What do bullets have in common with toilet paper? Both are in short supply during the pandemic

Ammunition has become so scarce that many law enforcement agencies are now scrambling to get enough for their officers to train and remain qualified to carry their weapons on duty.

Harnett County Sheriff Wayne Coats said his deputies go through about 29,000 rounds of ammunition during routine qualifying. But the pandemic has driven up public demand for firearms, making ammunition harder to find.

"We did a little over 1,700 since last year in carry and conceal [permits] and 5100 in pistol permits, and people are going out and buying ammunition to defend their households," Coats said.

The 1,700 concealed carry permits amount to about 15 percent of the county's total number of licensed concealed weapons.

"It's slow because of the shortage, because of the COVID," Peterkin said. "But we have time to wait on it. We don't run short, even on waiting on our supply that we've ordered."

Raeford-based Defender Ammunition Co. supplies the Hoke County Sheriff's Office. Owner Haywood Jones said the demand from the private sector during the pandemic has created a shortage of materials, such as brass and primers, needed to make bullets.

Jones said he doesn't expect the shortages to go away soon, noting that he has put about 3,000 wholesale requests on hold.

"I'm thinking it's going to be, for sure, the rest of the year, and maybe we're hoping it should return to somewhat normal condition come first quarter of 2022," he said.

Despite the shortages, law enforcement agencies said they have enough ammunition to protect area residents.