Free Republic

Russian production of missiles and ammunition is thriving even in the face of Western sanctions, with military manufacturing outpacing even pre-war levels in the country, The New York Times reported this week. Western officials worry an increased stockpile of Russian artillery could mean an exceptionally dark and cold winter for Ukraine if Russia ramps up its attacks on civilian and energy infrastructure in Kyiv and beyond, according to the outlet.

CLAY, N.Y. — On September 13, gun owners in New York State will have to go through a background check every time they want to buy ammunition and those background checks aren't free. The news about the state implementing changes. didn’t exactly thrill Syracuse Pistol Club president Bill Bender, "Everybody is concerned. The dealers are concerned because they have received no information from the state police yet." It will be $9 for the firearm background fee and $2.50 for the ammunition fee. The money will go towards the New York State Police to perform those checks, “Now the governor and...

The Biden administration will for the first time send controversial armor-piercing munitions containing depleted uranium to Ukraine, according to a document seen by Reuters and separately confirmed by two U.S. officials. The rounds, which could help destroy Russian tanks, are part of a new military aid package for Ukraine set to be unveiled in the next week. The munitions can be fired from U.S. Abrams tanks that, according to a person familiar with the matter, are expected be delivered to Ukraine in the coming weeks.

A dual citizen of France and Canada pleaded guilty on Wednesday to sending letters containing homemade ricin to then-President Donald Trump at the White House and eight Texas law enforcement officials. Pascale Cecile Veronique Ferrier sent threatening letters containing the poison in September 2020, according to the plea agreement filed in a Washington, DC, federal court. According to the agreement, Ferrier made ricin at her home in Quebec, Canada, and put the poison in letters addressed to Trump and the Texas officials.... ...After sending the letters from Canada, Ferrier was arrested when trying to cross the border into the US...

A Quebec woman was sentenced to 22 years in prison Thursday after sending letters containing ricin to former President Trump in 2020. Pascale Ferrier, 55, pleaded guilty in January to making ricin in her home and mailing Trump and eight Texas law enforcement officials threatening letters laced with it. The toxin is made from waste material left over from processing castor beans. She faced a charge of prohibitions with respect to biological weapons in Washington, D.C., and eight counts of the same charge in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas. She agreed to have the Texas...

If one only gave the announcement a quick glance, a person might think recent news from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) was actually a plus for America’s hunters and anglers. After all, the release’s title reads, “U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Promotes Public Access to Hunting and Fishing.” The very first paragraph states: “Continuing the Biden-Harris administration’s efforts to increase recreational access on public lands, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced today 48 new distinct hunting opportunities on approximately 3,000 acres nationwide in the National Wildlife Refuge System.” Good news, huh? Things get problematic, though, once a...

On July 18th, 2023, Judge Roger T. Benitez heard statements from opposing attorneys on the former Rhode v Becerra, now Rhode v. Bonta lawsuit. There were no objections to combining the hearing on the preliminary injunction with the trial on the merits. This case was vacated by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals and sent back to Judge Benitez because of the Bruen decision at the Supreme Court. The Rhodes v Bonta case deals with the Draconian restrictions which California enacted on the sale of ammunition within the state and on the importation of ammunition from other states into California....

John Kirby appears on Fox News Sunday 7-16-23. (Credit: Fox News) The entire world knows that the United States is low on firepower because President Joe Biden acted on his inexplicable desire to blurt out such information on CNN, telling Fareed Zakaria, “This is a war relating to munitions. And [Ukraine]… is running out of that ammunition, and we’re low on it.”He also maintained that the shortage was one reason behind the controversial decision to send cluster munitions to Ukraine.Now the U.S. is scrambling to strengthen stockpiles, according to John Kirby, coordinator for strategic communications at the National Security...

Democrat President Joe Biden has committed the biggest blunder in the history of modern warfare. But the blame is not his alone, however, as Congress, led by Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), deserves some of it too. According to multiple media reports, and Biden’s own mouth, we are running out of ammunition because Ukraine is hoovering it all up. Biden is also running the strategic oil reserve low for political reasons but running out of munitions is beyond the pale. And begs the question, what are we getting for our nearly trillion-dollar-a-year defense budget? Russia spends a fraction of what we...

President Biden sat down for a recent interview in which he said the United States is low on 155 mm artillery ammunition rounds, sparking outrage and questions of competency from conservatives on social media. During the interview, which aired Sunday morning, Biden defended his administration for sending cluster munitions to Ukraine as a "transition period" until more munitions are produced. "This is a war relating to munitions. And they’re running out of that ammunition, and we’re low on it," Biden told CNN's Fareed Zakaria. "And so, what I finally did, I took the recommendation of the Defense Department to –...

