22 LR ammo

Join the club Al. I stocked up last summer when there was plenty but shot quite a bit of that so I am real low on 22. It seems that it is attributed to hoarding but I feel a more sinister event is slowly taking place. 22 ammo is the one round that can't be reloaded and it also is the most shot round in America. Me thinks it is a plot to put a halt to Americas favorite shooting gun, the age old 22. The manufacturers say they are pumping out millions of rounds a day but where is it going? There has been none around here for several months and the prospect for more is supposed to be 6-8 months away.......If you find a good supply let me know. Chris  S

Not to play Injun Joe, but I will soon know something about .22 LR production, at least at Winchester. I will let all know when I get some results. However, I agree with Chris that I don't think it's hoarding. How can you hoard something you can't get?
Mike

Well, folks, like most here, I rely on a steady supply of 22LR for the bulk of the shooting needs of family and friends, and like most, I can't get any.
It is really frustrating to try to track any down, because when it is available, it is sold at prices that are beyond outrageous. For instance, cheaper than Dirt does have CCI mini mags-for $60 a box!!!!!!!!!
500 round bricks that used to be expensive at 20 some dollars now sell for $80$-90 at gun shows, and thats cheap, because the internet prices go from $120 and up.
What the key is here has to do with the slimy world of politicians and money. According to one source, I was told that the government has required their suppliers to fill their orders first, and as we all know, or should know, homeland insecurity has ordered literally billions of rounds of ammo.
Thus, according to this source, the government is drying up civilian ammo supplies by stuffing their faces with a glut of ammo. The ammo manufacturers are scrambling to keep up with these orders, and so they can only release small quantities of for instance-rimfire ammo, which get bought up darn quick.
So far this is the only explanation I've heard that has any possibility of accuracy.

...how much 6.5X55 swedish mauser or 7.62X 54R  are the feds buying up? How much Titegroup or H110?
I'm thinking it's panic buying and hording that is the problem, started everytime the pols try to pass another anti 2A law.  Anyway,  just IMAO

Al, remember that what we are talking about here is total machine time. One guy who I trust, because he knows people in the industry, told me point blank that the amount of machine time is what matters, not the caliber, or whether it is rimfire.
In other words his perspective is this. The reason ammunition manufacturers are going full bore is because of the sheer, unprecedented volume of homeland insecurity's orders. The fact that all this machine time is to be allocated to the feds, who BTW are stockpiling antipersonnel ammo, not training ammo, means that little to none is left for traditional American needs, the big one being 22LR. So, the actual ammunition manufactured does not matter, the fact that the ammo makers have to fill the absurd demands of homeland insecurity first, does.
Its gun control via ammo control, and its all about drying up the supply for the public, while providing a glut for the police state. What better way to enforce gun control than to remove from the public their means of training the next generation? I think its pretty safe to say that the bulk of firearms exposure when we are young, comes from experience with the 22. We learn to shoot with this fine cartridge, to put meat on the table, and to dispatch varmints with it. We learn safe gun handling, and begin to create habits that stay with us for life. Take this away, and you have really interfered with the system that builds new riflemen and women. I don't think the drought is by mistake.

I suspect that both Gumint orders and hoarders are at work. Here is a quote from an interesting article: 

“Take for example .22LR ammunition. The industry as a whole (all manufacturers combined) is setup to produce 4,200,000,000 (4.2 Billions) .22 LR annually. That is running all the machines, full capacity all the time, all manufacturers together.
There is NOTHING they can do to produce more.
That corresponds to 230,137 cartridge per State per day, which is 460
bricks of 500 .22lr per day per State. That means that if less than 50
people per day in each State are buying 10 bricks of .22, it is enough
to dry up the entire supply as it is being manufactured.”

Read more: http://www.ammoland.com/2013/06/this-whole-ammo-shortage-thing-by-the-numbers/#ixzz2YqQAKeDB

Under Creative Commons License: Attribution

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On the hoarder side, Some people around here are buying at the big boxes then reselling at flea markets and gun shows.  Also panickers. I know one person who has hoarded 21,000 22's in the last 6 months! (No, its not me)

The good in all this is that one of my friends has two teenage boys. They can no longer spray and pray with the 10-22 or see how fast they can work a Henry lever. They might just slow down and really learn to shoot now that he is rationing the ammo! 

On second thought, I must revert to the principle I have used since the JFK assassination: if you consider the intelligence and moral character of the people in high government positions, you will have to concede that government conspiracies are not very likely. They are all too stupid and inexperienced in real life to be able to execute a secret project. It is the gullibility of the masses in the cities that allow them to even make their numerous mistakes and claim they are victories.
Mike

Ah fellow shootists. If you are patient and willing to put your name on the list Midway might get you a bit of 22 ammo. I put my name in a month ago and finally was able to buy a box from good ole Larry P. for a good price disregarding the silly UPS hazardous cost??? Anyway, you may have to wait a while but it will get around to you sooner or later. Chris S

So, I have also heard of such things happening. A friend told me he had just bought 10 boxes of 22LR at a local store two days before. I zipped up there only to find that they had sold out quickly. I have at least a year's supply, so I didn't gripe (too much).
Anyway, maybe things are loosening up a bit. Hope so. 
I have been reading old Handloader mags recently and, in 1974, the main topic of discussion was...hard to find brass.

Mike

Mike, I too have a good enough supply of reloading components to tide me thru a small drought but I don't shoot a whole lot anyway so my small stash would not be enough if components totally disappear. I will be patient and wait my turn so my fellow shooters may get some too. Chris S

thumbs up Chris, When I find components, I try to leave some for the other guys too!!

The whole ammo situation is a mess. I'm in the Dallas area, & have a Cabela's, 3 Academys, 4 WalMarts, & 2 independent gun stores within 10 minutes of my home. On the days of the week that Cabela's & Academy receive ammo shipments (Monday, Wednesday & Friday) there are groups ranging from 20 - 50 people waiting when the stores open. The stores are restricting how much ammo an individual can purchase at a time. Even so, the more popular calibers are sold out by 10:00a.m. The manager of the WalMart I use most often told me WalMart is not currently purchasing ANY ammo. At my favorite gun store .22LR & .22WMR are available occasionally, but the prices are exorbitant. A 100 round box of CCI Mini-Mag 40gr .22LR is $25.00. The size of bricks have shrunk from 500 to 325 rounds, & are priced around $70.00.
Dove season begins September 1st, & Im having difficulty finding good quality 20ga shotgun shells (I don't use the bargain junk). At Cabela's yesterday, a clerk was unloading a case of CCI .22WMR Shot-Shells. If I can lure the doves close enough, maybe i can shoot 'em with my Single Six!

Ammo is still scarce here in the U.P. also but as I posted earlier I signed up on Midway's e-mail alert for certain 22 LR and sooner or later you luck out and can get there before its all sold out and order some. It costs the silly shipping charge but its still better than being without. By the way, I have used Winchester 22 shotshells to bag small squirrels and rodents so doves may be a target if you are close enough and shoot straight. Chris S