Stevens introduced it in 1887, which makes the .22 Long Rifle the oldest cartridge in continuous production and still the highest-volume round on the planet. It's where American shooting starts: no challenging recoil to speak of, not much noise, and a cost per round no centerfire can approach. Of course, the days of $0.02 a round for quality ammunition are long gone.
Rimfire construction means no reloading and real lot-to-lot variation — serious rimfire shooters buy deep and test what their gun likes. The market splits several ways: bulk-pack plinking loads at 36 to 40 grain, standard-velocity target loads, "quiet" low-velocity suppressor rounds and match lines like Eley. High-velocity and super-high-velocity hollow points like the CCI Stinger occupy the top tier of speed.
.22 LR sells in boxes of 50, buckets of 1,400-plus, and cases from 500–5,000 rounds, which makes .22 LR the purest cost-per-round caliber there is. Watch shipping charges. When free shipping is included at a good total price, that's usually the buy.
