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 ...
If there are huge profits in .22 ammo then another manufacturer will step and undercut them.
I’m not going to buy at the prices they still want, nor will a lot of people. That’s why my Walmart is always out of stock on it because the mfrs know they can get premium prices elsewhere, thus my Walmart gets a token shipment at good prices that always, ALWAYS is snapped up.
Here in Douglasville I noticed the Academy Sports now keeps all the 22 out on the main shelves... before it was behind the counter with 2 limit... now no limit either.
EVERY box of that stuff I have is dirty. I am relegated to shooting it in a 10-round S&W revolver I have because so much of it hangs up and doesn’t cycle in more than one brand of semi-auto pistol
I’m not talking about a workhorse Marlin Model 60 rifle that will shoot cow manure propelled bullets or a even a basic Ruger 10/22 here. Fine-tuned pistols that feed clean good ammo that isn’t dirty and economic.
My son started reloading several months ago, because I have been saving brass for over 40 years.
WalMart will only get ammo when all the other outlets' shelves are full.
My complaint is price per round and not ‘availability.’ Of course the finer ammo is widely available, at a higher price.
Tell me your Academy Sports sells copper plated CCI in 22LR at 4-5 cents/round and I’ll shut up and buy all they have. Really.
I was in my WM every day for a few years checking on this 22LR and 22 WMR situation and I even talked their gun-shooting manager of that department. They get what they ask for and that the company allows. That ‘allowance’ is spread over the whole company and an individual store has no power over that decision, really.
Yeah, I guess you can get CCI CP at prices that are nearer to 10-15 cents/round elsewhere, but nothing like prices before Obama and the big scare.
>>Natchez shooters supply has it for 10.49 a box of 100.
War price,but available.
Thanks. That was my point. If CCI is saying that demand is down, they are either stupid or lying because their premier 22LR is sure not sitting around getting dusty except for places charging profiteering prices.
Understood, and there is much economy and practicality to be obtained from reloading ammunition. But the story posted here is really about 22LR ammunition and that variety, and the question and applicability of reloading center fire ammo vs. rim fire isn’t the question here.
Me too. Used to toss a brick in every time I hit Cabelas. Think I’ve got around 15,000 put back.
Buy it cheap. Stack it deep.
L
I’m not going to buy at the prices they still want, nor will a lot of people. That’s why my Walmart is always out of stock on it because the mfrs know they can get premium prices elsewhere, thus my Walmart gets a token shipment at good prices that always, ALWAYS is snapped up.
That rather undercuts the contention that they are reducing production to prop up prices, doesn’t it.
Why would they sell anything to WalMart at lower prices, when they can get better prices elsewhere?
The price increases were mostly at the distributer and retailer level. A lot of it is from scalpers who buy at WalMart for sale at gun shows.
I wanted the manufacturers to increase prices so that they would have the capitol to increase production. They were reluctant to do so in what is clearly a bubble. Eventually, slowly, they increased prices a bit. They spent money to increase production, but it is just barely starting to meet demand, which has dropped a bit with the election of Trump.
Prices are falling as a result.
If CCI is saying that demand is down, they are either stupid or lying because their premier 22LR is sure not sitting around getting dusty except for places charging profiteering prices.
Demand is down for centerfire cartridges. Store shelves are full and prices are dropping.
CCI did not differentiate between the centerfire lines and the rimfire lines in there statements. You cannot just move people who were working on centerfire to rimfire, when rimfire is already operating at max capacity.
“Following the election of President Trump, demand for ammunition has dropped...”
Wait until the BLM/Black Block Rioting Season kicks into high gear.
I’d have to analyze their manufacturing lines to really answer your statement.
It is only about the price they now want. Scalpers and gun shows have made what they’re gonna make off the shortage, real or otherwise.
This whole capacity argument is about price/round and they (CCI, specifically) is NOT willing to return to historic levels, and that is why my WM can’t stock it - they don’t do as much bulk sales to make that kind of profit to support here versus other stores.\
However you want to cut it, they are just like the credit cards of yesteryear. They like the new prices and they don’t want to give that up. Even if it makes their product more scarce everywhere. They can get higher prices elsewhere.
I’m not against increases in prices to true market conditions but wish for higher sales margins isn’t one of them. Sorry.
One day, a 22LR manufacturer of good clean, reliable ammo will come along and snap up those older wiser value conscious 22LR consumers in their wake.
Finally, show me a place that sells CCI CP bullets in the 40 grain range at 4-5 cents/round and I’ll shut up and buy scads of it.
prices are higher no doubt, but i would say around 8 to 10 a round though. But hey, its a big step from a year ago when there wasnt hardly anything to even buy!
Most likely is that centerfire round sales are down and that is what is being cut back.
How many cases of 5.56 are sitting unopened in people’s basements?
Whatever rounds are plentiful are the ones whose production will decrease. 22lr will still be produced at record rates until demand equals supply.
I switched to 22 air rifle and am quite pleased with the results.
I just bought a bunch of Selliers & Bellot center-fire in different calibers from Natchez. Good prices.
“”I’m currently stockpiling Scotch and Hand Grenades””
Great idea - you’ll start a new trend...
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