Ammo hoarders making it difficult for hunters this season

(twincities.com)

Wisconsin hunters looking for rifle ammunition for Saturday's firearms deer opener might be reminded of the 'Old Mother Hubbard' nursery rhyme.

They are going to retail stores and finding the cupboard, er, stock shelves are getting bare.

A yearlong national shortage of sporting rifle ammunition, spurred largely by hoarding, continues to catch some hunters off guard. On Thursday, I was one of them.

I made visits to three sporting goods stores — Fleet Farm stores in Oakdale and Hudson, Wis., and Gander Mountain in Woodbury — before I was able to find the brand of 30.06-caliber ammunition I wanted, a fairly common variety, for my deer rifle. I picked those stores believing the big-box outlets would have the buying power to handle the current demand.

I ended up paying $45 for a box of 20 shells of Federal Premium Vital-Shok at Fleet Farm in Hudson. It was the only 30.06 ammo in stock. Gander Mountain in Woodbury had a better selection but had gaps in ammo availability in some calibers.

Kevin Yoder, of Hudson, stood next to me at Gander Mountain, shaking his head while scanning the shelf for 30.06 ammo. He picked out a box of Hornady shells for $22. There were just four boxes left. "This has been hard to find," Yoder said.

Dave Jensen, of Beldenville, Wis., also drove to Gander Mountain in Woodbury on Thursday to find 7-mm magnum ammunition for his deer rifle. "Everybody's out," he said, "especially of the cheap stuff. My rifle really
likes the cheap Winchester shells."

Retail stores aren't to blame.

Ted Novin, public affairs director of the National Shooting Sports Foundation, said ammunition manufacturers are operating "24/7" to keep up with the demand for ammunition, which is outstripping supply. (Officials with Anoka-based Federal Premium Ammunition referred all media calls to the foundation.)

Novin said a recent report examining federal excise taxes on ammunition indicated receipts were up 52 percent in the second quarter of 2009, compared with the same period in 2008. Ammo tax receipts were up 43 percent from 2008 in the first quarter of 2009.

Click here to read the entire article:

http://www.twincities.com/localnews/ci_13828520?nclick_check=1