By Hailey Heinz
Albuquerque Journal
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Cops don’t like the idea of not having bullets for their guns when they’re chasing bad guys. But ammunition is at a premium these days because of a nationwide shortage, and Bernalillo County Sheriff Darren White said if it continues his deputies may have to cut back on time at the shooting range to save their ammo.
“We’re hopeful that doesn’t happen, but we’re prepared to do it if we have to,” White said.
The latest shortage began in November, after the presidential election. People concerned about the possibility of tighter restrictions and increased taxes on firearms under newly elected President Barack Obama started stocking up on guns, ammo, primers and all things gun-related.
The shortage has not let up. In fact, it has worsened, with steadily high demand and suppliers unable to meet it.
“We just can’t replace ammo. Our shelves are bare,” said Bill Clark, general manager of Shooter’s Den on San Mateo NE near Claremont. “What we get in is just very small amounts, and it is usually gone within a day or less.”
Doug Kunz, owner of Diamond J. Gunsmithing, described the spike in demand as “panic buying.”
“Ever since Obama was elected, they all went into a panic,” Kunz said. “There are all these rumors, and the NRA is feeding a lot of them.”
For the average Joe who is panicking about the unlikely repeal of the Second Amendment or stocking up for the revolution, the ammunition shortage is an inconvenience.
For White and his deputies, it’s a real concern.
Like many of his deputies, White carries a personal firearm instead of the standard Glock issued by the department. It’s a matter of preference, he said, and deputies who carry their own guns have to buy their own ammunition.
Right now the sheriff’s ammo has been on backorder for nearly three months.
“I’ve never seen it like this in my more than two decades of law enforcement,” White said.
But the department is making do with what it has - and if you call a deputy, you won’t find him or her helpless and unarmed.
One factor easing the problem is a stockpile of ammunition the sheriff’s department bought when the U.S. invasion of Iraq began in 2003. At the time, many manufacturers started sending their ammunition overseas to the troops, creating a minor shortage. The sheriff’s department bulked up its stockpiles and ended up buying more than it needed.
“We overstocked, and it’s helping now,” White said.
Ron Peterson Firearms, one of the city’s major gun stores, also benefited from an oversupply until recently.
“We didn’t completely run out of any kind of ammunition until about three weeks ago,” said owner Ron Peterson. “But for weeks we were the only ones in town.”
Peterson said his store stocked up on ammunition right before the shortage picked up in earnest, which was mostly luck, and it has helped him weather the storm.
“We just happened to do things right for once,” he said with a chuckle.
Peterson is still not facing the empty shelves plaguing most stores, but his store has restricted the sale of certain kinds of ammunition to customers who are buying a gun. Gun sales are up too, though, so that measure only goes so far.
Meanwhile, the sheriff’s department is buying all the ammunition available, but White said he doesn’t see an end in sight.
“I really don’t see it letting up,” he said. “It hasn’t gotten any better.”
Copyright 2009 Albuquerque Journal