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Meet Captain Crunch, the Pentagon's Gun-Eating Machine
popularmechanics ^ | March 7, 2016 | Kyle Mizokami

Posted on 03/08/2016 12:54:34 PM PST by PROCON


The Department of Defense is responsible for millions of guns, from sniper rifles to pistols. Inevitably, at some point the Pentagon no longer wants them. What happens to the weapons then?

They're fed to Captain Crunch, a giant crusher that turns military firearms into scrap metal.

Captain Crunch was put into operation in August 1993 as an efficient way to destroy unwanted firearms. Located at Anniston Army Depot in Alabama and operated by the Defense Logistics Agency, the Captain is an enormous shredder using intertwined blades that turns weapons made of wood, steel, aluminum and plastic into large pieces of junk.

Guns are fed onto a conveyor belt, which then dumps them into The Captain's gnashing maw. What's left is cut up with blowtorches to make sure it cannot be used to assemble a firearm and turned into scrap. The part with the serial number—the firearm's receiver—must be totally obliterated for the gun to be officially considered destroyed. The scrap in turn is sold to civilian buyers, which by 2007 was generating $12 million a year in sales.

(Excerpt) Read more at popularmechanics.com ...


TOPICS: Chit/Chat
KEYWORDS: banglist; governmentwaste; guns; pentagon; taxdollarsdowntoilet; tentrilliondebt
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The video at the link is heartbreaking to watch.
1 posted on 03/08/2016 12:54:34 PM PST by PROCON
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To: PROCON

What ever to the civilian marksmanship program (CMP)?


2 posted on 03/08/2016 12:55:40 PM PST by 2banana (My common ground with terrorists - they want to die for islam and we want to kill them)
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To: PROCON

I imagine U.S. leftist literally have an “O” watching this.


3 posted on 03/08/2016 12:56:58 PM PST by fwdude
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To: PROCON

That particular piece of machinery needs to be dismantled and thrown into a shredder itself.

The DoD can make LOTS more money selling surplus arms.


4 posted on 03/08/2016 12:58:05 PM PST by Ancesthntr ("The right to buy weapons is the right to be free." A. E. van Vogt)
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To: PROCON

Back in the 1970s my late father in law was a detective and any guns confiscated during a arrest were taken to the Allenport,PA Steel Mill and melted down. He told me trunk loads of handguns,shotguns,and rifles were thrown in the batch.


5 posted on 03/08/2016 12:58:35 PM PST by 4yearlurker (Happy Saint Paddys Day!)
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To: PROCON

Just a coincidence this began with the dawn of the Clinton Era?


6 posted on 03/08/2016 12:59:45 PM PST by nascarnation (RIP Scalia. Godspeed)
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To: 4yearlurker

I bet a lot of those “destroyed” firearms are still in the hands of retired Pennsylvania cops.


7 posted on 03/08/2016 1:00:07 PM PST by MeganC (The Republic of The United States of America: 7/4/1776 to 6/26/2015 R.I.P.)
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To: PROCON

When I was employed at a steel foundry in Louisiana, back in the day, the LEO’s would bring truckloads of guns that we put in our arc furnace.

Yes, it was heartbreaking to see many classic firearms be destroyed for no particular reason that I could fathom..


8 posted on 03/08/2016 1:00:27 PM PST by Cold Heat
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To: PROCON
NOooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!
9 posted on 03/08/2016 1:00:52 PM PST by justlittleoleme
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To: PROCON

Once the liberals/socialists/commies get the guns thrown into CPT Crunch, Christians, Conservatives, white people go in next.....to lube it up.


10 posted on 03/08/2016 1:00:54 PM PST by DCBryan1 (No realli, moose bytes can be quite nasti!)
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To: nascarnation
I'm sure President Hillary, (*shudder*) will make good use of it.
11 posted on 03/08/2016 1:01:39 PM PST by PROCON
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To: PROCON
unwanted firearms

Sacrilege! Two words that don't go together.

12 posted on 03/08/2016 1:02:24 PM PST by Disambiguator
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To: Ancesthntr

Yes, but it would then be ruining the AR15 clone cottage industry.
Imagine dropping millions of M16’s into the civilian market.


13 posted on 03/08/2016 1:02:52 PM PST by buwaya
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To: PROCON

In the mid 90s Clinton ordered the destruction of hundreds of thousands M1 Garands, carbines and M14s that could have gone to the CMP.


14 posted on 03/08/2016 1:05:03 PM PST by Blood of Tyrants (Liberals are the Taliban of America, trying to tear down any symbol that they don't like.)
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To: Blood of Tyrants
I LOVED shooting and drilling with the M-14/sigh
15 posted on 03/08/2016 1:06:38 PM PST by PROCON
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To: PROCON

They couldn’t find good homes for these? Did they even try adoption?

Just terrible.

This country is going down the tubes.


16 posted on 03/08/2016 1:07:32 PM PST by Sapwolf (Talkers are usually more articulate than doers, since talk is their specialty. -Sowell)
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To: PROCON

Blowtorches? Really? I somehow think that the author does not know what a blowtorch is.


17 posted on 03/08/2016 1:07:59 PM PST by loungitude (The truth hurts.)
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To: PROCON

Plenty of people would buy them if allowed to. Get a hell of a lot more than 12 milion a year.


18 posted on 03/08/2016 1:11:36 PM PST by Secret Agent Man (Gone Galt; Not averse to Going Bronson.)
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To: Blood of Tyrants

Yes, the M-14s were particularly problematic. A few early examples that were welded-up to prevent full-auto function did slip out to private owners, but BATF soon stepped in and halted that practice. A few creative gunsmiths even built functioning M1As out of re-welded receiver scraps (not something I’d be inclined to trust). Again, BATF stopped that. “Once a machinegun, always a machinegun”, according to the jackbooted ones.


19 posted on 03/08/2016 1:12:49 PM PST by Charles Martel (Endeavor to persevere...)
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To: PROCON

Many of the guns are no longer serviceable due to wear and tear and may not be safe for the public.

When I was in, the Baretta M9 was rated for 10k rounds before de-mil due to metal fatigue. Range guns go to the capt. crunch pretty fast.

All of serviceable parts should be sold to the public. We paid for them once and we aught to have the option to buy them.


20 posted on 03/08/2016 1:14:44 PM PST by 94Revolution (Get it right this time)
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