Times they are a' changin! .22 on the shelf-

[Flopsweat]

There has never been a shortage of .22LR. What there has been a shortage of is CHEAP .22LR. A self induced and self reinforcing spiral not caused by not enough ammo, but caused by panic and fear. I hope this is a lesson to folks and when things normalize they simply buy a case or two and put it up. If you would have spent $300 for two cases before the panic you would have went in to it with enough ammo to ride it out without worry (most folks anyway, 20 bricks would last a couple years. Instead we had everybody panic and paying scalpers double and triple what it cost before to have a few boxes. Quit paying for ammo on the secondary market and soon plenty of ammo will be on the shelf

^^ This. I routinely bought .22LR (usually by the case) at less than four cents a round until I had over 15,000 rounds. The price wasn't going down, and I knew a little about the guy running for POTUS. May have seemed silly to some folks at the time but I shot a lot and like to save money. Here I am several years later and I still haven't run out. I'm hoping to hold out until it's under six cents. I like my odds.

 

[oremike]

I've been able to buy 1 brick of ammo each week for the last 3 weeks, first one was Rem golden bullet 36 gr hp from Calbelas, then Fed Champion Match and Winchester bulk from Bi-Mart.

 

[OcelotZ3]

There certainly WAS a shortage of 22lr. For quite a while, there wasn't ANY 22lr available, even at inflated prices. Not at the regular stores, not at the gun stores, not at the gun shows, not even online. Then it started to appear at hugely inflated prices, and it's been going down since.

 

[km3044]

Good analogy. So using that assume that the 22LR corn is perennial and takes 7-10 years to pay off the seeds.

The seed cost is like the investment in a new production line. A short term bubble won't pay off the production if sales drop once again to pre madness levels. If you have made the decision to gear up/staff up, you'll have to drop prices just to cover overhead and your profits will go down.

Look I'm with you, I'm not sure demand will ever go down based on all of this madness. If it doesn't, I'm sure quite a few ammo manufacturers will be kicking themselves.

 

[km3044]

Spoke with a Federal rep at the Sportsman Show. He said they are cranking out more .22 than ever. Don't recall the numbers but it was high. Said there was no shortage, it just that .22 are being hoarded, they are bought up as quick as they hit the shelves. Bi-mart (Orchards WA) confirmed his statement. They are/were getting their regular shipments but sell out immediately.
Bi-mart gal said, in the past, they would get a case or two a week, put them on the shelves and sell them as usual. Now they get the same shipment and we, the buzzards, are hovering over head to swoop down on them.
Another problem is that the buzzards then resell them at a premium.

 

[teflon6string]

...
Another problem is that the buzzards then resell them at a premium.

That's what pisses me off. Opportunists profiting from a gray market that sprung up in response to the actions of the emperor and his guffawing jester.

Gunshow Attendee: "How much for this brick of 500?"

Vendor: "$50"

Attendee: "Damn, that's high!"

Vendor: Shrugging. "It's the last one..."

Attendee: "Ouch! Okay, here..." forking over $50, a little disgusted, but feeling fortunate to snag the last brick in Portland.

Vendor: Places another box of Remington Gold he got at Sportsman's for $24 on the table. Repeat several dozen times.

Note from me to ammo gougers of all sorts:
Stop it!!! Yeah, it's great for you to hit all the stores every day and swoop up every round they get while some of us work all week. Not to mention your retail buddies who squirrel some away for you from every shipment, so you always score. Maybe you dismiss this as your version of working for a living? You're perpetuating and profiting from a sick phenomenon created by agenda-driven political hacks who want to see the vast majority go without ammo forever! Stop helping them get their way!!!

 

[OcelotZ3]

No, you are wrong, the 22lr shortage at this point has nothing to do with politics and everything to do with scalping, it's as simple as that.

 

[teflon6string]

No, you are wrong, the 22lr shortage at this point has nothing to do with politics and everything to do with scalping, it's as simple as that.

And the scalping happened for no reason whatsoever?

Cause and effect.

 

[OcelotZ3]

No, the scalping happened so some could make money.

 

[teflon6string]

Yes, opportunists leveraging the circumstances. Damn shame either way.

It's a dog eat dog world - and sometimes it's the other way around.

 

[40calruler]

Maybe it's just Vancouver

Nope I have been to at a minimum 15 stores in beavertn, portland, and vancouver over the last week looking for 22wmr. Just to make the PMR 30 I have for sale more appealing with some ammo added to it. Nothing on the shelves.

