The Great DHS Ammunition Stockpile Myth

http://www.breitbart.com ^ | 4/4/13 | Tom Stilson

[Lucky9teen]

There are dozens of articles hyping government purchases of ammunition over the last nine months. After spending weeks researching this topic, this is a collection of commonly held myths that are based more on panic than fact. 

With the recent release of a letter from the Department of Homeland Security to Senator Coburn, the numbers we calculated independently seem to corroborate the narrative coming from DHS. The concerns surrounding DHS stockpiling ammunition are nothing but more fear-mongering and largely unwarranted. For once, here are the facts to set the record straight:

MYTH: DHS purchased 750 million rounds of several different types of ammunition in August 2012.

FACT: The DHS contract never stated 750 million rounds at any time. It is a five year contract with a maximum purchase of 70 million rounds over the life of the contract. Military Times recently addressed this issue as well.

[Lucky9teen]

Good to know...and believable, since Breitbart is reporting it.

[wita]

Maybe so but the laws of supply and demand are working quite well, and there is very little affordable ammunition available, nor is there much for affordable reloading commponants available either. Have you looked for AR bare receivers, or AR parts. Sure glad I built mine two years ago.

[wita]

commponants - prime example of no spell check.

[demshateGod]

I’ve been looking since January and I can say prices and availability are becoming more favorable.

[rhubarbk]

This may be true so why is there no ammunition to be found? Go to any online firearm/amunition resource and they all say out of stock on ammo. One site, Georgia Arms, says their production backlog is running 2-9 months out.

[Obama_Is_Sabotaging_America]

So, ammo shortages are induced by a panicked public?

[Sawdring]

There is plenty of ammo at Gunbroker.com.

[Longbow1969]

Really glad Breitbart is the source here debunking these ammo conspiracy theories. The hardcore conspiracy folks are going to have a hard time letting go though, so I am betting this will have to be posted hundreds of times.

[E. Pluribus Unum]

I predict a glut of ammo in about eighteen months.

[STD]

It's still much more than DHS needs for normal situations and routine circumstances. Why, unless trying to provoke people are they still taking away Second Amendment rights not privileges? They push it way too far, expecting a backlash?

Only to pounce upon us with carefully disguised shooting incidents. If Lanza killed those kids then Fast & Furious was a local initiative. I don't buy it. The kid collected cheap Japanese swords, pellet guns and decorative spears. He owned a Starter's Pistol for Pete's sake?

[Joe Brower]

From Breitbart. Read the comments below the article.

[ZULU]

Does the government buy .22 rounds?

THESE seem in most shortage. I can’t find them anywhere.

[DJ MacWoW]

'Weapons of war have no place on our streets,' US President Barack Obama said on February 4, 2013

REALLY?

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[NVDave]

Basically.

Look, it isn’t just ammo. It isn’t just AR’s and AR components.

It’s EVERYTHING.

I make rifles from mil-surp actions and new custom barrels. Want to know how long I’m waiting for a barrel these days? About 3X what I used to wait in 2010. There are some barrel makers (Krieger) who are out to 27+ weeks for a barrel - that used to be available in four to six weeks.

That’s for a barrel that you need a gunsmith to:

1. Cut to length.
2. Chamber.
3. Thread to the action.
4. Crown.
5 (sometimes) turn to the desired OD and profile.

That’s like three to four hours of work on a lathe (and possibly 20 minutes more on a mill for Springfields and Winchesters) - obviously not something that some amateur is going to do on his/her own, like cramming AR parts together into a useable gun.

The only guns that are readily available are Mosin’s, and even then the spam-can ammo has disappeared.

People are buying almost anything and everything that launches a bullet.

[WhiskeyX]

Phone calls to two gun shops about the availability of black powder received responses saying some black powder was available for immdeiate purchasee, but it was in short supply tto the dealers.

[ez]

Yep. Finally found .223 this am at .50 a round...the price I’ve been waiting for. Two weeks ago I couldn’t find any under .90. Things are loosening up as the 1000’s of new Obama-inspired gun owners are finally getting their supplies laid in.

[LibLieSlayer]

GunBroker is where all of the walmart employees are selling their ammo that was purchased before it ever hit the shelves.

LLS

[TigersEye]

Tin foil cannot be defeated!

[ez]

Lots of folks (like me) bought new .22 rifles since December and needed to fill their gun cabinets. .22 is becoming available but the price is still very high. ($90-150 for a brick)

[ricmc2175]

One of the commenters asked” Then what about the MRAPs and I would add the No Hesitation targets with pregnant white women, old white people and white kids DHS is using for target practice. This is all of a piece, in my humble opinion. If the government is using HP ammunition for target practice which is more than twice as expensive as ball ammunition, then they could save enough by switching to open the White House to tours again.