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The Great DHS Ammunition Stockpile Myth
Breibart - Big Government ^ | 4-4-2013 | Tom Stilson

Posted on 04/05/2013 6:42:29 AM PDT by Sir Napsalot

There are dozens of articles hyping government purchases of ammunition over the last nine months. After spending weeks researching this topic, this is a collection of commonly held myths that are based more on panic than fact.

With the recent release of a letter from the Department of Homeland Security to Senator Coburn, the numbers we calculated independently seem to corroborate the narrative coming from DHS. The concerns surrounding DHS stockpiling ammunition are nothing but more fear-mongering and largely unwarranted. For once, here are the facts to set the record straight:

MYTH: DHS purchased 750 million rounds of several different types of ammunition in August 2012.

FACT: The DHS contract never stated 750 million rounds at any time. It is a five year contract with a maximum purchase of 70 million rounds over the life of the contract. Military Times recently addressed this issue as well.

MYTH: DHS purchased an unprecedented 450 million rounds of .40 S&W 180gr hollow point bullets in 2012.

FACT: This is a standard five year contract that follows a historical purchasing pattern of DHS. Furthermore, it is not an “unprecedented” purchase by DHS. In fact, it is not even a purchase by DHS but by Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

Starting in 2003, orders of 50 million and 225 million .40 S&W hollow point ammunition totaling 275 million rounds were purchased. After the expiration of the five year contracts in 2008, ICE purchased an additional 575 million rounds of .40 S&W hollow point ammunition with two separate orders (200 million and 375 million). Now, with the expiration of the 2008 contract, ICE has ordered a maximum of 450 million rounds over the next five years.

(Excerpt) Read more at breitbart.com ...


TOPICS: Front Page News
KEYWORDS: ammo; banglist; dhs; dhsammo; guncontrol; secondamendment
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Be sure to read the article and the rest of the myths from source, it has lots and lots of links to the quotes used.

Now we only need Tom Stilson to explain DHS purchasing light armor vehicles myth.

1 posted on 04/05/2013 6:42:29 AM PDT by Sir Napsalot
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To: Sir Napsalot

What’s to explain? DHS didn’t purchase them, the Marines did.


2 posted on 04/05/2013 6:43:47 AM PDT by 1rudeboy
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To: 1rudeboy

But Big Sis said they bought them in bulk to save money.


3 posted on 04/05/2013 6:45:47 AM PDT by massgopguy (I owe everything to George Bailey)
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To: Sir Napsalot

It’s no myth that no one can get ammunition. Even Homeland Security. That fact demands an explanation. If our rulers fail to give us one don’t blame people for trying to come up with one themselves.


4 posted on 04/05/2013 6:46:13 AM PDT by DManA
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To: 1rudeboy
???

Because DHS is flush with the dole but marines don't?

5 posted on 04/05/2013 6:47:02 AM PDT by Sir Napsalot (Pravda + Useful Idiots = CCCP; JournOList + Useful Idiots = DopeyChangey!)
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To: Sir Napsalot

6 posted on 04/05/2013 6:48:01 AM PDT by Travis McGee (www.EnemiesForeignAndDomestic.com)
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To: Sir Napsalot

Maybe you misunderstood me. DHS did not buy the MRAPs, the Marines did. I’m not talking about the ammunition.


7 posted on 04/05/2013 6:48:19 AM PDT by 1rudeboy
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To: Sir Napsalot
This one baffles me. Why would any manufacturer sign a contract like this? They are obligated to invest in plant and materials to have on call massive amounts of product for a customer who might not buy any. Why would anyone give a discount to a customer like that?

FACT: The government purchases large quantities of ammunition in ID/IQ (Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity) orders, only guaranteeing to purchase as little as 1,000 or 100,000 rounds per year. The large orders lock in rates in the event ammunition prices increase as they have in recent years.

8 posted on 04/05/2013 6:50:49 AM PDT by DManA
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To: Sir Napsalot
In fact, it is not even a purchase by DHS but by Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

Isn't ICE a part of DHS?

