Four Years After Sandy Hook

[Berlin Vet]

It's been slightly over four years since the horrific massacre at the school in Sandy Hook. "Assault" rifles flew off the shelves as people assumed they might get banned and ammunition in the most popular calibers were bought up and empty shelves were common. Now four years later the prices on AR-15 rifles have fallen and popular calibers were widely available less than a year after the shootings. Except for one caliber, the 22LR. This is not the caliber that the shooter used in Sandy Hook, and I would guess it has not been used in a mass shooting very often or at all. So why do you think it is still difficult to find at a reasonable price. I can visit 4-5 Wal-marts in my local area and I rarely find it sitting on the shelf. Cabela's has some in match grade which is expensive and they occasionally have CCI, Remington, and Winchester, but the prices have gone up (I haven' been to Cabela's in 6-7 months so things might have changed). At the local gun shows people have it on their tables but they want 10-15 cents a round. If you check Gunbroker today there are at least 1300 plus 22LR offers but nobody is bidding on them since they are also asking for that much or more. One theory I've heard is Preppers are buying all they can because they feel it will be the new currency after our economy crashes and we will go to a barter system. What are your thoughts on why this is still happening or is 22LR cheap and available in your area?

[Waldorf_]

1. I can find it pretty easily in my area (D/FW), mostly at either Academy or Gander Mountain and

prices are about the same before the tragedy. The one caliber I can NEVER find is .22 WMR.

[Berlin Vet]

4. Thanks for your response

I live in WA state and I've seen 22WMR quite often at Wal-mart but rarely do I find 22LR.

[HassleCat]

2. I think it is preppers.

They have been circulating a conspiracy theory about the government doing something to make it hard to get 22LR, so they're buying it and hoarding. I guess you could check their web sites for the details.

[Berlin Vet]

5. Thanks for your response

I'll do some searching on that thanks.

[HassleCat]

8. The NRA mag of 11-19-2015 O'Keefe Report explains it.

[ileus]

3. I've given up finding 22 at walturd.

I have around 10 22's to feed, and they've been starving for several years now.

I've had to give up and pay 30 bucks for Federal auto match (really accurate stuff not to be eley)

Went to a funshow this weekend looking for a new CZ or the new hinged Ruger MK??....every one I seen was over 400 bucks, so I'll just stick to the MKII's and SR (my kayak gun)

[Waldorf_]

7. That would be the Ruger MKIV. I've got a MKIII and Majestic Arms has an upgrade for $50 that allows

you to remove the bolt straight out like the new hinged MKIV. I might get that upgrade as getting the bolt for cleaning is a PIA.

[Berlin Vet]

6. Forgot to include gougers

A few weeks after Sandy Hook I had to drive up north to take care of some things. I left early and decided to stop at Wal-mart since it was on the way. I got there at 0630 and there were people and waiting. I was the third person in line and soon there were like 15 people by 0700. I found out that this was an everyday occurrence many of these people were reselling it for double the price.

[oneshooter]

9. I curently have 4 50cal ammo cans full of 22l, lr, short, and cb cap.

Mostly found at garage sales and local sporting goods stores. Buy a little each time I go. It adds up.

[Berlin Vet]

10. Garage Sales

You know I'm thinking that in the near future you can probably pick-up 22's at garage sales real easy. The widow will tell you that her husband bought all these shells and never shot them. You can have all the boxes for 20 bucks she says and you cart off 10,000 rounds. I see the people at gun shows trying to get 50-60 dollars for a brick they paid 21.99 in 2013 and they will cart it to every gun show until it (never) sells.

[yagotme]

11. Heh heh.

$21.99 a brick. I used to complain when it went to over $10.00/brick.

[Eleanors38]

12. Ah, yes, the turquoise ancients will flap & slop from the Lovecraftian depths.

[benEzra]

13. Two factors.

(1) There are more gun owners now than in 2012, and one of the most common guns to start a collection with is a .22LR.

(2) The Great Ammo Shortage of 2012 recalibrated everyone's idea of how much .22LR is necessary to have on hand, whether for plinking or as a hedge against future developments. Even your casual box-or-two-in-the-closet shooters went out and bought as much as they could find during and after the shortage.

Keep in mind that American target shooters go through 14+ billion rounds of ammo a year, with several billion of that being .22LR, and manufacturers prior to the Banic were running near max capacity already. So a surge of new demand overtaxed the system for years.

[yagotme]

14. Factor 3:

More of a profit can be made from centerfire ammo, therefore factories are putting centerfire up front in the process.