Out of ammo: Shortage has many worried
If you enjoy going to the shooting range or fighting off bad guys for a living, the current national ammunition shortage may be an annoyance or could stop you from doing your job.
A country fighting wars on two fronts has a great demand on the components that go into making bullets all of kinds. Add to this the demands from law enforcement, specific demands on niche guns and rising prices, and some consumers and retailers have been left with an empty clip.
Since the change in guard at the White House, guns and gun rights have been on the minds of Second Amendment enthusiasts. From early runs on tactical and high-capacity weapons to more recent runs on smaller arms, retailers have had great difficulty keeping items in stock.
For local law enforcement, these problems have not been avoided. The bulk purchases bought by Aiken Department of Public Safety were greatly delayed in arriving last year and have been greatly reduced this year because of a price increase.
"I just ordered for this year, and the company assures me I will get the ammunition in a much shorter period. But the price of ammunition has skyrocketed," said Capt. Ron Shelley with Aiken Public Safety. "It cost me 30 percent more; we're going to have to ration our training ammunition. Last year we bought 35 cases of training ammunition; we can only buy 20 this year. I have had to buy less; we just didn't have the money in the budget. It just didn't go as far."
The budget process for Aiken Public Safety was unfortunately timed. While the department's budget was put together in May and June, the new state contract for purchasing was presented in July and August.
"It will not affect qualifications for our officers," Shelly said. "It severely limits how our special response team can train. ... They shoot the majority of our handgun ammunition."
Shelly said the shortage will not affect performance or readiness as there is other equipment they can use to stay proficient including paintball-style ammunition "but they will not be able to use live duty ammunition."
Outside of law enforcement, there have been challenges for and created by consumers.
Ammunition is less available across the board and is allocated by distributors in smaller amounts.
"They're trying to make sure everyone is getting a little bit," said Link Atkinkson, owner of Hootie's Outdoor in Clearwater. "The government gets it first, law enforcement second and the public third."
Atkinson has said rifle and .380 ammunition has been the hardest to get in great quantities.
In downtown Aiken, The Gun Rack Inc. has seen a run on reloading equipment. It is not often that Southern gun-enthusiasts and recycling go hand in hand, but that's not the case when it comes to reusing ammunition parts.
Employees at the Richland Avenue gunsmith say more people are buying components to bullets, reusing the brass casings and adding their own gunpowder. The motivation for doing this seems to be an attempt at trying to do things cheaply and fears over changes in law.
Small pistols also seem to be the rage, so much so that gun shops cannot keep them in stock. Many more people are taking concealed weapons classes, Aiken gun dealers report, and are buying smaller, lighter firearms to conceal and carry.
"That's the one's that is selling the best right now; the concealable ones are the easiest ones to carry," said Atkinson. "With burglaries, home invasions and robberies at the bank, people are carrying right now. It's got to be a smaller to carry."
But while the consumers might be struggling to get the exact model they want to conceal, retailers are not hiding how well they are doing.
"(This is the) best year we've ever had," Atkinson said.
Contact Mike Gellatly at mgellatly@aikenstandard.com.