End Of Days News
COLUMBUS, Ga. --
A national ammunition shortage is now severely affecting local gun stores. For the past month, "The Firing Pin" in Opelika hasn't been able to keep up with demand and now they’re out of most ammo.
The store first noticed a spike in ammo sales just before Christmas. Co-Owner Rick Bradshaw believes recent massacres and now the president's gun control measures are behind the increased demand.
“When I go to the rounds I probably go to about five different places when I go look,” said Robert Betts. Usually, he said it’s pretty easy for him to find ammunition for his guns, but not lately.
"We'll right now there seems to be a lot of panic buying going on and it's pretty hard to find the more popular calibers and when you do prices tend to be gouged,” said Betts.
Normally several thousand rounds are on hand at “The Firing Pin” but now the that shelves store ammo, sit empty.
"It's all been dried up,” said Bradshaw. What ammunition is left has a buyer's-limit. Bradshaw said talks of banning assault weapons and restricting magazines to a maximum of 10 bullets is fueling the demand increase and manufacturers can't keep up with orders.
"They're being told by those manufacturers that it's going to be approximately 18 months before their orders are fulfilled,” Bradshaw said.
Bradshaw said most gun stores prepared for a spike in sales before the November election fearing new gun control measures. What they didn't anticipate was the mass school shooting in Connecticut and gun rights being thrust to the front of everyone's minds.
While congress debates whether to pass the president's proposals, gun advocates will be in limbo.
"I mean basically right now is just a waiting game. I mean... it’s pretty bad,” Bradshaw said.
Other local gun stores said they are also experiencing an ammo shortage. Bradshaw believes it will last for at least six months.
Lawmakers will take up President Obama's gun control measures in the coming days. Democrats are confident some measures will pass while Republicans are more skeptical.
Showing posts with label Ammo. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ammo. Show all posts
Monday, February 18, 2013
Feds buying enough bullets for '24-year war'
End Of Days News
Federal, non-military agencies, noted radio host Mark Levin last week, have purchased enough ammunition recently to not only shoot every American five times, but also engage in a prolonged, domestic war.
The numbers are based on recent reports that put the total federal ammunition buy in the last 10 months at approaching two billion rounds.
“To provide some perspective,” Levin noted, “experts estimate that at the peak of the Iraq war American troops were firing around 5.5 million rounds per month. At that rate, the [Department of Homeland Security] is armed now for a 24-year Iraq war. A 24-year Iraq war!”
What do federal agencies need with all that ammunition?
The government’s only official explanation for the massive ammo buy is that law enforcement agents in the respective agencies need the bullets for “mandatory quarterly firearms qualifications and other training sessions.”
The staggering number and lack of details in the official explanation, however, has led to rampant speculation, including concerns the DHS is arming itself to fight off insurrection among Americans.
“I’m going to tell you what I think is going on,” Levin offered. “I don’t think domestic insurrection.
Law enforcement and national security agencies, they play out multiple scenarios. … I’ll tell you what I think they’re simulating: the collapse of our financial system, the collapse of our society and the potential for widespread violence, looting, killing in the streets, because that’s what happens when an economy collapses.
“I suspect that just in case our fiscal situation, our monetary situation, collapses, and following it the civil society collapses, that is the rule of law, they want to be prepared,” Levin said. “I know why the government’s arming up: It’s not because there’s going to be an insurrection; it’s because our society is unraveling.”
As WND reported, even major gun-rights organizations like the National Rifle Association have attempted to tamp down worries over the amount of ammunition, suggesting the number of bullets bought, spread out over five years and across all the federal agencies with armed agents – considering the number of rounds needed for training, qualification and service bags – isn’t exorbitant.
At the same time, however, others have wondered if billions of bullets isn’t too many to equip the sheer number of federal agents, what does that say about the number of federal agents?
“It’s not the number of bullets we need to worry about,” Jeff Knox, director of The Firearms Coalition, told WND, “but the number of feds with guns it takes to use those bullets.”
