Big Chicken Marietta Wal-Mart has some bulk 22

[chopper duke]

Monroe WalMart had CCI stinger and mini-mag last night. I don't shoot those so I left them for someone else.

 

[Distinctive]

I actually got a Bucket-O-Bullets today, the first one in a loooong time.

 

[10thmountain]

I loathe .22 Man up get some 9mm.

 

[Distinctive]

I loathe .22 Man up get some 9mm.[/QUOTE
.22's are what I feed my .45's.

 

[DerekB711]

where at and how much Distinctive

 

[Gimmeguns]

Adventure outdoors has PALLETS OF .22lr!

 

[palmettomoon]

Ya'll going to start a neckbeard stampede....

 

[Kman]

Other than taking my daughter shooting, I don't see the need buying .22 for a long time. I like to shoot my carry guns if I'm going to shoot. Maybe people are still hoarding it?

 

[spencer60]

Adventure outdoors has PALLETS OF .22lr!

Yup, and they keep it in stock by getting 8-10 cents a round.

Perfectly fine by me since I know where I can always find a decent selection of rimfire, but the OPs 4.5 cents a round is a good deal... even if it's Remmington.

On Black Friday AO had 50 round boxes of CCI standard for $3.49 per 50 (7 cents a round), but that's the lowest I've seen them price any 22 so far.

I keep hoping some of the mail order houses will get some in before 2016 and Hillary jam the prices through the roof again.

 

[spencer60]

Yep, 3 years and counting and ,22 LR bulk pack is still being restricted and hard to find on the shelf at a store front.

.22 LR is the most popular round for beginners and just plain plinking fun... Too bad the ammo manufacturers just think its a passing phase of "hording" rather than a reflection of real demand from an exponentially growing shooter base who would like to shoot a lot of .22 LR but can't.

I agree that the manufacturers should be looking at 22 long term now. However from listening to a couple of interviews with ammo company reps, it's sounds like there are special challenges with making 22.

First off it's a loss leader item. Traditionally ammo companies made less than a penny a round profit on 22, and would often sell it below cost to get distributors to buy more profitable centerfire ammo.

Secondly, the manufacturing process is completely unique. Different components, machines and processes are used so even if you have a full centerfire line up and running, there's no economy of scale or synergies between the two.

Third, the machines that create and load 22 are ridiculously expensive. One rep mentioned that the machines they use start at $500K a piece and delivery takes over a year from the time they are ordered. Setting up a new line could cost several million in hardware alone and take two years from the start date..

Last but not least is the liability and plant processes. Unlike centerfire ammo, where the explosive primers are sealed and self contained, a rimfire plant has to deal with this explosive compound in industrial-scale quantities. That means separate buildings and unique training for employees, higher insurance rates, and more scrutiny by every TLA agency out there.

The companies in the US making 22 have been making it for decades. and all these costs are already paid back. One exec (from CCI I think) said it would take at least $20 million to start a new 22 plant up from scratch today. You need to make a lot of ammo to cover that and operating costs at a penny a round profit.

That all being said, at least two of the three interviewees mentioned that they were looking at incremental improvements to increase output, and one of them (again, CCI?) was debating on starting another line in an existing plant and investing in the required equipment.

These interviews were all done in 2013-14, so maybe some of the step they took then are finally starting to be felt now.