Ask any shooter who has been buying rimfire for more than a decade and they'll tell you what .22 LR is "supposed" to cost: about a dime a round. That figure became folklore during the 2013 to 2015 rimfire shortage, when .22 LR vanished from shelves and the price on what remained more than doubled. Ever since, "is it back under a dime?" has been the shorthand question for whether the rimfire market is healthy.
We don't print prices on this site because they change faster than we can edit, and a stale number is worse than none. What we can do is show you how to answer the question yourself in about thirty seconds on any listing, and explain what actually moves the number.
| Formula | Listed price รท rounds in the box = cost per round |
|---|---|
| Include | Shipping, or the free-shipping threshold you'll hit |
| Exclude | Rebates until they clear; they're a refund, not a discount |
| Compare | Same bullet type only (plated HV vs plated HV) |
| Benchmark | A dime a round, the pre-2013 memory |
| Reviewed | This page is dated; check the stamp above |
How to do the math on a live listing
Open the product page and find two numbers: the price and the round count. Divide. That's the sticker cost per round. Then add shipping. Rimfire is heavy for its value, and a 400-round box that looks cheap can lose the whole advantage in a shipping line. Many retailers, Ammunition Depot included, set a free-shipping threshold, so the honest comparison is often "what does the whole order cost per round once I've filled the cart to that line?"
Rebates deserve their own line. Manufacturer rebates on rimfire are common in the fall and winter, and they can push the effective cost well below the sticker. But they arrive weeks later as a check or prepaid card, and they usually cap the quantity. Our rebate and case-pricing guide walks through how to stack them without getting burned.
What actually moved the price
The 2013 shortage wasn't caused by a rimfire factory closing. It was demand: a surge in firearm purchases pulled ammunition of every kind off shelves, and .22 LR, which was already produced at enormous volume on thin margins, couldn't scale fast enough. Manufacturers added capacity over the following years, and by 2017 the shelves were full again. The 2020 and 2021 demand spike repeated the pattern in compressed form.
Since then, the inputs have changed. Copper and lead prices rose, labor costs rose, and the industry consolidated. The result is that a "normal" .22 LR price today sits above the old benchmark for premium plated loads, and near it only for the cheapest bulk bare-lead offerings, and only when bought in case quantity. Whether a given month is over or under the line depends on which load you're looking at as much as on the market.
Three loads to check the benchmark against
High-velocity bulk. Aguila's Super Extra 40-grain high-velocity solid point in the 500-round box is the kind of load that historically sat closest to the benchmark. It's a plain, fast, bare-lead round that cycles nearly everything.
Plated mid-bulk. Copper-plated loads like Browning's BPR cost a little more per round than bare lead, and the 400-round box is a smaller commitment than a case. Compare it against the Aguila to see what plating adds. Our Browning BPR guide covers what you get for it.
Specialty lead-free. CCI's Copper-22 uses a 21-grain copper-polymer bullet and will never be a benchmark load; it's priced as a specialty product. It's here because it illustrates the other lesson: per-round cost only means something when you compare like with like. Our Copper-22 guide explains where it makes sense.
When cheap is expensive
A bulk load that misfires one round in a hundred, or that your rifle won't cycle, costs more than its sticker suggests once you count the range time spent clearing it. The bulk .22 LR guide is honest about what the cheapest tiers give up, and the jam guide covers the fixes. If a load is under the benchmark but your gun hates it, it isn't a bargain.
How to use this page
Check the dated stamp at the top. If it's more than three months old, assume the market has moved and re-run the math on the live listings. The formula doesn't age; the numbers do.
Don't trust a headline that says .22 LR is back under a dime. Open the listing, divide price by round count, add shipping, ignore rebates until they clear, and compare only against the same bullet type. Bulk bare-lead high-velocity loads bought by the case are the ones that get closest to the old benchmark; plated and specialty loads sit above it by design.
FAQ
Why is a dime a round the benchmark for .22 LR?
It's the approximate pre-2013 price most shooters remember. The rimfire shortage that began in 2013 more than doubled prices, and the figure became the informal measure of a recovered market.
Does shipping count?
Yes. Rimfire is heavy for its value, so shipping can erase the advantage of a cheap box. Compare the delivered cost per round, or the cost once you've reached a free-shipping threshold.
Should I include rebates?
Not in the sticker comparison. Rebates arrive later, usually cap quantity, and can be discontinued. Treat them as a bonus once they clear.
Which .22 LR loads get closest to the benchmark?
Plain high-velocity bare-lead loads sold in 500-round boxes or cases. Plated, match, subsonic, and lead-free loads are priced above it on purpose.
Check the live .22 LR listings
Prices change daily. Divide, add shipping, and decide.
Browse .22 LR ammo