I was told that each federal agent must shoot something like 25,000 rounds a year at the practice range as part of job skill maintenance. As there are about 20,000 of these people.....do the math. It’s a lot of rounds, but harmless in intent.
I’d be wary of flying pigs crapping on my head before I would ever believe that each federal agent fired 25,000 rounds per year for practice/qualification. If, for the sake of argument, that each magazine held 10 rounds, that would make 2,500 magazines per agent fired. Say, for the sake of argument, that each agent practiced/qualified once a month, that would be 200+ magazines per month fired. NONSENSE!
500 rounds a week on average? Not credible.
Moonrunner - I was a Fed - We qualified four times a year - 60 rounds each time - plus we were given a box of 50 as practice ammo. Those who shoot more are SWAT type teams, and even then the average agent does not fire near 25,000 rounds. 25,000 rounds would be fired by those testing an arm proposed for adoption by his service.
Most firearms will not last even 10,000 rounds before they become too worn for practical use and become dangerous.
These supplies are being stockpiled for use in suppressing anticipated civilian insurrections in the next three years. Large numbers of Government officials are thinking along the same lines as the most paranoid survivalists. I have met some of them. They also have fiscal year-end budgets to spend down. Why not place that order?
And while the prospects of a mob sacking the offices at NOAA (what???, they have an armory for the weather guessers??) are somewhat unlikely, the odds of a violent confrontation at the Social Security office are well within betting range.
The Child Support Agency in my metro area already has a very polite and conspicuously armed receptionist at their main location. Discreetly armed guards roam the perimeters. They do know the inclinations of their clientle.
That ammo dump at NOAA is definitely surplus to requirements though. It will probably be diverted to supply one of the pro-government citizen militias that are organized when the military becomes unreliable.
I was a hard practicing competative IPSC shooter in the 90’s. I put a little under 100,000 rounds out of my favorite racegun in just a few years. I had an indoor range to myself most of the time and spent a couple hours a day practicing. It was hard work, with a lot of focus on good quality practice. To get over a couple thousand rounds a month of good practice, unless that is all I did for several days a week, was nearly impossible without just wasting ammo. That’s with 27 round magazines, fast guns and fast targets, virtually unlimited ammo available.
Yes, you can hose away and put a lot more down range, and sometimes I did. But even a government agency like NOAA cannot take half trained non tactical team members and have them use up even a small portion of the ammo bought.
Not saying there is a conspiracy. But even if there were, your average half trained gov’t bureaucratic desk driving idjit with a handgun is not much of a threat (other than maybe to each other). Yeah, the military, FBI, HRT, and many LEO special weapons teams are good at their trade and practice a lot. Anyone else is going to mostly be in the way.
My friends that work for the feds that do real criminal investigative work qualify four times a year. I have shot their course and it doesn’t come anywhere near 25000 rounds. Or ever 250 rounds.
They can, however, shoot up to 16 times a year if they wish but few do.
Also, if fed shot 25000 rounds a year, that would be in excess of the life expectancy of the pistol they were issued. They would get a new weapon every year.
Something else is going on with those rounds being purchased....