The Down Range Forum

Member Section => Handguns => Topic started by: Pababear on March 02, 2014, 06:00:56 PM

Title: 22LR ammo
Post by: Pababear on March 02, 2014, 06:00:56 PM
Anyone seen .22LR in a brick, and what is the price range?  Where's it all gone?
Title: Re: 22LR ammo
Post by: Timothy on March 02, 2014, 06:53:37 PM
Nothing for weeks.

Kinda pissed I gave a brick away last year...
Title: Re: 22LR ammo
Post by: alfsauve on March 03, 2014, 05:06:18 AM
At this rate, a whole generation of kids will never know .22lr.
Title: Re: 22LR ammo
Post by: ellis4538 on March 03, 2014, 09:09:08 AM
Lots at local gun shows @ $50+ a brick!

Richard
Title: Re: 22LR ammo
Post by: Big Frank on March 03, 2014, 03:02:51 PM
I miss the good old days when they had sales of 99 cents a box. I still have an old brick that cost $9.90. Now it seems it's worth its weight in gold so I keep it under lock and key in case someone breaks in. Some other ammo they can take and I won't miss it too much.
Title: Re: 22LR ammo
Post by: fatbaldguy on March 03, 2014, 03:56:45 PM
I miss the good old days when they had sales of 99 cents a box.

Hell, I used to scrounge soda bottles to return for the deposit.  Then I would cross the road to the Western Auto and put 50 cents on the counter for a box.  I was ten or eleven.  The folks at the store knew my Old Man.  They knew if'n I did something stupid, the Old Man would beat the livin' shit outta me.  Guess that's why they let me have 'em.  That was in the 1960"s though, so it may have been just the way it was.
Title: Re: 22LR ammo
Post by: PegLeg45 on March 03, 2014, 05:46:28 PM
Hell, I used to scrounge soda bottles to return for the deposit.  Then I would cross the road to the Western Auto and put 50 cents on the counter for a box.  I was ten or eleven.  The folks at the store knew my Old Man.  They knew if'n I did something stupid, the Old Man would beat the livin' shit outta me.  Guess that's why they let me have 'em.  That was in the 1960"s though, so it may have been just the way it was.

We still did that up into the late 70's-early 80's in our little fart of a town. The price was slightly higher, but not much. There was one little country meat market and the guy kept a brick behind the counter and sold them by the box, without much mark-up. There were some kids he refused to sell to because he knew they were trouble....... I guess me and my friends were OK..... he always sold them to us, and sometimes we had to chip in and split a box amongst ourselves is the bottle finding was slim that week. The freight train that ran through regularly had one crew that saved their bottles for us. They would toss them into the tall grass, one at a time, every few yards as they went through.

Title: Re: 22LR ammo
Post by: robert69 on March 04, 2014, 01:20:23 AM
I looked at my stock, and I have 4 bricks that I paid $5.00 a brick. (Federal and Wildcat).
I have around 12K on hand.
The match extra wolfe stuff I have I paid $5.00 for 50. Now its $20.00 for 50 rnds.
I also have grand children that shoot.  The last outing they went through 1200 rnds.
Of course it was not the wolfe ammo.
Recently Cabelas north of here had Win T-22 for $31.00 a brick, and flying off the shelf.
That stuff is junk for accuracy, but it does shoot.
Still, its lots of fun with the grandkids.
Title: Re: 22LR ammo
Post by: TAB on March 04, 2014, 02:28:18 AM
In the 80s I road my bike in front of the capitol building(sacramento) with a 22 straped to my back.  We use to goto west sac and shoot ground squirrels.  The flood control guys would trade tails for boxs.  Damn things were destroying the leaves.
Title: Re: 22LR ammo
Post by: PegLeg45 on March 04, 2014, 07:50:12 PM
Went in the new Gander Mountain store in a neighboring town......anything and everything you could want in 'bulk' ammo...EXCEPT .22lr.







**One thing I noticed really quick about the ammo they did have.....they like it a lot, based on prices.
(230gr FMJ .45 ACP 200 rounds for $130......  :o ......Bulk Federal FMJ @ $200 for 312 rounds.....where they come up with that number per can, I don't know)
Title: Re: 22LR ammo
Post by: Big Frank on March 04, 2014, 10:11:54 PM
312 is such an odd number. It would be one round a day 6 days a week for a year.
Title: Re: 22LR ammo
Post by: PegLeg45 on March 05, 2014, 12:19:08 PM
312 is such an odd number. It would be one round a day 6 days a week for a year.

 ;D


Heck, it may just be something as simple as the max number of rounds that would fit in the ammo can.  ;D  ;D


I just thought it was odd because I guess I'm used to rifle round counts being based on 20 per box.  ;)

Title: Re: 22LR ammo
Post by: TAB on March 05, 2014, 02:00:38 PM
it could also be some multiple of the quantity that fits into a magazine, but its most likely due to size.
Title: Re: 22LR ammo
Post by: billt on March 07, 2014, 04:36:44 AM
This article makes sense of it. The only thing I disagree with to some extent, is the "1-1/2 years away from normal", part of it at the end. Another mass shooting like Newtown could happen at any time. If and when it does, all bets are off. This could last for several years to come.

http://randywakeman.com/OntheAmmunitionShortage.htm

"There has been a lot of chatter about the “ammunition shortage,” accompanied by claims of government conspiracies and the usual spectacular speculations. The actual situation is far more boring.

