Free Republic

FRANKFORT, Ky. (June 30, 2017) – ShellTech LLC, a newly formed high-volume manufacturing subsidiary of Shell Shock Technologies LLC, plans to locate an ammunition shell casing factory in Pulaski County with a $3.2 million investment that will create 50 full-time jobs, Gov. Matt Bevin announced today. “Kentucky welcomes this investment by ShellTech, the newest member of our state’s booming engineering and manufacturing sector,” Gov. Bevin said. “Their decision to locate in the commonwealth and bring excellent jobs to our communities, reflects positively on our state. I am grateful for their site selection and look forward to their success in the...

Proper ammo storage can be the difference between function and failure. Use the tips in this guide to rest assured you can rely on your ammo when it matters most. Awesome, you have ammo. Now, if you’re not shooting it all in one range trip, how can you keep it to make sure your ammunition will fire reliably the next time you need it? Whether you’re keeping some hunting rounds on hand, stockpiling hard to find calibers or just want to be prepared for an end of the world scenario, it’s always great to have a stash of some sort....

Vista is the corporation that owns CCI and Federal brands. They have been increasing production of .22 rimfire ammunition. It was expected to be ramped up 20% this year.Following the election of President Trump, demand for ammunition has dropped. According to an article from Lewiston, Idaho, Vista has laid off employees in both the Lewiston and the Anoka, Minnesota ammunition plant locations.  From the postregister.com: The number of people who work at Vista Outdoor’s ammunition-making operations has been shifting since February. A month-long voluntary, temporary furlough for about 100 Lewiston employees ends Thursday and will bring the number of...

Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke signed a Secretarial Order on Thursday repealing the lead ammunition ban issued the day before Barack Obama left office. It is interesting to note that Thursday was Zinke’s first day as Interior Secretary and repealing the onerous ban one of his first actions.

North Carolina State University Professor Afsaneh Rabiei led the team that created the amazing foam. This is not ordinary foam like the kind used for shaving, for example. This is a special type of foam called composite metal foams, or CMF. The military and law enforcement could use this kind of foam for advanced, ultra light body armor to protect personnel. And this research team has other foams up its sleeve that have the potential to keep military and first responders safe from radiation and extreme heat too. BULLET V. FOAM Sound impossible that foam-based armor could stop armor piercing...

I have been monitoring the local WalMart to see if the .22 bubble shows any sign of deflating.  A heavy winter visitor presence has returned to Yuma.  I have not seen any .22 long rifle in WalMart for months. This afternoon was different.  I stopped at the store, and made my usual inspection of the ammunition counter.  There were thousands of .22 LR cartridges for sale, most of them in bulk packs.  Bulk packs are the preferred purchase of people who are buying the ammunition for resale, or simply to stock up.  All of the .22 ammunition there was...

The US Homeland Security has warned airports all over the world against suspicious stuffed items among luggage after US intelligence concluded that Al-Qaeda operatives are being trained to conceal 'nitrocellulose' bombs inside them, reports said on Tuesday. Intelligence officials have confiscated Al-Qaeda manuals and picked up several indications that the network is attempting to create a chemical called nitrocellulose to fashion explosive devices that could be smuggled aboard jetliners, The Washington Post quoted Homeland officials as saying. "We judge this type of threat to be real and continuing. We have received reports from several credible, independent sources that Al-Qaeda is...

Saw them recommended on Instapundit and went to take a look at their webpage. I shoot mostly 9mm, .223 and a little 30-06 and their prices beat anything I can get locally. Any pros/cons from freepers who've used them??

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Director Dan Ashe, an Obama appointee, ordered a new ammunition ban for certain federal lands on Thursday–his last full day in office. The ban, which took effect immediately, eliminates the use of lead-based ammunition on federal lands like national parks and wildlife refuges, as well as any other land administered by the Fish and Wildlife Service. The ban is expected to have a major impact on much of the hunting that takes place on federal lands across the United States as lead-based ammunition is widely legal and used throughout the country. Ashe said the order...

Official: Airport shooting suspect could be 'home-grown violent extremist' Suspect identified as Esteban Santiago By Jeff Tavss - Executive Producer Posted: 4:15 PM, January 06, 2017 FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. - Within hours of a shooting that left 5 dead and many injured at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, details emerged about the alleged suspect. Sen. Bill Nelson was first to identify the suspect as Esteban Santiago, 26. Santiago was apprehended without a fight and suffered no injuries. The FBI and Broward Sheriff's Office are interrogating Santiago at the airport and trying to determine his motives. A former member of the military,...

