AZ:.22 Rimfire Spotted in Yuma

Gun Watch ^ | 7 September, 2014 | Dean Weingarten

[marktwain]

.22 rimfire is starting to become more available, as tremendous demand is being met.   From around the country I am hearing reports of more .22 rimfire being available, though supplies are still not sufficient to keep stores stocked.

My friend Jerry needed to purchase some shotgun ammunition for dove hunting, as I was taking his son and friend out as beginning hunters.   We drove to Wal Mart.   Shotgun ammunition has never been in short supply.   Wal Mart was out of dove loads! 

Shooting dove with duck loads or buck shot is not a good idea.   I should explain that this is in the middle of dove season in Yuma, and after I had taken Joe, Jerry's son hunting, we went out for brunch.  We had to wait over an hour to get a table, because all the restaurants in town were crowded with dove hunters that had come in for the season. 

So, we went to a local gun shop and range, Sprauge's.   They had lots of dove loads, at prices lower than Wal Mart's.

We looked around the store, and I noticed that they had some .22 ammuniton in stock, at almost reasonable prices.  $3.19 for a box of 50, is 6.38 cents per shot, much lower than it has been for a while.  I talked to the clerk, and she confirmed that two months ago, it had been $5 a box of 50, with a one box limit.  Now the limit was three boxes.   You could buy one 333 round box for a little over $21.  Standard velocity CCI was available for about 10 cents per round.

Wal Mart had no .22 RF in stock. 

This all points to supply starting to meet demand.  Prices should drop, if we escape another political scare from the Obama administration.


©2014 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice is included. Link to Gun Watch

[maddog55]

http://www.sportsmansguide.com/product/index/cci-rimfire-22-short-27-grain-hp-1000-rounds?a=1592304

1000 rounds $78.99. ~0.08 cents per round.

[crusty old prospector]

We occasionally have boxes of 50’s here in Tyler, Texas. According to the man behind the counter at the local Walmart, “someone” is building the first new rimfire factory in America in a long while. He said something about the EPA shutting down a lead mine. Not sure how true that is.

[discostu]

I only go to small local shops (mostly because I have one extremely close to home and 2 other on the way home from work) and they’re fully stocked, a little dusty even.

[ClayinVA]

22 short and it is already out of stock.

[DuncanWaring]

Maybe I’ll take a look next time I’m in PHX; haven’t seen any in SW Michigan in nearly two years.

[Sawdring]

I’m waiting for CCI Mini-Mags to become available.

[The_Republic_Of_Maine]

You would be amazed how many Maine folks are headed to the SW, not California, but NZ, NM, OK, TX, and the Arkansas/Oklahoma border area around route 40.

[T-Bird45]

Not a lead mine, it was the last US lead smelter/refining facility.

[normbal]

It’s out there. I saw ONE box at a local Walmart a few months back ($24.99 - last time I bought was $8.99, maybe five years ago) but I was/had been looking for .22 Mag and they had three boxes. 3 Box limit. Didn’t occur to me to go out to my car and come back for the lone box of Federal .22 LR I didn’t really “need.”

I’m down to about 10,000 rds right now, maybe 5k of subsonics... you never know when the SHTF or you’ll need a thousand rounds to entertain family shooting steel critters at the local range. So you buy it when you see it, right? Only thing is, I never see it.

I travel from Maryland to Nashville once or twice a year and between local stores, stores in VA, TN and even up in PA/NY State, I have seen JUST that ONE lone box of .22 LR in over three years. Probably in excess of 100 different stops. Empty shelves. My backorder with MidwayUSA went on so long they just up and canceled it “shipment overdue.”

But SOMEone has .22 LR. Go to gunbroker, look at the ads. $50 to $75 a box. Gunshows. It’s there. You’ll find it. Just as pricey. But who’s buying it? I know boys scout troops that can’t train their scouts, my own club asks for donations.
I train several new shooters every year, it’s cheaper for me to use low-power .38 Special handloads than .22LR like I used to. Hell, I even use airsoft for the basics.

You know, every Maomart I go into the clerks tell me the same thing. They get shipments all the time. Old farts with loads of time on their hands come in every day at opening, line right up and buy their 3 boxes. First come first served, until they run out. Usually in minutes. Same guys every week. Week after week. Month after year after...

There’s a free market economy working here. What better investment can you make that can double, literally, in the time it takes for you to go from the cash register to the parking lot? All cash up front, no IRS reporting.

Who would have thought there’d be a black market operating under President Obeyme’s great depression? Oh, not EBT cards. That’s old school, but ammo?

Ammunition. Currency for the next generation. We’ll take payment in .308 or .223, discount for .22 LR. You want your change in 12 gauge or 9mm Para Bellum?

[B4Ranch]

There’s still plenty available from Canada.

[Professional Engineer]

That represents the entire supply in Arizona, correct?

[Prince of Space]

I hear the same thing at Walmart. Finally gave up and bought some 22lr online ($9.00/50....grrrr). Then dropped by a Chandler gun store and they had a ton of it, although $7.00/50 and 2 boxes per person. Oh well, at least I’m stocked up for now.

[Brother Cracker]

http://ammoseek.com/ammo/22lr

[Red in Blue PA]

I have about 17,000 rounds.....I will wait until prices are reasonable.

Right now I am stocking up on PMAGs cheap because you know at some point there will be another false flag. And they just came out with 40 rounders!

Buy em cheap and stack em deep.

[Secret Agent Man]

what are prices for that from canada?

[Red in Blue PA]

Picked up an FN five seven last week and the shelves were full of 5.7 x 28 yet out of .22LR.

Strange times.

[Ruy Dias de Bivar]

WINCHESTER! I have a pistol that gobbles WINCHESTER .22LR. It chokes on every thing else.

[SgtHooper]

And 25 rounders for 308!

[SgtHooper]

I know, but actually what these posters are saying—they do not want to order online. And they want the lowest prices. So while there are tons of 22lr available, they will shop the local B&Ms for twozies and threezies.

[Brother Cracker]

—they do not want to order online.

Yes, I understood that. Just posted AMMOSEEK as an indicator of pricing trends.

My local Wal-Marts have not carried 22 LR for ages.

I hate it when people post “see my tag line” but see my tag line.