Old therad, same problem.
I think it's all going to LE. Here's why:
After searching for it for two days, I called Speer and asked them about it.
Me: Is it still in production?
Speer: It is still in current production and being shipped regularly.
Me: Hmm. I can't find it anywhere, and it seems that no one has had it in stock forever. The only person I found who could even remember the last time they had it in stock said it had been last December.
Speer: Defense Ammo is very popular and sells out quickly like .22 ammo.
Me: I can find just about any other top shelf defense ammo, and while expensive, I can also find .22 ammo all day long. The Short Barrel 9mm Gold Dot is simply nonexistent. I wouldn't imagine it's government or LE buying it since the short barrel loads proabably aren't their thing.
Speer: It's not the government. Everyone wants to blame the government and come up with conspiracy theories. They aren't buying as much as they were 5 years ago. (which is not the same thing as sayting that they aren't buying an inordinate amount, but...) Once we ship it to distributors, we have no idea where it goes. (I'm guessing they get a bit of feedback about that, but...)
Me: Well, that's not what I said. I said the opposite; that I figured it isn't them because why would they want short barrel loads in large quantity?
Speer: You'd be surprised. The police departments by a lot of it for their detectives who carry compact pisotls. A LOT of it.
Me:
So according to Speer, they make it and ship it, they know there isn't any in retail, and LE buys "a LOT" of it. But it's not the government! Apparently that's a sensitive subject for them.
-Doc