The key component in ammunition is nitrocellulose, used in everything from ping-pong balls to ink and wood coatings. Dow Chemical writes, “Nitrocellulose is an excellent cellulose derivative and is also known as cellulose nitrate . WALSRODER™ Nitrocellulose and WALSRODER™ NC-Chips are predominantly used as binders in printing inks and wood coatings, but also in a wide variety of other coatings applications. Dow offers various product forms and viscosities of nitrocellulose under the WALSRODER™ Nitrocellulose brand.” It is used to coat guitars and in nail polish. In small quantities, crude nitrocellulose (gun cotton) can be made easily at home.

However, there are very few manufacturers of industrial or munitions grade nitrocellulose. Radford is the heart of the U.S. ammunition industrial base. All the U.S. armed services are dependent on the products that come from the plant -- not just the U.S. Army, which owns the facility.

The Radford plant (depicted above) is a unique facility. It alone among the 14 existing plants of the U.S. ammunition-producing industrial base has an acid-concentrator facility that produces the nitric and sulphuric acids that, when combined with cellulose in a one-of-a-kind facility at Radford, make nitrocellulose, the essential ingredient for all propellants and explosives used throughout the U.S. Army's ammunition industrial base.

Chemical plants are extremely expensive to build and generally work at a fixed output. As best as I can discern, most are at full production levels and in times past, that has resulted in an ample supply with generally a surplus of product in warehouses. Over the years, when there has been a spike in demand, it has just shrunk preexisting inventory levels with no noticeable impact to the consumer.

The Obama administration changed all that, creating unprecedented demand for firearms lasting for an unprecedented length. A one or two spike in consumption perhaps would have been unnoticed, but it started in 2008 and now, six years later, is finally subsiding. It isn't helped by the American consumer who normally buys a few boxes of ammo. As soon as we can't get it, we want pallets of it. Whether Hostess Twinkies or shotshells, if we can't get it, then we really want it, and lots of it.

Ammo manufacturers have production capacities as well and can hardly build new plants and make huge expenditures in capital equipment only to be forced to mothball them a couple of years later. So, the juggle production schedules and try to please the most people they can. I means that while .30-06 or .308 isn't a problem, if you want factory ammo for the “323 Super-Snorter,” you're out of luck. Rimfire is a large number, but low profit segment. You can always get .22 rimfire, but just not what many people want: the milk-jug bulk plinking ammo and so forth.

It is a combination of Obama-created drama, fixed output of nitrocellulose, and the hoarding and overbuying proclivities of the consumer that have all combined both to create the shortage, and to elongate it. The best available version of the truth is that most of the high drama is over, while traditional availability is about 1-1/2 years away."

Title: Re: 22LR ammo
Post by: Rastus on March 07, 2014, 06:05:07 AM
I'm betting that the 22 ammo supply loosens up by around August.  Not full supply mind you, but some ammo on the shelf.  So...I've sold off some bulk at around $60 for 500 (12 cents a round) with the thought that I'll be able to buy back in at 7-8 cents a round or $35 to $40 in August. 

What I sold off was Remington gold bulk which I've found to be real junk if it has any age to it.  I can't go 10-12 rounds without a misfire and I've had to knock a bullet out of one of my pistol barrels.  Not so with the plated Federal bulk or even Winchester bulk...though I do like the Federal better for consistent "it goes bang" performance.  For an extra 1 or 2 cents a round the CCI mini-mags do the "it goes bang" better...at least that's my opinion...but the gun selects what it likes to eat so I have several kinds of ammo to match their appetites.

If there is not another gun grab exercise (doubtful this year before elections) or a media murder expose' then I think the "new normal" on 22LR bulk will be 5 to 6 cents a round when supply starts to reach historical levels of inventory. 

I'm going to try Armscor and Fiochi bulk when it's around some day.  And when the "new normal" ....whatever that is...is reached you won't catch me with less than 30-40 thousand rounds.  I went into this drought with 25,000+ and cut shooting due to the scare and I'm at 15k before my minor selloff of 5 year old junk ammo.  I never dreamed that nearly 1-1/2 years after an "event" that there would be no 22 ammo.
Title: Re: 22LR ammo
Post by: billt on March 09, 2014, 04:51:54 AM
As far as .22 long term storage, I'm wondering how the better grade of Wolf ammo would hold up, (Wolf Gold Match)? Russians always seem to take long term storage into consideration when they produce ammunition. Although I've got American .22 ammo that is 40 years old and still shoots fine.
Title: Re: 22LR ammo
Post by: mortdooley on March 09, 2014, 09:45:20 PM
The  .22lr in my area is still mostly unavailable, one of the Academy employees said the same buyers show up to buy as much as they can as soon as the truck is unloaded.

