The Los Angeles Times reports on the “bull market for bullets.” Stores of ammo at gun shops across America have dwindled, and prices for much-sought-after Winchester .380-caliber handgun bullets have doubled. At weekend gun shows, trailers loaded with boxes of ammunition are drained within hours. Budget-pressed police departments, which can’t be caught short, have increased their orders just to be safe, and the U.S. military, fighting two wars, has seen its need for bullets quadruple in recent years.
Bullets are in demand as the nation’s appetite for firearms has soared. U.S. gun sales are up since the 2008 presidential election, during which the National Rifle Associatioin poured millions of dollars into advertisements suggesting that Democrat Barack Obama would move to restrict gun sales if elected.