When the state of California enacted their new ammunition regulations, you had to know this was going to happen. When you give people a deadline on when their relatively unfettered access to a product ends, expect a run on that product before it runs out.

That’s exactly what’s happening in California.

Online ammunition retailer AmmoMan.com said sales have skyrocketed in the weeks leading up to January, with Californians snatching up 50 percent more ammunition than gun owners in other states. “Californians are ordering more than customers in other states right now which suggests that they are stocking up,” Eric Schepps of AmmoMan.com told Guns.com in an email. “What is even more glaring is the number of folks coming to our site right now and buying as opposed to just shopping or reading content. The number of actual ammo buyers versus just shoppers is about double the normal rate for California visitors right now.” Prop 63, backed by California Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom’s as the “Safety for All” voter proposition, requires background checks prior to all ammunition sales in addition to a moratorium on direct internet sales. The measure states vendors must secure an annual permit in addition to placing requirements on dealers that state ammo be displayed in a manner that is not accessible to the public — such as in a locked cabinet. The legislation has caused backlash among the gun community with one small ammunition maker already out of business and other gun rights groups promising legal action over the initiative. While 2A organizations go to bat for California gun owners, it seems Californians are wasting no time freely stocking up on ammo from vendors while they still can.

I can’t help but believe that this is the normal, human reaction. It’s not that people won’t be able to buy ammo after the new rules go into place–though just when that’ll actually happen is up in the air at the moment since California officials dragged their feet on writing them–but that their free access will end.

That means people will want to put off having to deal with the new rules for as long as possible. They’ll buy as much as they can now so they won’t have to fool with stuff later.

In the process, any chance of the new law accomplishing anything goes out the window.

Not that there was much chance of that. After all, people can buy ammo out of state all they want and not have to worry. Unless California wants to put checkpoints on every road leading into and out of the state (don’t tempt them), the law will be a waste of time.

What it will do is create a nice little black market for ammo sales, so they’ve got that going for them.

But for the time being, it seems clear that Californians are stocking up all so they can avoid the stupid. More power to them and, in the long run, maybe they can work to repeal these ridiculous and idiotic regulations.