to me that such behaviour should be a crime.

Should be a crime to be stupid enough to pay scalper prices.

Post by **Ysabel Kid** » Fri Apr 04, 2014 8:16 pm

Hope you didn't pay too much for them!

Mescalero · Post by **Mescalero** » Fri Apr 04, 2014 8:17 pm

No, much more realsitic than the gun show stuff.

J35 · Post by **J35** » Fri Apr 04, 2014 9:35 pm

hfcable wrote:
Mescalero wrote:rjohns,
We have talked about my .32 long before, that 85 grain mold and 3.1 grains of 700x makes a good plinking load.
i like that round also, and the 32 H&R

anyone have pet loads for either of these......something especially accurate and/or good small game load?

I have 12 pages of loads for the 32 SWL that I have tested and chronographed out of a 4 " Mod 31.

The mod 31 is regulated for 98-100 gr bullets, so I cast and shoot the RCBS 98 WC, I had Accurate molds cut me a 3 cavity copy of the RCBS 98 SWC and I have a Morgan Mold that throws 9 OO and 8 OOO with every pour, I size the OO to .314 and load two because one shoots to low to be any fun and two weigh right at 100grs and shoot to the fixed sights.

I shoot it a lot, so I keep things pretty tame for the long haul like 650 to 700fps for the WC
and 720 to 750fps for the SWC and OO buck for target shooting.

The RCBS cast bullet manual list's 3 gr of 231 with the 98 SWC at 842 fps out of a 4 " Mod 31, I got 849 fps and super accuracy so that would be my choice for a small game load .

-----J

Mescalero · Post by **Mescalero** » Fri Apr 04, 2014 10:20 pm

And I thought I did some load development

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