22 LR - "Out Of Stock"

[WAC]

I was too casual about making an on-line purchase last night of some 22 LR ammo. The stock indicator showed 30 boxes of 525 in stock so I inserted a quantity of two but just a couple of minutes later on checking out, stock was down to one, so I missed out altogether. This is just plain asinine. I'll guarantee that even people who already have 10,000 rounds locked up are still buying all they can get their hands on so if a farm boy out here wants to protect his chickens from a raccoon, he's just plain out of luck because the 'trendies' are in motion.  The large chain sporting goods stores where you take a number to buy a box of 22's is a freaking madhouse of arrogant jackasses buying up all the ammo to 'protect themselves' and they're pushing and shoving other people around to do it. So, anywhere you go to buy a box of 22's is out of stock.

Darn shame a bakery is making arrangements to begin making Twinkies again - these trendy clowns would be lined up in the supermarket instead buying up the Twinkie inventory.

The American public has become a mob of selfish, trendy freaks! I'm afraid for them....they're too easily steered and too easily led around by the current trend - and are much too prone to OCD along with pathological hoarding in this case. Free diagnosis...!

[heyjoe]

its been like that for a long long time.

[turkeyhunter]

We can thank the Media for most of it, and our current administration.

[turkeyhunter]

I live near a manufacturer of ammo... Georgia Arms.  They go to a ton of shows, and have a BIG internet business.  They are nice people, and while they have inflated their prices some, they aren't gouging.  They are a small operation and have raised their prices to try and slow things down a little.  At any rate... they have a cool sign on their front door.  It's a picture of Obama and it says below it... "Salesman of the Year!"

Pretty funny I thought, but also sad.

[WAC]

Ah, the ammo manufacturers can't be blamed for this trend, as a matter of fact they will probably enjoy the reprieve when things get back to normal (hopefully thinking over here) - and if I were them I would raise prices too. One of my prized rifles is an old Winchester lever action - but it's 32-20 so I'm aware of high totally ridiculous ammo prices - although it's a different case since 32-20 is obsolete.

Led by the nose - the trendies who voted for .....

Hell, I've vented enough!

Thanks for the opportunity!

[grayelky]

I feel your pain. Just before this thing hit big time, I was "shopping" at one of my distributors. As is my common practice, I put stuff in my shopping cart, and then check out. Among other things, I had 3 cases (15,000 rounds) of .22 LR. In the 45 or so minutes I spent filling my cart, other shoppers hit the check out button. Well over 1/3 of everything that had been in ample supply when I clicked the "add" button, was out of stock at check out, INCLUDING all of the 60 or so CASES of the one brand of .22 LR. Consider how difficult it is to sell a handgun when you have no ammo to sell with it. I now have 3 boxes of .22 LR I brought from home in the shop. They are for sale to the purchaser of the .22 LR handguns/rifles I have in the store. I liken this to when the weatherman says the "S" word (snow for those not in the South). It is impossible to buy bread or milk within 3 minutes of the "S" word, as the stores are all sold out. If you can hang in another month or so, I suspect you will be able to buy ammo again.

turkeyhunter-
If you are close to Acworth, come see me at Acworth Guns (www.acworthguns.com).

[cedarview kid]

I was at my dealer on Friday and he had about 8 bricks of .22LR ammo. Another guy there buying a gun asked if he could buy a brick. He was promptly told, "No." The dealer guy said he was only selling one 50-round box per customer, but since he knew this guy really well and he was a good customer, he'd sell him two. He said he had to save them for customers buying guns, because he simply could not get more.

I tried to find some .22LR at a gun show yesterday and didn't find any. There was ONE ammo dealer who had a fair amount of ammo, but the line just to look at what theu had was 30-40 minutes long. After waiting about 10 minutes without the line moving much, I left. After all, I still have about a half-case of bricks that I bought a few years ago, so I'm not out. That's going to have to do until more ammo is available.

I bet gun manufacturers, dealers, and ammo makers are having a wonderful love-hate relationship with Obama right now; they hate him for what he's doing, but he's been GREAT for business!

