22 magnum ammo cost

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22 magnum ammo cost

Post by Roo farmer » 15 Jun 2018, 12:29 pm

Why is 22 magnum ammo so expensive?

Does anybody use their 22 magnum rifle much any more?

Do they still sell new rifles chambered in 22 magnum?

It's definitely a step up in performance from a 22LR for sure. But it seems to me, it's about twice the performance but four times the price. Or another way to look at it, is that it's about the same cost as a 223 reload with about half the performance.

I can't see any reason at all to use one unless you already had one sitting there. Has it always been like this?
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Re: 22 magnum ammo cost

Post by Daddybang » 15 Jun 2018, 12:45 pm

Prices go up as demand goes down . I have a magnum and enjoy shooting it but at $23 a pkt it's almost the same price as $16 a pkt for the .222(ppu).
I remember when almost every shooter had a magnum in the collection and they weren't that much more expensive than a .22lr :drinks:
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Re: 22 magnum ammo cost

Post by Bent Arrow » 15 Jun 2018, 1:22 pm

I use mine. Because of my sons age he is currently limited to cat A, so a 223 is not an option for him at the moment
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Re: 22 magnum ammo cost

Post by sungazer » 15 Jun 2018, 2:13 pm

They have been more expensive and a lot more expensive for a long time. I have a old packet of Winchester 22LR that is marked $4.95 and a magnum pack of the same era was $19.50 that was 20 years ago so comparatively they were even more expensive back then.
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Re: 22 magnum ammo cost

Post by Daddybang » 15 Jun 2018, 2:35 pm

bentaz wrote:Funniest thing I've seen is .22mag sub's!


I use them if I'm going down the dam for an afternoon of sh#ts and giggles so I don't annoy the recently widowed neighbor if I'm putting a couple of hundred thru but yeah they really are a funny concept!! :thumbsup: :drinks:

sungazer wrote:They have been more expensive and a lot more expensive for a long time. I have a old packet of Winchester 22LR that is marked $4.95 and a magnum pack of the same era was $19.50 that was 20 years ago so comparatively they were even more expensive back then.


Dad used to pay around ten a box in the territory back in the eighties but I'm not sure of the brand he used. :drinks:
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Re: 22 magnum ammo cost

Post by bladeracer » 15 Jun 2018, 4:43 pm

Roo farmer wrote:Why is 22 magnum ammo so expensive?

Does anybody use their 22 magnum rifle much any more?

Do they still sell new rifles chambered in 22 magnum?

It's definitely a step up in performance from a 22LR for sure. But it seems to me, it's about twice the performance but four times the price. Or another way to look at it, is that it's about the same cost as a 223 reload with about half the performance.

I can't see any reason at all to use one unless you already had one sitting there. Has it always been like this?


I can't speak about before '83, but certainly .22WMR has been much more expensive than .22LR since at least then - several times more expensive. I owned a Stirling M1500 back then and it was not a bad rifle at all. But I was also loading .222Rem at loads equivalent to LR and WMR so the M1500 got very little use at all.

WMR seems to be fairly popular in the US, although it's lost market share to the HMR. You can still buy rifles chambered for it.
I think the only reason to own one is if you're restricted to rimfire for some reason, and want a heavier bullet than the HMR offers. Otherwise get a .223 or .204 and tailor your own loads to suit your requirements.
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Re: 22 magnum ammo cost

Post by Metalmik84 » 15 Jun 2018, 5:15 pm

Yep as a new shooter I haven't been able to get my head around it... I'll be going from .22lr to .223.
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Re: 22 magnum ammo cost

Post by bladeracer » 15 Jun 2018, 5:35 pm

Metalmik84 wrote:Yep as a new shooter I haven't been able to get my head around it... I'll be going from .22lr to .223.


