Fact check: Image of 'by the pound' ammunition dispensers from Texas gun range, not Idaho grocer

Emiliano Tahui Gómez, USA TODAY
·3 min read

The claim: Dispensers sell bullets 'by the pound' at an Idaho grocery store

A meme that plays off the reputation of Idaho as a 'pro-gun' state exaggerates the state of ammunition sales in the Gem State.

A Jan. 23 Facebook post shows a six-dispenser 'ammo bar' as part of a two-image meme. Each dispenser is filled with different types of gun ammunition. The picture's caption reads, “Bullets sold by the pound in Idaho grocery store.”

In the second image, a driver in sunglasses turns back in his car to yell. The caption of this image reads, “You boys like Idaho (?),” a reference to a popular meme stemming from the 2001 comedy Super Troopers.

The post has gathered more than a hundred shares as of Jan. 31.

But this picture isn't from an Idaho grocery store. The dispensers, which have attracted interest online, are actually from a Texas gun range.

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The Facebook account that posted the meme could not be reached for comment.

A Texas gun range, not an Idaho store

Alpine Shooting Range in Fort Worth, Texas, constructed the dispenser bar shown in the meme. It continues to own and operate it, said Ryan Watts, store manager.

"We made it to give our customers flexibility" when purchasing rounds, he said, noting the store had noticed that not all customers wanted to buy entire boxes of ammunition.

The store's logo, an elk skull with antlers within a blue shooting target, can be seen on each of the dispensers.

Facebook posts on the company’s page show store employees set up the dispensers in September 2019.

Pam Eaton, President and CEO of the Idaho Retailers Association for the past two decades told USA TODAY she has not heard of any traditional grocery stores that sell bullets "by the pound."

The potential exception, she said, could be in a remote part of the state, where a fish and game store "might also sell groceries" and other essentials.

Our rating: False

Based on our research, we rate FALSE the claim that the meme depicts gun ammunition dispensers selling bullets "by the pound" at an Idaho grocery store. These dispensers are instead located at a Texas gun store, the logo of which is on each dispenser. The store has confirmed it built and continues to operate the "ammo bar" after first constructing it in 2019.

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Fact check: 'By the pound' ammo from Texas gun range, not Idaho grocer