[WAC]

Yes, arms dealers are in a dilemma with selling a 22 LR pistol or rifle.... I even had a (evil) thought about attempting to purchase a 22 LR 1911 or similar and requesting a brick or so to be purchased with it. If there were none available renege on the deal....but with my luck that dealer would have a brick to go with it and I would be in the deal all the way coughing up a near grand for a pistol....and the brick. (That wouldn't really be bad luck...!)

So, the thought and sympathy for arms dealers is worthy of consideration - I was in the marina business for 26 years so know what business all about good and bad. And yes, some folks consider boats evil too - and marina proprietors 'only in it for the money'.

I'm patient - and still have a few 22's on hand. Also, isn't it amazing where you can find 22's that seem to get mixed in with change, nuts and bolts, and pocket stuff that ends up in sock and underwear drawers and even jewelery boxes? Searching, I found 36 22 LR's (in nice condition) in some odd places.

[Dinadan]

I find this .22 shortage puzzling and darned annoying. Rimfires are pretty far down the list of things that antigunners want banned, I think. I shoot more CCI subsonic shorts and minimags than anything else, and even shorts are out of stock!  I am not a survivalist or prepper, so I have never kept large stores of ammo. A few hundred rounds, sure, but not thousands of rounds. I shoot about 100-200 rounds most months, so I have maybe four months supply. I bought some Remington Target LR just before it was gone, and it is so dirty and leads my Minis so bad that I hate to shoot it, but better than nothing. I guess if CCI Minimags ever become available again I will buy a few thousand rounds just for tmes like this.

[jeffrey]

It's like this all over.  Travel for work and I've been in a number of stores from IN to FL since the start of the year.  Always out of stock on .22LR and even .22mag.  The sad part is kids in rural area where I live shoot regularly in Scout groups and in weekends with family and friends.  They have little to no ammo and the chances of getting any slim to none.  One poor kid  has had only 25 rounds of .22 for his Christmas rifle since the Holidays.  Some folks are stocking up for sure and they are not shooting it.  Shotgun shells cover the shelves however.  Our local Wal-Mart only allows two boxes per day per customer of any ammo if and when they get any.

[turkeyhunter]

Grayelky,

I'm not too far from Acworth at all. I'll be up in Kennesaw later this week so I will try and stop by for sure.  Got any NAAs for sale?

[CavScout]

The whole hoarding thing on items of perceived shortage shows the flaw in survivalist/preppers that think they will "live off the land" for their meat source. The same mentality that clears the shelves at stores will be out in the woods using every method they can dream up to claim their prize. Same problem back in the 50's with the Bomb Shelter concept... Hoarders will find a way. It's the same old grasshopper/ant story.

Imagine if you are lucky enough to bag a deer, only to find out the meat is fouled by a festered wound from a poorly placed arrow, or a failed wire snare... or worse, a deer with a belly full of poison grain.

Don't count on WAC's "trendies" having anything close to common sense.

As for me, I have standing backorders with my favorite ammo sources. Sadly watching the expected dates refresh for later seasons.

Fortunately a local member discount chain has centerfire handgun ammo in 50 and 250 round boxes... 4 box limit on 50's, and 1 box on 250's, per caliber. Just bought a Kahr CW45 during a brief stocking at Davidsons, and had to stock up on 45 ACP. No, I am not offering ammo redistribution service! 

[WAC]

I realize that this is probably a whole 'nother story but I don't believe the consumer is causing the entire ammo shortage. Gun control can be instituted in a number of ways.... no ammo is a very effective method. "De-arm the US public in any way possible and get it done quick, and without any input from congress." Sounds plausible....

WAC

[bleak_window]

I'm not having any trouble finding the calibers I use.  My range even has white box 130gr Federal .38Sp ON SALE!  I picked up a little of each caliber this week at a gun show.  Even got some Colibris a bit cheaper than the local price.

But try finding a new J-frame revolver anywhere.  All sold out where I live.

