Ammo prices taking a hit in the area

But Klingensmith, 72, has cut in half the 400 shells a week he used to fire.

Why? The increasing price of ammunition, which dealers and manufacturers say has gone up 10 percent to 15 percent in the past year.

"If they go up any more, I'll go back to hunting groundhog," said Klingensmith, a retired bus driver.

Troops training for and fighting the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are firing more than 1 billion bullets a year, pushing demand for ammo from police departments, hunters and target shooters. At the same time, demand from China is increasing prices for copper, lead and brass, the major components of bullets, experts say.

The Lake City Army Ammunition Plant in Independence, Mo., supplies the military with more than 80 percent of its small-arms ammunition. Production at the factory has more than tripled since 2002, rising from about 425 million rounds that year to 1.4 billion rounds in 2006, according to the Joint Munitions Command at the Rock Island Arsenal in Illinois.

Alliant Techsystems Inc., which runs the Lake City plant for the Army, produced more than 5 billion rounds for hunting and police use last year, making the Minnesota-based company the nation's largest ammunition manufacturer. Spokesman Bryce Hallowell questioned whether the Iraq war had a direct effect on the ammunition available to police.

But he said there was no doubt that surging demand was affecting supply.

"We had looked at this and didn't know if it was an anomaly or a long-term trend," Hallowell said. "We started running plants 24/7. "Now we think it is long-term, so we're going to build more production capability."

Klingensmith, who reloads his own bullets, said he recently purchased 80 bags of lead at $26.95 per bag. He said the price per bag is going up to roughly $34 a bag soon.

"Ammunition prices are sky high, they're practically doubled," said Dr. William Tylavsky, a Murrysville dentist who shoots with his sons. "There was a time we would go out twice a month, but now we go out less."

Ammunition prices increased by 15 percent last year and are expected to rise another 15 percent this fall, said Brian Thompson, director of retail sales for Woodlands World in Uniontown.

"Yes, prices have gone up quite a bit in the last 18 to 24 months," said Al Russo, spokesman for Remington Arms Co. Inc. in Madison, N.C.

Russo said three or four years ago, lead sold for 30 to 40 cents per pound.

"In the last three weeks, it's been in the $1.40 to $1.50 per pound range," he said.

Remington has had five price hikes in the last 18 months, Russo said. The company is planning more increases in October and January.

He blamed increases in the rising costs of copper and lead.

Copper, which makes up 70 percent of cartridge brass, has gone from 79 cents a pound three years ago to more than $3.80 a pound, according to Shooting Industry Magazine. Other metals have doubled to tripled in price.

Ron Isler, 39, of Uniontown, laments the costs associated with his shooting hobby, but has no foreseeable plans to retreat.

"It's crazy, some of this stuff is completely out of the water. I shoot a whole bunch," said Isler, who recently won a groundhog shooting contest, plugging about 48 animals over 15 hours.

Isler said he used to spend about $55 to reload ammunition. He said it now costs $80 to $85.

Bruce Taucher, owner of Federal Firearms Co., in South Fayette, said customers have noticed the price hikes. He said the cost of premium ammo has gone from $22 per box to $40.

"It's a hobby, but it's slowed down. The average hunter will get sticker shock when he comes in to buy ammunition," Taucher said.

The higher ammunition prices haven't stopped Robert Tilliman, 24, of West Mifflin, from honing his skills shooting a Glock 9 mm at Anthony Arms, where he took aim at a target 30 yards away. Tilliman said he also gets practice shooting while serving as a soldier with the Pennsylvania National Guard unit based in Bloomfield.

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