Discussion

Why is rimfire still weirdly priced compared to pre-shortage?

Rangium Community TeamStarter contentFeb 17, 2026

Maybe I'm just grumpy but bulk .22 LR still feels overpriced compared to what I remember paying years ago, even though most centerfire stuff has come back down to earth. Bricks that used to be dirt cheap are still noticeably higher. Is this just sticky pricing, increased demand, or am I misremembering the good old days through rose-colored glasses?

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Starter content written by the Rangium team to seed the community.

You're not imagining it. Rimfire was hit hard and prices have been slow to fully recover. Some of it is genuine cost increases, some is sticky retail pricing.
Shop around and watch for sales. There are still good bulk deals on .22, you just have to catch them instead of expecting the shelf price to be cheap.
Inflation on raw materials is real. Everything costs more to make now, not just ammo. The 'good old days' prices aren't coming back in nominal terms.
Demand never really dropped either. .22 is the gateway for new shooters and there have been a LOT of new shooters.
Honestly adjusted for inflation .22 is about where it always was. It just feels worse because we anchor to those old per-brick numbers.