WIS News 10 - Columbia, South Carolina | WIS News 10 Investigation: Ammunition shortage

WIS News 10 Investigation: Ammunition shortage

SUMTER COUNTY, SC  (WIS) - The war in Iraq is causing a battle for bullets at home. That's because the demand for ammunition at war is stretching our supply in the Midlands.

The Sumter County Sheriff's Department just got the practice ammunition it ordered eight months ago. Cpt. Frank Thompson says, "We've been told because of the war that they just don't have the product."

The Army's need for small caliber ammo that is often used by law enforcement has more than tripled in recent years. The demand soared to 1.5 billion rounds in 2006 from 426 million before the start of the war.

Filling big numbers abroad is stretching the supply nationwide and in the Midlands. Last month, shipment delays forced Sumter County to cut its qualification course by more than half.

Officer trainees shot 25 rounds - opposed to the usual 60.

The captain is now placing orders one year ahead of time to avoid another crunch. Cpt. Thompson says, "When it first started we had to postpone training until I could find emergency supply ammunition that we had to order out of Georgia."

And WIS News 10 found the ammo strain stretches across the map. In Newberry County, training sessions have also been delayed. And Saluda, Lexington and Richland counties are waiting six months for some shipments.

Officials from all departments say they're acting now: buying ahead of time and stockpiling ammunition.

Apart from the slower supply turn around, agencies now find themselves shelling out more for ammo. The price hikes are blamed on the rising cost to make the bullets. The copper and other raw materials used to make the ammo is more expensive than ever.

Sheriff James Metts says, "We're paying three times the price for it."

Sheriff Metts says the 37-percent increase in cost they've seen is putting a dent in Lexington County's budget. Last year $12,500 was set aside for ammunition. In 2007, more than $17,000 was used to meet higher costs and to buy additional ammo in the face of a shortage.

Sheriff Metts says, "Fortunately, we have supply on hand, but if the war continues - delays, cost. It's going to have an affect on operations."

Perhaps feeling the pinch even more are smaller agencies with smaller budgets. 

The price of a case of practice ammo went up $15 this month. It's a lot for the West Columbia Police Department. Sgt. Scott Morrison says, "If it would skyrocket price-wise, we would have to limit the number of ammunition amounts we shoot."

And cops aren't the only ones making adjustments. Local gun shop owners are also dropping more for ammo.

That means it's more expensive for customers too. Tony Ashy of Tony's Guns and Police Supplies says, "They going to shoot a round, it's going to cost them 20 bucks when in the past it cost them 10 bucks."

Military ammo and weapons have been popular because mass production made them cheaper and they're good for target practice and hunting small animals. But, Ashy says, "All ammo going to be increase prices."

A recent letter from a major manufacturer says costs are going up again in September, a trend that will continue to impact the pockets of consumers and the operations of officers left waiting for the tables to turn.

Reported by Angie Goff

Posted by Chantelle Janelle