Supply Shortage Is Having A Devastating Impact On Law Enforcement

Several concerning factors have come together to create a shortage of ammunition in the United States leaving manufacturers struggling to keep up with the overwhelming demand.

The COVID-19 pandemic, sporadic riots, and rising crime rates have had a negative impact on our law enforcement and could prevent the record number of new gun owners from learning how to properly and safely handle a dangerous weapon.

“We have had a number of firearms instructors cancel their registration to our courses because their agency was short on ammo or they were unable to find ammo to purchase,” said Jason Wuestenberg, executive director of the National Law Enforcement Firearms Instructors Association.

Officer Larry Hadfield, a spokesman for the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, told ABC News that his department needs to “conserve ammunition when possible.”

The shortage didn’t just happen overnight. In fact, Gun owners began noticing a shortage as early as March of this year. Firearms sales skyrocketed in 2020 by over 21 million with nearly half of them being first-time gun buyers.

Experts believe that early panic from the COVID-19 pandemic mixed with anxieties during both the riots and unrest after the murder of George Floyd and the 2020 presidential election result fueled the surge in gun sales, according to The Spokesman-Review.

That surge also meant a surge in ammunition sales, which manufacturers were not able to meet due to reduced production and import of raw materials due to lockdowns over 2020. The Remington Arms Company filed for bankruptcy in July 2020 due to years of lawsuits and loss of investors, which has further strained the manufacturing capabilities of the industry.

“When you talk about all these people buying guns, it really has an impact on people buying ammunition,” NSSF spokesman Mark Oliva said. “If you look at 8.4 million gun buyers and they all want to buy one box with 50 rounds, that’s going to be 420 million rounds.”

The shortage has forced manufacturers to import from other countries, with imports up 225% as the U.S. scrambled to buy supplies from Russia, South Korea, the European Union, and several others over the past two years.