[black_cat]

i know you think this is a trend but it's really just the gov and private groups stockpiling in preparation for the inevitable judgment day.

this isn't hundreds of thousands of flocking persons. this is merely the act of a handful who're buying massive quantities.

[CavScout]

True possibility WAC, and something to keep an eye out for. I don't see that it applies in this case. multiple places I've contacted have said they had a run of orders that quickly depleted their normal stocking levels. Plus, they tell me they keep getting increasingly longer forecasts from their suppliers on restocking orders.

Ammo makers can only produce x-number of rounds per week. That quantity is planned for normal order flow. When demand rises suddenly, that "normal" quantity will appear to vanish when divided across the fifty States.

The ammo makers can hire temporary workers to add extra shifts, but would take awhile to get them up to optimum speed... they ain't baking muffins! 

Buying new tooling to increase production would be poor business with a possible lull in sales after the hoarding subsides.

We've been through this before, and it came back. Let's hope it does again, without new regulations intended to discourage purchase. I can remember having to write my personal info in a log book to purchase a box of 22's... because they could be used in a handgun (Oregon). Thankfully somebody realized it wasn't accomplishing anything and dropped it. 

[CavScout]

I'm not having any trouble finding the calibers I use.  My range even has white box 130gr Federal .38Sp ON SALE!  I picked up a little of each caliber this week at a gun show.  Even got some Colibris a bit cheaper than the local price.

But try finding a new J-frame revolver anywhere.  All sold out where I live.

I'm also having good luck with centerfire handgun ammo here in Central Oregon, with per day rationing. However, .223 and High cap magazines were gone in the first rush.

I think the items that are out of stock everywhere indicates what the general public perceives they will lose access to later. J-frames translate to CCW... or easy to hide house gun.

[redhawk4]

What I find interesting about ammo supply and price is that in 2008 there was massive panic buying leading up to the election and as soon as the result was announced. In 2012, I was expecting to see another rush as the election approached and again afterwards, with Obama getting a second term, but it didn't happen. Since Sandy Hook and the recent gun regulation talk it's gone insane again, just like 2008. Did no one think Obama would get re-elected, was everyone lulled in to a false sense of security during his first term even though he clearly stated his intentions?. Apparently it seems many gun owners are as ill informed as the rest of the ignorant masses.

[WAC]

Well, this 'conspiracy theory' is probably a throwback to a time in the recent past that I would wake up during the night in a panic, begin biting my nails and having the feeling of great desperation and depression....then I stopped watching Glenn Beck. It only reoccurred now and then for brief periods....then Obama was re-elected. 

[CavScout]

<snip>
Apparently it seems many gun owners are as ill informed as the rest of the ignorant masses.

Don't forget, many gun dealers are claiming a high number of first time purchasers. By definition they would be ill informed about the guns&ammo market. They just perceive this may be their last opportunity to buy this stuff. No concept yet how much ammo will be needed, or used. "Buy all you can find" is probably what their resident expert has told them. 

[CavScout]

Well, this 'conspiracy theory' is probably a throwback to a time in the recent past that I would wake up during the night in a panic, begin biting my nails and having the feeling of great desperation and depression....then I stopped watching Glenn Beck. It only reoccurred now and then for brief periods....then Obama was re-elected. 

Don't forget the great Toilet Paper Shortage started by a Johnny Carson monologue back in 1974. I was in the Army at the time at Ft. Ord, CA. We were literally rationed 4 squares a day... roll theft was rampant. Fortunately it was short lived.

[WAC]

We were pretty silly back then..... but we got over it. HA!

[lohman446]

It extends to 9MM as well.  I like Sellier and Bellot for practice ammo and cannot find it - even in bulk.  REally I cannot find any 9MM practice ammo.  I only have a few hundred rounds of it left and that gets to the point of being nervous about using it. 

[WAC]

The government pays farmers not to grow pigs or to plant corn. So why wouldn't that same government pay an ammo maker to limit production or to just buy it all. Heck, the government has plenty of money... I personally at this point in time wouldn't put very much at all past what we currently have as a government. How many laws per day are they churning out? How many have not been 'read' yet?

