Why the mental issue with .22 Ammo Cost?

[Olon]

I guess I look at it a little differently. I am addicted to burning gun powder! If I don’t do it on a weekly basis I go into withdrawal!

So I buy the very cheapest 22 LR ammo available for my fist 50 shots each week. Minute of pine cone is adequate with me!
So like a good glass of wine or a shot of good pecosin swamp moonshine, it takes the edge off!

I then get serious and move up to 100 + rounds of centerfire reloads.

And then all is well mentally for at least a week!

I'm with you there. Busy weekend of studying and I was getting antsy and worried I wouldn't be able to shoot. The model 70 across the room was taunting me. Had to get my fix. Freezing cold, but 10 rds of 270 reloads and 30rds of .223 and my vitals were back to normal.

 

[Deltaboy1984]

Nothing mental about it ,the shortage is over and I buy what I can find on sale!
I miss the days of 5 Buck Federal Lighting Bricks and 7 Buck Bricks of Federal Hi Power!

 

[George P]

In my opinion the cost of rimfire ammo is not the main problem (but it IS a problem). The quality control is the main issue with rimfire ammo. Everybody is making junk today. And none of them will even guarantee their ammo to fire - they'll just give you another box of crap ammo. The last 4 or 5 bricks of rimfire ammo (any brand - any vendor) I have bought (and paid ridiculous prices for) had a failure rate that was just pathetic when fired in any rimfire handgun or rifle I own. This equates to BANG BANG BANG CLICK. All day long. If that situation does not improve I plan to sell off all of my rimfire guns. If they're going to make junk then they should not charge premium prices for it. But customers keep buying it.

That's a shame about your luck; mine has been the opposite. The fed Black Label has been flawless as has the Remington bulk bucket of bullet stuff.

 

[Caplock]

I have a ruger mark 2 target pistol and a couple heavy barrel 22 rifles that shoot pretty good with bulk ammo.

Ive been on the verge of buying some of the more expensive ammo for a long time. Just to see how much improvement there is.

Usually fill up a cart at Midway or Midwest with too much. At the end Im removing items and the high priced 22 is the first to go.

I guess it boils down to Im a cheap SOB.

 

[mgresh]

In my opinion the cost of rimfire ammo is not the main problem (but it IS a problem). The quality control is the main issue with rimfire ammo. Everybody is making junk today. And none of them will even guarantee their ammo to fire - they'll just give you another box of crap ammo. The last 4 or 5 bricks of rimfire ammo (any brand - any vendor) I have bought (and paid ridiculous prices for) had a failure rate that was just pathetic when fired in any rimfire handgun or rifle I own. This equates to BANG BANG BANG CLICK. All day long. If that situation does not improve I plan to sell off all of my rimfire guns. If they're going to make junk then they should not charge premium prices for it. But customers keep buying it.

What ammo are you buying and at what "ridiculous" prices?

I've put a LOT of rounds through .22's the last couple of years. I only buy decent ammo - CCI minimags and CCI tactical. I only remember one failure to fire in thousands of rounds. I guess I just don't get buying the cheapest crap and expecting it to perform.

There is quality reliable rimfire ammo available (at very reasonable prices). There is also crap. Just like in every cartridge. It's nothing exclusive to only .22 ammo.

 

[mgresh]

The way I see it, if I'm going to pay over 15 cents a round it should be something than puts a bigger smile on my face that .22LR

Again, where is decent .22 ammo 15 cents per round? I wouldn't pay that either.

 

[Olon]

Again, where is decent .22 ammo 15 cents per round? I wouldn't pay that either.

Dunno, just throwing out a number. Generally I'm finding it 6 cents a round for bottom of the barrel stuff but if I found good stuff for 9 cents or higher I would start to question if it's worth it. My .223 reloads run about .18 per

 

[mgresh]

Dunno, just throwing out a number. Generally I'm finding it 6 cents a round for bottom of the barrel stuff but if I found good stuff for 9 cents or higher I would start to question if it's worth it. My .223 reloads run about .18 per

I'm not seeing prices anywhere near what you are. I see 'bottom of the barrel' stuff a lot cheaper, and for much less than 9 cents you can get pretty darn good stuff.

