Sporting goods stores in Saskatchewan are feeling the pinch of a North American ammunition shortage.

Although it's hunting season, a time when many hunters are stocking up on ammo, some store owners say they're having trouble getting enough stock.

Hoarding in the U.S. is one explanation, according to U.S. media reports.

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.

The stockpiling stems from concerns among many gun owners that the Obama administration will impose new gun laws, or new taxes on ammunition.

It's definitely had an impact locally, said Darryl Schemenauer, who owns TNT Gunworks in north Regina. Among the items that have been in short supply are .22 shells, he said.

"Couldn't get these all year," he said.

Schemenauer says gun owners in the United States are hoarding ammunition because they're worried the government will tighten gun laws.

In addition to the hoarding problem, manufacturers have cut back supplies to the public while they focus their resources on providing ammunition to the military, Schemenauer said.

It's forced him and his customers to work a little harder to find what they need, Schemenauer said.

"We've been limiting primers, limiting ammunition, just to try to get everybody to have a little bit," he said. "We're not going to give one customer a lot of ammunition or everything we have."

Costs have increased as well, something avid shooter Steven Eberhardt noticed recently when he bought shells for a friend.

The typical hunter who fires possibly a few dozen rounds in a year shouldn't be affected that much, he said.

But competitive shooters and farmers who sometimes use thousands of bullets to kill gophers will notice the shortage, he said.

"Some of the different disciplines, people will shoot 5,000 to 10,000 rounds in a year."

Even if the hoarding stops, it's expected military demand will continue to be strong.

That means shooters in Saskatchewan could be forced to buy a little less and pay a little more for a while to come.