I think you are talking about B&M sales. But 22LR have been online in quantities all year and even last year. On another topic, steel casings have overtaken the market in most calibers, which is annoying, but this is a free market.
What is annoying to me is when some steel cased ammo (Hornady comes to mind) is more expensive than much brass cased ammo.
What is the point paying MORE for steel????
Yes, I was in Wal-Mart glancing at the guns when an old man came to the counter and asked for a box of .22LR. To my surprise the girl reached under the counter and pulled out a hundred round box. She even asked how many he wanted.
I did learn later that they limited you to 3, 100 round boxes or 6, 50 round ones.
I also have noticed that CDNN has been selling Colt AR-15s at very reasonable prices. Last week they had Colt target models with quite a few extras for I think $699.00
That’s changing again - the steel cases all came from Russia and those are now banned from import. The reason steel had taken over the market was because brass and copper were expensive or unavailable in needed quantities. I’m expecting aluminum a la Blazer to make a comeback soon.