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This ruinous court decision made it so that regulations are justifiable because they supposedly have the prerogative to try to do whatever makes sense to them at the time so long as it MIGHT serve a purpose.
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We call that "rational basis," something that
Heller took off the table for the 2nd Amendment. It's also worth mentioning that the government made part of their case in Carolene by claiming their interests served a "public health" issue, something that's been used to argue in favor of gun bans in the past.
That said, the "sporting purposes" clause is a tough nut to crack. As others have said, it's tied up in protectionism and market issues. Perhaps once we've built a sturdy body of 2nd Amendment caselaw in other areas, this issue could be broached.
But I don't see this as a front-burner issue at the moment. FWIW, the ATF does seem to have relaxed quite a bit on it.