May 25, 2013
News
Ammunition Shortage Forces Some Shops To Limit Customer's Purchases
Cristen Drummond
A boom in gun sales has left firearms scarce in Middle Georgia, but now ammunition is becoming hard to find as well. Some retailers are limiting how much people purchase in order to make sure there's enough for everyone. However, people searching for gun ammunition at Bass Pro Shop are still coming up short.
"Ammunition is really scarce right about now," hunter, Noah Chambliss said.
Many people like Chambliss visited the sports shop on Saturday to load up before an upcoming hunt or pick up some rounds. Chambliss is looking for .22 caliber bullets but it's out of stock like many other kinds of ammo.
"It's kind of crazy because you're limited to only so much you know," he said.
In the last few months, retailers around the country have reported ammo shortages and Chambliss said that fact holds true to many stores in Middle Georgia. However, stores like Bass Pro are trying to keep ammunition on the shelves by limiting the amount people can buy which is causing mix reactions
"It makes sense to try and ration things to where everybody has a chance to getting some ammunition," hunter Clint Ferguson said.
"It depends on the hunter itself,” Chambliss said. “If he’s doing a lot of hunting or if he's just doing a lot of target practicing."
"How much can you store?” hunter Howard Hoffman said. “Where can you put it all that it's safe?"
Employees at Bass Pro Shop couldn’t comment on their gun or ammo sales. They also didn’t want to comment on why they're limiting the amount of ammunition people can buy. However, signs they have posted suggest the high demand of ammunition has forced them to limit how much people can purchase each day.
"Every store you go to its empty and it's the same thing, they don't know when they're going to get more," ammunition shopper Brad Spicer said.
While stores try to keep ammo on the shelves, the effort may not be enough, as Chambliss’s .22 caliber rifle remains unloaded.
"From a hunter's point of view it's kind of crazy,” he said. “You know, people like to hunt. Can't hunt with no ammunition."
Some people said gun and ammo shortages are routine after a presidential election. Many hunters said they expect shelves to be restocked in a few months.