Do you plan to load your own ammo?
If you do, get some cheap bulk bullets and Trailboss and you can do everything the WMR and Hornet can do.
If you get a tight twist barrel you can also encroach into .243 territory - 8"-twist lets you shoot 80gn bullets.
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Re: 22 magnum ammo cost

Post by Oldbloke » 15 Jun 2018, 6:44 pm

bladeracer wrote:
Do you plan to load your own ammo?
If you do, get some cheap bulk bullets and Trailboss and you can do everything the WMR and Hornet can do.
If you get a tight twist barrel you can also encroach into .243 territory - 8"-twist lets you shoot 80gn bullets.


read my mind. Sell the 22mag and buy a 223 & some reloading gear.
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Re: 22 magnum ammo cost

Post by Cooper » 15 Jun 2018, 8:15 pm

I reckon the 22 magnum is a good fox gun. Because I reckon I'd probably miss a rabbit with one if it was any further out then 50 metres. :sarcasm:

Seriously though I cannot see why 22 mag should be anymore than double the cost of 22lr. I bought some highland 22 mag to try in mine at $18 per 50 which about where I think the price should be at the most.
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Re: 22 magnum ammo cost

Post by Sergeant Hartman » 15 Jun 2018, 8:31 pm

I would say they likely sell the 22lr ammo at about 10times the qty than of 22wmr... actually it might be 500 times.
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Re: 22 magnum ammo cost

Post by YoungBuck » 16 Jun 2018, 9:28 am

The .22 Mag is great for foxes < 100m, I've taken plenty with my Ruger American Rimfire. BUT in hindsight if I could go back in time I would tell myself to skip the .22WMR and go to .223.
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Re: 22 magnum ammo cost

Post by Oldbloke » 16 Jun 2018, 9:51 am

YoungBuck wrote: BUT in hindsight if I could go back in time I would tell myself to skip the .22WMR and go to .223.


OR

222 or 22 Hornet. Both ok
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Re: 22 magnum ammo cost

Post by Member-Deleted » 16 Jun 2018, 10:58 am

I have a circuit judge in .22/.22 mag, it is a handy option for carting around on the quad with the 30/30 when out and about, sort of covers most bases.
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Re: 22 magnum ammo cost

Post by SCJ429 » 16 Jun 2018, 12:09 pm

Bladeracer, what sort of speed do you get from a 223 loaded with Trailboss? Do you use about 4 grains no matter the projectile weight?
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Re: 22 magnum ammo cost

Post by Member-Deleted » 16 Jun 2018, 12:44 pm

Member-Deleted wrote:I have a circuit judge in .22/.22 mag, it is a handy option for carting around on the quad with the 30/30 when out and about, sort of covers most bases.


Just sold my circuit judge 22/22 mag. Recently bought a Marlin 22 mag bolt action with the tube magazine like the one I had when I was a boy and it’s gets all the use now.
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Re: 22 magnum ammo cost

Post by Member-Deleted » 16 Jun 2018, 6:55 pm

Johno wrote:
Member-Deleted wrote:I have a circuit judge in .22/.22 mag, it is a handy option for carting around on the quad with the 30/30 when out and about, sort of covers most bases.


Just sold my circuit judge 22/22 mag. Recently bought a Marlin 22 mag bolt action with the tube magazine like the one I had when I was a boy and it’s gets all the use now.



Probably a bit more accurate than the circuit judge mate.
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Re: 22 magnum ammo cost

Post by bladeracer » 16 Jun 2018, 10:14 pm

Oldbloke wrote:
YoungBuck wrote: BUT in hindsight if I could go back in time I would tell myself to skip the .22WMR and go to .223.


OR

222 or 22 Hornet. Both ok


Same boat though, still restricted by velocity and bullet weight. .223 can be loaded down to equal both of these, while still offering much heavier bullets and higher velocities when required, although the .222Rem does seem to have an inherent accuracy potential.
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Re: 22 magnum ammo cost

Post by bladeracer » 16 Jun 2018, 10:30 pm

SCJ429 wrote:Bladeracer, what sort of speed do you get from a 223 loaded with Trailboss? Do you use about 4 grains no matter the projectile weight?


4gn gives me 1180fps with a 52gn bullet.
3.6gn goes subsonic with the same bullet. 3.6gn behind the 80gn ELDM could possibly stop in the bore due to the extra weight and bearing surface, and probably wouldn't stabilise anyway. For cast bullets you'd need higher charges.

