A John Wayne rifle and a “cowboy six shooter” were among a group of collectible guns stolen from a home in Sarpy County, Nebraska last weekend. The homeowners were out of town when the burglary occurred, but there are indications that the robbers broke out a window and then simply reached in to unlock the deadbolt. The crew removed a half-ton gun safe from its location using the owner’s own dolly, and authorities believe that since the garage was empty, the bad guys simply drove into the garage and closed the door to load up at leisure. I’m presuming the safe was not bolted to the floor or walls . . .

though if the robbers had that much time to work on it, I’m not sure how much difference that would have ultimately made. Also stolen were three flat screen TVs, ten silver dollars and some family jewelry. Police are still searching for clues, and hope that the uniqueness of the stolen items might allow them to track back to who was involved.

Your Lockdown of the Day™ comes from Austintown, Ohio, outside of Youngstown. Austintown Fitch High School was put into a “precautionary lockdown” last Friday due to an empty ammunition box. The empty box from the Vietnam War was left in the lunchroom by a student by accident, and police at the school put a lockdown in place while they made sure it was empty and wasn’t suddenly going to leap into action and start killing people. It turns out the student was learning about the Vietnam War, and had brought the box in for show and tell. The lockdown was lifted after about 20 minutes, and a call went out to parents, as well as a district email about the “incident.” Sigh.

It’s no secret that many Americans’ 401k plans invest in gun manufacturer stocks, because they continue to make money on a steady ongoing basis. But to some folks that seems too much like supporting the guns they hate, so a group called “Campaign to Unload” is seeking to have as many of those investments divested as possible. They’ve got their work cut out for them, as according to the article over at HuffPo, U.S. 401k accounts hold roughly $2 billion in three major gun and ammo makers, out of an estimated $3.5 trillion in total 401k assets. The Campaign has created a website, Unload Your 401k, which pairs a bunch of dubious “facts” about guns with the ability to find out if your retirement plans invest in publicly traded firearm companies. I checked my 401k, as well of those of both my parents and one of my best friends, and every one of them came back with the result that they were “likely invested in three public gun stocks.” All of them? Really? Really. See the second clause of my first sentence if you don’t understand the reason why. Gun companies are proven performers, performance is the name of the game, and any investment group that puts politics over performance doesn’t deserve to have your business.

A group of fast food employees at a Jack in the Box in Fort Worth, Texas locked themselves in a freezer after spotting a group of men toting guns outside, according to police. (Link has autoplay video.) The men turned out to be engaged in an open carry demonstration (Oh boy, here it comes), and some of them were members of Open Carry Texas. Police were called, and arrived to find six men carrying rifles. After speaking to police and concluding their “demonstration,” the men went home, and no arrests were made. OCT’s CJ Grisham (remember him?) denied the reports about employees hiding in the freezer, but Fort Worth police say they stand by their report. Police asked that in the future the OCT give them a “friendly heads up” about their demonstrations, so they can respond appropriately to the inevitable panicked phone calls.

It honestly has very little to do with guns, but it made me chuckle a bit, so here’s episode 5 of Half Cocked from Primary Weapons Systems… (NSFW language)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l_GiRMWe2ls
 
MattV2099 offers some tips on finding cheap .22LR ammunition. (NSFW language)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uUsUBe9dG_A
OK, so maybe that wasn’t as helpful as I’d hoped. I know people have asked this before, but does anyone ever think we’ll see .22LR again available like it was five years ago? Ever?

RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR

51 COMMENTS

  1. Two weeks ago I walked into my local Dicks to buy some hiking boots and low and behold there 2000 round ammo boxes of Winchester M-22 stacked up on the counter for $129.95. I wasn’t greedy and only bought one. I currently have 6110 rounds of 22LR in my inventory and I never paid premium prices for it.

  2. I used to clean carpets at jack in the box stores all around tx, including dallas ft worth. More than once, I arrived to a store that had been shut down early due to some kind of threat. Once it was a crackhead who cut himself and almost bled to death trying to jump through the drive through window. See, he didn’t have a car with which to “drive through” with, so they denied him service. Jack in the Box employees live RAW.

  3. Supposedly none of the .22LR manufacturers have ramped up production. Yep, that means they make the same amount as they did 10 years ago. The only way to see prices down and supply up is to either 1.) Achieve 1.21 Gigawatts from your DeLorean or 2.) Boycott the manufacturers, like ATK who owns CCI, Federal,Etc until they manufacture more. Neither option is likely to happen, though.