There we go with this silly conspiracy theory again.... But plausible - ah YES, it most certainly is! How can we be out of ALL ammo? Come on.... For how long has this been going on?

[RogueTS1]

I heard from the Shipping Manager at our Walmart that one of the main reasons .22 LR is in such short supply is the big storm not too long ago wiped out the factory that makes a lot of the .22 ammo for the suppliers. Kind of how Duracell makes a lot of the batteries for other companies, this factory supplies a lot of the .22 ammo for everybody in the business. This short term lull in production combined with the extra run on ammo by everybody is making it very scarce.

Not sure how accurate that is but it sounds very reasonable.

[CavScout]

<snip>
There we go with this silly conspiracy theory again.... But plausible - ah YES, it most certainly is! How can we be out of ALL ammo? Come on.... For how long has this been going on?

I think if there were Government throttling of supply the Sporting Goods distributors would be screaming on the steps of the Capitol. They are the middleman between the factories and the dealers. Perishable supplies are their bread-n-butter.

For whatever is going on now, the distributors must be getting satisfactory explanations from the producers. Otherwise, they would be on the hunt for the source of the shortage.

I'm on the email list for GunBroker, GunAuction, Bud's Guns, Davidsons, and the NRA. I would hope at least one of them would alert me if there were restricting actions coming out of Washington! 

[bbgun]

I have been reading all this info about 22 ammo, so I went down to my gun shop in Florida here.  They said I could have all I wanted.  I saw stacks of 22s all over the place.  I could buy bricks of just about anything.  What the heck is going on?

[CavScout]

Maybe the light at the end of the tunnel is something other than a train? 

[oldguy]

Tried three different WallyWorlds today all had bare shelves except for some less popular hunting calibers. NO .22 or any handgun ammo at all. Local ranges have some ammo but will only sell for range use.
I have several reloads for each of my firearms but not enough for target practise too. My ammo supply is about as low as I can stand.

[swolf]

Doesn't seem to be any problem in my area (N. Minnesota.)  Last week .22 LR Federal Champions were even on sale.  9mm and others seem to be low, but plenty of variety of .22 lr and mag..

[.54Cal_Kidd]

I was at two different Wally Worlds this weekend and all pistol ammo is gone.
There was plenty of shot shells and the normal amount of hunting rounds.
And yeah, all .22 was gone.
A couple weeks ago I was at the Sportsman's Den in Shelby Ohio and they had plenty of .22 as well as just about everything else. Not sure about now though.
Don't know about Dick's Sporting Goods, I refuse to patronize them.

[RogueTS1]

Maybe Swolf can order some for me and have it drop shipped to my address? I can then reimburse you.

[Kevin]

I think perhaps most of the larger chain stores, Wally World, K-Mart, etc have centralized purchasing plans - kinda like the Soviet Union had (and that worked out so well) - and normally make seasonal purchases of ammunition and the run on ammo has caught them with their inventory around their ankles. I haven't been ammo shopping at the local store in a couple of weeks because I spent all my cash-on-hand and maxed out my credit card jumping on the hi-capacity magazine bandwagon. I've heard from two friends here in the central Wisconsin-Illinois stateline area that most places are sold out of both 9mm and .380 ammo. I was buying .380 pretty regularly to break in my PPK/S but I decided I better pick up a Glock 23 when I heard Osama mention gun control during the Presidential debates this fall and had switched to .40 S&W ammo purchases.

I had hoped the big gun grab of 2008 (commencing the day after Osama whipped Billary in the primary) had satisfied the apprehensions of the panic-buyers. Sadly, that was not the case.

I doubt the guns and ammo manufacturers are enjoying themselves these days. They can only get so much production from current facilities and staff, even with overtime. The best case scenario is the President falls flat on his gun control face and things go back to normal. That means that the volume of sales drops way down and prepper-wannabees will gradually bleed off their hoarded stocks at bargain prices to regular shooters, depressing the normal volume of sales. The worst case scenario is the American public (never overestimate the common sense of people who get emotionally involved over "reality" television) will buy into gun control and we wind up disarmed like England or Australia.

