Ammunition in short supply locally, nationally - KOTA Territory News

Ammunition in short supply locally, nationally

Political discontent in South Dakota is lightening the wallets of those seeking ammunition in the state.

The owners of Black Hills ammunition say since President Barack Obama was re-elected, their ammunition sales have increased exponentially.

Many customers are stock-piling ammunition at prices up to three times their original retail value.

The highest demand so far is for AR-15 ammunition, but even more common types of shells are becoming harder to come by. Manufacturers say it's been extremely taxing to keep up with the demand.

"Before this panic buying if you call it that, we had good inventory, and we gave good customer service. We could ship within a matter of a week generally. Now we're 18 months out on some items, we've got no inventory and that causes bad customer service," said Jeff Hoffman, owner of Black Hill Ammunition in Rapid City.

Manufacturers say they've seen sharp increases in ammunition demand in the past when the Clinton administration considered gun control proposals and when President Obama first took office in 2008. Hoffman predicts ammunition prices will stabilize within two years.