The Biden administration announced Thursday that it is moving ahead with prohibitions on the type of equipment hunters are allowed to use on federal refuges, a move strongly opposed by sportsmen groups. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) released its 2023-2024 hunting and fishing rule — an annual plan laying out regulations for the upcoming hunting season — banning cost-effective lead ammunition and fishing tackle across eight national wildlife refuges by 2026. Such an action has been supported by eco groups, but opposed by hunters, who argue that it could serve as a backdoor attack on hunting broadly. "This...

Multiple Massive Explosions have rocked the City of Pavlohrad in the Donetsk Region of Eastern Ukraine; Initial Reports that Russian S-300 Missiles have struck a Rail Yard and a Ukrainian Arms Depot on the Outskirts of the City. Russian Sources are claiming that the Explosions at the Rail Yard near the City of Pavlohrad were the result of a Missile Strike against 2 Divisions of up to 16 S-300 Launchers including Ammunition that was heading towards the Front; so far there is No Visual Evidence of this.

About once a week, I visit a local Walmart to monitor ammunition prices. This time, there was a significant change. Walmart rolled back the price of some bulk-packed .22 LR ammunition. The product was Federal Automatch, 40 grain, in a 325 bulk pack. The price was $18.97 or 5.8 cents per cartridge. The price had been $21.16, or 6.5 cents per cartridge. This is roughly a 10% reduction in the price. Most days, this correspondent will look at ammunition prices online. They are not quite as good an indicator because shipping costs must be included. Everyone online now charges state...

Officials said Monday the Pentagon seeks to overhaul the way it buys munitions, requesting $30.6 billion in funding from Congress to scale up orders for the varieties of weapons needed to confront China. Surging security assistance to Ukraine has depleted U.S. weapons stockpiles and exposed a need to rethink how the Pentagon procures short, medium, and long-range munitions from defense...

With the war in Ukraine entering its second year — and the U.S. continuing to provide the embattled country with military aid in the form of rockets, guns and ammunition — the Pentagon is stepping up production of critically-needed supplies. Cancian said Ukraine's use of artillery shells far outstrips the Pentagon's capacity to make them. Precision-fired munitions for the long-range HIMARS system are another need, so Lockheed Martin is gearing up to turn out one new rocket every 10 minutes at its plant in Arkansas. And with the U.S. struggling to keep Ukraine supplied in its fight against a decrepit...

BRUSSELS (AP) – NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg warned Monday that Ukraine is using up ammunition far faster than its allies can provide it and putting pressure on Western defense industries, just as Russia ramps up its military offensive. “The war in Ukraine is consuming an enormous amount of munitions and depleting allied stockpiles,” Stoltenberg said. “The current rate of Ukraine´s ammunition expenditure is many times higher than our current rate of production. This puts our defense industries under strain.” According to some estimates, Ukraine is firing up to 6,000-7,000 artillery shells each day, around a third of the daily amount...

WASHINGTON — The Pentagon is racing to boost its production of artillery shells by 500 percent within two years, pushing conventional ammunition production to levels not seen since the Korean War as it invests billions of dollars to make up for shortfalls caused by the war in Ukraine and to build up stockpiles for future conflicts. The effort, which will involve expanding factories and bringing in new producers, is part of “the most aggressive modernization effort in nearly 40 years” for the U.S. defense industrial base, according to an Army report. The new investment in artillery production is in part...

HALLS, Tenn. (WVLT/Gray News) - Tennessee authorities say a store employee has died in a robbery Thursday morning. According to the Knox County Sheriff’s Office, deputies responded to a Rural King retail store regarding a shooting at about 10:30 a.m. Authorities said the shooting occurred after a man was attempting to take ammunition and other items from the store when an employee intervened. WVLT reports the alleged shoplifter and employee got into a struggle with the suspect shooting and killing the worker. Authorities said the suspected shooter took off from the scene after the shooting. The sheriff’s office did not...

The city confirms nine of the 10 staff members at the shooting complex have lead levels above the normal range. HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) -- The city has no timeline for when Oahu’s only public shooting range will reopen as an investigation into elevated lead levels in the majority of workers at the facility begins. The city confirmed nine of 10 staff members at the shooting complex who were tested have lead levels above the normal range. Two additional staff members declined to get tested. A timeline of exactly when the city first became aware current employees had been exposed to lead...

On June 30, 2022, the Heller Foundation, along with Dick Heller and Charles W. Nesby, filed a 42 U.S.C. § 1983 and § 1988 lawsuit against the District of Columbia. The claim is that 24 DCMR § 2343.1 of the District code is unconstitutional under the Second Amendment. The section limits how much ammunition an individual may carry for the purposes of self-defense in DC. 24 DCMR § 2343.1 2343.1A person issued a concealed carry license by the Chief, while carrying the pistol, shall not carry more ammunition than is required to fully load the pistol twice, and in no...