“There are currently more than 70 different federal law enforcement agencies employing over 120,000 officers with arrest and firearms authority, according to Bureau of Justice Statistics data for 2008,” explained Knox in a recent WND column. “That’s an increase of nearly 30 percent between 2004 and 2008. If the trends have continued upward at a relatively steady rate, that would put the total number of federal law enforcement officers at somewhere between 135,000 and 145,000.
“That’s a pretty staggering number,” Knox continued, “especially when you consider that there are only an estimated 765,000 state and local law enforcement officers. That means that about one in seven law enforcement officers in the country works directly for the federal government, not a local jurisdiction.”
For years, WND has been at the forefront of reporting the growth in federal police power being dispersed across dozens of government agencies:
“But bureaucrats who inspect the records of retailers and manufacturers have no business carrying guns and badges,” Knox opined, “nor do those who investigate white-collar crime for the Small Business Administration and the Department of Education.”
Chris Knox, director of communications for The Firearms Coalition, told WND legitimate concerns about a police state stem from “a set of three intertwined problems,” namely, “militarization of local police, federalization of law enforcement (including local cops getting goodies from federal forfeiture actions) and the expansion of federal law enforcement, where nearly every agency has its own armed service, not just the Drug Enforcement Agency, but administrative agencies like the Department of Education.”
Give all those federal cops two billion bullets, Jeff Knox says, and now there’s cause for concern.
Federal, non-military agencies, noted radio host Mark Levin last week, have purchased enough ammunition recently to not only shoot every American five times, but also engage in a prolonged, domestic war.
The numbers are based on recent reports that put the total federal ammunition buy in the last 10 months at approaching two billion rounds.
“To provide some perspective,” Levin noted, “experts estimate that at the peak of the Iraq war American troops were firing around 5.5 million rounds per month. At that rate, the [Department of Homeland Security] is armed now for a 24-year Iraq war. A 24-year Iraq war!”
What do federal agencies need with all that ammunition?
The government’s only official explanation for the massive ammo buy is that law enforcement agents in the respective agencies need the bullets for “mandatory quarterly firearms qualifications and other training sessions.”
The staggering number and lack of details in the official explanation, however, has led to rampant speculation, including concerns the DHS is arming itself to fight off insurrection among Americans.
“I’m going to tell you what I think is going on,” Levin offered. “I don’t think domestic insurrection.
Law enforcement and national security agencies, they play out multiple scenarios. … I’ll tell you what I think they’re simulating: the collapse of our financial system, the collapse of our society and the potential for widespread violence, looting, killing in the streets, because that’s what happens when an economy collapses.
“I suspect that just in case our fiscal situation, our monetary situation, collapses, and following it the civil society collapses, that is the rule of law, they want to be prepared,” Levin said. “I know why the government’s arming up: It’s not because there’s going to be an insurrection; it’s because our society is unraveling.”
As WND reported, even major gun-rights organizations like the National Rifle Association have attempted to tamp down worries over the amount of ammunition, suggesting the number of bullets bought, spread out over five years and across all the federal agencies with armed agents – considering the number of rounds needed for training, qualification and service bags – isn’t exorbitant.
At the same time, however, others have wondered if billions of bullets isn’t too many to equip the sheer number of federal agents, what does that say about the number of federal agents?
“It’s not the number of bullets we need to worry about,” Jeff Knox, director of The Firearms Coalition, told WND, “but the number of feds with guns it takes to use those bullets.”
“There are currently more than 70 different federal law enforcement agencies employing over 120,000 officers with arrest and firearms authority, according to Bureau of Justice Statistics data for 2008,” explained Knox in a recent WND column. “That’s an increase of nearly 30 percent between 2004 and 2008. If the trends have continued upward at a relatively steady rate, that would put the total number of federal law enforcement officers at somewhere between 135,000 and 145,000.
“That’s a pretty staggering number,” Knox continued, “especially when you consider that there are only an estimated 765,000 state and local law enforcement officers. That means that about one in seven law enforcement officers in the country works directly for the federal government, not a local jurisdiction.”
