Gun store finds ammo supply better, still selective

Teton River Traders Gun Shop’s new location on 211 U.S. Highway 14 places them directly next to a bar. Inside, two men relaxed behind the glass checkout counter, making small-talk with a smiling customer — she looked like she might be about to pick her kids up from school.

Opposite stood natural wood shelves loaded with ammunition. Farther back — rifles, pump-actions in the center, ending at a far-wall of accouterments — wrenches, shell holders, propellant and canned air.

Owner Matt Harens can tell it’s pheasant season when he finds himself doing more repairs. Cherished and expensive guns gather dust during the off-season and, when they’re not being used, they tend not to break. With a sudden spike in hunting comes a surge in malfunctions, and Harens is Johnny-on-the-spot.

“I do sell a little bit more stuff during pheasant season, but I really do a lot more repairs,” he said. “People are shooting more, and where do you take things when they get broken? It’s just like a car — if you rent something long enough, you gotta do general maintenance on it.”

Hunting lodges offer wraparound service — including, at times, heated and air-conditioned kennels for hunting dogs. But when guests return with broken guns, lodges must often outsource. Harens is happy to get the hunters back into the field, but probably won’t be joining them. Although he still enjoys shooting, Harens hasn’t done much hunting since his father passed away.

“When he’s not there to have fun with, it’s just not the same. I still go with my brother, just not as often,” he said.

As far as the supply chain is concerned, Harens said hunters still can’t be as selective as they once were, despite improvement from last year.

“You can’t necessarily shoot the ammo you want, but you’ll be able to find something,” he said. “You won’t be able to pick and choose. There will be something there, just not necessarily what you’re used to.”

Harens blamed corporate greed and mismanagement.

“Ammo companies just got behind,” he said. “They’re playing catch-up and it will take a couple more years.”

When ammo giant Remington went bankrupt, ripples spread nationwide. Harens said the shutdown of Remington’s factories coincided with an uptick in demand by consumers, a perfect economic storm.

“It just compounded on itself,” he said. “Basically, it had to do with corporate greed. The investment group behind Remington went out of business — they kept borrowing more and more money. Then, there was just a little slump in the market. I think It affected 20 different firearm manufacturers.”

Although Harens isn’t selling the same ammunition he once did, volume remains stable. It hasn’t always been so.

“The first year of COVID, I sold about five times more ammo than I normally do,” he recalled. “I was selling more than companies could produce.”

Shortages extended to firearms.

“A lot of the guns I normally stock I can’t even get. I can usually get the really expensive ones. Everything else is kind of sold out,” Harens said.

Tikka rifles, for example, are only slowly coming into stock, along with Ruger American bolt-actions. Harens never used to have trouble finding either of them.

“What I can get is either really expensive or something so cheap I don’t want it. Randomly, I can get some really, really cheap ones. But, the normal-quality ones that aren’t super expensive — I can’t get,” he said. “I think they’re just behind on manufacturing. There are definitely shortages on components, because all the raw materials still come from China, even if they’re getting manufactured in the U.S.”

Harens, however, was clear that the supply seemed to be improving. Local hunting guide Willie Dvorak agreed.

“Whether we’re hunting in South Dakota or Alaska, we have the need for plenty of the right gear ... Most everything is available. When it’s not, we have to substitute. There is almost always something that can be substituted,” Dvorak, owner of Jim River Guide Service, said.

Dvorak said there was no “big supply chain issue,” although he admitted ammo was short on the shelves last year.

“But that’s almost completely corrected itself,” he said. “There are still some small issues getting ammunition, but not too bad.”

Dvorak contended that vehicles are more of an issue than small items.

“If you’re gonna order a pickup or order a Ranger today, you know, you might wait a full year for that vehicle. It affects more than just us guides,” he said.