There has been rush on ammunition since President Obama took office in January. Fed by rumors over gun bans and tax increases as well as continued military demand, prices are on the rise and shelves are bare.
Pat Kukull has owned Superior Shooter's Supply for 30 years. She's seen demand fluctuate before but she's never seen anything like the rush after Obama's election.
"Immediately, we couldn't get semi-automatic handguns. We couldn't get ammunition," says Kukull. "When President Clinton was elected, we saw this happening and it lasted about eight weeks. What we have now is what I call a perfect storm in this industry."
That perfect storm means that Kukull is paying 20-30-percent more for bullets and she's having trouble keeping her shelves stocked.
"I can't order anything." she says. "The salesman calls me and says 'Well this is what I have today, I've got 10 boxes of .45' well I used to order ten cases of .45. Although it looks pretty bleak here we're not in too bad of a shape and some places are in worse shape than us."
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Superior public rifle range master Mike Campy of the Douglas County Fish and Game league says he's heard many complaints about prices and people hoarding bullets.
"The one at Wal-Mart, (a customer) got there and he bought all the ammo and a couple guys came up there and said, 'Well, couldn't you leave a few boxes for us and everything?' and he said 'Well maybe next time you can get here ahead of me."
Until the situation stabilizes, Kukull says Superior Shooters is rationing 500 primers per person and may ration bullets depending on stock levels.
