With all of the hoopla about assult weapons ban, it affects the sale of ammo. One of the ways the Feds can control assult weapons beyond confisgation is to either control sales of certain ammo or to buy up all of the ammo. It has been said that they did this previously with the rationale that it was for military use...BS.
Another reason for the disappearance is that some retail stores don't want to potentially be liable for a bullet someone used. It would be possible for the Feds to require vendors to keep records on bullet purchases. Figure if you puchase a certain bullet, they have a pathway to you if they suspect you live close to a crime area. The reality is that this is unlikely but the retailer's are affraid of consumer image if they are selling goods other than firearms.
And forget about finding .223's, folks are stocking up because they figure that that gun will be banned forever. Check with
www.gunbroker.com. You can still get .308 ammo.
SC (One_Hand_Hunter).
Buy what you can now or start saving brass and take up reloading.