Thinking of dumping .22LR completely. Have you?

[Crazyeye24]

I teach my kids to shoot on the 22 and don't think I'll ever get rid of them. They're too much fun to shoot! I recently got a Heritage Rough Rider and my cousin's girlfriend LOVES shooting it, I think the kids will too!

 

[mjbskwim]

No.

If anything I NEED a few more.

If I had lots of money I'd be broke from buying 22s
Maybe it's because my dad never bought me a 22 but I just love most any type,handgun or rifle. Except the tacticool crap.
I have way too much fun shooting them. Right now I only have 3 . A m39 Marlin that is very accurate, my mkIII and a 10/22 with a Beyers barrel that is better than the Marlin .
The marlin was purchased to resell and make a few bucks till I shot the thing.

 

[rubberband]

Well if the real location got out on the interweb then the source would dry up & people will continue to pay $75 for a 325 round brick....
I'm saving the people from the scalpers!!!

Earlier this year, automatch was all over the place back east & I was paying $19 bucks a carton at various local shops (same price Fishermans has had it recently). Heck, a couple shops would sell you a case if you wanted. Yet, go to any of the shows at the time & you'd see it marked at $45-50 and the vendors would claim you still can't find .22LR anywhere & that justified the outrageous prices.

 

[Robo]

22 caliber is my favorite. I have several 22 rifles and pistols and I love shooting 22s. My favorite rifles are a Marlin 1897 Cowboy, a Winchester 94-22 and a Savage slide action. I like shooting my tack driver Browning Buckmark Varmint, several Rugers Mark II and IIIs, and several classics. Long live 22 short, long and long rifle guns and ammo.

 

[Joe Link]

Suppressed rimfires are the most fun guns to teach people with, and half the ammo I buy goes to letting new shooters learn about the lifestyle. Never ever will I ever stop shooting .22LR.

View attachment 316511

This looks similar to the 10/22 I'd like to build (won't be that nice though)

 

[Quartermaster]

This looks similar to the 10/22 I'd like to build (won't be that nice though)

There's no reason it can't be.

 

[Grendel65]

Unlike most, my first rifle wasn't a .22, in fact, I think it was about the 20th rifle I bought. I had shot F Class for several years before I bought a .22, and had plenty of larger calibers to shoot.

But a good friend and I have recently started shooting .22s at distance and Saturday we were giggling at each other trying to shoot sub MOA groups at 100 yards. He is a World Class 3 gun shooter, and one of the top tactical Shotgun shooters in the World. He has won the PanAmerican championship, among others. He has won about every Heavy Metal 3 Gun match there is. He was in the top 6 or 7 at the World Shooting Championships a couple years ago, (where you shoot about 20 different disciplines to determine the top shooter).

BUT...we both felt like high schoolers skipping school when we are shooting .22's. We can shoot all day, a thousand rounds or more, for what shooting centerfire would cost a couple hundred rounds would buy.

Sure, the 3 penny ammo is gone, probably for good. BUT Even shooting a dime a round it is easy to shoot!!!

I'll keep my .22 and probably add a few!

 

[erwin643]

I think that we've all taken a beating with the ammo crunches over the last several years. It's easy enough to get fed up with it all when your particular caliber gets scarce and expensive when previously wasn't. After introducing my kids to 22lr several years ago, I encountered the same frustrations as you did. Turns out that my kids really loved the 22lr and it started becoming "unobtanium". So I did the best I could trying to find it. I even paid a bit more than I should have on a few occasions. Then I got sick of the whole situation and considered just cutting up the guns and sending them back to the manufacturer. Not that I would actually do that buy I think that's how we all felt, getting raped on 22lr ammo. Like the stock market, ammo these days ebbs and flows. I've noticed more and more showing up on shelves. Fisherman's Warehouse currently has plenty of bulk packs with no quantity limit. So I while I share your frustrations with the ammo crunches, I would say to hang in there. Unfortunately it's the world we live in now. At the moment, I'm shopping for a Ruger 10/22 Take Down for my daughter. Maybe one will find me at the gun show this weekend.

Sounds like you've been to the gun shows.

 

[billstaf]

Thought about it for a while. Especially when .22LR was so hard to find at a decent price. .22LR might become scarce again if Hillary takes office and the hoarders return.

I rarely take my trusty 10-22 out much anymore. However, just recently I picked up Ruger Charger takedown. I added a cheap red dot site and a couple more BX-25 mags. Now I'm back plinking away with .22LR and having lots of fun. Guess I'll hang on to my .22s.

