Posted on 05/13/2009 6:03:00 PM PDT by JoeProBono
ROSEBURG, Ore. -- Law enforcement has seen the same problem the general public has with trouble getting ammunition because of the shortage.
Police agencies are in the same boat as everyone else, it's tough to get ammunition.
"We've been told that we can be put on a waiting list, and I've had some distributors just laugh when I've called them to get inquiries about purchasing ammunition," said Roseburg Police Sgt. Aaron Dunbar
The trouble is, officers need the ammo for their daily jobs, and in order to undergo training.
Some agencies change out ammunition about once a year to keep it fresh, so new training tactics are having to be implemented.
Sgt. Dunbar added, "We have actually changed or modified our training practices. We are still going to the range, we are still providing training for our officers, but they are not firing as many rounds when they go to the range. We are also looking at having access to some computer based training."
The budget cuts in our county has put another snag in the equation, because the price of ammo has increased significantly.
Douglas County Sheriff's spokesman Deputy Dwes Hutson says, "We shop around and get the best price. We have to make our dollar go as far as we possibly can, just like everyone else, we are feeling budget cuts and the economy, so we want to make sure we get as much value as possible out of our dollar."
Police officials say they stock up and order early to make sure they have enough.
Qualification varies from state to state. Some are yearly, others every six months. Special assignments may require monthly qualification.
Can’t use reloads because of lawyers. They will claim anything in court to cast doubt. For example, “if it’s a reload, how can you prove an officer didn’t slip his own super killer explosive, mercury filled, rat poisoned hollow point, dum dum reloadsinto his weapon?”
You need a major manufacturer who has lawyers available to answer all their stupid questions, and since you have to have training that is realistic, you should practice with the loads you will carry. Otherwise, there will be another lawsuit.
Actually, this is less of an issue since revolvers were mostly phased out of law enforcement. Automatic pistols require a certain level of power in their ammo to function properly. Revolvers will shoot anything that has enough power to get the bullet out of the barrel. Departments used to save money by buying .38 Special in the cheapest (read wadcutter) lightest target loads for qualifications, and then handing out hot .357 Magnum for carry. Some officers never fired a .357 in practice, or couldn’t qualify with them anyway. Remember, this was with S&W K frame revolvers. Full house .357 loads in these are brutal. S&W came out with the larger “L frame” because the K frames were not holding up to a steady diet of .357
Indeed
I'll wager you'd develop some peculiar behaviors if someone else was footing the bill.
Knew a guy that knew cops that would carry a few spent casings from their revolvers in their pockets...in the event that they had to discard a split case from the +P rounds they kept chambered.
FYI: The 2nd Amendment is SELF-incorporated to all government entities at every level. It is MORE ABSOLUTE than the 1st Amendment, or any of the others, because the wording forbids not only CONGRESS, but ANYONE from infringing on it. The 1st says “Congress shall make no law...”. The 2nd say “shall NOT be infringed!” Period! End of debate!
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