COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Gun owners are becoming frustrated by the rising cost of ammunition.
As the Columbus Gun Show wrapped up this weekend, dealers told NBC 4 that buyer concern about new gun laws or taxes on ammunition are spiking demand.
Columbus resident and gun enthusiast John Busey says the ammo available comes at a cost to gun owners.
"Last couple shows that they've had, they've run out. So this is the first time they've had an ample supply in maybe about a month," Busey said. "(What) you used to be able to buy for $180 -- now it's gone up to over $350."
Ammo dealer Shane Bexfield says this is the tightest he has seen supply in his 10 years in business.
"Basically, I'm begging my suppliers for pistol ammo," Bexfield said.
What's changed? Buyer demand.
Bexfield says gun owners are hoarding out of fear that Congress and President Barack Obama may seek to ban certain assault weapons or levy new taxes on ammo.
President Obama's staff has repeatedly said that the President respects the Constitutional rights of Americans to bear arms.
But Ed Hammond is not convinced, describing what gun owners fear. "The fear that the government is going to wither control that or tax it -- tax it so much that we won't be able to afford the ammo or afford the guns," Hammond said.
Ironically, those buyer concerns about rising costs are causing demand to increase and prices to spike.
"Ammo is about twice or three times what it should cost," Hammond said.
"I don't shoot as much now because it's twice as much as I used to spend for it," said gun owner Dawson Kellogg.
Dealers report their sales are up 50 percent since last October, just before President Obama was elected.
In that time, law enforcement budgets also have been affected by the rising cost of ammo.
But Bexfield suspects there is more to the run on ammo than just politics.
"My distributors are telling me that the manufacturers are running 24 hours a day, but I'm not seeing it," Bexfield said.
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