New Brunswick hunters may soon have trouble locating their favourite brands of ammunition as a continental shortage begins to affect the province.
'With shortages and people not being able to hunt, this is bad news for rural Canada.'— Ross Faulkner, owner, Gun Dealer
The province's deer hunting season is only a week away and Ross Faulkner, the owner of the Gun Dealer in McAdam, N.B., said many hunters may soon start noticing that their favourite brands of ammunition and primers may be limited.
Faulkner said there is a North American shortage of ammunition because many U.S. gun owners have begun hoarding ammunition anticipating that the Obama administration will impose tougher gun laws or impose new taxes on ammunition.
Unless U.S. gun owners stop hoarding ammunition, Canadians will have a tough time locating certain products.
"The hunter can look and ponder and say, 'Well, do I want this brand versus another brand.' That is not going to be the reality going forward," Faulkner said.
According to the National Rifle Association in the U.S., Americans buy about seven billion rounds of ammunition annually. But by September this year, they had purchased nine billion rounds.
Shortage will get worse
Faulkner said primers used in reloading ammunition have been scarce and certain handgun ammunition has been next to impossible to find this year.
Faulkner said he purchases all of his store's ammunition in the United States, and he worries that next year the selection will be even worse for gun owners.
"With shortages and people not being able to hunt, this is bad news for rural Canada," he said.
