I love shooting my S&W 15 .22 I want to start with that. But after countless miles looking for .22 Lr I am hanging up my S&W I can't afford to keep searching for ammo. I have a range that would rival Hancock.45's I enjoy my Glock 23 at the same time. After todays range time I noticed I had 100 Federal game shok left.. that's all .40 for the Glock I have been fortunate to find a couple of hundred rounds, This is my carry gun so I just need to stay sharp with it. I can't afford to buy the $100.00 a brick .22 at LGS ( that has lost my business) for gouging and I hope he suffers I spent $12,000 there last year, and won't be back. I was at Cabelas today and Sheels People are walking around like Zombies wondering "why there is no Ammo" I shake my head and come to realize the uninformed Voter is now being affected. Will they finally understand what they have done, I doub't it.. Get ready my friends.. I will fight for our rights with my last 100 rounds
I don't know your location or what gun store you go to, but before you come down too hard on the local gun shops for gouging, please consider a few things.
1) Are those prices a reflection of the costs they are paying from their suppliers? Demand is high all over the place and they may be paying higher prices in order to have any stock at all.
2) It's nice that Cabela's and Scheels aren't raising prices, but look at the result. Bare shelves. Do lower prices and lack of product help you get ammo any faster or easier? Low price + high demand = shortage
3) Along the same lines, higher prices play a valuable role. We've all heard the stories of hoarding going on and people buying ammmo they don't need so they can flip it on line or at a gun show. Folks are doing it with AR parts as well. Higher prices serve a valuable rationing function. The higher the price, the more people are going to think about buying what they don't really need.
4) Demand is up at the retail level and all the reports I see suggest the manufacturers are are full production. I'm sure there is competition for raw materials and supplies all the way up the supply chain. If basic commodities like powder and brass are in higher demand across the board, then that is going to be reflected in higher prices all the way down the line.