"They're (distributors) saying that the rifle ammo is going to get worse this year instead of better," said David MacKay, of MacKay's Wild Outdoors Adventures on Willow Street.
"It wasn't too bad last year but by mid fall, like mid season, it was getting hard to get even the common calibres," he said.
MacKay said the shortages have been getting worse over the past year and a half following school shootings in the U.S. that prompted fears that the Obama government was going to initiate a card system similar to Canada that gun owners would require when purchasing ammunition.
"Ever since, the Americans have been stockpiling to beat the band," he said, adding that the Canadian gun market does not produce enough demand to make it a strong player for purchasing ammunition.
"The reality is, in Canada we do three per cent of the world's ammunition. So, we'd be the first ones they'd forget about."
Inquiries about purchasing .22 caliber shells and other ammo at the Canadian Tire and Walmart stores in Truro proved fruitless, with none available at either location.
The same situation applies to both New Glasgow and Amherst, based on the number of customers who have been coming to MacKay's shop of late from those areas.
"Right now it's just hit and miss," he said, of his ability to acquire some ammo such as .22 shells and for some other higher calibre rifles.
"I ordered 220,000 rounds one morning and I got 50(000), from them. That was one company, the other two I never got nothing from them yet," he said.
Of the 50,000 rounds of .22 shells that came in less that two weeks ago, MacKay said he has less than half remaining.
"Under normal conditions you wouldn't see it going out of here that fast, it's just that nobody's got anything, right."
But on a somewhat positive note, MacKay said his suppliers of late are saying they expect the supply for .22 shells to get better, though the situation for rifle ammunition will get worse.
