Sorry Lou...
but econ 101 is your friend. Wal-mart does nort raise prices just because they feel like it. They work with market forces just like every other business. When their costs go up, they pass it on to consumers. <also, think about that next time a lefty wants to raise business taxes.... Ask him where corporations get their money. It makes for an easy econ test.>
Wal-mart sells on a margin. They need to make a set percentage from an item to allow it's sale. Some things they will put on sale and use as a loss leader to draw attention to their store. When Wal-mart raises it's price, it more than likely had to as the dirstributor had to raise their prices. When it comes to ammo, the cost of trucking a small, but heavy item has increased as well as the materials costs. When the cost of gasoline comes down, there is a lag in the market where items in the chain still cost more due to fuel expense as the expense for the fuel has allready occured. The lead got mined at a higher fuel cost, the brass was forged at a higher fuel cost.... When fuel prices drop, it does not go backward in time and lower the cost of fuel allready spent on these items. Does this surprise you? This same phenomenon happens to metals. The metals were purchased at varying prices. If the price 6 months ago was higher for the metals used to actually manufacture the rounds, then that gets passed to you, 6 months down the road when the rounds are put on sale. Did you think the ammo was magically made the same day that it was put on sale? The Keebler elves were working nights to make the freshest ammo? This is called lag and it is built into the market and the ammo manufacturers have to deal with it like everyone else and they have to pass their costs on.
btw, Wal-mart's strategy is to offer the lowest price possible and sell a buttload of it. So, Wal-mart did not decide just to pump up the price of a box of ammo to teach a lesson to gun people. If they are going to sell something, they want to sell alot of it.
Now, as to the cost of crude oil and "Big Oil". I know the conspiracy theories are spinning in your brain, but it really is simple, Oil is a commodity and is fungible. In other words, it matters not where oil comes from. Fuel, will go to the highest bidder, regardless of where it was found, barring shipping costs. The "Big Oil" companies that lefties like to rail against like Exxon for example make roughly the same amount on a gallon of gas no matter the selling price, taking out short term fluctuations. Oddly enough, Exxon, who leftists love to jump on for making obscene profits and demogogue like crazy made a 10% profit in fiscal 2005 and a 9% the year before.... They just sold a lot of fuel. Google, on the other hand, made a 41% profit in fiscal 2005. Funny, you don't see the lefties flapping their gums about Google making an obscene profit.
Now, the one thing you don't hear the lefties yakking about is.... Who made the most money from a gallon of gas? Yep, the Government. Both State and Federal Government make the most out of every gallon of gas, and they have no expenses relating to its sale, where-as Exxon et al, have to take into account exploration costs, refining costs and have to worry about the futures market etc.
There ya go, a quick econ 101 lesson.
