22 Magnum Ammo Shortage

[PeteDavis]

Does anybody have any perspective or idea when the current shortage of 22 magnum ammo will open up? I cannot find this round anywhere-nor can any of my friends. Probably the most utilitarian and versatile round of all. The shelves are dry in Va and online there ain't nothin'.

PD

[Art]

It is available some places in southeast Texas but strictly rationed to one or two boxes a day. Cost is $10.00 to $15.00 a box depending on manufacturer and bullet type. This is better than it was six months ago when it was almost totally unavailable and when you did find it, it sometimes ran $20.00 a box :eek:. Not great but better than it was. Hopefully the light is at the end of the tunnel - and it's not an oncoming train.

[joem]

I was at a local gun store/ indoor range. Ammo boxes were few but most calibers were available. I didn't ask about limits.

[Liam]

Wow! This post made me seek out some ammo for myself. You're right. Cannot locate 22wmr even at my favorite, usually well-stocked, locales. I only shoot it in my Anschutz 1416 which is my "walking around" gun for the farm. I verify the fixed 4x scope hasn't been jostled with 3 or 4 rounds, then it's hunting all day - maybe getting off 5 to 10 shots. My "stash" of around 100 rnds suddenly doesn't look so sufficient. I will watch for the trend to change. I usually buy the Hornady VMAX fodder. AND if I find some, I will post here (after I order mine, that is).

[Jim in Salt Lake]

You can find it here but it's more expensive. .22LR is never seen.

[Clark Howard]

I'm afraid the 22LR and 22Mag will remain in shooort supply until we kick the wanna-be dictator out of the White House. The local Walmarts are calling friends/family when a shipment arrives. None ever reaches the shelves. The public is suspicious of the communists in government. Regards, Clark

[broom jockey]

Here in S.E. Iowa, 22lr is readily available at gun shops/pawn shops. I like to keep a minimum of 1000 rounds for every caliber I own.

[Liam]

I said I'd report back, so here I am. Found Hornady VMAX 30 gr varmint 22WMR ammo at Cabelas:
Either I got the very last box of 50, or they are limiting buyers to a single box. On sale @ 13.99/box
There is also this:
http://www.ammosupplywarehouse.com/category/22M0/22-HMR-RIFLE-AMMUNITION.html
500 rnds for $180.00
Hope this helps.

[Liam]

and here for BVAC branded 22wmr:
http://www.surplusammo.com/22-magnum-40-grain-jhp-bvac-50-rounds/

[Tuna]

Do not look for any US made 22 lr being available for a very long time. Winchester told dealers in my area that due to the shortage of virgin lead, they cannot make any 22 as the last smelter in the US has shut it's doors. Now ore has to be shipped from here to China where it's turned in virgin lead and then shipped back here. Each shipment will be about a 6 month turn around time and demand for the lead will be very high between ammo makers. They also said expect a 15% price increase in all ammo. Looks like the little guy gets it in the end again. Thank you Mr. President and your EPA for all of this.

[BudT]

And I could swear Red stated the facts about this lead shortage were just not the facts, that there was and is plenty of lead being produced for domestic consumption of the industry. Increases in ammo and probably just about everything else are not a surprise to me, I cant remember when much of anything went down except wages. Tuna, it isn't just this current "illegal alien" prez in da hood that's been doing the EPA thing, ALL of them for the last 5 or 6 administrations have been sticking it to us via the EPA.

[Johnny in Texas]

I heard that lead is a byproduct of Silver production or maybe now Silver is a byproduct of lead production.

http://www.australianminesatlas.gov.au/aimr/commodity/zinc_lead_silver.html

[ww2imposter]

There appears to be a good supply on "gunbroker". but, after you figure in the cost of shipping,
the already inflated prices reach the obscene level.

[BudT]

I found 3 bricks of 500 each of the Hornady 30 gr. V-Max at 15.29 per box of 50 at a dealers. I took the dive and ended up buying 1 carton, they offered them all to me but I declined. Like the other .22 rim-fire they are out there but hard to find. I have been looking for some time for 17 mach II ammo for a friend, that is what seems to be very hard to find.

[bluedsteelnwood]

The month after Obama was elected the second time was when the shortage of ammunition began. I have not heard of a reasonable explanation for the shortage of ammunition since then. The NRA Rifleman magazine article was not very good in it's explanation of what is going on. If I was the paranoid type I'd believe that Obama has arranged some way to have ammo bought up, as a way of gun control by Soros etc. In N.Y. where I live I have never seen it so bad with no and I mean no rimfire available in 22 l.r.. Now we can not buy from out of state, I have rifles like my Winchester Big Bore in 356 which no ammo exists except out of state gun auction sites, and also my Swiss K in 7.5X55 which I have a hundred rounds of and then it will be over. Just wait until Obama puts into place executive orders which will effect the fifty states in regards to both gun and ammo. A nightmare is about to take place in a year or so.

[kingjoe]

Nearly all of the .22 mag is on gunbroker.com, going for 2-3 times what its worth. There are three long pages of listings, thousands of rounds available. Doesn't seem like much of a shortage, at least not in this case-greed might be a better explanation. It appears as though many retailers are by-passing their online customers and going straight to auction. I've repeatedly signed on for email notifications from various dealers regarding the arrival and brands of .22 mag. ammo that they're expecting. The ETA comes and there's nothing. The next day, there's a whole new pile of ammo available on gunbroker-all at ridiculously inflated prices. I bought some Hornady v-max from one dealer recently, and three days after the purchase was confirmed, I was notified that I wouldn't be receiving it; they were "just testing their computer system" when I bought the rounds. I've had similar problems with two other dealers. I have found a bit periodically available online (all of the stores in my area are usually out), but its priced so high that its not worth buying. ($240 for 500 rounds of Armscor. Really?) Of course, I'm sure some guys are just re-selling their own personal stashes as well. The solution may be to just stop buying .22 mag for awhile-let the sellers raise their prices all they want, but don't buy a single round unless the price is fair. I really enjoy shooting, but I won't pay those prices-I'll sell the gun if it comes down to it.

[Tuna]

My friend who is a dealer just received a shipment of ammo from several of his distributers. He got a lot of .22 mag all CCI and some .22 shorts. When he asked about his .22 LR order they just laughed at him and said it's not going to happen so stop ordering it.

[budster]

I have also read all of the Media Releases and everything I could find on the net. Yet, 5-6 years ago Wal-Mart's and the Dealers in the area had cases and cases of 22 LR coming in and now they are lucky if anything comes in.
Having stated that, there are now less Jobbers, Distributers and Dealers than there were a few years ago yet, there is an incredible shortage. No one can really answer that logically.