Rimfire guns will one day become more expensive than centerfire guns.

Maybe the South Texas and Northwest North Carolina markets are a little different. Around here, if you had 2 identical rifles for sale, one in .243 and one in 6mm, you would be able to get about $100 more for the 6mm, simply because of the non-availability of a new 6mm. Also alot of people know the 6mm is ballistically superior. I realize the .243 ammo is a little more common but there's no shortage of 6mm ammo either. Its easy to find brass to reload since 7x57 or .257 roberts brass can be re-sized to work. I know several people in my neck of the woods that deer hunt exclusively with a 6mm rem. There are always want ads in the classifieds with people wanting to buy a 6mm rem rifle. I own two myself, the M77 as you mentioned and an older Remington 700 varmint. If they are so cheap in south Texas I need to make a trip down there and buy up some 6mm rifles to re-sale up here. Wanna sell yours?

What other caliber would you like me to pick? They would all be more useful for hunting than a .22lr
 
Well SW believe what you want although it's not based in any sort of reality or economics. Then again, some folk thought Barry would be a good president. Takes all kinds.
 
Sorry I guess I wasn't too clear, I meant just as a comparison.;) When I bought the 77/22 about 15 years ago I paid 375.00. Around that same time frame I bought a M70 .270 XTR for about 475.00. On Gunbroaker there are several 77/22's for about the same price as similar M70's to the one I have:confused: There is no way I would sell my M70 for less than the 77/22 but I'm not selling or buying................Right Now!
 
I agree. The best thing for gun owners with any sense to do is wait this mess out if you want something that's currently in high demand. I see people selling bolt guns, single shots, shotguns, and whatever else for half what they're worth to get some quick cash to finance an AR purchase for 3 times what it was worth 6 months ago. Stupidity! Ill keep what I've got even if its worth nothing before I'll sell it for a loss. I personally have no desire to own an AR or anything of the like anyway. I do however love my .22lr's and hope I can readily find ammo for them by the time my remaining stock of 2000+ rounds I bought over a year ago is gone.
 
Well Steve, that little 6mm was one of my pops pride and joy's. That gun never went out in the rain although he did take his share of deer with it. A while back I had it floated and bedded and really woke it up, it is a very nice little cartridge. And yea I'm waiting to see what kind of nice blued/walnut huntin rifles got traded for AR's that people had to have, there's gonna be a bunch to pick from. 35Whelen 700 BDL:rolleyes:
 
Any gun made in smaller quantaties will maintain it's value more than one made by the millions. Ruger 22/77's are a very small part of Ruger's manufacturing. It is no surprise that they would hold their value more than a centerfire version when many more of the centerfires were made. The more rare the chambering, the more they hold their value. A used 6mm should sell for much more than a 30-06. But the 10-22 is always going to be less expensive than either.

You get the same thing when you look at Marlin. The 39's typically sell for a lot more than a common 336. But model 60's are dirt cheap on the used market.
 
By the original posters thinking my pellet gun should be worth even more than a .22. I can't get ammo for my .22 but I can still get ammo for my pellet gun and its cheaper too.

When ever I'm at a gun show or shop looking at guns, I always tell the owner they should sell this gun cheap since I can't get ammo for it anymore. For some reason they never take me seriously.
 
Last edited:
I'm sitting on 50K airsoft rounds, and I don't even feel like I'm hoarding.
I think 6mm .20 gram is the new .22. From what he kids tell me, .22 long rifle are fetching 10.95 USD. I think I'm going to shoot .22 more deliberately, and savor the plinks.
 
My point isn't about the cost to make the gun. It is about market conditions. For the average new shooter it comes down to can they afford and/or find ammo. It is the cost of ammo that will dictate the price of the guns in the future, not the cost to manufacture them. I hope I am wrong.
Click to expand...

You aren't wrong, but you aren't entirely right. The current shortage of .22s is just that, a current shortage, caused by panic buying, primarily. The .22LR is not only the cheapest round to make, it is made in the largest quantities. ITs not going away. What we have now is just a "bubble" condition, and it will bust. The only question is how long it will last.

Back in the 1970s, US shooters were going through a billion (that's right, Billion with a "B") .22LR rounds per year. This current shortage will end, I have faith in that.

Now, where you are right is about the cost of the ammo affecting the cost of the guns. But it doesn't apply to our .22s, because ammo is being made, and will be made. Even if it is not as cheap as it used to be, its still going to be much cheaper than centerfire rounds.

One place where the cost/availability of the ammo really affected the value of the guns is the 5mm Rem Mag. Remember that one? Hot number, for a little while, then faded. Rem quit making ammo (and nobody else took over), and today the guns are virtually worthless because of the shortage of ammo.

Collectors will still pay a little for the rifles, but a single box of the ammo brings more than 3 or 4 of the rifles do!

I wonder if the various .17 rimfires are going to go the same way, eventually...
 
^^^ this is why I like reloadable cartridges better, & on my rimfires, I buy & maintain several bricks on hand at all times, & never shoot down to my last... I shoot more 17 Mach 2 than most of my other rimfires, & that one could easily slip under the bus... even though I love it
 
Southwest1 - With nearly 60 years of experience shooting rimfires, centerfires, and shotguns, and about 40 years of experience reloading for centerfires and shotguns, I find your speculation to be very doubtful - at least in the absence of catastrophies engulfing the entire developed world. I do own and shoot .22 rimfire handguns and rifles, but have a substantial collection of other firearms and I don't expect that shooting them will ever cost less than my rimfires.
 
Rimfire guns will one day become more expensive than centerfire guns.
Click to expand...

Anyone who thinks rim fire guns are inexpensive hasn't bought a Winchester 52 Sporter or a Cooper recently. Ruger 10/22's are the only gun I can think of where you start out spending $200 then end up with $1500 in accessories to make it shoot well.
 
Ruger 10/22's are the only gun I can think of where you start out spending $200 then end up with $1500 in accessories to make it shoot well.
Click to expand...

One of the internet's biggest myths. A stock 10/22 is a fine gun in it's own right but it is what it is. It's not a target gun from the factory. Being it doesn't take no additional $1300 to get them to shoot with any gun costing more. Sometimes much more. I have one 10/22 that will shoot MOA @ 50 yards (farthest I've shot it on paper). Total of $140 in accuracy improvements on that one. Another 10/22 I've been dickin with lately shot these groups, 10 shots each, 25 yards, el'cheapo Federal 550 bulk:
DSCN2181_zps771b3706.jpg


5/8" groups usually ain't much to brag about but neither was my shooting this weekend and WE ARE talkin 10 shot strings with plinkin ammo. One of these days I'll break out the good stuff and ring it out. Only mod is a $40 VQ hammer.
 
Last edited:
The OP's point was that the future price of .22 rimfire ammo was going to make it more expensive to shoot a .22 than a centerfire. IMHO that it very unlikely. There are, of course, many .22 rimfire rifles far more expensive than typical factory centerfire rifles.
 
Market price does not dictate the Actual price of an item. Even if we are talking about Market price, that is only a relative value and not a true cost of a firearm. Market value is what people will pay/sell an item due to the current conditions, and it always fluctuates unlike the actual price.

For an apples-to-apples comparison, take a Colt6920 (5.56) and a Smith&Wesson M&P15-22 (22lr). The Colt's normal price is about $1100, the M&P is about $450. Currently, Both have ammo that is almost impossible to find locally.

There is no way that the market price of a base M&P15-22 will surpass the Colt6920 based on ammo prices alone.

Would a piece of coal be worth more than an emerald jewel? Maybe in a million years, but thats not really an ideal situation either.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top