SANDY, Utah (ABC 4 News) – Ammunition is flying off the shelves in Utah. Gun advocates say the trend began when President Obama won reelection in November.
The weekend gun show in Sandy is flooding Utah’s market with thousands of rounds of ammunition.
Workers are unloading six semi trailers full of bullets. Organizers expect shoppers to purchase almost everything during the two day gun show, because of past sales at gun shows in California and Arizona.
Darren Newsom manufactures ammunition in Montana. He’s one of 250 gun vendors setting up a table in Sandy. “We’re seeing the average person probably spend $1000,” he said.
Newsom says he has not seen ammunition prices this high during his 25 years in the business. “Right now there doesn’t seem to be a price point,” he continued. He says a 9 mm cartridge costs $17, but it used to only cost $5. President Obama says he supports the second amendment. However, many gun advocates struggle to trust the Presidents intentions.
“I keep hearing him refer to it as a hunting right. Well there was very little hunting when the Constitution was written up. You know it was more, they just came out of the war and they wrote it so we’d be able to protect ourself in my opinion from the same government that is trying to regulate us,” Newsom said.
The gun show in Utah usually attracts 10,000 people. Organizers project 20,000 this weekend.
This gun show is at the South Towne Exposition Center in Sandy on Saturday from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and on Sunday from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Tickets are $12 for people 13-years and older. Everyone else is free.
