Police departments across Michigan are struggling to find ammunition during a national shortage, forcing some officials to cut back on training and shell out nearly triple the previous price for handgun and rifle rounds.

The shortage was created by last year's record number of gun sales, combined with ammunition factories shutting down or limiting production because of the COVID-19 pandemic, experts say.

"It's just a combination of things — you got millions of new gun owners buying up ammo right when COVID hit," said Grant Allen, the owner of Firing Line, an indoor firing range and gun shop in Westland. "Companies shut down because of COVID, and when they started back up, they were only at a quarter-staff. And the orders kept coming in."

And the demand persists despite rising costs, said Allen, who was a Westland police officer for 30 years.