Stores Usually stock a slim choice of rimfire ammo.

[ironglow]

I'm considering starting a small shop in the coming year, just to make myself useful in retirement.  It will be "outdoors inclined" in nature and  I am considering stocking some ammo along with the rest.
   I have been disappointed by the poor selection of rimfire ammo stocked by most stores, including gun shops.  I would like to carry a great variety of cartridges..from colibris to hypers, quiets, subsonics, competition , even tracers etc.
   Do you think such a variety would fly?  Would you travel a few miles out of your way.. but still on a main highway, to get those subsonic HPs ..or those CCI Quiets?  Would you drive a bit further to get some SK or RWS target ammo?
   If you did travel a bit for your choice of rimfire ammo, would you stock up wide variety or a couple bricks of hunting ammo, once you did get there?

[spruce]

It sounds like an enjoyable pastime, but if you're main object is to make money I'd not bet much on your chances.
All my .22 shooting now is plinking and occasional hunting and pest control around the yard.  For me the cheaper stuff is adequate for my uses.  I watch the sales at Dunham's (closest) and elsewhere and buy it by the brick, CCI Blazer preferably.  It's just so hard for a small shop to be competitive in price on the promotional ammo.
If the shop was located in an area where there were active pistol and/or rifle leagues and maybe some serious squirrel hunters for example then it may do okay.
 
I'm sure the reason most gunshops don't carry an extensive line is because of the cost.  They simply can't stock a large amount of any one thing.

[BUGEYE]

I just got back from walmart, they had 10 boxes of federal AM, and 5 or 6 boxes of 22mag.
I attribute this to Christmas.  when I want a couple of boxes of target ammo to play with in my savage, I have to order a whole brick to get'em.
so my opinion is, I think that you might not be able support a family with a small shop, but you would have a blast just talking to the many .22lr shooters who would be drawn to a specialty shop like that.
 I'd frequent a shop that carried a large variety of ammo.

not to mention all the center fire stuff you could sell.

go for it.

[ironglow]

Perhaps I didn't make it clear enough, but ammo (all kinds) would not be the only merchandise.  I plan on a fair range of "outdoor" products.  This would include much of the things you and I like to take to the woods, plus some power equipment (mowers, generators etc.).  It may go so far as to offer site-built hunting cabins..similar to, but sometimes larger than and more specialized or deluxe than the current Garden sheds you see offered.
   It is not designed for any great personal profit, since in retirement, my time is cheap.  It will be run out of a spare office & shop of a non-profit Christian ministry which does construction projects free of charge for the truly needy, and a hefty portion of any profits would be given to the ministry.
  I realize I could not compete directly with the "big boxers", since I would have to sell at a loss to meet some of their prices, so I wouldn't concentrate directly with what they sell..just market "niche products", unobtainable at the big guys.. (e.g. specialized rimfire ammo).

[Richard P]

You may wish to get a catalog from Champions Choice in LaVergne, Tn.  This would be to see the extensive line of specialty products they offer. I wouldnt suggest you try to carry all that due to cost of inventory but you might make judgements on where you could compete.
I have heard of small shops that will sell ''a box of this; a box of that'' with the understanding that when you decide what you need you'll return and buy a larger quantity.  You'll need to build customer loyalty if you wish to succeed. 
We all try to find a brand that performs ''as well as'' something higher priced. For plinking at cans or letting the kids learn you can do as well with promotional ammo. If you drift into serious competition you'll want ammo that not only shoots accurately but offers consistency so you dont have to constantly test ammo. rp

[FPH]

I was at Academy yesterday and they had a wide vatiety from shot shells to sub-sonic to CCI miji mags and everything you mentioned but CB caps and tracers.

[FPH]

I would patronize a local store like yours first though ( even if you were a bit higher).

[MZ5]

With respect to the 22 ammo, what you propose is very similar to the position I find myself in with Bruno Shooters' Supply.  They have a range of very-high-quality rimfire ammo on the shelf, and they're somewhat out of my way (but still in the general area, sort of, of work).  I go there to pick up orders for reloading supplies, and I've never bought a box of rimfire ammo from them.  It's neat to see the variety they have, and I've come close to picking up a box, but never have.

So, this may merely indicate that I'm not your target market/audience.  OTOH, if that is the case, it underscores just how small the market for other-than-the-cheapest rimfire ammo is.  I'm glad Bruno stocks such a variety of rimfire ammo.  Maybe one day I'll buy a box from him.

[FPH]

Good luck, if folks can buy something for a nickle less, they will.  My B-I-L found out the hard way and went under.  Just could not compete with the internet.

[ironglow]

  Thanks Richard, I have Champions Choice in my "favorites" now
 
  FPH & MZ5;
      There are no Academy stores anywhere within a couple hundred miles of me ..as far as I know..  Nearest Dick's store is about 50 miles, and would require city driving.  A Gander Mountain maybe 65 miles away..same driving.

[mechanic]

I'm thinking that ammo is gonna' get hard to get in the future.  If you can build an inventory, you should do well being the "go to " guy.
 
Local shops here won't order special stuff.  If you can offer that, it would be a feather in your cap.
 
I buy a lot of rimfire, and would buy more if I could find it without paying haz mat.
 
Ben

[theratdog]

WE NEED ARE SMALL STORES BACK AND SOME ONE WHO KNOWS GUNS GOOD LUCK.

[BUGEYE]

Have a few folding chairs and a coffee pot with something to drop money in for the coffee.

[Empty Quiver]

Realize the vast majority of .22 is run through a Ruger 10-22 so fast the operator has no idea where the last round landed. For many a .22 is a cap gun, that makes pop cans jump.


Then there are the hunter types they like accuracy well enough but are also worried about performance on target I will call them the Mini-Mag crowd. A box of 100 last them at least one season maybe several.


Finally there are the rimfire nuts. Anschutz rolls off their tongues as if they were native German speakers. They search the small stores, the catalogues surf the inter-webs looking for match ammo, the perfect short, they will not bother with any super-sonic ammo. They shoot 50 rounds through the bolt action in a good long range trip. One shot pick up a pen look through the spotter and jot down a few notes. He is that one guy we see at the range, a bit unique, ask him a question about the gun or shooting and you might walk away having heard a doctoral thesis on " The effects of a 137 degree tail wind on the dynamics of flight, subsonic vs. super-sonic".


That last fella is your core customer. He might just travel, he likely already has his sources. He's been buying the stuff for years, hell he'll probably be able to stock your store.


I also could never see any use for an I-phone.

[ironglow]

  I have a bit of thinking to do on my ammo store..  I have just reached a great connection with a major corp with which i could strike a deal..hjowever...
        Our great governor has just pushed through (without required public hearings) a draconoian set of gun laws,which among other things, may limit number of rounds and require a background check for ammo purchases.   If that happens, any ammo sales of any quantity will go to the Indian reservations (2 in our county) or across state lines..Pennsylvania or Vermont..
  Again; "stupid is as stupid does"...and Gov Cuomo wonders why his tax revenues from liquor, tobacco, gas and now perhaps ammo have gone down...DUH!