Bullets Tough to Find as Gun Debate Rages

"Ammunition supply," said Lepp, "is not going to get better in one month, or two months or six months. Ammunition supply is going to become progressively worse."

At Paradise Sales Firearms, the shortage is mostly in 9 mm, .22 long rifle and 5.56 mm, a spokesman said. The .22 long rifle is popular because of its versatility, he said. It can be used in handguns and rifles.

It's also cheap. A 50-round box can cost as little as $3.50.

Paradise hasn't seen 9 mm ammunition in two months and its supply of .22 long rifle ran out a month ago.

Sportsman's Warehouse, which has a store in Colorado Springs, referred calls to its corporate office, which declined comment.

"It's hoarding, that's what it probably is," said Delbert Richardson, general manager at Pikes Peak Gun Club Izaak Walton League Chapter 34, a gun range east of Colorado Springs with about 1,400 members.

At a manufacturer's show, Richardson said he heard it will take 14 months to bring the .22 long rifle supply back to normal.

On the other hand, last week he got 10,000 rounds of .223 caliber, a round used in the AR-15.

"I don't really understand the .22," he said. "I've been scavenging some up from friends and from stuff I have in storage and we've been selling it for $5 for a 50-round box just to keep selling it."

Copyright 2013 - The Gazette (Colorado Springs, Colo.)

McClatchy-Tribune News Service