Americans are still turning out in big numbers for gun shows, even in San Francisco, but most are "hanging on their money". Ammunition for the guns they already own, however, is another story :
Some customers complained about the rising prices of guns and ammunition.
There was a virtual run on ammo, with customers buying in bulk everything from .22-caliber bullets to .44-caliber Magnum full metal jacketed cartridges.
"Everybody's panic buying," said a wholesale ammunition dealer, who also requested anonymity. "When the doors opened, people we're running in."
The dealer explained that with the United States fighting two foreign wars, and the constant need to outfit police agencies with ammunition, "what's left goes to the public."
Besides guns, dealers offered switchblades, hunting knives, bayonets, swords, machetes, crossbows, night-vision laser scopes, camouflage vests, earplugs, gas masks and Spectra-style body armor capable of defeating a powerful .357-caliber bullet.
