A dozen Wal-Marts - and no .22s

[moestooge]

I have had to drive around some in recent weeks, which means passing by many Wal-Marts. I have stopped at a dozen Wallys in two states recently and not found even a 50-round box of .22s. This is puzzling, as the 800-pound gorilla of retail is usually at the top of the food chain. Are they being outbid at the wholesale level for ammo by smaller competitors?

[Lurker]

Hit a big box outdoor place yesterday and scored a Winchester 333 box. They had Stingers and regular CCI LR too but, of course, was limited to what I was allowed to buy so I got the 333 ($19). Why? I guess because I can. Sort of disgruntled with having to chase it so much now. Even Arm5li5t doesn't have much on it. Makes ZERO sense at all.

Oh - in another big box store, they had a TON of 22 short, CB and WMR. Don't use any of it so I left it.

[CryingFreeman]

I got 1000 rounds of subsonic CCI yesterday for $77.00, which is about pre-panic pricing on subsonic.

[TomNTam]

The word is out that powder is next. If you are having a hard time finding the right powder, if you reload, it doesn't sound like it's going to get any better. The powder prices from people is the business, are set to rise considerably, and that will be if you can find it. The next time you see a pound at your LGS, and say to yourself that you aren't going to pay $39 for a pound of powder, I would think twice about that choice, if you can afford it. As for the 22LR, if you find it, buy it, as I am located in Wis., and I can't find any on shelves, anywhere, at any price.

[moestooge]

There's a big event in town this week. It draws people from all over the world, and I saw 2 guys who were clearly out of towners at Wal-Mart sadly staring at the ammo selection. There was a decent mix of everything but .22s, so it was obvious what they wanted. I asked where they were from. "Georgia", they replied. "We look for .22s everywhere,and we can't find them."

[Pony Up]

I basically don't even look anymore. Yeah, I'll go by the display if I happen to be shopping for other things. I've talked to enough clerks that say if you don't get there by 7:30 a.m., you might as well hang it up. A lot of clerks have said even they rarely see it.(Wally's)
At another local gun store, they had a 2 box limit but quit selling it unless it's purchased for in store range use.

[Blacknarwhal]

I'll never for the life of me get what's so important about the .22. A training round, maybe? Low-cost enough to fire in large quantities for skills sharpening? There are better rounds in most any caliber out there.

[Lurker]

I'll never for the life of me get what's so important about the .22. A training round, maybe? Low-cost enough to fire in large quantities for skills sharpening? There are better rounds in most any caliber out there.

Cheap and easy I would think. But now I think it's its own juggernaut. I have.....a few..... extra boxes and yet am still driven to get more. I think after SH the idea that firearms and ammo ARE going to go away, or be severely limited, is driving folks. Maybe the 'prepper' movement has really taken hold underground and of course the .22 is ubiquitous with that movement. And you can't be a 'prepper' without a million rounds of 22, right?

At this point we should be seeing it on the shelves - especially with all the odd ball stuff that's out there you'd think it would be there. In the end.... who knows?!

[midwest]

in my rural county, probably everyone has a .22 and most never bought more than a box at a time. it's still a feeding frenzy. no matter what time of day the .22 goes on the shelf, it's gone within 2 hours at most. at local auctions, when some .22 is on on the block, the bidding price still ranges from 60-80 dollars a brick. i figure multiply that by every rural county in the country and we still won't see .22 on the shelf regularly for quite some time to come.

[Pony Up]

I'll never for the life of me get what's so important about the .22. A training round, maybe? Low-cost enough to fire in large quantities for skills sharpening? There are better rounds in most any caliber out there.

Not always a question of what is better, but what is good enough. The .22 is more than adequate for many things. It's also a great introductory round for youth and older new shooters.