COLUMBIA - Due to a nationwide ammunition shortage, some law enforcement agencies have resorted to using paintball guns for training.
The Associated Press reports that troops in Iraq and Afghanistan are firing more than one billion bullets a year, which contributes to ammunition shortages across the country. The shortage can be blamed alone on wars abroad, but the cost of materials to make ammunition is also affecting the number of bullets in the country.
"The price of copper, brass, lead has gone up a lot because of different reasons," Midway USA representative Brenda Potterfield said. "So it makes it a little for difficult to find ammunition and is certainly much more expensive."
The most sought-after bullet in the U.S. right now is the .223 caliber round. Companies across the country are having some difficulties keeping them on the shelves, but a local distributor has not seen too much of a problem.
"Sometimes we'll be out of it, and have to back-order it," Potterfield said. "But we have been able to keep . . . Usually we keep .223 ammo ammunition in stock."
The nationwide shortage hasn't affected the company's business too much, and in Columbia, police officials say the department won't run out of ammunition either.
"We're, you know, we're as well-armed as I believe we need to be," Columbia Police Department Sgt. John Worden said. "And I don't think the citizens need to be concerned about the shortage."
Which is comforting news for law abiding Mid-Missouri residents.
Columbia police want to emphasize that they are fully stocked and they face no shortage.
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