Posted on 03/25/2013 11:36:42 AM PDT by JohnKinAK
The photo above was taken outside our local Academy Sports store just a couple of days ago. This scene is played out at thousands of retailers all across America every day. But why? How and why is this happening? Is this just a function of a public panic over threatened gun control action? A recent Rasmussen poll says 65 percent of Americans see the Second Amendment as protection against tyranny.
There’s been lots of speculation over the last several months about ammo shortages. Consumers are frustrated with long lines and the lack of availability. The most common calibers are increasingly difficult to find. 9mm, .223 cal., 5.56 NATO, .40, cal. and .45 cal. have all but dried up. Prices are up 100 to 200 percent over just two years ago. I recently stood in line for over an hour and a half to purchase the last two 20 round boxes of .45 at a local retailer. I paid just under $30 per box. Two years ago, the same rounds would have cost just over $15, even less online.
Many have pointed to the outrageous quantities of ammo being sought by the Department of Homeland Security. According to a recent article by Breitbart.com columnist Awr Hawkins, the DHS has ordered some 1.9 billion rounds of 9 mm. Last summer, The Blaze reported the Social Security Administration had requested over 174,000 rounds of ammo. Even the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) made substantial purchases in recent months for their Office of Law Enforcement. Who the heck knew NOAA had (or needs) a law enforcement office?
Couple all of this with the private purchases that are increasing day by day and you’ve got a formula for a good old fashioned shortage. Could that actually be part of the governments plan? Think about it. Head on gun control does not work. California Senator Diane Feinstein saw her feeble attempt are reviving the so-called assault weapons ban of the 90′s melt down before her very eyes last week. So what if this rapid-fire buying frenzy on the part of DHS is actually an attempt to corner the market?
What if the government is preparing for some sort of ‘civil unrest’? What’s the plan? Shoot us all? Or what if this is actually DHS’s way of trying to corner the market? What if the idea is to see if it’s actually possible to stress the marketplace to a breaking point. Manufacturers like Winchester and Federal are working at full capacity, 24/7, and still cannot keep pace with current demand. Could this be what Janet Napolitano and the Department of Homeland Security want to test? Sound outrageous to you? Is it any more outrageous than the Social Security Administration or NOAA buying up bullets faster than you can say ‘lock and load’?
Several congressmen have demanded that Napolitano and DHS explain these purchases. So far, Napolitano and company have stonewalled, refusing to answer questions. All this secrecy does is gin up more distrust against Napolitano and DHS. The agency has done little to endear itself to the American public and Napolitano, it seems, could give a damn less. The near all-powerful agency has even gone so far as to set up unannounced ‘checkpoints’ with agents armed with fully automatic weapons. These have been explained as ‘drills’ by DHS. Officials have, so far as we can find, refused to elaborate further. Do you believe the ammo shortages could be an orchestrated effort by DHS to stress ammo supplies, creating a backdoor form of gun control? Take our poll now.
There really is no ‘natural reason’ for the ammo shortage. I can understand most everyone being scared to death, but their fear should be directed toward semi-auto firearms and high cap magazines. Not ammo. There has been no real discussion about doing ANYTHING to regulate or make ammo more difficult to get.
The only think I can think of is more people than ever are buying guns, and those people are wanting to shoot them, and lots of people that have always had guns, but never stocked up on ammo are doing so now. I’ve BEEN well stocked on everything, EXCEPT .22, because I’ve always taken for granted that .22 would be there and inexpensive.....WRONG...
No, it’s simple supply and demand + panic.
If and when the SHTF, food is going to be just as difficult to get....
I posted a few weeks ago that the gov’t buying up ammo in large quantities would lead to a planned shortage by the gov’t....today, would not put it past them....
The shortage is due mostly to panic buying and associated hoarding, like the supermarket buying just before a snow storm.
If and when the SHTF, food is going to be just as difficult to get....
Yes that’s the lesson to be learned here, I think.
The big question on the gun and ammo panic is - why the sudden panic?
http://tsiya.smugmug.com/Other/SMALL-SHOTS/27997217_d86GJG#!i=2425256822&k=4TWmqjs&lb=1&s=A
The truth is that the only time you cannot have too much ammo is when you are on fire.
Even that is conditional upon the quality of your fire suppression system
Wouldn’t this sort of behavior make DHS guilty of violations of RICO?
