Why is .22 Long Rifle ammo in such high demand right now?

[donny]

Have a pistol? Also get one in 22 lr. Have a Ar15 or AK? Get one in 22lr too.

A box of 550 rds of 22lr cost 20 bucks at walmart. I always make sure I spend at least half my time on the 22lr and the rest on other calibers. It makes your other expensive caliber rds last twice as long.

Me and my friend shared a box of 550 rds of 22lr the last time we was at the range. Non stop shooting with barely any break, and he only brought 100 rds of 9mm. While I was mixing it up with 9mm and 45. After 2 hrs later, we finally finished that box and at that point we were tired of shooting. Cant beat that.

Imagine if I shot strictly 9mm and 45 for 2 hrs straight. Would have cost alot.

[DefensiveCarry.com]

[lordofwyr]

Well, I went to several gun stores last Sunday.....completely OUT of .22 LR. I have never seen that before, ever.

And yes, the .22 is the best "stock up for bad times/survival" ammo out there. Cheap, can be bought by the brick and stores easily and well.

[WarMachine]

When I took my CC class 5 yrs ago five old guys their were using 22 target pistols as their gun to pass the shooting part of the class. So 22lr will always be a popular choice to shoot and I guess carry.

[SIXTO]

Y'all missed the answer by a mile. .22 is made from the same raw material as 5.56, 9mm or whatever by the same companies. Given a set amount of raw materials, labor and time to work with, which would you be cranking out right now?

[WHEC724]

It's SIXTO's fault.

[IOMC]

Come on guys you remember when Obama was elected the first time it was really hard to buy ammo! Same thing once again there is no shortage everyone is running out and buying up all they can right now saleing them for twice as much as they give for them to unlucky guys that didn't make it to the store before billy bob bout 10000 rounds. Billy bob is making a killing off his 20.00 ammo he is now getting 40 and 50 bucks for! Lets all vote democrat next election and just maybe we can go through all this again. Y'all have a great night! Lol that's my answer. Like it or not it's the truth!

[QKShooter]

You can accomplish many of the same shooting tasks with the .22 LR that you can with the more powerful cartridge calibers.
You just need to be a bit more skilled, careful, sneaky, and meticulous.
And having an accurate tack driving .22 LR firearm helps also.
If they banned every firearm in the U.S. BUT the .22 - you would see a nation of keen eyed marksmen putting 4 legged good eating meat into the pot and 2 legged bad guy meat into the ground with the lowly .22.

I'd bet my last dollar on that.

[Lotus222]

Because it's the only round you can buy a box of 500 for less than 20 bucks. Not everyone has ammo reserves. The easiest way to have one is get some .22 boxes.

[dukalmighty]

Almost everybody has a 22,and it's cheaper per round in bulk than other calibers,and you can carry several thousand rounds in a BOB,If my finances improve in the near future as soon as the availability comes back I will try to keep a minimum 50,000 rounds on hand and if possible 100,000,

[Munch]

I pose that the savvy gun show dealer is buying up the .22 for $20.00 a brick and reselling it for $30.00 to $40.00 a brick. I did shows from '94 thru '03 and even when there wasn't a shortage people would buy over-priced ammo they could pick up at the store on their way home for less. [Shakes head].

[mooselitter]

This is a serious question for my understanding.

I can understand service caliber ammo and .223/5.56 and 7.62 being in high demand, but 22LR? Every article/post I see that mentions ammo shortages seems to include 22LR. What am I missing?

HLS is buying 22,000,000 more rounds of 40 S&W and 9MM. They have ordered around 1.6,000,000,000 rounds enough to fight the Afgan war for 30 years. and hollow point rounds to boot. How can they make 22 ammo when the government is havinf the ammo manufacturers using up all the lead and brass to fill these orders??????? Who are they planning on using these bullets on?????? you don't practice with hollow points. Sounds like something that most will refuse to think about doesn't it?

[OD*]

you don't practice with hollow points.

You do when taxpayers are footin' the bill.

[J.Thompson]

22LR has always been overlooked. I've still got my 22LR rifle I got when I was a kid, and it'll stay with me until I die. And I'm one of those guys that buys 22 ammo by the brick and stocks up on it. I'm no prepper but I know that if a worst-case scenario arises I'll have the weapons and the ammo to defend myself and my family, and put food on the table, long after the bigger caliber ammo is dried up.

[koosh0122]

I can not find .22lr anywhere in Michigan.....go figure...would love to go plinking! I do not want to shoot unless I know I can replenish my ammo reserves.

[moonraker]

.22 is THE survival round. Stupid shows like doomsday preppers (I admit I still watch it) put everyone in a frenzy to scramble for preparedness. Why blame them? Collapse (economic in my opinion) is fast approaching. You need something you can hunt with when shtf and food is not easy to come by. I'm from Alaska, and if you're not familiar with its history we had a BIG earthquake in 1964. The city was not as big then but people still had a hard time adapting and rebuilding. Now the population in Anchorage is 300,000 people. Another earthquake will devastate Anchorage mainly because a fault line lies in proximity to the port at which our food arrives. This earthquake is not a matter of "if" but when. Most of our citizens really on grocery stores to survive and once that port shuts down food stores will undoubtedly become scarce. After all, it is said that each grocery store houses about four days worth of supplies when people aren't in a panic. With this being said, storing plenty of .22 for such an occasion is wise and responsible. Obviously you won't be taking a grizz with the puny round but you'll be thankful for rabbit stew and spruce grouse stir fry while others are down to their last can of beans.