Gun Stores Resorting To Bullet “Rationing”

Owners blame mass DHS Orders, have “never seen ammo shortages this bad”

Steve Watson
Infowars.com
Mar 27, 2013

Gun stores across America are resorting to bullet rationing, with store owners saying they have never seen such shortages in their lifetimes, and blaming huge ammunition purchases by the federal government.

KCTV in Kansas caught up with gun shop proprietors who said they were struggling to keep their shelves stocked, as prices soar in the face of dwindling ammo supplies.

Owner Chris Coad of UT Arms in Kansas City says that he is finding it increasingly harder to find certain kinds of bullets to fulfil orders. The store owner specifically pointed to 9mm, .40 caliber and .22 long rifle ammo.

“We’re struggling to get that ammo. We’re doing limits on what individuals can buy. Just like your Walmart’s, Cabela’s, Dicks … everyone is doing a rationing of that ammo right now.” Coad told reporters, adding that the trend has gotten much worse over recent weeks, but has been ongoing for three months.

While supplies are few and far between, Coad notes that more and more people are coming to his store to buy guns and take up shooting as a hobby.

KCTV5
Store owners at OMB Guns in Olathe specifically pointed to recent mass orders placed by the Department of Homeland Security, as one reason for the shortages.

“You can’t hit a manufacturer with that big of an order and not expect to be delayed down the chain,” store manager Andy Bower said, noting that he has never seen supplies at such lows before.

“You know, supply and demand. They’re trying to meet that demand they can only work so many hours a day like anyone else,” Bower said.

He told reporters that even reloading kits, which enable spent ammo to be reused, are now proving hard to find.

Bower said he has overseen the installation of a virtual firing range, in an attempt to keep profits up and to keep happy customers who want to shoot target practice.

“People that aren’t able to come in, spend all that money on ammo and shoot as much as they’d like to they can still have a fun time,” Bower said.

As we reported yesterday, weapons manufacturers and suppliers to the federal government have also suggested that the DHS’s huge ammo purchases, including another recent order of 360,000 .40 cal bullets, represent an attempt to dry up supplies as part of an end run around the Second Amendment.

A caller to the Michael Savage radio show, who described himself as a defense contractor and a licensed weapons manufacturer, said the goal was to “control the amount of market that’s available on the commercial market at any time,” by forcing manufacturers to hold back stock.

“If they periodically do this in increments, they’re going to control how much ammo is available on the commercial market,” said the caller, adding that the contracts with bullet manufacturers stipulate that everything made goes to the government as the number one priority before it is allowed to enter the commercial market.