Well, once again I did my part to keep the market demand up for .22LR. Can't have the demand going down too quickly or the manufacturers won't be tempted to increase their production capacity, you know!
The Dick's in Chesapeake, VA had about 60 boxes or so of American Eagle High Velocity (40 round boxes) for $2.49. This about lunch time today. Bought my limit of three, then went across the parking lot to Walmart, which had about two dozen 100 round boxes of CCI Standard Velocity for $7.47. Bought my 3 box limit from a lady who doesn't normally work at the counter (the regular guy was busy elsewhere in the store).
Did my other Walmart shopping, dropped everything off in my car, then turned around and walked back to the Sporting Goods counter, hoping to catch the regular clerk...and yet another different clerk was there. Bought another 3 boxes of CCI. Went back to the car while considering going back in for a third round because that clerk wasn't the regular clerk either...but I was too tired. I'm working 12 hour back shifts and I needed to get at least a FEW hours of sleep before now.
Got up, drove by to check Walmart and Dick's on the way in...no luck at Walmart, but Dick's had three remaining boxes of American Eagle on the counter, so I picked them up.
Total score:
600 rounds of CCI Standard Velocity 40 grain
240 rounds of Federal American Eagle High Velocity 38 grain
Take heart, folks...it's out there and getting better. I sporatically check for .22LR whenever I'm out and about. I don't make any special trips for it and I'm not having problems finding it, though it's not available every time I walk by a counter somewhere.
And in the hook-a-brother-up spirit of good camaraderie amongst shooters everywhere, I'm more than happy to dip into my stash at cost if I'm fairly local to someone having problems getting .22LR . I bounce between the Hampton Roads area in VA to the Greenville, SC area.
Keep the faith!