 

[cigars]

I understand the lack of interest in .22 but I will never dump mine for the following reasons:

• I very rarely will get rid of a gun due to the loss of $$ usually involved
• .22 has uses for SHTF which I believe in being prepared for. I realize not everyone does.
• .22 is invaluable when teaching brand new shooters and younger kids. Seems like at least a couple times a year I'm taking a new shooter out.
• My interests fade and come back. I've seen it happen before
• I still find use practicing with .22. YMMV

Sounds like you've been to the gun shows.

Off to the gun show this weekend actually. Lol.

 

[Oldtrader3]

I did not shoot my .22 LR's much in recent years but that is Obaba the Weak's fault! Now that I can actually buy .22 LR's shells again at my local store, I have started shooting them again, bigtime. I have (4) .22 pistols and a .22 LR CZ rifle. I can practice a lot more with .22's then with other centerfire handguns or rifles. Practice is what I need, at my age.

 

[Pete F]

Even with the price and scarcity of .22 ammo, I have purchased two more recently - a Henry Golden Boy and a S&W SW22 Victory. I love shooting 22's and they are still the cheapest for me to shoot. I still have several thousand from back in the day when they were 2 cents a round. My Dad encouraged me to stock up. I recently went out to sight in a new scope for my Glenfield Model 60 (Marlin) and ended up shooting 250 rounds (all three guns). I can't afford to do that with my center fire calibers, especially autoloaders. The old ammo, especially the CCI from 1977, shot better than the new CCI. I also scored 2000 rounds (limit) of Federal from BiMart at 4.4 cents a round when the new store went in at Scappoose. I reload, but mostly for match ammo and hard to find calibers like .375 Winchester and .41 Action Express. I have a single stage press, so I can't turn out hundreds of rounds an hour like my Dad did.
I also agree that it gives the neighbors a break.
If it is no longer fun for you, watch the "22 Plinkster" on YouTube, or sell me your .22 guns and ammo. I still love to shoot 22's.

 

[mjbskwim]

22is still scarce?
4 stores in town and I can go get 22 at any of them
Y'all should just be nicer over there

 

[Pete F]

Before BiMart came in, all we had locally was Walmart and Fred Meyers. It is still hit and miss with them on .22 ammo. BiMart is not a sure thing either, but prices are usually better.

 

[Flopsweat]

I like that the 10/22's are so lite and easy to pack around. My ruger take down weighs 6 lbs scoped. My bowling ball weighs 3 times that

Throw a cheap holographic sight on a 10/22 and light up a rimfire plate rack with it. That'll make a believer out of anybody.

 

[Hawaiian]

I built this for my son when he was 12, that was 14 years ago. All VQ internals fine tuned by our smith. It is still his favorite gun to shoot. This one will dot the i on the Pepsi can at 100 yards.

 

[Joe13]

22is still scarce?
4 stores in town and I can go get 22 at any of them
Y'all should just be nicer over there

Yea yea... keep bragging and y'all will be complaining about all of the Oregon and Washington transplants moving into your town like we complain about the damn Californians lol.

 

[Joe13]

I built this for my son when he was 12, that was 14 years ago. All VQ internals fine tuned by our smith. It is still his favorite gun to shoot. This one will dot the i on the Pepsi can at 100 yards.

I wish I had the money to do that when I bought my first gun at 18 - a stock SS Marlin 60. No scope or mods and I can hit anything I can see. Pisses off all those red dot users lol.

Still love to shoot it but the Henry .22 truck gun I bought is fast becoming the gun I always take.

Shoots great and way easier to clean + lever guns are a friggin hoot!!! Your missing out as a shooter if you've never tried one (that was a general statement to everyone).

 

[Kruel J]

I built this for my son when he was 12, that was 14 years ago. All VQ internals fine tuned by our smith. It is still his favorite gun to shoot. This one will dot the i on the Pepsi can at 100 yards.

Sweet rig. That's way more .22lr than I've ever owned. Probably a shining example of why folks are defending the caliber so much. I've never had a rimfire gun that dialed.

 

[Flopsweat]

I wish I had the money to do that when I bought my first gun at 18 - a stock SS Marlin 60. No scope or mods and I can hit anything I can see. Pisses off all those red dot users lol.

Still love to shoot it but the Henry .22 truck gun I bought is fast becoming the gun I always take.

Shoots great and way easier to clean + lever guns are a friggin hoot!!! Your missing out as a shooter if you've never tried one (that was a general statement to everyone).

Hey, I resemble that remark.