For years, WND has been at the forefront of reporting the growth in federal police power being dispersed across dozens of government agencies:
- In 1997, WND blew the lid off 60,000 federal agents enforcing over 3,000 criminal laws, a report that prompted Larry Pratt of Gun Owners of America to remark, “Good grief, that’s a standing army. … It’s outrageous.”
- Also in 1997, as part of a ongoing series on the militarization of the federal government, WND reported on the armed, “environment crime” cops employed by the Environmental Protection Agency and a federal law enforcement program that had trained 325,000 prospective federal police since 1970.
- WND also reported on thousands of armed officers in the Inspectors’ General office and a gun-drawn raid on a local flood control center to haul off 40 boxes of … paperwork.
- WND further reported on a plan by then Delaware Sen. Joe Biden to hire hundreds of armed Hong Kong policemen into dozens of U.S. federal agencies to counter Asian organized crime in America.
- In 1999, WND CEO Joseph Farah warned there were more than 80,000 armed federal law enforcement agents, constituting “the virtual standing army over which the founding fathers had
nightmares.” Today, that number has nearly doubled. - Also in 1999 WND reported plans made for the Federal Emergency Management Agency, or FEMA, to use military and police forces to deal with Y2K.
- In 2000, Farah discussed a Justice Department report on the growth of federal police agents under President Clinton, something Farah labeled “the biggest arms buildup in the history of the
federal government – and it’s not taking place in the Defense Department.” - A 2001 report warned of a persistent campaign by the Department of the Interior, this time following 9/11, to gain police powers for its agents.
- In 2008, WND reported on proposed rules to expand the military’s use inside U.S. borders to prevent “environmental damage” or respond to “special events” and to establish policies for “military support for civilian law enforcement.”
- Most recently, WND reported that while local police have found themselves short of necessary ammunition, the federal government has been stockpiling billions of rounds for its non-military, non-FBI law enforcement officers.
“But bureaucrats who inspect the records of retailers and manufacturers have no business carrying guns and badges,” Knox opined, “nor do those who investigate white-collar crime for the Small Business Administration and the Department of Education.”
Chris Knox, director of communications for The Firearms Coalition, told WND legitimate concerns about a police state stem from “a set of three intertwined problems,” namely, “militarization of local police, federalization of law enforcement (including local cops getting goodies from federal forfeiture actions) and the expansion of federal law enforcement, where nearly every agency has its own armed service, not just the Drug Enforcement Agency, but administrative agencies like the Department of Education.”
Give all those federal cops two billion bullets, Jeff Knox says, and now there’s cause for concern.
Thursday, February 14, 2013
Guns And Ammo Production Maxed Out: “This is a Society Preparing For War”
End Of Days News
The following guns and ammo industry report indicates that every major gun and ammunition manufacturer in the country is running at 100% capacity, with many so far behind that they’ve stopped taking new orders altogether.
But this may only be a part of why there’s so much demand. There are millions of Americans who are genuinely concerned with not just the government taking their guns, but all of their other Constitutionally protected freedoms as well.
We understand what happens in regimes that disarm their people. We’ve seen the democide of the last century, which left hundreds of millions of people dead or displaced when their governments turned on them.
We are determined to prevent it from happening in the land of the free.
Back off. Stop encroaching on our personal liberties. Limit yourself to your Constitutionally granted powers and nothing more.
(Image courtesy Net Gunsmith)
President Barack Obama is, arguably, the best gun salesman ever. Over 65 million guns have been purchased since the President took office in 2009. FBI background check statistics indicate that, over the last twelve months, Americans purchased a new gun every 1.5 seconds, a figure which suggests there is much more to the recent panic buying than people just stocking up to go hunting or sports shooting.The following guns and ammo industry report indicates that every major gun and ammunition manufacturer in the country is running at 100% capacity, with many so far behind that they’ve stopped taking new orders altogether.
