TOLEDO, Ohio — If you're looking for a special type of firearm at Cleland's Outdoor World in Swanton, there's a good chance you'll have to wait for it.
"If you order one today, you're not going to get it until August," owner Ken Shields said. "So right now basically what we have on the shelf is what's available. If you do anything custom, it's going to be months out."
And they're not the only gun store in this situation. Shields said right now there is a shortage of guns and ammunition across the country. Both are being equally allocated to suppliers.
RELATED: What is Ohio's open carry law?
"What that means is distribution gets a certain amount of it," Shields said. "And they go out to all their dealers and spread them out. So basically everyone gets a little bit."
Those in the gun industry attribute it to the uneasiness of the past year, causing many to feel the additional need to protect themselves.
Numbers from the Ohio Attorney General's office confirm nearly double the amount of people in the state applied for a gun license in 2020 compared to numbers from 2019.
In 2019, 54,426 people applied for a gun license in Ohio. That number went up to 98,892 in 2020, meaning 44,466 more people applied for a gun license in a years' time.
Shields says their concealed carry classes have also seen a big jump in participation. They've added more classes to meet the demand.
"We were running three or four a month for most of last summer, which normally we only run one in the summertime," he said. "It's a 24-hour-a-day job, just trying to get ammo and firearms into the store. We spend more time chasing it than selling it, I swear."
It's unclear when manufacturers could catch up with the current industry demand. If you are looking for something specific, prepare to be patient.