I wouldn’t put it past this administration to do such a thing. I understand the tendency to want to go out and buy as much ammo as one can reasonably afford, as I have been guilty of that myself (even though my ammo supply was already at a good level). I suppose the best approach is incrementally buying a box here and there, and expending less ammo when you target shoot, focusing mostly on accuracy and well-placed shots. Generally those of us who think in regards to preparing for the worst are usually already stocked up decently on ammo, so redirecting our limited financial resources to gradually stocking up on some food and supplies seems to be the wisest course of action. If SHTF, what good will thousands of rounds of ammo and the latest in tactical gear do you, if you’re too weak with hunger to fight or think clearly?
The question is, will Janet’s DHS fire upon American citizens when ordered to do so.. Hmmmm.. Not so sure about that. They all have their own families who are the American citizens.
The shortage is too widespread to be by design.
There are shortages of everything firearms related. Guns, gun parts, brass casings, powder, primers, bullets, gun accessories, magazines and almost everything firearms connected.
And the other 35% are ignorant, stupid or both.
An email from a friend
MARLIN FIREARMS CLOSING ITS DOORS
Even if you do not own a gun you
need to know this. I checked this out on “Truth or Fiction” who verified
it. I trust them more than Snopes.
Marlin Firearms is already closing
its doors! They are doing it to us, America! This needs to be spread to
all gun owners and sportsmen/women. We cannot rely on the media to inform us of these types of matters.
Something
you may not know that Is happening ... Who is buying the company’s
manufacturing guns??? For the last several years a company called The
Freedom Group has been buying up gun and ammunition manufacturers. Some
of the companies are Bushmaster, Marlin, Remington, DPMS, Dakota Arms
and H&R. Some people worry that this Freedom Group is going to
control most of the firearms companies in the United States. If you
control the manufacturers you can decide to stop selling to civilians.
What a perfect way to control guns. Now if you do some digging you will see that The Freedom Group is owned by a company called Cerberus Capital Management. Guess who controls Cerberus??? GEORGE SOROS,
Obama’s chief financier!! He wants to restrict or ban all civilian
guns. Please pass this on to all your freedom loving friends. This needs
to come out. Why have we not heard about this in the “mainstream”
media? I would think this would be BIG news. (Soros also owns Progressive Insurance). If you don’t know who George Soros is, you need to do some research. This One-World Government atheist backed Obama with millions of dollars and Obama is a
puppet on a string controlled by Soros.
Answer: Given the trash allowed to hold office in the Federal Government the shortage could be by design.
Winchester and Federal should stop filling government orders, and start shipping to the civilian market.
Soros has no involvement with Cerberus or Freedon Arms.
Period.
Multiple reasons for ammo shortages:
7) Increased regulation of lead - many producers found themselves buried in paperwork after many states tightened regulation of manufacturing products containing lead. A couple California producers I knew used to buy almost all of their lead from various roofing companies, buying the waste and then re-using them in bullets. Apparently, this was considered improper disposal of hazardous waste.
6) Increase in the price of lead. Lead shot up in price for a while there, doubling in less than a month, tripling over the course of three months. Many manufacturers assumed this was a temporary blip in the market, refrained from buying, and then found that their normally steady sources had found other places to sell, and their supply was impacted.
5) Insurance costs. Most ammo makers found their insurance tripling three years ago, as ammo manufacturing was re-categorized in the insurance industry. A number of manufacturers simply stopped when the costs became more than profits.
4) Four major distributors of ammo in the United States went out of business over a two year period, with all of their existing stock sold off at fire sale prices. This flood of ammo into the market made it hard for existing manufacturers to sell their products, and those who were able to weather out the bottom falling out the market found that demand far outstripped their ability to produce.
3) Production of brass fell through the floor as costs increased beyond what the brass was worth on the market, causing a number of brass manufacturers to cease production, slack that the market desperately needs right now.
2) Primer production fell dramatically after two explosions at factories, with several manufactures facing increased inspection and attention, including from OSHA. A couple were effectively fined out of existence for doing the same things they’ve done since they opened without a single accident, simply because the OSHA inspector felt it should be done a different way.
The list goes on and on, but of course, the number one reason: Obama is president, and everyone feared intensified regulation, a fear that was justified.
People are not calm and rational when it comes to this stuff. They're reacting to the way the political winds have been blowing, and every new gun purchased has triggered additional ammo purchases. People who got to the gun shop a bit too late saw either bare shelves or guns priced out of their reach - so they bought more ammo for the guns they already owned.
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