      • Well, the first is from me, and sadly the reality of it in all likelihood. The second comes from other people on here who have put forth the idea before, although I believe they meant not buying other calibers until they ramp up production on 22LR. Like I said, neither is likely to happen.

  4. That’s a big no on the resurgence of .22lr availability. At this point i don’t think supply will ever catch up with demand. This comparison may be in bad taste, but the American gun owner’s need for .22 is like rural Africans’ need for for food. Those that can pay ridiculous prices online stock up, and those who wait/struggle to find it on store shelves find enough to barely feed their firearms.

    If you find it at Wal-mart or somewhere similar, you can still get a brick for $20-ish. I bought 3 bricks on opening daywhen a new store similar to wallyworld opened up around my neck of the woods. But methinks the new standard price for 500 rds. of .22 will be $60. Which still isn’t bad for as much shooting as you get out of it. But there are still jackholes asking $50 for 100 rounds of plinking ammo online.

    The last time I saw .22 for sale in a sporting goods/ gun store was Eley Match ammo, at $20 for 50 rounds. And it has sat there long enough to gather dust. No average joe wants it, and none of the aforementioned jackholes want to resell it either.

    I’m at the point where after I use up those bricks, i am trading/selling all of my .22s and reinvesting all of that into a Nemo Omen. Go big or go home.

    • The way to break the speculative hoarding cycle is not to pay $60 per brick on gun broker. That will remove the incentive to arbitrage. At that point the hoarders will stop showing up at Dick’s or Wally World at zero dark thirty to scarf up all the 22. Instead of accumulating they will start dumping their hoard.

  6. On the 22 issue, no. Nor will we ever see prices as low as we had 10 years ago.

  7. Unload Your 401K says mine is likely invested in three gun stocks. I was hoping there were more!

    • I didn’t hear about it. But then, I spent most of the day listening to music, not my normal talk radio, so I got a whole lot less news today.

  9. but does anyone ever think we’ll see .22LR again available like it was five years ago? Ever?

    I have no idea, I just went out and purchased a Daisy M853 air rifle to practice. The best part is I can use it my basement and my backyard (thanks to local ordinance)

    A recent newsletter from CMP says it will be over 1 year before they can even start filling the order they have. When I see 22lr its 36gr hollow point in a Federal Spam box. that is about it and its gone within days.

    I had high hopes that the 17 WSM round would make a nice alternative for rimfire, but the ammo is expensive as centerfire and besides Savage, nobody seems to care.

  10. Supply of .22LR ammo still hasn’t caught up with demand, and likely never will, since the “Great Scare of 2012/13” has had manufacturers going absolutely balls-to-the-wall producing product in every other caliber. Prices for primary calibers still haven’t quite fallen below pre-Scare prices, and availability is still pretty sketchy at times. At least anything that isn’t made for plinking anyway.

  11. The prices for .22LR are never going to get to where they used to be even 2 years ago, but it’s not THAT hard to find. Or maybe I’m just lucky and I have a reliable source of it nearby. (If you live in western PA, the Field & Stream store in Cranberry Twp ALWAYS has .22LR at reasonable prices–and they often but not always have bulk boxes.

    There. I did my good deed for the week.

  12. I have had good luck with 22, locally and online. We shoot it and then stock up again when it shows up. We also have a bit saved, but so far, the local Academy has always had bricks come in 2 to 3 days a week, at good prices considering all the higher prices to be found. So every now and then we hit the Academy or Walmart, and usually come up with what we need for the weekend. I certainly do hope we do go back to how it was. But with people paying upwards of 60 bucks a brick, it may just become the new norm, at least 30-40 bucks. I hope not. Same with 22 Win Mag. Comes in less frequently, but it does show. So far we have not had to pay crazy jacked up prices for any of it yet.

  14. Boy, thieves are loathsome creatures. They really took that dude to the cleaners. It’s a pity he doesn’t have any neighbors – or that he doesn’t know his neighbors – who could keep an eye on the place when he’s out of town. I’d be bitter as hell.