 

[bannockburn]

jmorris

Last century I found a particular lot of Winchester dynapoint that was on par with Federal gold match but cost less than $6/550 rounds. I bought all I could back then, still have around 25,000 rounds of it left over.

I did pretty much the same thing with Wolf Match Target at $3.49 for a brick of it. Worked great in all of my .22s and was more accurate than CCI Standard Velocity. Found it at a gun show and bought all they had of it (11 bricks).

 

[Speedo66]

When we were in the ammo shortages, I know there were people paying $45-50 a brick for basic ammo.
If that was the case, paying that for higher grade currently shouldn’t be a stretch.
Personally, I’m fine with the 4 cent junk.

 

[Catpop]

I’m seeing 3.6 cents as the bottom in east NC.

 

[Poper]

In my opinion the cost of rimfire ammo is not the main problem (but it IS a problem). The quality control is the main issue with rimfire ammo. Everybody is making junk today. And none of them will even guarantee their ammo to fire - they'll just give you another box of crap ammo. The last 4 or 5 bricks of rimfire ammo (any brand - any vendor) I have bought (and paid ridiculous prices for) had a failure rate that was just pathetic when fired in any rimfire handgun or rifle I own. This equates to BANG BANG BANG CLICK. All day long. If that situation does not improve I plan to sell off all of my rimfire guns. If they're going to make junk then they should not charge premium prices for it. But customers keep buying it.

I bought a case of Eley Target 2.5 years ago. I am down to my last brick now, but I do not recall a single failure to fire. 'Course I did pay just under $0.10 per round. I also use a lot of Aguila Standard Velocity (also made by Eley, but in Mexico). Not as accurate as Target, but I rarely get more than 1 or two FTF's in a brick. The last Aguila Standard Velocity I bought was barely under $0.04 per round. I had to buy a case of 5k rounds to get the price, but, hey. I'm going to shoot it all anyway. Probably with the help of my grandson.

 

[Ignition Override]

Eddietruett: every round of the lowest-cost Golden Bullet works perfectly in both .22 handguns: the M&P .22 (only one, Different cheap brand has issues) and Ruger Mark IV. The Ruger has no issues at all.

These guns do not need ammo which costs more, because luckily they have no sensitive feelings. They are never used in competitions, nor are any other guns I own.

The Action Pistol metal plates make the same sound (Ting!) with the cheapest ammo.

 

[jmr40]

During the ammo shortage I was always able to find the better target grade ammo. I got used to hitting what I was aiming at and have no desire to go back to the cheap bulk ammo

 

[Texas10mm]

I used to shoot a lot of .22 LR. 1,000 rounds a month was pretty common. Most of it was ran though my Ruger MK II pistols. Now that I cast my own bullets I can shoot 9mm and .45 ACP for the same or just slightly more than .22 LR. I used less than 500 rounds of .22 LR last year.

I do need to start working on the stockpile as I have around 45k rounds on hand. The only .22 LR stuff I've been buying lately is the Aguila standard velocity stuff. It's $5/100 at Academy, so I pick up 500 rounds every trip to Academy.

 

[brewer12345]

This is the fat times for availability, so I don't understand the problem. I plan to shoot more 22 once the new range nearby opens. Found cci hvhp shorts for a nickel each and bought a case of ccisv for 200 delivered after rebate. It isn't hard to buy decent rimfire for cheap these days.

 

[FROGO207]

I think it is a function of the size of the round. How many rounds are equal in weight to a 50 round box of say 230 grain 45 ACP? Had the same issue with the 100 round skeet in 12 GA going for less than a box of #4 in 410. Just seemed like a poor deal to me. Now though I can load my 410 and do it for less than the 12 GA. The price for .22 ammo was a bargain for years. So now we are griping when it is a more equal cost? Oh well.

