The chart shows the prices, in the value of unskilled labor, of a .22 Long Rifle cartridge, in 2022 dollars, from 1911 to 2022.
Posted on 06/08/2022 5:24:09 AM PDT by marktwain
The author has been interested in the historical costs of .22 rimfire cartridges since childhood. Starting in early adolescence, and continuing for many years, the value of things and time was measured in .22 cartridges. It was a simple calculation, an easy comparison. From that era, 1964 to the present, .22 Long Rifle cartridge list prices, converted to constant unskilled labor dollars, have been fairly stable.
The unskilled labor number is based on the time it takes for an unskilled laborer to earn the same purchasing power for a particular year. It took about 146 hours (about two weeks, 12 hours a day, six days a week), for an unskilled laborer in 1911, to earn the same purchasing power as 1 hour of unskilled labor in 2022. The chart shows the value of unskilled labor increased rapidly from 1911 to present, with some glitches. The most obvious is the depression, in 1932, post-WWII in 1950, most of the 1980s, and after the election of President Obama, 2008 onward.
The .22 caliber rimfire cartridges are the most successful cartridges in history. Billions are produced annually. They are the most used cartridges of all time. The .22 Long Rifle is the most common. For a considerable time, the .22 Short gave it significant competition. The .22 Long, while sold in considerable quantities, was never as popular as either the Long Rifle or the Short.
.22 rimfire cartridges have been used to kill the biggest land animals on the planet, from elephants (according to Peter Hathaway Capstick, in Safari, the Last Adventure, p.114 to 116) to grizzly bears.
The chart shows the prices, in the value of unskilled labor, of a .22 Long Rifle cartridge, in 2022 dollars, from 1911 to 2022.
.22 LR will be used as currency again pretty soon I think.
L
Prices are coming back down to Earth these days for 22.
I just bought a bunch of Aguila 60gr in 50 round boxes for $14, which was about what it was 5 years ago. I still see 500 round packs at $40, when in the 1980’s it was $12. Still not too over inflated as it was about $15 in 2005.
I stocked up way back when a Brick, 550 shells, was $10.79. Have some left.
Same here. I passed on buying more thinking 22 is always going to be around and cheap. Doom on me!
Fascinating. Thanks!
In the early ‘90s I bought a bunch of 500-round bricks of Winchester Wildcat .22 LR for $10 a brick at Walmart (two cents per round).
I still have most of them.
Whatever happened to that Russian .223 ammo at 21 cents a pop? Disappeared.
About the 1993-2006 looks to be about the lowest cost for .22, in unskilled labor.
I still have some 525 round bricks with $9.95 price tags on them.
Well, we were getting richer and richer a while ago.
Now, stagnation and even getting worse.
$7.89 on sale at BiMart. We used to laugh when we saw the same bricks for $19.99 at Big 5.
Sanctions on Russia.
Better make sure they fire. We took out some .22 magnums the other day and half of them were duds.
I have a box of 450 purchased in 1982 from K-Mart for $9.97.
Aguila SSS?
.
Used in Israeli
‘Hush Puppy’ 10/22.
.
My Dream Rifle.
You can carry 1000 rds of 22 LR in a backpack easier than 1000 center-fire.
Try a Savage 64 with a threaded bull barrel and a good can like the Sig 22X. Easily effective to 200 yards shooting the 60gr.
The (then) largest Brown Bear in the world was killed by a young native girl, Bella Twin, near Lesser Slave Lake, northern Alberta, Canada, in 1953, with a single shot .22 caliber, bolt action rifle. The .22 round was a .22 long (NOT long rifle). She shot the bear at very close range and it fell. She shot it several more times in the head “for insurance.”
There are photos of her and the massive bear hide hanging behind her that can be found on the Internet.
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