Manufacturers would be taking a big chance on expanding their production facilities. If Obama wins, guns will be banned and there will be fewer sales. If Obama loses, the panic, and sales, will subside and the manufacturers will have mortgage payments to make on the new facilities and unemployment comp payments on the extra workers they hired and trained (another expense) to use those facilities.

Friday is payday for me and I will be checking out the local Gander Mountain to see what ammo they have in stock. I've found out that a lot of Cowboy Action Shooting ammo is on back order from online sellers.

Here are some numbers I gathered on January 25th:

SportsmansGuide.com

20 round AR-15/M16 mags: Backordered - Expected Availability: May 6, 2013
20 round AK-47/AK9 mags: Backordered - Expected Availability: May 6, 2013
17 round Glock 17 mags: Backordered - Expected Availability: May 10, 2013
20 round mil-spec M14/M1A mags: Backordered - Expected Availability: May 28, 2013
20 round Mini-14 mags: Backordered - Expected Availability: May 28, 2013
20 round M1 carbine mags: Backordered - Expected Availability: May 28, 2013
20 round DPMS AR-10 mags: Backordered - Expected Availability: Jun 6, 2013

Brown Bear .223 55gr HP ammo: Backordered - Expected Availability: Feb 12, 2013
PMC .223 55gr FMJ ammo: Backordered - Expected Availability: Apr 1, 2013
SSA .223 77gr OTM ammo: Backordered - Expected Availability: May 28, 2013
Lake City .223 54gr tracer ammo: Backordered - Expected Availability: Jul 1, 2013
SSA .223 55gr FMJ ammo: Backordered - Expected Availability: Jul 22, 2013

7.62x39 backordered til at least Feb 12 for Bear brand, Jun 10 for Winchester brand, July 15 for Remington brand


CheaperThanDirt.com

UltraMax cowboy ammo .32-20, .38 Special, .44-40, .45 Long Colt, .44 Special, .44 Magnum out of stock
MagTech cowboy ammo .38 Special .44-40, .44 Special, .45 Long Colt, out of stock

I shoot .44 Magnum in Cowboy Action matches as it doesn't lead up my guns as much as the shorter .44 Special loads do. I imagine some POPs (Panicky Obama Preppers) couldn't find 9mm guns so they bought Dirty Harry .44 Magnums and after they cleaned out the stocks of jacketed hollow-points they grabbed at any .44 ammo on the shelves or available online, including slow RNL cowboy rounds.

On a positive note, if the Chinese Communists, pardon me (like Red Dawn 2, I don't want to offend our loan officers), I mean the North Koreans ever invade, we'll slaughter them with small arms fire before they can get out of their parachutes. 

Kevin

[cedarview kid]

Ammunition is a seasonal item. Hmm. That could be.

[redhawk4]

Regardless of any other factors there is no doubt that people are panic buying, everywhere is cleared out and I know some of the culprits. Walmart here has a  3 box restriction in place, per person per day, but don't actually have 3 boxes of anything outside of the larger caliber rifle rounds.

After the last panic buying, when people started to believe Obama would get elected quite a few extra manufacturer's products were brought to the market place so the supply line should be much stronger now than in 2008. I'm sure it will all die down soon.

It still frustrates me that more people didn't have the same enthusiasm they show for buying ammo when it comes to voting and taking note of what is going on in the political arena, where it was not only predicted by many, but also confirmed directly by Obama himself that there would be further gun control.  After all Diane Feinstein recently stated they'd been working on her bill for over a year, obviously with the intention of it appearing after the elections, during  Obama's second term. The Sandy Hook shooting was just a "convenient" time to bring out something that would have happened any way.  Even most first time buyers were old enough to vote in November, so if they are suddenly motivated to buy now, this should have featured in the need to firstly vote and have vote accordingly. I bet quite a few "newbies" blindly voted for Obama being from the young demographic that support him so strongly, while being utterly oblivious to his real policies and their consequences.