How much .22 LR do you have on hand?

March 17, 2024, 09:14 AM

Of course "there is no enough" is an answer and I'm not asking that. But after dabbling more and more into reloading centerfire and buying components for that I have begun to look pretty hard at my stash of .22 and 12ga. I'm wondering, not what one <I>thinks</I> is the right answer, but what you currently physically have.How much .22LR do you have on hand?Less than 1K1K - 5K5K - 10K10K - 25K25K+

March 17, 2024, 09:17 AM

parabellum

In terms of my use of firearms these days, which is strictly for self-defense, .22 LR is not even on the list. I have a small amount on hand, a few hundred rounds, if that.

I do have a S&W Model 351C in .22 Magnum, as well as three NAA mini revolvers in the same chambering, so keeping .22 Magnum on hand is important.

March 17, 2024, 09:21 AM

Oz_Shadow

This is the caliber I seem to buy and misplace bulk boxes. I find them in the strangest places around the house. It’s not hard to accumulate a few thousand rounds as long as they are available.

March 17, 2024, 09:28 AM

OttoSig

quote:
Originally posted by parabellum:
In terms of my use of firearms these days, which is strictly for self-defense, .22 LR is not even on the list. I have a small amount on hand, a few hundred rounds, if that.

I do have a S&W Model 351C in .22 Magnum, as well as three NAA mini revolvers in the same chambering, so keeping .22 Magnum on hand is important.

That's actually pretty surprising, makes sense based off what you're using.

I'm trying to make sure I have enough, as it's not real expensive, without going too extreme or getting caught up in an end of the world situation or something silly like that.

March 17, 2024, 09:28 AM

reflex/deflex 64

Without a couple kids in house, the rimfires sit idle just about a year at a time. There are a couple up and comers in line now, they should get used soon enough.

Never bought into the EOTW currency nonsense. The hell am I going to do with 15,000 squirrels? A box of .22 pellets will clean up the neighborhood in a couple afternoons.

March 17, 2024, 09:30 AM

sigarmsp226

Shooting in area Steel Challenge matches and the practice that goes along with it, many shooters (including me) have added rimfire pistol and rimfire rifle into their selection of weapon rotation whereas many of us use to only shoot centerfire.

This is due to the cost to reload centerfire ammo and the lack of available components that occurred several years back.

Also having six wonderful grandkids that are coming of or are of age to shoot I am guessing I might have more rounds on hand than some others.

Much like Oz - I tend to find “put up” bricks or bulk packs of 22’s that I purchased years ago and forgot where I hid them

March 17, 2024, 09:47 AM

arfmel

I’ve never really counted. I shoot far more .22LR than anything else. When I see a brand and type I like, I’ll buy a few boxes.

March 17, 2024, 09:48 AM

sigfreund

Without opening all the cans, somewhat over 10K. A few summers ago I discovered the value of shooting a good 22 LR rifle with high quality ammunition to improve my centerfire precision skills. And of course even at $15-$20 for a box of 50, that’s far less expensive than any decent CF ammo, plus it’s possible to shoot all day without being beaten up by the recoil and I don’t have to clean the rifle after every session.

Unfortunately, much of my stash isn’t high quality and therefore it gets fired only in my “plinker” rifles. I keep thinking I should buy more of the premium stuff before the inevitable price rises and purchase roadblocks get implemented, but then I immediately wonder if I’ll ever shoot up what I already own. I suppose it’s better to not run out than to fret about how my heirs are going to curse me after I’m gone. They should be happy it’s 22 Long Rifle ammo and not 40 S&W and 308 Win—right?

Thanks for the suggestion.

March 17, 2024, 09:57 AM

ridewv

.22 is what I plink with so I have accumulated a fair amount over the years, buying a couple bricks at a time when there's a deal. I have 8-9 bricks of 500 along with 40 or so individual boxes of miscellaneous .22. Not a single crow or squirrel has been shot but I've sure gone through a lot of targets and cans.

March 17, 2024, 10:05 AM

OttoSig

quote:
Originally posted by sigfreund:
Without opening all the cans, somewhat over 10K. A few summers ago I discovered the value of shooting a good 22 LR rifle with high quality ammunition to improve my centerfire precision skills. And of course even at $15-$20 for a box of 50, that’s far less expensive than any decent CF ammo, plus it’s possible to shoot all day without being beaten up by the recoil and I don’t have to clean the rifle after every session.