  15. A Vietnam era ammo can….wow…It’s not like the kid tied a red bandanna around his head, sat down in the lunch room and pointed a pop tart chewed to the shape of a gun at his head and shouted “MAO”

  16. That is why you always bolt your safe to the floor and at least two wall studs. That’s the way that our safe is secured: 4 7/16 inch bolts into expanding anchors that are 4″ deep in the concrete foundation, plus 2 3/8 inch bolts drilled into wall studs. It would take a LOT of work for anybody to move that safe.

  17. 22lr isn’t too bad if you know where to look and when.about 35-40 a bulk pack 500.
    But 22 win mag is a ghost. Stopped in every Walmart and gun store I saw while traveling in 3 states for a month before I came up with a SINGLE box.

    • $35-$40 for a brick of .22LR isn’t too bad? Guess I’m old. I would pay $20, but long for the good ol’ days when it was ten bucks a brick—it actually doesn’t even seem that long ago.

  18. “I know people have asked this before, but does anyone ever think we’ll see .22LR again available like it was five years ago? Ever?”

    I’d take 2 years ago.

  20. 22lr is as hunting unicorns. But some out there. As understand it. Walmart ammo restock is Mon, Wed, Friday nights. I did find at local store past Sat morning 0730. Limit of 3 box of 50 (Federal) @ 2.50ea.

    Recently visiting a LGS when UPS truck arrive. Straight to shelf with approx. 20bricks @ $25ea. Got 2. So perhaps learn the local UPS drivers schedule.

  21. I remember a few years ago reading about two burglars who tried to steal a gun safe that wasn’t bolted down. It tipped over on one guy and pinned him to the floor. The other guy ran off. The home owners came home to find the guy and called 911. Bad guy No. 1 ended up without legs for his trouble and then ratted out the guy that abandoned him there.

    Too bad something similar didn’t happen here.

  22. MattV2099’s subtitles are a crackup!

    Fudge missiles. OMG! I’ve not heard that term before. That was hilarious.

    .22?
    Bide your time folks. It’ll come back. With maybe a minor price increase. Maybe 22 bucks a brick. Base metals haven’t gone up that much.

  23. Re. .22LR … what the heck *is* going on?

    Is that they are using the components to make more profitable larger caliber stuff?

    I have about 4,000 rounds of the stuff sitting in .50 cal cans and I treat it like gold, rarely shooting it now.

    I do believe the days of good quality .02-.03 per round prices are long gone.

  24. Personal responsibility, not any government edict, should indicate to all of us gun owners to make sure our arms are put into safe and secure locations with whatever we can to protect them. Safes are great, but they need to be secured. Concrete encased large rebars into the bottom and bottom sides of heavy gun safes along with an alarm would be best, and an alarm if at all possible even if the great construction work and reinforced and hugely heavily safe are not practical for you.

    Alarms with cell capacity and large battery back up do work to protect your guns and homes, and your family. Some systems can be self-installed and monitoring can be a small monthly fee which is worth the peace of mind.

    • im looking at buying my first gun storage safe/cabinet soon and ive been looking into security devices. im more than likely going to be in an apartment so bolting it down is out. ive thought about installing a motion activated camera inside that takes a picture when the door is opened, along with a CCTV camera (incognito of course) thats constantly watching the safe.

      ive spent many a saturday thinking on how to keep my stuff mine.

  25. My understanding is that rimfire requires special equipment. Since no one wants unused manufacturing capacity eating into their profit/loss statements, everyone who makes rimfire was already operating at their capacity. Increasing the capacity means a capital investment that most manufacturers are unwilling to make for a temporary increase in demand. I’ve heard that a couple are buying additional equipment, but with extensive planning to cover the need 5 years from now (barring any more scares).

  26. Iv got 10k rnds of .22lr I bought over the last 8 or so years, and Im not touching the stuff until It’s available again.

  28. Once enough people have stocked up to the bare-bones (10,000 rounds) acceptable cache, then we’ll start seeing reasonably priced .22lr on the shelves again.

  29. Wait, so people are investing in gun STOCKS? Are the high-quality exotic woods? Or just hollow? I guess it brings “burial money” into this century, accounting for inflation.

  30. Holy moly. If anyone can just walk off with my safe….they can have it. That’s what the insurance is for.

    • Wow, hoplophobe central. I love the premise of guys openly bringing fairly expensive firearms to the Jack-in-the-Box to steal a few hundred dollars in fast food cash register receipts. Really? The center commentator seems most traumatized. Latent case of severe gun envy, me thinks.

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