Why there is no .22 long rifle (22LR) ammo on the shelves

While many reports blame capacity or a conspiracy theory, the real reason that .22LR  ammo is short supply is simple – us.

Don’t believe that? Remember when .223/5.56 ammo was selling for $1.00 – $1.25 per round? Remember 9mm at ridiculous prices? That’s not happening anymore is it?

Why not?

Eventually, demand quit being the problem. The average consumer decided that they would no longer pay gouged prices for .223 and 9mm and within weeks that ammo was plentiful on store shelves at much more reasonable prices.

Unfortunately, that crisis mentality has also taught the manufacturers that shooters were willing to pay more than .30 per round for AR-15 ammo, almost as much for 7.62×39 ammo and way too much for .22LR ammo. We are likely stuck with those prices for some time to come – darn it.

Now we come to .22LR.

At a recent local gun show, an older man was selling Federal 50 round red box .22LR for $15 per box – what is worse… people were paying it.

Other vendors were selling .22LR 500 round bulk packs for over $60 (some as much as $105). A complete and total rip-off, but people were paying it. STOP!

Wholesale prices on .22LR allow retailers to make significant profit at .06 – .09 per round depending on manufacturer and cartridge type. That’s $30 – $45 for a quality 500 round brick – not $60-$90 per pack.

When consumers decided that they would no longer pay too much for AR ammo, 9mm ammo or other ammo – those rounds suddenly showed up everywhere. Now, consumers must do the same or risk another year of .22 shortages.

The internals are where the difference is made (aka “grey market” selling.) If consumers are willing to pay too much for an item, a certain “profiteering” portion of the population will take advantage of them. Guess what happens to the profiteers when no one will pay for over-priced stuff?

The grey marketeers are the ones that show up at Wal-Mart and Bass Pro Shops exactly when the truck arrives. They are the close friends of those who work at Wal-Mart, Dick’s and other retailers that sell .22 ammo. They are out to make a fortune on your misfortune and they cannot allow YOU to get ammo at retail or you won’t pay their exorbitant gouge-level pricing.

If shooters want to see an end to the .22LR mess, they only need to do one thing – stop paying more than .09 per round for .22. Shopping for .05-07 would be even better.

Once the profiteers can no longer make a buck off of the shooting consumer, they will move on to something else – and we wish they would do it sooner rather than later.