Woman found two guns in a violin case along Potomac River in Washington D.C.Police found more guns and ammunition stashed in pails and bags nearbyAuthorities were trying to work out why the weapons were left there The D.C. police bomb squad conducted a sweep of the area soon afterA number of weapons, including two guns in a violin case, have been found stashed along the Potomac River in Washington D.C. U.S. Park Police said a woman walking in the woods near the C&O Canal, which runs along the river, found the case on Wednesday. When police arrived they found...

In the run up to the 2016 election, the price of .22 ammunition has been fluctuating up and down around 6 cents a cartridge for baseline bulk ammunition.  The reasons are clear.  Production of .22 ammunition is up by about two billion rounds a year, responding to over the top demand for the last four years. Part of the demand is structural.  Many new gun owners and shooters have been created.  Many of the younger members were raised on first person shooter games like Doom, Golden Eye, Battlefield, and Call of Duty. People in the industry have reported that...

Is firing a 5.56 NATO cartridge in your .223 Remington chambered AR15 dangerous? Or do Internet forum-ninjas and ammunition companies selling you commercial ammo instead of surplus overstate the dangers? Believe it or not, a real danger exists, and some gun owners who think they are doing the right thing may not be safe. The Cartridges The .223 Remington and 5.56×45 NATO cartridges are very similar, and externally appear the same. But there are some differences that lie beneath the surface. The 5.56 case has thicker walls to handle higher pressures, meaning the interior volume of the case is smaller...

Fellow Conservative, This is not a drill. The Obama administration just implemented a new regulatory change that has sent the entire firearms industry into a tailspin overnight. A key ingredient necessary for making gunpowder has been re-classified as a high explosive, making it illegal for any company within the industry to transport or store it as they have for decades. It all stems from how the ATF regulates a chemical compound known as nitrocellulose. For decades, the firearm industry has been allowed to store and transport wetted nitrocellulose without having to treat it as a high explosive. Manufacturers deliberately mix...

In 2008 and 2012 the firearms industry saw a surge in both gun and ammo sales thanks to the presidential election, and while this cycle is no different for gun sales — in fact, this maybe a record year — ammo is a different story. Mark DeYoung, chief executive officer of Vista Outdoor, a conglomerate of shooting and outdoor brands said consumers just aren’t buying up ammunition like they had in those years. “As you’ll recall, we were out of stock,” he said during a conference call with investors last week. He thinks consumers built up a vast inventory...

By Dean Weingarten I chanced to be at the local WalMart in Yuma today.  This is the store on the frontage road off of old Highway 8, East of town.  Until Friday, June 24, 2016, I had not seen any .22 Long Rifle in the store for three years.On that date, there were 2,300 rounds of CCI Mini-Mags and 1,000 rounds of CCI Standard Velocity.  The Mini-Mags were in plastic 100 round boxes at $7.47 a box.  The Standard Velocity were in paper, 50 round boxes at $3.47 a box.  I was told by the clerk, Yittzel, that they would...

An online poll is running in the San Diego Union Tribune in California.  It is currently at 39% for and 60% against.   This poll is a little different in that it is about ammunition instead of firearms.  It is a clear Second Amendment issue, so it will be interesting to see how it goes.Here is a link to the poll. Online polls measure intensity. They are not scientific in sampling.  They measure how many people feel strongly enough to answer an internet poll about a particular issue.  They measure intensity pretty well.  It is common to see Second Amendment...

Governor Jerry Brown has signed into law SB 1225.  It is a lengthy, extremely restrictive law regulating the sale of ammunition in California.  It is so restrictive, that it might not hold up in court.  Challenges to the law may have to wait.  The law only goes into effect *if* the very broad, very anti-Second Amendment proposition "Safety for All Act of 2016" is not approved of by the voters.  So this bill, and several others signed by Governor Brown, do not go into effect *unless* voters refuse to approve of the anti-Second Amendment  "Safety for All Act". What...

A little more than a week ago, I was in the local Yuma WalMart.  There are three, but I primarily visit one.  Last Friday, I was surprised to find 2300 rounds of CCI Mini-mag .22 Long Rifle cartridges and 1,000 rounds of Standard Velocity CCI .22 Long Rifle cartridges for sale.  The clerk, Yittzel, told me that it was unusual, but they saw .22 come in about once a month.  She said it would be gone quickly.  I had not seen .22 ammunition in the store for three years. Yittzel tempered this by saying it appeared to be coming...

When I go to the local WalMart in Yuma (there are three), I check to see if there is any .22 ammunition.  At some point, increased production and falling demand should cross, allowing for more .22 on the shelves. At the WalMart on Frontage road, toward the Foothills, I was surprised to see .22 ammunition.  It was the first time in three years.There were 2,300 rounds of CCI Mini-Mags and 1,000 rounds of CCI Standard Velocity.  The Mini-Mags were in plastic 100 round boxes at $7.47 a box.  The Standard Velocity were in paper, 50 round boxes at $3.47...