Panic buying of rifles and ammo during the pandemic has created extreme stress for manufacturers and stores as they struggle to keep up with the skyrocketing numbers of new people purchasing firearms and ammunition. According to Silencer Central, an FBI report revealed background checks from 2020 and 2021 exceeded the previous years by more than 10 million nationwide.

In 2020, there were 39 million background checks, and a number of new gun owners. Ammunition for hunters is especially scarce, so Tim Holt, business owner of Jerry’s Outdoor Sports, advised gun owners to buy ammo when they can find it and not wait until hunting season arrives. Although they are getting more common ammunition for big game hunting, they are still struggling to keep up with the high demand.

“It’s been hard,” Holt said. “It’s hard to hear people who have a hunt, and they have no ammo, or they have one box and need other kinds of ammo for their rifles.”

Although they are getting more common ammunition for big game hunting rifles, a lot of ammo continues to sell out quickly. Jerry’s Outdoor Sports, located at 2999 North Ave., has been fortunate enough to have relationships with manufacturers and distributors that allow them first access to newly released rifles and ammunition.

“We are a Browning platinum dealer,” Holt said, “so, with this limited selection of firearms, manufacturing in general being down and hit by COVID restrictions has caused quite the stir, but it’s nice to have those types of relationships where if one becomes available, we get first dibs on it. We can grow their inventory more quickly than some of the big box stores.”

Tim added that Jerry Stehman, the retired original business owner, did a great job of building those relationships, as did Dan Gray, the operations manager, who handles the purchasing side of things at the store.

Holt described the store as doing better than most, and the toughest part seems to be behind them. However, Holt anticipates they are still a year or two away from ammunition supplies returning to normal, and the store limits how many cases of ammo people can buy.

“It’s hard to put a limit on ammo when people need it, but it’s the only fair way to do it with the rounds that are still hard to find,” Holt said, adding that he has some ammo that he doesn’t put sales limits on.

“We’re getting ready to go online, which will be helpful because we can add our inventory so people will know what we have in stock. That’ll be nice when we get to that point.”

Holt anticipates that by August, the website will be up and running to inform customers of their inventory. The store has people from all over Colorado and eastern Utah coming to buy guns and ammunition, and he works hard to maintain a steady supply for their customers.

“I think people should know ammo’s getting better,” Holt said. “The only thing I can stress is be flexible. A lot of people like a certain bullet or bullet weight for a certain gun, and it might be tougher to find that specific ammo. But you can find something closer or something similar that you’re used to shooting.”