I have been tracking .22 rimfire ammunition and availability for some time. The .22 Long Rifle bubble has lasted for years. With the election of President Trump, I expected the bubble to bust. Instead, it has been deflating, like a balloon with a pinhole leak. The demand for .22 ammunition has been so great that a 20% increase in supply, and a Second Amendment friendly administration did not bust the bubble. Instead, they stopped the growth, poked a hole in the bubble, and started a downward spiral of prices.
At CAL Ranch Stores, I expected there to be some .22 ammunition at high prices. The prices were above historical averages, but they had dropped considerably. There was plenty of ammunition available in several brands. The man behind the counter and I had a discussion about the situation. He showed an excellent practical understanding of basic economics.
Supply of .22 was no longer a problem, he said. The store did not have any limits on purchase. Walmart has dropped their 3 box limit nationally, as well.
Federal Champion 710 bulk ammunition in the popular 525 pack was on the shelf. He said the store had no problem obtaining it and keeping it on the shelf. The price was $25.95. That is less than 4.8 cents per round. I have found it to be excellent ammunition. Right next to it were bricks of Remington Thunderbolt. As I watched the price changed from $32.95 to $29.95, a 10% drop in front of my eyes.
CCI High velocity .22 with copper washed bullets was a little under 7.5 cents a round, in 50 round boxes.
The large brown boxes on the bottom shelf are 8 cases of Winchester 17WinMag and at least 3 cases of CCI 22WinMag. I expect those prices to drop. The CCI 22WinMag cases have been there for months. The CCI 22WinMag ammo is priced at 30 cents a round. You can buy .223 brass cased centerfire online, with free shipping, for only a penny more per round.
A local gun store, Sprague's, is only a couple blocks from Cal Ranch Supply in Yuma. They had plenty of .22 in stock, with no limits. The prices had not fallen as much as at Cal Ranch Supply, yet. The lowest priced .22 Long Rifle was 6 cents per round.
Neither store had Aguila .22 LR on the shelves. Aguila purchased new manufacturing equipment using the Eley priming method. They doubled their manufacturing capacity during the bubble. There are plenty of stores that carry Aguila ammo. They have lowered their prices to grab market share. On line, it has dropped to 4 cents a round for standard velocity. It is gaining attention.
Very few stores have limits on purchase of .22 ammunition any longer.
In November of 2016, I predicted that .22 Long Rifle bulk ammunition prices would drop to 4 cents a round by October of this year. I stand by that prediction.
What has been happening with .22 ammunition in your area? Reports around the country vary considerably. Some say prices have dropped to 5 cents and you can purchase as much as you want. Other areas are reporting shortages and 10 cent per round prices.
We would like to hear what your experience has been.
©2017 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice and link are included.
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9 comments:
Most retailers have a 100% markup on just about anything they sell. I say let the market get flooded and force the price down. when inventory is not selling is when the price wars start. Until the diesel engine was invented, diesel was a waste product of creating gasoline. now it sells for more than Gasoline. demand drives price. when retailers stop buying wholesale the manufacturers lower the price. HANG ON TO WHAT YOU HAVE AND DONT BUY 22S FOR A FEW MONTHS AND THE PRICES WILL DROP. As long as the customer is willing to pay the high price no retailer is going to sell for less. when I had my gun store I created a price war and closed down five competitors. I was making a fine profit the others were gouging. My volume in sales made up the difference. would you rather pay 78 cents a box for 22s or 2.50 a box, How about DuPont powder for 3.25 a pound or 9.50 a pound? No advertising required, those kinds of prices create a run on your inventory simply by word of mouth. Most of the time I never got the inventory on the shelf before it sold. when I opened the door I had customers waiting. from as far a way as 100 miles and more. almost everyone bought in quantity and very regular. special orders of gun parts, guns, guns accessories, reloading equipment, ammunition, hunting and camping supplies. I could get anything any body wanted. No one ever complained about waiting. it took about 15 minute to sell three Remington 270s. a half hour to sell nearly 600 dollars of reloading equipment. One guy came 65 miles to get three reloading die lock rings. another guy bought a ton of reclaim shot.
No .22LR at any South Carolina Walmarts.
One store has a space for Thunderbolt bulk packs at $24.95, but it is always empty.
I bought some .22 ammo online, 525 for 22.95, free shipping over 25$. So things are indeed getting less crazy. You just have to keep watching.
Off topic, I just watched the video of the Philandro Castillo shooting. I call it murder by cowardly cop.
The way shooting supplies are packaged, ammo, brass, powder, primers will last or store for a very long time if you keep them dry and at room temperature or cooler. not too cool condensations will ruin them quick. I would not move them around at a temp over 120. when powder goes bad it gets white crystals, the nitro separates. that is dangerous. bullet lube can melt. to cold it will not feed. If your powder goes bad the ammo stored with it could be bad too. the ammo might shoot ok but don't try to take it apart to check to see if the powder has degraded. it could blow up in your hand. that might ruin your day. I have ammo that is over 40 years old and some far older back to WW2 I find 22 ammo all the time that has been attempted to be fired. it has a firing pin mark on it. I just place the firing pin mark in a different position and fire it off. not a good idea to save it. save the lead , save the brass, collect enough brass and sell it for junk metal. recast the lead.
I have a brass cleaning system and probably 100 pounds of empty brass I have found in the desert that will clean up like new. always inspect the brass for flaws and measure it for correct length. You always have to consider head space when reloading, with reasonable powder charges most brass can be reloaded ten times. pits or cracks don't use it, they can be very small. once fired brass found in the desert is like picking up money. what cant be used or cleaned up can be sold.
Rachael, I don't think that .22 is BEST for self defense, but I do believe it is a viable option. It was the first carry gun I used,since it was what I had, and I am one of those poor people who can't buy a Wilson Combat or Nighthawk Custom 1911. I had an H and R 9 shot revolver, with a 6 inch bbl. Not the kind of gun you would expect for a carry gun, but it was what I had.
I don't know about you, but if I were stabbed 9 times with a pencil, I would lose interest in what I was doing and run. I felt that the same thing about the .22, if you got stabbed 9 times by it, you would not continue with your bad motives.
No limit? I haven't seen any sign removed at the walmart near my office. There they still limit you to 3 boxes per person.
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