All Hail the Second Amendment

[Angrboda]

You'd have to look at what was being bought.

Bolts.  In the 90's...what would become the black rifle was still being snubbed at by target shooters.  The Clinton admin banned it by name (but hilariously didn't ban all of them..just ones with folding stocks and bayonet lugs) but it wouldn't take off until Obama got into office and even more specifically, after sandy hook.  The industry pumped money into 3-gun comps right before and even more after that, which require an "msr"  which is just a euphemism for an ar-15...and on the back of it's celebrity and that support it become -the- gun.  Good thing for the industry, because rifle sales were pretty much flat...the ar 15 and all of it's attachment opportunities was life support.  

Here's guns and ammo in 81

"Most shooters and veteran riflemen look down their noses at these steel-stamped rifles as remnants from an erector set. The turn-bolt aficionado looks with a great deal of disdain at anybody toting one of these space-age rifles with plastic stocks and fore-ends. The dyed-in-the-wool deer hunter watching his domain being infiltrated by these black and gray guns assumes that these 'new generation' hunters are merely fantasizing 'war games' and are playing 'soldier.'"

Instead, the gun was mainly sold to law enforcement and other narrower demographics -- notably, "survivalists" who imagined they would one day face combat situations in an apocalyptic future, according to Tom Diaz, a gun expert and author of "Making a Killing: The Business of Guns in America."

Serious target shooters...as in..olympic level, still use a fortner .22b bolt.  You can get an ar-15 a hell of alot cheaper, though. Personally..and I'm not a pro but a bigtime enthusiast...I use a savage .17wsm bolt.

More accurate than any of -my- 22's..massively cheaper than a fortner..ammos slightly more expensive..and I made the switch when bricks of 22 got scarce.  For hunting, I;m moving from a 303 (never was a good fit but it's just a fetish) to a .270win bolt.  Winchester is literally next door to me and the .17wsm and .270win I have share the action...so the whole routine is transferable from range to field.