Smith & Wesson-is running at Full capacity making 300+ guns/day-mainly M&P pistols. They are unable to produce any more guns to help with the shortages.Many who have exercised their Second Amendment protections are first time buyers concerned with Federal and State gun grabs being spearheaded by politicians who are using the Sandy Hook school shooting as a pretext to restrict access to personal defense rifles, larger capacity magazines, and even ammunition.
RUGER: Plans to increase from 75% to 100% in the next 90 days.
FNH: Moving from 50% production to 75% by Feb 1st and 100% by March 1. Remington-Maxed out!
Armalite: Maxed out.
DPMS: Can’t get enough parts to produce any more product.
COLT: Production runs increasing weekly…bottle necked by Bolt carrier’s.
LWRC:Making only black guns, running at full capacity…can’t get enough gun quality steel to make barrels.
Springfield Armory: Only company who can meet demand but are running 30-45 days behind.
AMMO: Every caliber is now Allocated! We are looking at a nation wide shortage of all calibers over the next 9 months. All plants are producing as much ammo as possible w/ of 1 BILLION rounds produced weekly. Most is military followed by L.E. and civilians are third in line.
MAGPUL is behind 1 MILLION mags, do not expect any large quantities of magpul anytime soon.
RELOADERS… ALL Remington, Winchester, CCI & Federal primers are going to ammo FIRST. There are no extra’s for reloading purposes… it could be 6-9 months before things get caught up. Sorry for the bleak news, but now we know what to expect in the coming months. Stay tuned, we’ll keep you posted…
But this may only be a part of why there’s so much demand. There are millions of Americans who are genuinely concerned with not just the government taking their guns, but all of their other Constitutionally protected freedoms as well.
We understand what happens in regimes that disarm their people. We’ve seen the democide of the last century, which left hundreds of millions of people dead or displaced when their governments turned on them.
We are determined to prevent it from happening in the land of the free.
Manufacturers were running full-bore, but couldn’t come close to keeping up with market demand.With over 300 million firearms in America in the hands of private citizens, the people are sending a loud and clear message to their government.
It wasn’t just the AR-15s, the AK-pattern rifles, the M1As, and the FALs that were sold out. It really hit me when I realized that the World War-era M1 Garands, M1 carbines, and Enfield .303s were gone, along with every last shell. Ubiquitous Mosin-Nagants—of which every gun store always seems to have 10-20—were gone. So was their ammo. Only a dust free space marked their passing. I’ve never seen anything like it.
Every weapon of military utility designed within the past 100+ years was gone.
This isn’t a society stocking up on certain guns because they fear they may be banned. This is a society preparing for war.
Source: Bob Owens via SteveQuayle.com
Back off. Stop encroaching on our personal liberties. Limit yourself to your Constitutionally granted powers and nothing more.
Monday, January 21, 2013
Homeland Security hoarding ammo,
Current trends could find the federal government with a strong ammunition advantage over local police and sheriff departments.
Range Master Sgt. Ted Glisson told WSAV-TV in Savannah, “What we’ve incorporated is we’re doing more dry firing practice and this basically gets some people better suited to do what they need to when they come out here on the range.”
Dry firing is pulling the trigger but not firing a bullet.
Glisson said that while his unit currently had enough ammunition, he was concerned because “one of our suppliers was running short on what they had because there’s a mass – everybody’s trying to get a lot of ammunition and things like that.”
Similar reports are cropping up nationwide amid fears of a federal clampdown as the Obama administration continues to push gun legislation in the wake of the Sandy Hook massacre.
Brownells, the largest supplier of firearm accessories in the world, reported it had sold several years’ worth of ammunition in just a matter of hours.
The company released a statement apologizing for the delay in fulfilling orders, explaining the it had experienced “unprecedented” demand for AR-15 ammunition magazines since earlier in the week.
CNS News reported police departments nationwide are experiencing ammunition shortages, referring to the online law enforcement website, PoliceOne.com
Sgt. Chris Forrester of the Greer Police Department in South Carolina told local TV-news channel WSPA: “It’s never easy to get ammo, but since the tragedy in Connecticut, it’s become even more difficult.”