 

[Nightcrawler]

Then there's this little thing that a lot of people don't pick up on. How many of us who have real, regular jobs, can be at Wallymart or another store, at 9-9:30 in the morning, when they put it out? By doing that, they are playing right into the hands of those who don't have real jobs and resell it, or those who's only job is to go to the shows and mark it up.

I'd like to see stores put it out randomly instead of advertising that they're putting it out at 9 am .....

 

[Joe13]

Then there's this little thing that a lot of people don't pick up on. How many of us who have real, regular jobs, can be at Wallymart or another store, at 9-9:30 in the morning, when they put it out? By doing that, they are playing right into the hands of those who don't have real jobs and resell it, or those who's only job is to go to the shows and mark it up.

I'd like to see stores put it out randomly instead of advertising that they're putting it out at 9 am .....

I understand the frustration, but why do people keep stooping to calling out everyone who doesn't work 9am-5pm?

I'm not sure why bankers hours defines whether your job is real or not...

And SportsmansW puts it out at all hours of the day and has been for the last year that I know of.

 

[OcelotZ3]

I haven't personally seen any 22lr on the shelf in over 2 years. I can wait it out a few more years because I still have 20 bricks, but it's getting ridiculous.

 

[tashworth1]

No, you are wrong, the 22lr shortage at this point has nothing to do with politics and everything to do with scalping, it's as simple as that.

my ignore button has been used many times on this site for that reason

 

[PrDubi]

sportsman does that on 185th....Manager told me so they can stop the resellers.. resellers hate it and even left comments in the box to out ammo at their convenience please.

 

[Joe13]

Ok, I honestly don't understand some of this.

I get that people are charging/paying more then retail for .22.

I don't get how they are making money if it is the people hitting te local sporting stores.

My cost on .22:
Gas to the stores = $5
Price on 300 rounds (IF I find any) = $20
Gas home + wear on the car = $5
My time is worth =$??

My cost for 300 rounds = 10¢/round +1-2 hours of my life

How would I make money reselling this?

I have a pet I need some money for vet bills so you may see some of my ammo up soon if I can't find the money elsewhere but I'll guarentee it'll be more then I paid at the cash register and while I may be labled a gouger/scalper, I'll still be loosing money.

I think more likely that it's the people buying 5-10k at a time and having it shipped to them.

 

[RVTECH]

What has ALWAYS burned my butt is the amount of people who tried to rationalize the scalping of .22 as some sort of 'right' as the US is a 'free market' economy where everyone is free to do as they please. Well while that may be true the scalping of a few bricks of .22 doesn't qualify you as true participant - if you want to 'practice what you preach' go open a storefront, become a dealer, stock your shelves and really see what the 'free market' is REALLY about.

 

[Kruel J]

Ok, I honestly don't understand some of this.

I get that people are charging/paying more then retail for .22.

I don't get how they are making money if it is the people hitting te local sporting stores.

My cost on .22:
Gas to the stores = $5
Price on 300 rounds (IF I find any) = $20
Gas home + wear on the car = $5
My time is worth =$??

My cost for 300 rounds = 10¢/round +1-2 hours of my life

How would I make money reselling this?

I have a pet I need some money for vet bills so you may see some of my ammo up soon if I can't find the money elsewhere but I'll guarentee it'll be more then I paid at the cash register and while I may be labled a gouger/scalper, I'll still be loosing money.

I think more likely that it's the people buying 5-10k at a time and having it shipped to them.

Joe, you know I respect you as a member here. But I sure won't buy your ammo if its more than retail. Honestly, it doesn't matter to me or other buyers what your time is worth. Or how much gas you used. Or the wear and tear on your car. I'd be happy absorbing those costs on my own vehicle and my own time to see some .22 on the shelves. I don't think I should pay for someones expenses that are able to snag the ammo off the shelf faster than I am able to. So I just don't shoot .22. I have some. And I'm ok with that. The market will sooner or later be flooded to the point that .22 will be worth squat. It's not a good investment. The manufacturers are producing it in record amounts. Supply and demand eventually meet somewhere and I think supply has the upper hand here.

 

[IronMonster]

There is nothing to rationalize. Its how capitalism works. Supply and Demand. Simple high school economics. You dont have to like it, you dont have to like the people involved however thinking that the .22LR market is somehow special or immune to economic law is just silly.