Looking for a decent beginner's level .22 to allow us to practice shooting at a lower cost than burning through boxes of 9mm (we'll still shoot the "9" enough to be confident with it as our home defense weapon). Suggestions? I was looking at the Ruger 22/45 which seems to get pretty good reviews.

Also, any stores/sites you like to get good quality ammo at a good price (for both the 9mm and the 22LR)?

Thanks,
QCB

What is your budget? The Mark III is a great gun for plinking.

I would also look at the M&P22. It's going to be a lot easier to field strip and clean. Also look at the SR22. It's a compact .22 that would also be fun.

TedSheckler;1681905 wrote:What is your budget? The Mark III is a great gun for plinking.

I would also look at the M&P22. It's going to be a lot easier to field strip and clean. Also look at the SR22. It's a compact .22 that would also be fun.

I'd like to stay under $400. Saving for a carry gun in the spring, and want to save as much budget for that to keep my options open.

Thanks for the suggestions, I'll take a look at these.

I'm still pissed about the hoarding and sky rocketed price of .22's.

BRF;1681914 wrote:I'm still pissed about the hoarding and sky rocketed price of .22's.

Gotta hoard it, Obama's been taking guns left and right. :rolleyes:

BRF;1681914 wrote:I'm still pissed about the hoarding and sky rocketed price of .22's.

Not as bad as it used to be. There was a sale at the local-ish field in stream on black Friday. It was atleast 200 rounds for 20 bucks

I have the Ruger 22-45. It is a fun weapon to shoot.
Very accurate. Very little recoil.

I've found limited supplies of .22 LR at Fin a couple of times the past month or two....mainly target grade lead round nose. One time they had boxes of 50 for about $5 each. (500 round limit.) ....pretty expensive. I picked up a couple of boxes because I was low. A few weeks later they had 325 count boxes of Federal Auto match for about $17.

Why are bullets so expensive?

If You want a cheap 22 look no further then Walmart cost anywhere from 100-150 for a 22

sleeper;1681957 wrote:Why are bullets so expensive?

Because people are buying them at rates that stores can't keep them on shelves consistently.

HitsRus;1681956 wrote:I've found limited supplies of .22 LR at Fin a couple of times the past month or two....mainly target grade lead round nose. One time they had boxes of 50 for about $5 each. (500 round limit.) ....pretty expensive. I picked up a couple of boxes because I was low. A few weeks later they had 325 count boxes of Federal Auto match for about $17.

Sorry, brain not yet fully functional this morning - Fin?

Browning Buckmark, Ruger MarkIII or Ruger 22/45 anything other than those three is a waste of money.. don't buy cheap weapons

I buy my ammo at Kames ... I look for sale pricing at other gun shops sometimes
when there are limits on ammo the wife and I both buy the limited amount...

Sorry, brain not yet fully functional this morning - Fin?

sorry...fin feather and fur

I Wear Pants;1681995 wrote:Because people are buying them at rates that stores can't keep them on shelves consistently.

Seems like supply is the problem. If we weren't so damn regulated in this country, we could have a flood of new bullet manufacturers that would bring the price of bullets to an acceptable market clearing level. Once again, I'll blame Obama.

I got a Mossberg 715 a couple of years ago. They are cheapo plastic made but looks like an M4 so thought, what the hell. Rounds been tough to find so we just buy what we can when we see em. Blew off probably 400-500 rounds this past weekend. For as cheaply made as it is it seems fairly accurate and very little problems. Maybe a jam here and there but much better than expected

sleeper;1682041 wrote:Seems like supply is the problem. If we weren't so damn regulated in this country, we could have a flood of new bullet manufacturers that would bring the price of bullets to an acceptable market clearing level. Once again, I'll blame Obama.

I think part of the issue is 22 is a rimfire cartridge so it takes special equipment to manufacture. The are a limited number of factories and not a lot of profit in cheap ammo.

FatHobbit;1682112 wrote:I think part of the issue is 22 is a rimfire cartridge so it takes special equipment to manufacture. The are a limited number of factories and not a lot of profit in cheap ammo.

I don't know what that shit means because I don't own any guns, but I imagine the profit margins on bullets are pretty healthy. I mean essentially bullets are small fragments of lead form fitted to some specification. Lead is dirt cheap and the production process has to be almost 100% autonomous. The cost of a 50 bullet package can't be more than a $1 to make so selling them at $5 still gives them plenty of margin to work with.

sleeper;1682126 wrote:I don't know what that shit means because I don't own any guns, but I imagine the profit margins on bullets are pretty healthy. I mean essentially bullets are small fragments of lead form fitted to some specification. Lead is dirt cheap and the production process has to be almost 100% autonomous. The cost of a 50 bullet package can't be more than a $1 to make so selling them at $5 still gives them plenty of margin to work with.

For other calibers, the factories could shift production from lower demand to higher demand products (and do so regularly). The .22 rounds are a different technology requiring different machinery to produce. It would be like trying to use excess capacity on a standard car engine to produce more diesel engines. Feasible, no idea. Cost prohibitive, absolutely.

There are a few models out there that have a barrel for .22 and 9mm. So you could shoot your same gun in .22 to practice and then just change the barrel for the 9mm. I feel like it was a sig, but I don't remember.

It would seem to me that rimfire would be considerably LESS expensive than centerfire to manufacture and that is what is reflected in the relatively cheap price of 22LR compared to other calibers. Centerfire runs from 30 to 50 cents a round and you usually don't have trouble finding the common calibers. What makes 22LR so hard to find is the demand is so high because it is so cheap....only a fraction of centerfire. Not too many people want to spend $100 just to fire off a couple hundred rounds.....not to mention law enforcement (Local state, Homeland security) who are on tight public budgets and don't want to spend $$$$ for their agents training on the firing range.

What I find slightly amazing is that ammunition manufacturers despite the over the top demand, have kept the price relatively stable and have not engaged in any gouging.