Forrester explained the problem ordering ammunition began about a month ago.
“You’ll call and they say ‘sorry we’re out,’ or ‘it’s on back order,’” he said.
Chief Terry Sult of the Sandy Springs Police Department said: “It affects our ability to be prepared. It affects the potential safety of the officers, because they’re not as proficient as they should be.”
While local authorities scramble to fulfill future ammunition needs by turning to the same suppliers from which private gun owners purchase their rounds, the Department of Homeland Security reportedly maintains a large stock of ammunition.
Last March, DHS reportedly ordered 450 million rounds of .40 caliber ammunition, including hollow point bullets, from defense contractor ATK to be delivered over five years.
Hollow-point tip bullets are rarely used in training exercises. They are among the deadliest bullets, with the ability to pass through barriers and expand for a bigger impact without the rest of the bullet warping.
In April, Business Insider reported on an additional DHS request for 750 million more rounds for a total of at least 1.2 billion bullets. The 750 million is more than 10 times what U.S. troops used in a full year of Iraqi combat.
It was not immediately clear how many bullets were delivered to DHS.
In 2009, manufacturer Winchester posted an award to its site affirming it will deliver 200 million rounds to DHS over five years, serving as yet another order on top of others that may have already been partially fulfilled, as Business Insider noted.
DHS runs a large weapons training program at its Firearms Division replete with indoor and outdoor firing ranges, ammunition and weapons storage. Courses include a rifle-training program, precision rifle observer training program, reactive shooting instructor training program, submachine gun instructor training program and a survival shooting training program.
“That doesn’t make the most recent batch of 200,000 rounds seem out of line, but those billion or so rounds, seem like they could be better accounted [for],” commented Robert Johnson at Business Insider earlier this month.
Wednesday, January 9, 2013
Shootings Prompt New Gun Bill to restrict ammunition sales in California
A new bill would restrict ammunition sales in California
The massacre in Newton, Conn., and other mass shootings have prompted for a call to curb gun violence.
California assembly member Nancy Skinner answered that call with a proposal to restrict ammunition sales in the state.
“2,800 people in California were killed last year by gunfire," Skinner said. "It is easier to buy bullets than cough medicine or alcohol. It should not be that easy. We need to have much more scrutiny when it comes to the purchase of guns."
Monday she unveiled Assembly Bill 48. It would require bullet buyers to show identification. It would also require ammunition dealers to be licensed and report all sales to the department of justice.
Emmeryville police chief Ken James supports the tighter restrictions.
”Right now you can buy bullets in any store and the sale is not recorded”, James said. "Gun violence will continue unless we control the sale of bullets."
Oakland mayor Jean Quan also said she supports the bill and that Oakland has seen too much gun violence and the changes may help.
The so-called "bullet bill" would also ban kits to convert ammunition clips into high-capacity magazines. At the same time, this debate goes on some are questioning why a new gun shop is now open for business In Los Gatos.
Templar Sports on University Avenue opened Dec. 29 and employees say business has been steady. Templar Sports did not respond to our request for an interview.
Sunday, January 6, 2013
The Department Of Homeland Security Is Hard At Work With One Billion New Bullets
Last March we found 450 million rounds of .40 caliber ammunition slated for delivery to the Department of Homeland Service and its agencies.
Weeks later we found an additional request for 750 million rounds. The news wasn't reported much, though the order forms are still floating around.
It's not as demand for ammunition by the DHS is terribly new. Manufacturer Winchester posted an award to its site in 2009 agreeing to deliver 200 million rounds for the agency over five years. But if that's accurate it's an additional order that's still coming in on top of the others.
Major General Jerry Curry, (Ret) offered up a good point when the 750 million order became public last fall saying that number of bullets was more than 10 times what U.S. troops used in a full year of Iraqi combat.
Now that a new Department of Homeland Security order for another 200,000 hollow points has been placed, we're curious to see what happens to that much ammunition in 12 months. Knowing that DHS trains rural, regional, and federal law enforcement at their Georgia training center, we took a look online to see what programs they have requiring so much firepower.
