My experience is that even before supply got short, the quality of .22's had deteriorated significantly. It was "acceptable" to be paying $2/box for "crap" to plink with, but I am not paying $4/box for the same, or worse, crap. Maybe I am too critical, but I expect 1" groups at 50 yards from a decent bolt gun, and less than a handful of FTF's from a brick of .22's. If I have to pay $6-8 a box to get that, I have better options that .22 LR's.