.22LR, where is it AND WHY IS IT SO HARD TO FIND?

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  • Pinecone

    Ultimate Member
    MDS Supporter
    Feb 4, 2013
    28,175
    Y I tried signing up for the Notify Me on Midway's site,

    Good luck with that. I find by the time they send the email alert, they are sold out.

    Keep on eye on threads here and in the Rimfire section.

    Also AmmoSeek, Gunbot, and WikiArms can also help.
     

    TxAggie

    Ultimate Member
    Feb 25, 2012
    4,734
    Anne Arundel County, MD
    I think your opening statement pretty much explained your answer. .22lr is still the cheapest round out there for plinking. If you want to practice drills and are short on funds, .22 is everyone's goto round.

    Unfortunately, I think the days of cheap, readily available ammo are behind us. Also, with a large majority of these new firearm purchases being semi-auto rifles and pistols, folks are burning through more ammo on each range visit.

    More shooters x more rounds per shooter = massive increase in demand.

    I would say it's a government cover-up, but with the explosion in firearms sales, and an ever increasing number of people getting into the sport I honestly think it's simply supply and demand.
     

    Pinecone

    Ultimate Member
    MDS Supporter
    Feb 4, 2013
    28,175
    And it fuels itself.

    People can't get it when they want to, so when the find it, they buy more to have it, causing it to be unavailable for someone else, who then is worried, so they buy more when they find it, etc.

    That and the douches who stand waiting for the shipment to come in, to flip at at outrageous prices.:mad54:
     

    protegeV

    Ready to go
    Apr 3, 2011
    46,880
    TX
    That and the douches who stand waiting for the shipment to come in, to flip at at outrageous prices.:mad54:

    And the people who work at some of these retailers who hide it when it comes in and call up their friends to buy it. Or so I've heard :rolleyes:
     

    No_comment

    Active Member
    Oct 19, 2013
    103
    Good luck with that. I find by the time they send the email alert, they are sold out.

    Keep on eye on threads here and in the Rimfire section.

    Also AmmoSeek, Gunbot, and WikiArms can also help.
    Gunbot has been good to me: CCI blazers for $.05/rd, CCI mini-mags for $.12/rd, etc. Good at least by 2013 standards. Midway's email alert system hasn't yielded any results at all.
     

    JoeRinMD

    Rifleman
    Jul 18, 2008
    2,014
    AA County
    On the supply side, businesses such as Walmart are multi-product retailers. It's well known that MPRs will not take advantage of short term price fluctuations because they fear losing business. Would Walmart really want to lose all of your business to make a few bucks on 22LR? Not likely. Same with Dick's, Bass Pro, etc. Single-product merchants, especially online ones, are different. CheaperThanDirt, will sell bullets at the market price no matter what the name of their business. In this sense there really isn't a shortage of 22LR: there's plenty to be had if you are willing to pay the price.

    I think there's another aspect to the supply side issue. My guess is that a rimfire production line is dedicated to rimfire and that production can't be switched over from a centerfire line. And as well, I assume that the time to bring another increment of capacity online would mean that manufacturers wouldn't do that unless they believed that long-term demand would increase.

    JoeR
     

    No_comment

    Active Member
    Oct 19, 2013
    103
    I think there's another aspect to the supply side issue. My guess is that a rimfire production line is dedicated to rimfire and that production can't be switched over from a centerfire line. And as well, I assume that the time to bring another increment of capacity online would mean that manufacturers wouldn't do that unless they believed that long-term demand would increase.

    JoeR
    Great point! Maybe calibers could be switched, but switching to rimfire would require additional steps. In a Forbes article, Federal make a carefully worded statement that speaks directly to your point: "“Our facilities operate 24-hours a day. We are continually making process improvements to increase our efficiency and investing in capital and personnel where we have sustained demand [emphasis added]. We are bringing additional capacity online again this year.”"
     

    jneuberth29

    Active Member
    Apr 7, 2013
    146
    Eldersburg, Carroll County
    ATTENTION EVERYONE, I ORIGINALLY GENERATED THIS POST, SOME OF YOU KNOW ME, I WORK AT A WALMART. I KNOW IN ADVANCED WHEN .22LR WILL BE ON THE SHELVES. I HAVE VARIOUS WALMART'S AROUND ME. EACH ONE SEES BRICKS OF .22LR ABOUT ONCE EVERY 5 WEEKS, SAME AS BASS PRO, SAME AS DICKS.
    I BUY MY .22LR FOR 4 CENTS PER ROUND FROM WALMART.
    INFACT THE OTHER DAY WITH 3 BOXES 0F WINCHESTER 555 FOR $24 I BOUGHT ONE BECAUSE THE GUY BEHIND ME ALWAYS COMES IN AND NEVER CATCHES A BREAK, I LET HIM GET THE LAST 2.
    AS WELL, WALMART POLICY WE CAN'T HOLD AMMO OR BUY WHEN WE ARE ON CLOCK, WE HAVE TO BE WALK IN CUSTOMERS LIKE EVERYONE ELSE, WE GET FIRED FOR HOLDING IT FOR OURSELVES OR OTHERS, AUTOMATICALLY.
    BUT ON MY SHELVES AT MY WALMART IS SO MUCH .223, .308, 9, 40, 45. NO .22LR
     

    BigCountry14

    Ultimate Member
    MDS Supporter
    Jan 17, 2013
    1,668
    ive been watching Cabelas. Its kinda like the lottery. Every few days it pops up and you have to be quick to get it. I got lucky and got a box of 500 Wednesday. By the time I was done check out I was on the phone trying to get the lady to order some and it was gone.
     

    kenpo333

    Ultimate Member
    Industry Partner
    MDS Supporter
    Mar 18, 2012
    3,322
    Salisbury Maryland
    I'm guilty of hording, but can't help myself I see it I buy it. But like many I went without for a long time.

    I think hording is the real culprit. I used to have like one of 22's and now I'm not even going to tell what I've acquired. Think about the number of people who are keeping a lot more in every caliber and then you have a problem
     

    jneuberth29

    Active Member
    Apr 7, 2013
    146
    Eldersburg, Carroll County
    28ixe6r.jpg
     

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