Q&A on the News

Q: I have a permit and a licensed gun. I have been unable to find .22-caliber shells. Can you tell me why?

—Raymond Lee, Douglasville

A: Gun shops and law enforcement agencies nationwide have reported ammunition shortages – including .22-, .40-, .45-caliber and 9mm – because of a variety of factors, according to media reports. Gun shop owners said the run on ammunition began after President Barack Obama was re-elected, USA Today reported, and gun owners have been stockpiling ammunition in case gun control legislation is passed, in the wake of the Newtown shootings. The paper also reported the National Shooting Sports Foundation, which represents ammunition makers, hunters and sport shooters, has said hunting and sport shooting are becoming more popular, and also people are "keeping firearms for personal and home defense." "There's a concern by firearms owners that this administration will pursue bans on products, bans on ammunition," Lawrence Keane, the VP and general counsel for the NSSF, told The Associated Press. "… (The shortage) is nationwide." Some stores are limiting sales of .22-caliber ammo to one box per customer and have sold out of many types for ammo. Law enforcement officials across the country have reduced the number of practice rounds given to officers or asked their officers to buy their own ammunition instead of providing it. A spokeswoman for the Tennessee Highway Patrol told the AP in April that it was still waiting on rifle and shotgun ammunition that was ordered in November.