Unfortunately, much of my stash isn’t high quality and therefore it gets fired only in my “plinker” rifles. I keep thinking I should buy more of the premium stuff before the inevitable price rises and purchase roadblocks get implemented, but then I immediately wonder if I’ll ever shoot up what I already own. I suppose it’s better to not run out than to fret about how my heirs are going to curse me after I’m gone. They should be happy it’s 22 Long Rifle ammo and not 40 S&W and 308 Win—right?

Thanks for the suggestion.

I shot some Eley ammo when I went back home and there was a pretty considerable difference in accuracy compared to Thunderbolt or Federal bulk stuff. I have quite a stash of CCI minimags but I don't think I'd call that high end.

If I could find the Eley at a decent price I'd grab some more for sure. Maybe I just buy 5K more rounds and call it a day.

March 17, 2024, 10:07 AM

OttoSig

quote:
Originally posted by reflex/deflex 64:
Without a couple kids in house, the rimfires sit idle just about a year at a time. There are a couple up and comers in line now, they should get used soon enough.

Never bought into the EOTW currency nonsense. The hell am I going to do with 15,000 squirrels? A box of .22 pellets will clean up the neighborhood in a couple afternoons.

This had me laughing audibly at work! You're right though, I went through my grandmas couple acres and wound up with 4 squirrels on 6 rounds. 2 of the non kill shots were shooting at branches to see if one would move. Box of 50 would last me a month or better even in a heavily populated area.

March 17, 2024, 10:57 AM

Skins2881

Probably 8,000ish? Haven't paid attention because I stopped doing rimfire matches.

March 17, 2024, 11:03 AM

sigfreund

quote:
Originally posted by OttoSig:
I shot some Eley ammo when I went back home and there was a pretty considerable difference in accuracy compared to Thunderbolt or Federal bulk stuff.

Without a doubt. The cheap stuff is fine for most plinking, but once we get involved in more challenging pursuits*, quality really does matter. And that’s true even without a top tier rifle: better ammunition usually yields better results in any rifle.

* Some of mine:
https://sigforum.com/eve/forum...840067405#9840067405
https://sigforum.com/eve/forum...220019305#8220019305
https://sigforum.com/eve/forum...670035474#5670035474

March 17, 2024, 11:46 AM

Syngin1066

A little over 5k. I bought one of those CMMG .22 conversion kits and popped it into one of my AR SBR’s and the damn thing is a hoot. I can see myself burning through this quicker than I initially thought.

March 17, 2024, 11:59 AM

apprentice

Probably 5-10K without looking. I know I still have several bricks from the 90s when I was working sporting goods retail. There is also more than a few hundred from even farther back that probably came from grampy back in the day.

March 17, 2024, 12:48 PM

383stroker

Once the spring rain is over I'll be out plinking and target practice at least once a week, I have 4 1022 rifles and a 1022 charger. The rifle with the Binary trigger goes out each time, Having 16 BX25 mags loaded up along with at least three setups with the tri mag connecters means close to 500 rounds for a weekly count. Carry gun and sometimes another adds a couple hundred 9mm. Being old enough to have gone through numerous ammo shortages, I now keep enough not to worry when it happens again.

March 17, 2024, 12:58 PM

tatortodd

A few years ago, I was about to buy a Smith & Wesson M&P 15-22. I bought a metric shit ton of .22LR designed for AR-15s. Before I bought the AR, Appleseed banned the Smith & Wesson M&P 15-22 after 4 dangerous malfunctions including out-of-battery fire and uncontrolled fire.

I realize thing S&W fixed the problem and Appleseed welcomed them back, but I've never gotten around to buying a M&P 15-22. Partially because I've taken up motorcycling and do that in nice weather. I pretty much now just shoot pistols indoors when its crummy weather or too hot to motorcycle in full gear.

March 17, 2024, 01:16 PM

P250UA5

Probably a couple partial bricks. Waiting for my kids to be old enough to use it.

March 17, 2024, 01:25 PM

honestlou

I’ve never bought guns or ammo for EOW, because frankly I don’t want to live in that world.

I have bought a lot of guns and ammo “just because”, and mostly that’s because they basically last forever and don’t get cheaper. If you’ve ever found an old box of ammo with a price tag on it most likely you smiled and thought “I wish I had bought a lot more back then”. The future “back then” is now, so I say buy up whenever the price is right.

I have a good bit of bulk .22 that I bought at .05 or so, and a whole lot of mini mags that I got at .07-.09. I’ll never shoot it all, but I’ll pass it down or sell some down the road just for something to do.