More .22 at Yuma Walmart Stores

I was slightly surprised to see some more .22 LR in a Yuma WalMart on Wednesday, September 7th.  This was Winchester SuperX, at $8.37 a hundred, in a nice plastic box/dispenser.  8.37 cents a round is pretty high by historical standards, but is not too bad compared to the last three years of .22 LR bubble.  There were 37 boxes on the shelves.  The clerk told me they had come in that morning.

I had thought that when supply of .22 LR met demand, the .22 bubble would burst, and prices would fall quickly.  That has not happened.  Instead, the bubble is deflating slowly.  Perhaps Hillary's bluster about imposing ever stricter laws on the ownership and sale of firearms, and the California legislature's push to require background checks on ammunition sales, are pumping new demand into the system.

At another Yuma WalMart, I saw some of the new CCI .22 copper .22LR for sale.  They feature a 21 grain copper and polymer bullet at 1850 fps.  I have not seen any accuracy tests yet.  They were priced at $7.47 for 50.  That is pricey for plinking ammo, but not insane if you need it to hunt in California.

Looking at the prices of .22 LR on the Internet, there has been a definite decline.  I see prices of 6 cents a round now, down from 9 cents a round a few months ago.  That does not include shipping, which is required to compare the price to local supply.

We will see a considerable change in the prices, up or down, after the election.  If Trump wins, I expect prices of .22 LR to continue to drop, faster than they have.  If Hillary wins, the bubble will reinflate.  It is impossible to know how high it might go.


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