I've got a pile of .223 loaded at 8.0gn with the 52gn but haven't had a chance to chrono them yet.
You can load them to whatever speed you want, up to about 2000fps I would guess - I haven't chronoed a full Trailboss charge as yet. New ADI brass holds 9.2gn to the top and 8.6gn to the base of the neck. Fired PPU and Tikka brass I can fit 10gn into.

My absolute favorite TB load is probably 8.5gn in the .204 behind the 32gn ZMax at 2400fps (basically a .22 Hornet load), but I make TB loads for everything I shoot. 4.5gn drops them down under 1600fps. I have been down to 3.0gn but didn't have a chrono back then.
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Re: 22 magnum ammo cost

Post by JimTom » 17 Jun 2018, 6:47 am

I had fancied a .22WMR however like people have eluded to, the cost of ammo is a little disproportionate to .22LR given the difference in performance.
For someone that reloads I am thinking the Hornet is a far better option. Hopefully I will scrape enough together for one in the not to distant future.
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Re: 22 magnum ammo cost

Post by Oldbloke » 17 Jun 2018, 9:37 am

JimTom wrote:I had fancied a .22WMR however like people have eluded to, the cost of ammo is a little disproportionate to .22LR given the difference in performance.
For someone that reloads I am thinking the Hornet is a far better option. Hopefully I will scrape enough together for one in the not to distant future.


IMO 223 or 222 are better options. As suggested earlier Hornet is a bit limited in performance.
Last edited by Oldbloke on 17 Jun 2018, 10:01 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: 22 magnum ammo cost

Post by SCJ429 » 17 Jun 2018, 9:46 am

Thanks Bladeracer, I did not realise you could get 8 or 9 grains into a case. I will have to do some experimenting. I need something fairly quiet but faster than a 22. Might have to give the 204 a go.
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Re: 22 magnum ammo cost

Post by JimTom » 17 Jun 2018, 10:14 am

Oldbloke wrote:
JimTom wrote:I had fancied a .22WMR however like people have eluded to, the cost of ammo is a little disproportionate to .22LR given the difference in performance.
For someone that reloads I am thinking the Hornet is a far better option. Hopefully I will scrape enough together for one in the not to distant future.


IMO 223 or 222 are better options. As suggested earlier Hornet is a bit limited in performance.



Yep I agree mate and already have a .223., the .22 Hornet is just a nice to have.
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Re: 22 magnum ammo cost

Post by Bruiser64 » 17 Jun 2018, 10:33 am

I bought a Ruger American in 22 magnum and I am happy with my purchase. I wouldnt use ir for plinking, but I like it for shooting bunnies where they are a bit too far away for the 22lr. I dont think the dollar cost per Shooting trip is too bad as I am not shooting that many rounds each time i go out. It is certainly pretty convenient just picking up a box of 50 for $30 as opposed to reloading 50 rounds. Fot me the ammo cost was no barrier to ownership.
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Re: 22 magnum ammo cost

Post by Oldbloke » 17 Jun 2018, 12:19 pm

Bruiser64 wrote:I dont think the dollar cost per Shooting trip is too bad as I am not shooting that many rounds each time i go out. It is certainly pretty convenient just picking up a box of 50 for $30 as opposed to reloading 50 rounds. For me the ammo cost was no barrier to ownership.


Agree, fuel is normally the main cost, for me anyway. We often worry far too much about ammo cost. For hunting it’s fairly minor. But reloading will in the long term be cheaper. You also get a lot of satisfaction and tighter groups. Just part of the sport.
For those shooting 1000s of rounds it’s probably a necessary evil.
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Re: 22 magnum ammo cost

Post by bigrich » 17 Jun 2018, 3:33 pm

JimTom wrote:I had fancied a .22WMR however like people have eluded to, the cost of ammo is a little disproportionate to .22LR given the difference in performance.
For someone that reloads I am thinking the Hornet is a far better option. Hopefully I will scrape enough together for one in the not to distant future.


