Just about 22 months ago: November 28, 2013 to be exact, Midway USA was running a sale on
these: Remington "Bucket O Bullets", 1400 rounds of .22LR. The price was $60 - at a time when the next closest price was $20 more and gun show vendors were asking $90 for a brick of 500 - and it was listed as OK to backorder. Since Midway won't bill until the merchandise is shipped, and the stated ship date was before the end of December, I punched the button.
I could list all of the delays but suffice it to say that a year later, my backorder expired. I stubbornly started a new "notify me when in stock" then (late 2014) and for the last 10 months, whenever some would come in, I'd get the notification and immediately click on the link to Midway only to find other guys had gotten their bucket while I was at work. Then I'd enter another notification. There's a fine line between being determined and just plain stubborn. I've clearly gone over that line.
You're probably guessing where this is going. I got my latest notification tonight and there was actually at least one bucket in stock. It will be on the way shortly - just short of two years waiting. Along the way, the price went from $60 to $100, and at 8 cents/round it's not all that much cheaper than the cheapest smaller boxes at the fun show. I could wait another year and see if it gets back to $60, but we've hit the point where I'd just as soon put some downrange. I had an ad from CDNN a few days ago that had these buckets for $140, with shipping and a mandatory extra signature fee, so my stubbornness has paid off at least somewhat.
Tomorrow I'll be checking out the Mexican stuff I just got for $65 per 1K. It ought to be interesting. First .22 I've purchased since the first Kenyan crisis occurred. And I've not shot any of what I have had since, for fear of really needing it, instead of practice. I learned my lesson the first time and stocked up on reloading components when they finally came back, and been working on bulk ammo when it sounds like a good deal. Funny, one can buy all the guns one wants at good prices, but ammo? Not so much.
ReplyDeleteIf Sarthurk is talking about Aguila ammo, made in Cuernavaca, Mexico, I have never had an issue with their .22 products. I've shot their Colibri (still have some) and their sub-sonic with the 60 grain bullet. It hits hard, due to its mass, but it will not stabilize in all .22 LR barrels, key-holing if it the barrel spin is too fast.
ReplyDeleteQuite a change from the late '90s. early '00s, when I could (and did, of course) buy actual bricks of .22 for $6 and $7 on sale at our local department store (Bi-Mart, a chain of stores in OR and WA, employee owned). I've always understood that having a more-than-adequate supply on hand put me in a good position when barter becomes better than fiat currency.
Let's hope the market returns to something more like $25-$30 a "brick" (mostly just bulk boxes and tubs, now), so that those who haven't stocked as they would like can improve _their_ position.
I have to add how strange it seems to now pay as much for bullets as I used to pay for loaded ammunition. Makes bullet casting a rewarding experience.
BTDT; back in December 2012 Brownells advertised 2000 rounds of .22LR in .50 caliber ammo cans for $89, so I ordered several. Then the Great Ammo Crisis hit. Last month I got the email announcing they were canceling the backorder. This month I'm torn between buying gold, silver or .22LR......
ReplyDeleteA similar issue with Midway - ordered several uncommon mags TWO YEARS AGO -
ReplyDeletegot an email that golly, mags were in stock, but as the CC on file had expired the order was cancelled.
Tried to reorder same day- huh, OUT OF STOCK.
itor
Soon, bibles will cost $2,500/each. No first amendment issues with that. Like a $200/each fee for suppressors way back when, it's interpreted to mean it is possible to get them, not that it is practical to get them.
ReplyDeleteI don't see anyone setting up secret ammo factories in defiance, that would be illegal.
"Acceptable" means that people accept it. These ammo prices are acceptable. Suppressor regulations are acceptable. Additional gun registration is not acceptable. Future policy positions will edge as close to additional gun restrictions as the majority decides are acceptable.