The great ammo shortage of 2013

I also heard that Texson. Could be many reasons for their stocking up. Heard DOJ and ATF were two of the larger purchasers, not forgetting DOD - Natl. Guard. Inquiring minds must know, I tell you. I can only speculate.

 

Has anyone heard about plans to use powder with a reduced "shelf life" that would force stocks to be turned as inventory so that consumers would then have to purchase through the new controls and pay the extra gouge taxes that would probably be levied. "Don't Tread on Me" is as fitting a comment today as it was in 1775, like that flag too.

Thanks for the information, Biak! Hope you had a great Christmas!

 

Last I heard, the whole DOJ/DOA large-ammunition purchase was actually a proposed 5-year supply. The actual purchase was a lot lower. Also, the Dept of Agriculture apparently, for some odd reasons, employs those individuals who go out and inspect incoming container ships for spoiled/prohibited products. Those agents are armed, and there is a small (ie...one boat, maybe two) "response force" allocated to the DOA for interdicting suspected smugglers. Cuz, you know, we don't want REAL Irish potatoes in this country now, do we? So, anyway, that's the reasons given for the extravagant quantities of ammunition (5 years' worth of operational ammo, plus training rounds) and the odd agencies requesting ammo purchases. The actual quantities purchased, of course, were a whole lot lower than those requested. One of the blogs I read had actual links, but I read so many I couldn't even begin to remember which one it was. If I run across the article again, with the links, I'll post em.

 

A couple of months ago, after posting about it here, I looked into the stories about the government purchasing 1.4 billion rounds of ammo for non-military use. What I found was that there were contracts issued, but they were "indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity" 5-year contracts. Under these "IDIQ" contracts, the government has the right, but not the obligation, to buy that much ammo over a five year period. So, it's not like they just bought it and put it somewhere. The more I looked into it, the more I realized that it wasn't such a big deal after all.

Actually, those are very nice contracts for the vendors...

 

The organization escapes me at the moment, but a division of Homeland Security does most of the training for just about all federal police agencies including many local police forces getting advanced training, as well as larger organizations like the Coast Guard. It shouldn't surprise anyone that ammunition orders would be very large and look forward to five year (or more) supplies since bulk sales save money.

The current shortage is (IMHO) due simply to people like me trying to get enough ammo to counter any possible legislation, taxes, limits, etc, that may come about through the recent barrage of rhetoric, posturing and a flood of proposed legislation. No doubt, most of that will die in committee, but nobody can say what will make it through and how much that will effect cost a year from now. As of this week I've got 3,500 .223 slugs and at least twice that much in brass and enough BLC-2 to load it all. That sounds like a lot, but I could shoot all that on a long weekend. I'm still hunting for more

I'll probably buy a .22 LR upper for my AR to stretch out my shooting if I can't find more slugs.

 

I have first noticed the gun control debate in the 1980's after the shooting of John Lennon and President Reagan.

A lot of stuff has been proposed, a very small part of that ever got passed, some of which has been overturned or allowed to expire.

For a host of reasons, panic is counter-productive.

I have not often agreed with Kodiak in this thread but his Post 108 is spot on. Gun owners who panic over rumors of possible legislation leading to a run on ammunition will get you only two things. Higher prices and scrutiny from the anti gun lobby who have their worst (and unrealistic) fears confirmed that the gun owners out there are a bunch of hot heads.

Both sides in the debate, in their willingness to believe the worst in the other, add fuel to the fire and create more smoke than heat.

A little calm on both sides would do us all some good and might allow a reasonable, sober and constructive debate on what could be and should be done.

 

I agree with Belazar on this one. My totally unscientific belief is people are buying up and hoarding ammunition in fear of some laws yet to come. That certainly is supply and demand and affects price and availiability . It my experience politicians huff and puff for their constituents then bury things in committees so I expect little in reality. No time sensitive powders or primers, nor lasting executive orders (The Supreme Court still exist ). There may be an magazine capacity ban like last time but except for higher prices I had no trouble buying them then. . Personally I have been a gun owner virtually all my long life and have zero concern that my 6-8 guns will remain in my possession along with an adequate ammunition supply. . If I were still a hunter or target shooter I would be concerned about cost . My friends tell me I am out of touch, a fool, and quote Edmund Burke to me but at my age I feel quite free, think of the police as good folks in general, the Armed Forces certainly so and do not anticipate shooting it out with either but my design business now includes poured in place gun vaults and bomb/survival shelters so paranoia pays !! LOL. Thanks customers !

Many of my friends are buying cases of ammunition, reloading supplies, guns like mad , a great time to be in the gun supply business. My only concern are individuals of a disturbed type that shoot children and adults or fringe militia groups with military weapons. Not for me but others. I have no good idea how to slow this activity. Multitudes of others obviously do. Stockpile ammo and guns.

My lovely and good daughter works for a Department of Defense agency and over Christmas proudly showed us around their new offices. I commented they nicely devoted a lot of time and money landscaping a large area around it. She said "Dad, that is our blast zone" rather nonchalantly . Now that sent shivers up my spine. Shades of Tim McVey. My daughter has been threaten more than once by good citizens thinking their rights are being trampled. Scary world , I fear nut cases, others fear the government. Bushmaster, Federal, Ruger, etc. are thriving. I better run clean my Sig Sauer 228 with Wolfe springs, Hogue grips , a gunsmith tune, and a short trigger before the Feds come and get it !! LOL

GB

 

Chiming with a few of the comments here:
The NRA Reveals Who's to Blame for Ammo Shortage: You