Posted on 04/04/2017 6:25:56 AM PDT by marktwain
Vista is the corporation that owns CCI and Federal brands. They have been increasing production of .22 rimfire ammunition. It was expected to be ramped up 20% this year.
Following the election of President Trump, demand for ammunition has dropped. According to an article from Lewiston, Idaho, Vista has laid off employees in both the Lewiston and the Anoka, Minnesota ammunition plant locations. From the postregister.com:
The number of people who work at Vista Outdoor’s ammunition-making operations has been shifting since February. A month-long voluntary, temporary furlough for about 100 Lewiston employees ends Thursday and will bring the number of employees at the operation to 1,465.
Vista’s Lewiston operations also shed about 10 positions through attrition in February.
The measures Vista has taken in Minnesota were more sizeable. That plant permanently lost 130 employees in early March. It had about 1,430 employees prior to the cuts.
Lewiston laid off 15 salaried employees. The Anoka facility laid off about 10% of its 1,430 employees. The presumption is that it is not employees at the rimfire production facilities that are being laid off.
Centerfire ammunition shelves tend to be well stocked. That is not the case with rimfire ammunition, especially .22 Long Rifle cartridges. The .22 LR continues to be the most popular cartridge in the world. Annual production for the U.S. market is estimated at 5 billion rounds.
There are many stores that have little to no .22 rimfire ammunition on their shelves. Prices are high compared to the historical average.
Only five years ago, .22 ammunition could be found at 3 cents per round in bulk packs. Now it is unusual to find .22 Long Rifle at less than 5 cents a round. A Dallas WalMart had 22 boxes of Federal Champion 40 grain
(Excerpt) Read more at ammoland.com ...
Glad to see the .22 availability coming back. We have a trip to F&F planned for tomorrow; I’ll check their inventories and let you know if I remember.
We stockpiled before the last go-round with lack of inventory, but having more ammo never hurts. :)
I am kind of changing my strategy, though; I’m currently stockpiling Scotch and Hand Grenades. ;)
I’ve got 525 round bulk packs of Remington .22 with $9.95 price stickers on them.
There is still no .22LR or .22 magnum at my Walmart.
If is available at some retailers for a premium, but not at a reasonable price yet.
Not where I’m from. North Georgia in Jasper. My Walmart doesn’t keep 22 LR or magnums but for a day max. They have a huge selection now of other caliber ammunition, but that 22 stuff is rare as hens’ teeth - STILL.
The problem is that these manufacturers STILL like those 10-15 cent per round prices and they are loathe to give them up although nothing has changed for them economically other than those resellers willing to screw their customers.
So, from my perspective, Walmart always strives for the best price and these manufacturers like CCI are unwilling to continue to make ammunition at reasonable prices. Good ammo, for sure but their manufacturer got very used to high prices is my take.
You talking about the ‘golden’ stuff? I have a bunch of it and I find it very ‘dirty.’ Lots of loose round residue covering their stuff.
I went to Cabela’s here in MA and they were stocked to the rafters with ammo, every caliber you could want including .22 ammo in bulk.
You know what’s missing in that picture? CCI Mini-Mags! Make more Mini-Mags. They are the currency of the future.
There was a story a few months ago that lefties were stocking up on guns and ammo, more fake news
Yea, the Remington Gold is dirty. I accidentally swallowed a casing on Saturday. It bounced off the wall and went straight down my throat. It tastes pretty bad actually.
these manufacturers like CCI are unwilling to continue to make ammunition at reasonable prices
I was going to say the same thing, Walmart shelves empty. At the gun store only “premium” brands at well over 10 cents per round.
I bought a 9mm plinking rifle and stored all my .22 weapons, I can reload 9mm for less than .22 ammo.
Natchez shooters supply has it for 10.49 a box of 100.
War price,but available.
‘Federal’ is still NOT CCI is it? Tell me it is not. I have every variety of that stuff and I know it. I have bunches of both.
IMO, CCI is the cleanest, best and most consistently reliable 22LR for guns that need consistency and repeatability - in my case handheld semi-auto pistols.
Top capacity and top capacity targeted for higher margin markets are two different things. There is an absolute reason by my Walmart can’t keep it in stock, and it is PRICE and what Walmart, through its large potential, doesn’t get the supply everywhere - only the places where customers are willing to pay a higher price.
It, CCI, is NOT readily available nor will it be if CCI makes this cut of production decision to maximize their sales. I know what is going on and it is just like the old 70s days of high credit card interest rates. They go used to high margins/profits and they’ll be damned if they give it up.
The .22 scam is the same as the 9mm scam of the early 2000’s. A box of Winchester USA brand ammo (100 round value pack of 9x19, 115 gr FMJ) was selling for $11 at Walmart. Once the Iraq war started, the price shot up to $20 and has stayed there for years, even though the war (effectively) ended years ago. The thing is, the ammo companies have adjusted to the huge new profits and consumers have adjusted to the new price. Same goes for .22 ammo. They are laying people off because they don’t want prices to go back to normal.
Oh, I guess with BO gone, the gub’mint ain’t buying up millions of rounds anymore?????
Indeed. I am right with you there on that. Not supply and demand, but manipulating for price.
I’m not sure how this is happening, since his election I took to the range (My backyard) again and have been popping off rounds and getting back into practice.
When the dipsh!t was in office, we were stockpiling and not practicing so much.
if CCI makes this cut of production decision to maximize their sales.
Where does it say, anywhere, that CCI is cutting production of .22 rimfire? It would be insane for them to do so, as other manufactures have ramped up production, and are eager to grab market share.
The logical thing for CCI to do is to keep on manufacturing all the .22 rimfire that they can, in order to meet demand. There is still lots of demand out there, and as you know, CCI is still not able to keep product on the shelves.
Cutting back production when you cannot meet current demand, at the price you are asking, would be truly insane.
Interesting. The ones I’ve opened have been pretty clean. Might depend on the way they’ve been handled in transit.
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