9 posted on 04/05/2013 6:52:45 AM PDT by Texas Eagle (If it wasn't for double-standards, Liberals would have no standards at all -- Texas Eagle)
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To: Sir Napsalot

Two interesting points in the article:

1. The government has bought .22lr....I’m really curious as to why.

2. The government buys hollow points by the million, and as the article points out several times, 99% of this ammo is for training. I don’t train with hollow point, since I can’t afford it. Why does the government think it can afford it?


10 posted on 04/05/2013 6:53:39 AM PDT by lacrew (Mr. Soetoro, we regret to inform you that your race card is over the credit limit.)
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To: DManA
It’s no myth that no one can get ammunition. Even Homeland Security. That fact demands an explanation

The reason there's an ammunition shortage is that people are buying a lot of ammunition. It's very simple.

It's a self-perpetuating feedback loop. There was panic buying after Newtown, and once reports of shortages popped up, even more people panicked and went out to buy ammunition, leading to more shortages, more panic buying, and so on. The silly panic over DHS ammo purchases (but not the small purchases themselves) has increased the phenomenon even more.

For gun owners, the answer to "why is there an ammo shortage" can be found by looking in a mirror.

11 posted on 04/05/2013 6:54:15 AM PDT by Strategerist
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To: Strategerist

That’s one idea.


12 posted on 04/05/2013 6:54:41 AM PDT by DManA
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To: Sir Napsalot

Page 19,999-Obamacare doesn’t cover “lead posioning!”


13 posted on 04/05/2013 6:56:25 AM PDT by Dr. Ursus
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To: 1rudeboy
This still does not give me a warm and fussy about the Feral government. With idiots like DeGett thinking large capacity magazines are a one use only item and former Governor Dick Lamb saying “Old folks have a duty to die” there is a total credibility problem with the government.
14 posted on 04/05/2013 6:57:17 AM PDT by mountainlion (Live well for those that did not make it back.)
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To: lacrew

They are testing common rounds found by US gun owners against body armor.


15 posted on 04/05/2013 6:57:25 AM PDT by Resolute Conservative
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To: lacrew

Fed law enforcement has apparently trained with hollow point for a long time.

Don’t have the source handy but apparently once the purchases are in large enough quantities the price differential for hollow points gets a lot smaller.

One of the things contributing to the falsehoods and myths surrounding government ammo purchases is that for any conceivable Google search, the first several hundred results are now repeats of all the idiotic panic articles from the blogosphere instead of actual truthful information.


16 posted on 04/05/2013 6:57:38 AM PDT by Strategerist
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To: 1rudeboy
That is exactly what my question was meant for, re: MRAPs.

Why DHS? So far DHS has not come up with an answer.

"The agency also refused to answer questions posed by Congress on the procurement of the armored vehicles...."DHS lies to public; large movement of armored vehicles reported (Granted a few days old 'news').

17 posted on 04/05/2013 6:59:44 AM PDT by Sir Napsalot (Pravda + Useful Idiots = CCCP; JournOList + Useful Idiots = DopeyChangey!)
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To: Sir Napsalot

Good luck with that. I tried a while back to show comparative orders under Bush and now and was shot down. The only thing that changed was going to 5 year contracts versus it was year by year. This does create a bottleneck with the suppliers but it isn’t the crazy, they are prepping for war on us stuff.


18 posted on 04/05/2013 6:59:59 AM PDT by mnehring
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To: Sir Napsalot
nothing but more fear-mongering

Who orchestrating the fear-mongering? What is their motive?

Seems to me these boys are concocting a conspiracy theory in order to puncture a conspiracy theory.

19 posted on 04/05/2013 7:00:17 AM PDT by DManA
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To: DManA

Concur, we are causing the ammo shortage. I have friends that talk about buying ammo like it is rare vintage wine. These same friends kept maybe a few boxes on hand a year ago.


20 posted on 04/05/2013 7:00:44 AM PDT by fini
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