Rising ammunition prices mean changes for recreational shooters, law enforcement

Several media outlets have reported on an ammunition shortage facing police departments, and many pointed to the fighting in Iraq as the main culprit. However, National Public Radio reported that rising prices and demand have come from increases in copper. Regardless of the cause, the spike in prices has hit recreational shooters as well, and The Daily Courier of Prescott, Ariz., reports on how they are dealing with it.

Jason Soifer writes that shooters are shunning commercial bullets in favor of cutting costs by making their own. Soifer writes that for about $800, a shooter can buy reloading equipment and “recoup that money in about a year” in saved bullet costs. For other recreational shooters, the only choice is to reduce the number of bullets they use.

Law enforcement officials, however, don’t have those two options, and so they must order well in advance to ensure they have enough bullets when it comes time for training sessions. (Read more)