Southfield gun store owner: Demand is abnormally high

Yes, there is actually a shortage of certain caliber bullets right now, and prices are up sharply.

"I had nine millimeter last week at $13.00," said Bill Kucyk, owner of Action Impact in Southfield.  "This week it's 21 [dollars], but it's not the same bullet.  They're called frangible ammunition.  It's more to manufacture.  It costs me more to get, but it's better than not having any."

Kucyk was already planning to build a second location when the threats of stricter gun laws and crime really shot his business into orbit.

"We've sold just about all our inventory out," he said.  "It's getting replenished, but it's only getting replenished maybe at about a 30 percent rate of what I used to get."

Kucyk said demand is so "abnormal," he is sold out of Glock, Smith and Wesson and Ruger handguns.  He thinks the manufacturers simply can't keep up.

"I wouldn't think in a million years that they would withhold producing some product if they thought they could sell it, so I think the demand is just exceeding the supply.  That's what I believe is happening," he said.

Overall, Kucyk said if he didn't limit the amount of ammo per customer, he would be completely out of stock, so he has to ration and be rational.

"Ammunition has certainly tightened up.  We're restricting sales of certain calibers of ammunition to in store use only or with a new firearm purchase," he explained.