I have ammo older than I am including some sold by Sears in Sears boxes which I have shot without any problems. Keeping your ammo in a cool, dry place really makes it last.
Title: Re: 22LR ammo
Post by: Rastus on May 19, 2018, 05:13:15 PM
As far as .22 long term storage, I'm wondering how the better grade of Wolf ammo would hold up, (Wolf Gold Match)? Russians always seem to take long term storage into consideration when they produce ammunition. Although I've got American .22 ammo that is 40 years old and still shoots fine.

That is still a great, albeit unanswered, question. 

Does anyone have an idea on long term rimfire storage.  I'm like Bill with nothing else to base it on...I'm going to have to acquire some Wolf...
Title: Re: 22LR ammo
Post by: billt on May 19, 2018, 05:15:25 PM
If I could find some .22 rimfire that has been stored in an airtight zinc, solder sealed can, I would be tempted to buy some.
Title: Re: 22LR ammo
Post by: Timothy on May 19, 2018, 05:21:37 PM
I found a fifty round box of Thunderbolt in my shed a few years back.  It had to have been from the seventies and kept in the original box in a dank, damp place.

I shot all fifty rounds without a problem.
Title: Re: 22LR ammo
Post by: Big Frank on May 19, 2018, 10:18:33 PM
I found a fifty round box of Thunderbolt in my shed a few years back.  It had to have been from the seventies and kept in the original box in a dank, damp place.

I shot all fifty rounds without a problem.

It's a good thing it was Thunderbolt, not Lightning. That stuff was crap. It's listed for sale online several places, but when I look, it's Champion, not Lightning. Most of them say Lightning Champion or Champion Lightning, but show a box that just says Champion.

I just read some reviews on the Champion ammo and most weren't very good. One person was having jam after jam in a Ruger 10/22 that worked great with any other ammo they tried, and people are having several other problems with it, like several duds that won't even fire with a second strike, several low power rounds per box, failures to eject, and more. I guess it really is Lightning rebranded.
Title: Great Price Re: 22LR ammo
Post by: Rastus on May 22, 2018, 06:03:08 PM
Palmetto State Armory.  Get it while you can.  Free shipping on 5 boxes or more.

Federal .22 Long Rifle 36gr Copper Plated HP Champion Ammunition, 525 Rounds  $19.99 a box...less than 4 cents a round.

http://palmettostatearmory.com/federal-22lr-36gr-copper-plated-hp-525rd-value-pack.html (http://palmettostatearmory.com/federal-22lr-36gr-copper-plated-hp-525rd-value-pack.html)
Title: Re: 22LR ammo
Post by: Big Frank on May 22, 2018, 11:54:51 PM
After all the bad reviews I saw elsewhere I don't think I'll ever buy Champion .22 ammo. Even some of the good reviews at the above link didn't sound that good to me.

Here's a 4 star review.

22LR target rounds
Inexpensive, clean firing, reliable, not many misfires. Would recommend this for anyone into plinking targets. Will purchase again

Another 4 star review.

free shipping made me order this

When did not many misfires become "reliable" and a good enough reason for 4 out of 5 stars?
Title: Re: 22LR ammo
Post by: Rastus on June 29, 2018, 07:49:02 AM
They worked great for me.  Not the highest level but the price was good.  I use it for training and for that I think it is excellent because it is copper swashed and not just a lead head.
Title: Re: 22LR ammo
Post by: Rastus on July 29, 2018, 09:04:45 AM
Wideners has a good price on 22LR in large quantity.

4.4 cents a round for bulk Remington and Federal 22LR.

https://www.wideners.com/rimfire/22-lr-ammo (https://www.wideners.com/rimfire/22-lr-ammo)
Title: Re: 22LR ammo
Post by: alfsauve on July 29, 2018, 11:06:00 AM
At Rimfire Challenge, there were numerous mis-fires.  In fact it was noticeable to several in my squad that by the end of the day I was the only one with zero problems.  Even Tim Norris had one with Fiocchi (which I think is made by CCI) 1 out of 300 isn't acceptable in competition. 

I'll stick with CCI Standard Vel. for everything and pay a little more for the accuracy and dependability. 

Title: Re: 22LR ammo
Post by: les snyder on July 29, 2018, 04:12:05 PM
Alf...try a box of CCI Green Tag, it shoots about 1/2 the size groups that CCI Standard does in my M41... the mental game is king at a match.... knowing you have the most accurate ammo is a great confidence builder... a couple of cents more a round is inconsequential compared to the overall cost of a match
Title: Re: 22LR ammo
Post by: Rastus on July 29, 2018, 05:25:44 PM
Alf, I probably wouldn't use the bulk stuff for a competition.  The only Ruger Rimfire I ever shot in was in Tulsa and I used the CCI ammo just to avoid a misfire.  Competition is no place to cheap out...

Les, I'll have to try that Green Tag some day.  And you are right, being squared away between the ears is most important even if the difference may be negligible.

All this having been said...I like the 4.4 cents a round price for plinkers.  I thought we'd never see it again. 
Title: Re: 22LR ammo
Post by: Rastus on September 07, 2018, 06:57:54 AM
Well, at $195 this Federal Champion 22 LR 36 Grain CPHP - 5250 Rounds is a price I can't beat anywhere.  It's at Wideners right now.