 

[redneck2]

I think the of the problems is that we view .22’s as kind of play toy rather than precision rifles. It’s a lot more common to sling lead at tin cans than shoot precision off a bench.

 

[Labguy47]

I am with the group, I have 11 different types of.22lr including federal auto match, CCI Minimag Stinger SV, federal bulk, federal match, Remington Premium, Eley, Wolf, Winchester Super X & Supreme. Each serves a different purpose. I shoot standard velocity round nose the most while hunting, This excludes .22 short and .22 WMR.

 

[berettaprofessor]

The way I see it, if I'm going to pay over 15 cents a round it should be something than puts a bigger smile on my face that .22LR

Fortunately nothing puts a smile on my face substantially bigger than an accurate 22. I don’t mind the cost of decent rim fire and have decided I’m done with Value packs and Automatch. I never used Golden bullets. Sticking mostly to CCI Standard and other decent subsonic and occasional MiniMag. And it’s a great day when I find some Wolf Match. I don’t need the real pricey stuff because I shoot for my pleasure, not competitively.

 

[frankmako]

because back in the 60's and 70's i use to buy 22 ammo cheap. real cheap and i blew lots of it down range. for some reason it is hard to buy high dollar 22 ammo for blasting. i do buy good high dollar 22 ammo for matches only. but when i buy several cases each year i still get that "cheap feeling" in the back of my head.

 

[Labguy47]

because back in the 60's and 70's i use to buy 22 ammo cheap. real cheap and i blew lots of it down range. for some reason it is hard to buy high dollar 22 ammo for blasting. i do buy good high dollar 22 ammo for matches only. but when i buy several cases each year i still get that "cheap feeling" in the back of my head.

I remember when Winchester Wildcats went from $0.49 to $0.69 then $0.99 all in a 12 year period. I shot thousands of those.

 

[Ignition Override]

Is Aguila Normal velocity considered to function as reliably as Federal Automatch, Champion etc?

In my full-size M&P the F. Champion is the only unreliable brand, but in stark contrast everything I’ve tried (2,000 rds.) works well in the new Ruger Mark IV Standard, short barrel.

 

[earlthegoat2]

I've never had good luck with el cheapo .22 so I don't buy it anymore. By good luck I mean acceptable accuracy and reliability in the guns I shoot. I can't get most bulk ammo to group at 25 yds let alone 50-100. I get jams in my pump guns as well as my autos too. I do not have the patience for that and I don't care to go through a brick of .22 every time I go to the range.

I started buying CCI Standard velocity and Maxi Mags as my default ammo now. Im not buying 10 different varieties of bulk ammo to see what shoots best because then I'd be out way more money up front than just getting the CCIs to begin with which I have always had good luck with.

Still more lately I have taken to not shooting .22 LR at all. I use CB Shorts in my pump exclusively now. I got rid of my semi autos in .22 LR. I shoot my .22 Magnums a lot more now. Mostly because I hunt a lot more and if I am hunting with a rim fire I only use .22 Mag.

So basically I've thrown out all semblance of economy in my .22 shooting.

 

[LoonWulf]

Most of my shooting is at 100yds or more now, and my rifle while not stupendously accurate does quite well with decent ammo.

i won't buy 30 dollar a brick federals anymore, and I've got some of that Winchester crap in the white box....it's about 8 years old because every time I take it out I get a click every couple mags. When it goes off it usually shoots ok, tho every now and then there are really droopy ones.

I do buy 30 dollar a brick cci blasers when I can get them, but mostly I'm buying 40-50 dollar Aguila, or cci standards. When I can get the better stuff for 50-60 bucks a brick I buy the better stuff.
My rifle happens to really like minimags, so I bought a bricks worth when I caught them on sale at 10 bucks 100, they are usually 12-13. I shoot those for hunting/game control, so they will last a while.