The Firearms Division (FAD) at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center (FLETC) in Glynco, Georgia is the biggest facility of its kind in the nation and has more than 88 instructors from several federal agencies.
Wikimedia Commons
H&K MP-5
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Homeland Security offers a Rifle Training Program, a Precision Rifle Observer Training Program (PROP) that looks like a 37 hour sniper/counter-sniper course. The bonus at PROP is any uniformed officer can take the course and receive the advanced training, since assignment to a sniper team or tactical unit is not required. No rifle or sniper training at all, in fact, is required to take this one where public servants learn to take out targets at more than 1,800 feet away.
There's also the Reactive Shooting Instructor Training Program (RSITP), which looks like some sound practical advice for folks facing off against bad people during their workday.
The Submachine Gun Instructor Training Program (SMGITP) is the class you just know gets wait-listed with the brass and its friends. If shooters are unfortunate enough to lack their own machine guns, DHS provides H&K MP-5 and UMP-40, Colt M-4, SMG (9mm) and the FN P90 for testing and training. There are even two tests required to graduate this one. Maybe submachine guns are as difficult to fire as they are fun, or maybe it's just another couple chances to cook off more free ammunition. One test goes down with the H&K MP-5 the other the Colt M-4.
Finally, the Survival Shooting Training Program (SSTP) seems like a challenging 8.5 day Master course where Law Enforcement Officer's become acquainted with a variety of weaponry, technique, and the effects of stress.
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Definitely a comprehensive program, especially the Interesting Facts About The Firearms Division page. I'll list them below in their entirety after I point one fact that states all the firing in the above courses, and whatever else gets expended, requires about 15 million rounds of ammunition a year.
That doesn't make the most recent batch of 200,000 rounds seem out of line, but those billion or so rounds, seem like they could be better accounted for. Anyway, as promised — all the interesting facts about the firearms division:
- Firearms Division (FAD) has approximately 49 buildings that include indoor and outdoor firing ranges, offices, ammunition and weapons storage, equipment and supply storage spaces.
- The indoor range complex and the outdoor ranges (to include 2 outdoor ranges currently under construction) have a combined total of approximately 384 firing points for live fire training.
- These do not include the various scenario-based training ranges that FAD uses for tactical training.
- FAD has approximately 9 training ranges used for scenario-based tactical firearms training.
- There are approximately 150 staff members assigned to the Firearms Division including managers, support personnel and instructors.
- The instructor cadre consists of former law enforcement and/or military personnel who now work for the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center (FLETC) and current law enforcement personnel detailed from many of the agencies who participate in training conducted at the FLETC.
- Training requires the use of approximately 15 million rounds of ammunition annually.
- The ammunition includes lead projectiles and reduced hazard (environmentally friendly) ammunition.
- The reduced hazard ammunition accounts for approximately 70 percent of the ammunition expended for training.
- FAD offers 8 advanced firearms training programs. These programs are open to Federal, state and municipal law enforcement personnel. Some international law enforcement personnel attend these programs when they are sponsored by one of the Federal partner agencies.
- FAD offers approximately 120 firearms courses. Many of these are contained in FLETC basic, agency basic and advanced law enforcement training programs.
- FAD conducts advanced export training (off site) at other Federal, state and municipal facilities around+ the country on an as-needed basis.
Saturday, January 5, 2013
People you better get a clue! WHAT DO YOU THINK THEY ARE GETTING READY FOR?
Most Recent Ammo Purchases
January 4, 2013
September 19, 2012
September 14, 2012
James Smith, Contributor
Activist Post
The question of whether a leader is good or a tyrant is an age old question. Being the one who wears the crown opens you up to criticism from all levels, and, to be quite frank, you can’t make everyone love you.
This article is to outline purchases by the Department of Human resources since August 2002, a ten-year span. The Department of Homeland Security was created by then President Bush as a preventative measure from further terror attacks on American soil. And since its inception has been fodder for skeptics and fuel for those demanding a smaller, unintrusive government.
