This guy and his "Policy Center" are @#$@@#$!$#@#@ idiots!
I've only bought one gun from Wal-Mart because they mostly sell boring, middle of the road, Politically Correct crap firearms. Marlin .22's with tube magazines (firing pin wears out after about three bricks of shells), occasionally a semi-auto rifle in .308, generic bolt action hunting guns from Browning or Winchester, or cheap pump shotguns like the one I bought.
No handguns, no AR-15's or Mini-14's, no SKS's, nothing that would damage their reputation or get them sued, and nothing that would ever interest me. I'm sure that this is the real reason that they're not selling many guns.
You're not kidding...the firearms I've ever seen offered for sale at a Wal-Mart are real snoozers. Boring, boring, boring and as plain-vanilla as can be found.
My firearm purchases tend to be a pretty "big deal" event for me and are typically expensive top-of-the-line models. I typically purchase a new firearm to add to my collection every five years or so. This is why the traditional gunshop gets this portion of my consumer dollar.
~ Blue Jays ~
Not that long ago they did sell Ruger Mini-14s. AFAIK, they never sold ARs. They also sold handguns, and later they sold them by catalog special order only. Don't know if that is still the policy or if they don't sell them at all.