Where has all the ammo gone?

October 9, 2013

Gun stores NATIONWIDE are dealing with the effects from the scarcity of ammunition. Not only are retailers feeling the squeeze but Law Enforcement agencies have taken a hit as well. This leaves everybody with the question: Where has all the ammo gone? Is it the government pursuing different measures of gun control after a failed attempt at expanding the background check system? Is it gun owners hoarding ammunition in fear of the current administration? Is it a lack of natural resources? Or is it simply an issue of supply and demand?

Many have asked these questions but there is no definitive answer. Many different factors have played a role in the recent ammo shortage. Gun sales have rocketed following the President’s re-election in 2012. In the first six months of 2013, Bill Jackson’s ammo sales have increased 315% over the first six months of 2012. It’s obvious, more guns sold = more ammunition sold. But this is not the only answer. Gun owners who fear the crackdown from the current administration have started buying three to four times the amount of their normal ammo purchase with many people hoarding ammo. This vast rise in sales has skewed the economical equilibrium of supply and demand of ammo. Ammunition producers can not come up with resources fast enough to refill the shelves of gun stores throughout the nation.

Bill Jackson’s has been fortunate enough to be able to stock our shelves with more ammo than most gun stores in the area. Limitations have been set on most handgun ammo which has been the hardest to re-stock. In some cases ammo sales have been tied to the use of our gun range that day. Other restrictions limit the amount of ammo our customer is allowed to purchase per day. Some ammo has been set aside to be sold with gun purchases. Gun shop manager, Joseph Newton says, “In an effort to satisfy our customer’s ammunition demand, we have placed multiple orders with several vendors. Many of the orders go back almost two years. Ammunition shipments are arriving daily, but in smaller quantity than we would like and not always the ammunition with the most demand. We have been told that Bill Jacksons has more ammunition than most shops in the Tampa Bay area combined.”

So as of now what is the answer to our question “where has all the ammo gone??”
To Bill Jackson’s 🙂