Stopped at 4 Dallas/Ft. Worth Walmarts: 3 had .22 LR

Gun Watch ^ | 31 December, 2016 | Dean Weingarten

[marktwain]

As I drove around the Dallas/Fort Worth metroplex during Christmas season, 2016, I stopped at four area Walmart stores.  The first one was a couple of days before Christmas.  I did not have a car until the 24th, so I only looked in the Walmart at Frankford and Marsh Ln before Christmas.  I have written about .22 at that store for a year and a half.  It has had .22 LR in stock pretty reliably during that period, so I was not surprised to see a a couple thousand Winchester Super X, a couple of thousand CCI Stingers, a thousand CCI .22 short CB caps, and five  hundred CCI minimags.  They all seemed over priced, with the minimags the best buy of the lot at 7.47 cents a cartridge.

Benbrook Walmart Display

I stopped at the Benbrook Walmart next, on the other side of the metroplex, at the far South West edge.  I have been watching it for a year or so, and have never seen any .22 LR in it.  It was no surprise either.  The prices were the same as on the North Central edge, but there were only a few boxes of .17 rimfire.  No .22 LR.

Display at Dallas Parkway and Beltline Walmart

After meeting my Daughter for lunch, I stopped at the Walmart at Dallas Parkway and Beltline, a more central location. I did not expect to find any .22 LR. I thought the Frankford location was a fluke. I was wrong.  The Parkway and Beltline store had a fairly good stock.  The prices were the same.  You can see .22 Magnums on the left of the picture, some CCI .22 LR shotshells, plenty of Winchester SuperX, and some CCI .22 CB shorts.  I talked to a friendly Walmart employee who explained the situation.  For a period of time this year, the Walmart had been closed for remodeling. During that period, .22 ammunition kept coming fairly regularly, but it could not be sold.

When the store when back into operation, the employees keep the shelves stocked with .22, and they have not run out since.  SuperX is the most common .22 LR round they get in. They get some CCI, and a little bit of both Remington golden bullets and Federal .22 LR. They do not have a three box limit on purchase.

Plano Store Display

The last store I stopped at was in Plano, off the George Bush Turnpike.  The nearest cross street was Park.  This store was not as busy as the others, but it was a weekday afternoon between Christmas and New Year's Eve. I did not expect to find any .22 LR there.  Surprise! There, tucked down in the lowest shelf, with no price showing was nearly 2,000 rounds of Winchester SuperX, some CCI .22 Magnum and a carton of CCI .22 LR shotshells.

I was pretty sure I would find .22 LR at the Frankford store, but I was surprised to find significant quantities at two of the other three stores where I stopped.

The prices were nothing to smile about.  8.37 cents a round for Winchester SuperX seems a bit high to me.  Using a constant dollar calculator, it would translate back to about 1 cent a round in the early 1950's. It is not completely out of line.

I expect .22 LR to become more plentiful and cheaper in the coming year.

None of the .22 LR was in bulk packs, and that is where the best deals for blasting ammunition is found.  The Internet sellers have .22 LR as low as 5.6 cents a round, but you have to pay shipping.

©2016 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice is included.

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[marktwain]

.22 prices seem to be slowly drifting downward. I expect prices to drop more after Donald Trump assumes office.

[shelterguy]

It’s everywhere now. Nobody cares now that we will have an American president.

[fulltlt]

I don’t buy .22 ammo unless it’s below .05/round. My Walmart has had it.

[JoeProBono]

[smokingfrog]

Since I can still remember the days of 525 round boxes of .22LR at only 2-3 cents per round, I'm still a bit disappointed.

[marktwain]

We may get there yet. Manufacturers have increased production by about 25%. The biggest, Vista (CCI/Federal) expects there new CCI plant in Lewiston, ID to come on line in a couple of months.

[RebelTXRose]

I wonder what will happen when President Trump orders the return of ALL that ammunition “O” had all departments purchase over the years...

[fightin kentuckian]

I saw a box of 22 mag. Strange but I still can’t find it around here. 22 mag is coming back much more slowly than 22 lr. And the price of 22 mag is still sky high. Its about 25 cents a round where is was about 11 cents a round before Connecticut.

[Travis McGee]

[Wyrd bið ful aræd]

I think you’ll be waiting a long time. The ammo is bought and paid for. Best you can hope for is that Trump appointees reduce the amount of ammo the agencies buy going forward.

[marktwain]

“there” should be “their”

I bought Federal Champion in bulk packs, (325 round) on sale, with a coupon and free shipping, from Cabelas for under 3 cents a round in 2012. It was not that long ago.

I have found the Federal Champion to be a good value, reliable and pretty accurate for a bulk pack.

It is now on the net, in 50 rd boxes, for 5 cents a round.

[1Old Pro]

When you find .348 WIN let me know - I need to feed a Model 17.

[Blue Highway]

Has anyone ever seen the 1600 round case of .22LR CCI Minimags that come in a plastic ammo case at Walmart? I have seen pictures on the interwebs but never seen a spot for them on the shelves. I would like to one day see these sitting on the shelves but I may be hard pressed as I can never find the 100 round mini mags on the shelf even.

[Gaffer]

Many of those purchases were multi-year contracts for a fixed price. Deliveries to be spread out over fiscal years. As always, the government reserves the right to cancel any contract for its own convenience.

[Gaffer]

I’d like to get my hands on some of that.

[gundog]

I think .17 HMR is using all the brass.

[gundog]

I think .17 HMR is using all the brass.

[Obadiah]

Since I can still remember the days of 525 round boxes of .22LR at only 2-3 cents per round...

I hope you can remember. It wasn't that long ago!

I just do not understand why .22LR is still relatively scarce and expensive.

[Noumenon]

I’ve got some 525 round bulk packs with a $14.95 price sticker still one ‘em.

[marktwain]

I think Buffalo Bore has it at $90 for a box of 20. But there is free shipping.

A reloading outfit would pay for itself very quickly at those prices.

Even the simplest, cheapest reloader could reload a box in half an hour.

I did that with a .300 Savage and an old Lyman 310 tong tool when I was 14.