Monday Ammo Commentary...

...in Texas: 

Retailers and consumers say there may be several reasons gun stores are running out of ammunition — and the cost of what is available is rising.

There’s a widespread expectation that Obama’s administration will follow through on a campaign promise to reimpose an assault weapons ban. Some people fear that taxes on ammunition, guns and other firearms-related materials might drastically increase, as they have on cigarettes.

Administration officials and Democratic leaders in Congress began saying this month that while they hope to eventually change gun control policies, they will not push the assault weapons ban for now because they know how divisive that debate would be and they don’t want to distract from other goals.

The slumping economy — and the angst it brings — is also prompting many first-time buyers to purchase guns and stockpile ammunition. But the economy could also make it hard for manufacturers to get credit to buy supplies to make all that ammo.

Whatever the reason, gun stores nationwide face back-ordered ammunition requests and in some cases a wait of six to eight months for delivery.

As the demand grows, the cost of ammunition is rising — as is the cost of guns and supplies such as cleaning kits and eye and ear protection.

I especially like this comment to the article, which I think does a superb job of summing up what's going on:

jimposter wrote on 4/20/2009 9:06:57 AM:
The salient point that should not be missed is the ultimate goal of the current political ruling elite to discourage and ban gun ownership by citizens. They may differ on the timetable but the goal remains the same. Whether motivated by a misguided paternalism that posits in government an excess authority, or motivated by a belief that guns cause crime, the solution they unwaveringly advance is to disarm law-abiding people.

Demand for guns and ammunition is a referendum on the average citizen's trust and confidence in the government-a trust in benevolence over malevolance, and a confidence in handling the economy and law enforcement. So far trust is losing big-time, and the more the administration and Congress make noises about stripping citizens of their right to self-defense the greater the imbalance becomes. The people are not idiots, and as Dylan once said in another context "you don't need a Weatherman to know which way the wind blows."