i had a beutifull weihrauch hw60j in 22 mag that would shoot 1" at 100 . depending on the batch of rimfire ammo you got. frustrated the hell out of me which is why i got a hornet. 22 hornet is not overly loud to use for pest control on smaller blocks, can be extremely accurate and is reloadable. if i was looking at longer range shooting, from my experiences costs be damned i'd go 243 or work on lighter loads for my 6.5x55. had a range day that was a bit windy, 22-250 moved around a bit. my 6.5 hardly noticed. back to hornet, cost per bullet it must be one of the cheapest to load for once you have the gear. JMHO :thumbsup:
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Re: 22 magnum ammo cost

Post by Flyer » 20 Jun 2018, 3:45 pm

We were talking about the cost of 22wmr and 17hmr compared to 22 the other day and came to the conclusion it's the different types of bullets - 22 is a lead slug or copper wash, while 22wmr and 17hmr are proper jacketed bullets. There's a little bit more powder and brass in the magnum cartridges, too, but not so much as to quadruple the price.
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Re: 22 magnum ammo cost

Post by bladeracer » 20 Jun 2018, 10:46 pm

Flyer wrote:We were talking about the cost of 22wmr and 17hmr compared to 22 the other day and came to the conclusion it's the different types of bullets - 22 is a lead slug or copper wash, while 22wmr and 17hmr are proper jacketed bullets. There's a little bit more powder and brass in the magnum cartridges, too, but not so much as to quadruple the price.


To give you some real numbers:
For reference - CCI Std Velocity RN 1080fps.
.22LR has a 40gn lead healed lubed RN .223" bullet.
.22LR has a 10gn case (including priming compound - fired case is 0.40gn lighter).
.22LR has 1gn of fine ball powder.

For reference - Win Super-X JHP 1900fps(?) (old 1980's bullet design).
.22WMR has a 40gn semi-jacketed HP .224" bullet (interestingly, the jacket is 13.5gn of that - one-third).
.22WMR has a 19gn case (including priming compound - I don't have a fired case to weigh. I would guess it would be about 0.6gn lighter when fired).
.22WMR has 6gn of fine ball powder.

The WMR bullet is ten-times the price (more material and a lot more manufacturing processes to make), the primed case is about three-times the price, and the powder is six-times the price of the .22LR cartridge.

So yes, just in components, the WMR would be very significantly more expensive to produce - on the same scale of production - quite likely even more than quadrupling the price.

But if you compare the WMR to .223Rem, which has five-times more brass in the case, four-times more powder, fifty-percent more bullet, and a separate expensive primer, you would reasonably expect to pay at least five-times more than for the WMR ammo. Scale of production though makes .223 only about double the WMR's price, and sometimes closer to equal.
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Re: 22 magnum ammo cost

Post by Runnymede » 22 Jun 2018, 8:33 pm

Hi all this is my 1st post as only joined today. Anyway re. 22 WMR ammo cost I have 22WMR and pay a fair bit for ammo here in OZ, a few weeks ago I was in the US for work and dropped into Cabelas and was walking the ammo aisle and noted that 22 WMR Winchester Super X 40 gr we’re selling for USD $9.95 a box of 50 so even factoring in the exchange rate why am I paying almost 3 x that at home? And don’t get me started on the 308 Win Winchester 180 gr Super X that was selling for under USD$ 20 a box that I pay somewhere near AUD $40 here at home. Someone is making money and it’s not me....
I guess perhaps it is economies of scale or perhaps we are just prepared to pay more than others?
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Re: 22 magnum ammo cost

Post by bladeracer » 23 Jun 2018, 12:15 pm

Runnymede wrote:Hi all this is my 1st post as only joined today. Anyway re. 22 WMR ammo cost I have 22WMR and pay a fair bit for ammo here in OZ, a few weeks ago I was in the US for work and dropped into Cabelas and was walking the ammo aisle and noted that 22 WMR Winchester Super X 40 gr we’re selling for USD $9.95 a box of 50 so even factoring in the exchange rate why am I paying almost 3 x that at home? And don’t get me started on the 308 Win Winchester 180 gr Super X that was selling for under USD$ 20 a box that I pay somewhere near AUD $40 here at home. Someone is making money and it’s not me....
I guess perhaps it is economies of scale or perhaps we are just prepared to pay more than others?


Did those prices include tax? Often US prices are without tax which you then add on at point of sale.
How did the WMR price compare to .22LR?
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