Posted on 05/07/2013 8:40:33 AM PDT by Zakeet
This year, concerns over a federal government bid to purchase large amounts of ammunition sent gun enthusiasts back to the stores. The Department of Homeland Security put out bids for up to 1.2 billion rounds of ammunition, leading many gun enthusiasts, including Sen. Tom Coburn , R-Okla., to question if the agency’s five-year purchase plan was fueling the national shortage.
“These round totals are simply a ceiling,” said Peter Boogard, DHS spokesman, in an email. “It does not mean that DHS will buy, or require, the full amounts of either contract.”
Over the last three fiscal years, the agency, which oversees the U.S. Secret Service, Coast Guard and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, actually bought fewer rounds of ammunition each year. The number of rounds purchased has fallen from 148.3 million in fiscal 2010 to 103.2 million rounds in 2012. The agency, which includes more than 100,000 law enforcement personnel, uses about two-thirds of the ammunition for qualifications or training purposes.
[Snip]
Despite the rush to buy ammunition and guns, household gun ownership among Americans has declined modestly since the 1970s. In 2012, 34 percent of Americans had a gun at home, down from 50 percent in 1973, the first year University of Chicago researchers started tracking gun ownership for the General Social Survey. A 2012 Gallup reported a more modest decline from 50 percent in 1968 to 43 percent last year.
[Snip]
“Our sales are only limited by the amount we can produce,” said Joseph Rupp, Olin chairman and chief executive officer in a conference call last Friday.
Ammunition manufacturers are struggling to make enough and have hundreds of millions of dollars in backorders. They’ve added hundreds of employees and equipment and increased overtime, and, in some cases, are running factories around the clock.
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
Also, the NJ State Police have introduced their own unlawfully imposed waiting period by not answering the phone anymore for NICS checks. They only receive faxes now. current waiting time on a Nation INSTANT Criminal Background check is about 11 days.
A lot of people are making predictions about things getting better in a “few” months, but there is absolutely no reason to believe that. There isn't anything to base that on. I expect things to get worse, because sooner or later they will have another murder to exploit. It seemed things were getting a little better before the Boston Islamic terrorist attacks, but I can't find much lately.
I hope every patriot is able get the supplies they need. It's good to have at least one other cache if possible, but that's not something plausible for many who are doing all they can to get their primary supplies in order. It's pathetic that we can't stop the enormous DHS purchases. They have demonized themselves, and intentionally caused legitimate reasons for distrust and suspicion, in what appears to be an attempt to incite and provoke patriots into making a stupid move for them to crack down on. That's what it looks like to me anyway
www.OathKeepers.org
More of the same, I expect. I stopped at a Walmart last Sunday and walked through the sporting goods department. The only ammo on the shelf was .270, 7mm Remington Magnum and some 20-gauge skeet loads.
Ever since December, some online retailers have shown backorder ETAs on certain ammo as far out as October, 2013. That's based on how much they usually can get their hands on per month, vs. the number of backorders.
I read something about CCI's rimfire ammo production on the CMP forums recently. IIRC, the company can manufacture 8,000 bricks of .22LR per day. If Walmart got *all* of CCI's production, it would average out to less than two bricks of .22 per store, per day (there are over 4,000 Walmart locations). Add in the numerous other ammo vendors and the problem is obvious. Even a little "panic buying" can quickly drain the system. That's why many FReepers used to urge others to BLOAT. No point in offering that advice now, as there is no place where one can Buy Lots Of Ammo Today.
I know. I want to buy another sr9c, but they are pretty hard to find right now.
Do you have something against pollsters? They have their good points and often do useful work.
[I wouldn’t tell any stranger whether I owned firearms, how many I might own (or might have owned before the great boating accident), or which side would have my sympathy if it came to a showdown between an out-of-control government and decent Americans.]
I am glad to hear that.
I have family that live in NJ and, since I have been bugging them about prepping for a couple of years now, they were better prepared than many in that area when Sandy hit. A couple of my relatives also bought guns beforehand.
There’s a gun guy on youtube who runs the Military Arms Channel who said it best, “The police, firemen, and paramedics are not first responders. You are the first responder.” Never heard truer words.
Yes, I think there is a lot of truth in that.
I have not seen anything, anywhere in 9mm(cartridges or reloading) in around 3 months. 45 is available infrequently, good luck.
I have components for a lot of reloads, but even so, I have cut back on practice because it is very difficult to replenish the supplies. I was lucky enough to get a big order of components filled when I saw the loaded ammo disappearing.
We are not even shooting the 9mm autos because we lose too much brass in the grass.
9mm ammo has been expensive and hard to find. It does seem to be getting a bit better as of late. Buying online is your best option.
Yes.
They're nosy little buggers who bother me.
I'm not rude to them; gratuitous rudeness is a bad practice.
I simply hang up on them, if I even bother to answer the phone.
Not everything you see on FreeRepublic is true but after all this time, I have learned to anticipate the direction the wind is blowing by reading different posts. That the shortage was coming was definite more than a year ago. I think a good percentage of FReepers are excellent position.
The state police ALSO give you the song and dance that their is only one person in Trenton that does the forms so it takes a long time. They are also using a fingerprint scam with the scanning print machine. You call after waiting a long time and they tell you that the prints were not good enough and you have to do them over again.When you get your permit for a handgun you usually are called to pick it up a week after the date it becomes valid. That limits you to three weeks to purchase . BUT WAIT THERE’S MORE!In Zoo Jersey you cant get a purchase check done on Sunday so you lose three more days to purchase before the permit expires on top of the week you lost to pick it up.
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