Talk Of Gun Control Driving Ammo Shortage?
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- People who sell guns and ammo say they've seen ammo shortages before.
Remember Y2K? Many people went out then and bought guns and ammunition, leading to a shortage.
Because of all the recent talk of gun control, consumers are reportedly running out to buy guns and ammunition again. That, plus a couple of other things, could be why it's so hard to find certain kinds of ammo.
Capra's Sporting Goods in Blaine is feeling the effects of high consumer demand.
"I've got hundreds of thousands of dollars on back orders," said Dean Capra, the store's owner.
The ammo shortage has left many of Capra's customers with no way of buying the bullets they want for their weapons.
Capra said he's waiting for ammo for the 9-mm, his most popular self-defense weapon, and the semi-automatic AR-15.
Moreover, his shelves have none of the more affordable ammo for those weapons available.
"We have quite a bit of it available in the hunting grade, you know, the more expensive ammo...but the actual target shooting, or plinking ammo, is pretty hard to come by right now," he said.
It's a trend across the country.
Many gun shop owners, Capra says, let inventory run low as they waited on deals from the country's biggest gun show.
In this case, however, they got caught without the goods when the demand came.
Capra described the situation as a "perfect storm."
Capra also thinks many consumers have stockpiled ammo because they are afraid all the recent talk of gun control will lead to higher prices.
"I think some the people are worried about the rhetoric...and the government coming in and putting a big tax on ammo," Capra said.
Some of that high end ammo – the kind that isn't moving -- can cost more than $1 a round. In some cases, you can pay $32 for 20 rounds.
Because of the limited supply, stores like Walmart are limiting customers to buying three boxes of ammo at a time.
