RSS | 
Twitter
| 
Be a fan!
Demand triggers rising costs
Whether the war in Iraq or a shortage of materials is to blame, local police departments are finding that getting ammunition is taking longer and costing more.
Washington police Chief Roger Blyth has noticed the trend over the past four or five years.
Rate This Story:
1 the lowest - 5 the highest
Current rating:
"Some calibers, we can still get in that amount of time," he added. "But others, it is six to eight months from the day we put the order in."
Demand for ammunition skyrocketed after the start of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and with increased training needs for the military. Increased demand for copper and lead overseas, particularly in China, also is playing a role, according to the Associated Press.
All police officers are required by the Municipal Police Officers' Education and Training Commission to successfully complete annual recertification. The handgun course must include 50 rounds of duty ammunition. In addition, officers have to be certified on any other weapon authorized for use, including personal weapons carried.
"Fifty rounds does not sound like much, but when it is used, we have to replace it," Blyth said.
City police officers carry weapons ranging in size from 9 mm to .45-caliber. They also have to qualify for shotguns and long rifles.
The city also purchases ammunition for the Critical Emergency Response Team. "They qualify four times a year," Blyth said. "They've had to cut back on the amount of ammunition they use for that to the bare standard minimum."
"The price of brass is going up and the cost of lead is skyrocketing," Blyth said. "And federal contracts for ammunition take precedence over state contracts, which is how we buy our ammunition."
Ten years ago, the city was spending just under $110 for 1,000 rounds of 9mm ammunition. Today, it costs $272. In 1998, 500 rounds of .223-caliber rifle ammunition was $149. Today, it is $275.
"And that is if we can get it," Blyth said.
North Strabane Township police Sgt. Joseph Curnarski oversees the firearm qualifications for his department. While most departments qualify once a year, North Strabane does it semiannually.
While his supply will carry him through the spring qualifications, Curnarski said, at this point, he does not have enough ammunition for the second qualification later this year.
"I placed an order Feb. 21," Curnarski said. "The 9 mm is due in July 16, the .40-caliber on Sept. 30 and the .223-caliber for our rifles is due in on Sept. 12."
Officers in North Strabane have a choice of using the .40-caliber or 9 mm handgun. The rifles are carried in the police cars.
Curnarski also is seeing a higher price tag on ammunition purchased through a state contract. The rifle ammunition has gone up 35 percent in the last year, while the .40-caliber has increased by 15 percent.
"Eventually, this shortage is supposed to ease," Curnarski said. "I am trying to build in the qualifications and plan six or eight months out for purchases."
Chief John Dale Hartman of Southwest Regional police, which answers calls in Coal Center, Long Branch and Marianna, said his department has sufficient ammunition.
"But we are seeing a lag time in the ordering," he said. "I hope we won't be waiting six to eight months. And I think the problem is more than the war in Iraq. I think foreign nations are buying up the material used in the ammunition. That has caused a shortage and the price to go up."
Police are not the only ones who have to wait for ammunition as they watch the costs go higher and higher.
Mary Anna Johnson, one of the owners of Johnson's Sporting Goods on Brownlee Road in Somerset Township, said some calibers of ammunition are becoming harder to get.
"We are finding the shortage in a lot of the military ammunition for our country and others," Johnson said. "We have to back order, wait in line to get it behind the military, police and homeland security and hope there is some left for us."
Developing countries also are contributing to the shortage.
"People tend to forget we deal in an open market," Johnson said. "Lead, copper and brass are being bought up by the Chinese for things like plumbing. And they are paying any price to get it."
Johnson said one ammunition dealer placed an ad in a trade magazine to apologize for the increasing costs.
"He said they are having a harder time finding what they need to make the ammunition," Johnson said. "And they have to pay the going rate."
"When we started in business 17 years ago, a bag of lead shots used to shoot clay pigeons was $10 a bag," she said. "Today, it is $50."
