I’d guess that most folks could easily afford 22LR rifles and ammo to be able to practice, practice, practice.
Well yeah, I suppose that's true. But the same 550 round boxes of Federal and Remington .22LR ammo that Walmart was selling for around $9 or $10 as recently as 1-1/2 years ago are now going for $19-$20 and up IF, big IF, you can find them on any store's shelves. Most centerfire handgun ammo has gone up even more percentage-wise, and that's another big "IF" you can find any.
Although I didn't buy guns or ammo from Walmart before this shortage and don't intend to now unless all else fails, I remember noticing a Marlin model 60 .22 rifle at the local WM priced at around $110-115 a couple of years ago. I was in that same WM recently, and IIRC it's now listed at $169.97. However, it's currently out of stock and the firearms department personnel don't know when or even if it will be in stock again.
If groceries had gone up as much as guns and ammo in that same time period my wife and I would probably be eating a lot more soup beans and cornbread, and a lot less prime rib and pork chops.