Below you will find the lists of solicitations, hyperlinked to their pages located at http://www.fbo.gov.
The following filters were used:
US Coast Guard and Secret Service were not accounted for. The USCG rarely requested ammunition, and the Secret Service were mainly “Award Only” notices. No amounts of ammunition could be obtained.
Any “Award Notice” only entries were omitted due to the lack of needed information.
Activist Post
The question of whether a leader is good or a tyrant is an age old question. Being the one who wears the crown opens you up to criticism from all levels, and, to be quite frank, you can’t make everyone love you.
This article is to outline purchases by the Department of Human resources since August 2002, a ten-year span. The Department of Homeland Security was created by then President Bush as a preventative measure from further terror attacks on American soil. And since its inception has been fodder for skeptics and fuel for those demanding a smaller, unintrusive government.
Below you will find the lists of solicitations, hyperlinked to their pages located at http://www.fbo.gov.
The following filters were used:
US Coast Guard and Secret Service were not accounted for. The USCG rarely requested ammunition, and the Secret Service were mainly “Award Only” notices. No amounts of ammunition could be obtained.
Any “Award Notice” only entries were omitted due to the lack of needed information.
In the first chart, you find the hyper linked solicitation, the total number of
rounds requested, and the agency requesting the ammunition. Of all of the
sub-departments, only Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the Federal
Law Enforcement Training Center (FLETC) ordered ammunition outside the filters
discussed above.
The second chart, shown below, demonstrates the total number of ammunition requested by year. After that chart, is the breakdown by percentage of the year against the total amount requested. As can be seen, 58% of all the ammunition that has been ordered, was ordered under the Obama Administration.
2004 0.06%
2005 0.17%
2006 6.80%
2007 1.76%
2008 32.40%
2009 1.00%
2010 19.98%
2011 25.30%
2012 12.51%
The last chart provides the chilling breakdown of just how much ammunition was requested. The grand total? A mere 1.88 BILLION rounds ordered in less than eight years time.
Oddities were discovered during this examination. A solicitation for an
emergency allotment of 18,000,000 rounds of .40 S&W ammunition was requested
to cover a shortfall of until December of 2009, but no major purchase could be
found until December of 2010.
Justification for Other Than Full and Open
Competition to purchase an “interim supply” of 18,000,000 rounds of .40 Smith
& Wesson (S&W) Caliber 135 grain ammunition to bridge the gap in
inventory until long term Indefinite Delivery / Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ)
contracts can be put in place. Contract awarded to Federal Cartridge Company of
Anoka, MN.
This also provides justification for such large numbers of
ammunition purchases, ie, training. However, in order to be more fiscally sound,
the ammunition should be a ball type, or full metal jacket, not a jacketed
hollow point, where the cost would be anywhere from two
to five times less expensive.
To put this in very simple terms: in
the 8 years, 5 months, 23 days that have elapsed since the first ammunition
order:
- 7 rounds every second would need to be shot in order to use every last round ordered as of today.
- That would be 5.9 rounds per American.
- For every letter in the King James Bible, 608 rounds.
- If you were to put the ammunition in the small 50 round box of .45 ACP, it would be approximately 496,382 cubic feet, or 63 Olympic sized swimming pools.
The question of whether all these ammunition purchases are for an
outbreak of civilian riots cannot be answered here. There are too many variables
to accurately ascertain the likelihood. Many of those who would fight for the
government would place family above duty and thereby weaken the chances of a
successful martial law across the fruited plain. In limited areas, yes, martial
law could and would be implemented. Those areas unmolested by civil disorder
would do best by informing the public to arm themselves for the possibility of
malcontents and criminals that may want to stir up trouble.
But perhaps what this Administration forgets is the most basic of warfare. It is
not ammunition nor weapons that decides a war. It is the indomitable human
spirit that cries for freedom that decides who wins and who dies. Tyranny may
win battles, but Freedom and Liberty will win the war. Every time. Just ask any
American, Spanish, English, Frenchman or Pole.
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