Did We Cause the Ammo Shortage?

[Onward Allusion]

Homeland security has ordered 6 billion rounds now,

1.6 billion over FIVE (5) years. Geez, when is this misinformation gonna stop? I could be off base here, but doesn't DHS include....

- U.S. Customs and Border Protection
- FEMA
- Immigration
- TSA
- Coast Guard
- Secret Service

 

[Tom Servo]

Homeland security has ordered 6 billion rounds now

I'm going to start demanding sources for these figures. Even if such an order were placed, who could possibly fill it?

 

[gaseousclay]

And if ammo is not available, or prohibitively expensive in the future, what good will my guns be if I REALLY need to shoot them??

tell that to the millions of other gun owners who are buying guns for the first time, or who are looking for ammo just to have. let's not deny it. there's hoarding going on like we've never seen before. the hoarders will claim no wrong doing because they 'foresaw' things to come. unless you're planning on defending yourself against a standing army, or actually have use for thousands upon thousands of rounds of ammo, then you're basically ruining it for the other guy who just wants to head to the range and shoot a few rounds, or you're making it impossible for new shooters to get their feet wet and enjoy firearms. like you said, guns are useless without ammo. right now I have 200 rounds of .22LR and .270 win ammo that are sitting in a box collecting dust. luckily, I don't shoot very often I don't need ammo the way some of you feel like you need ammo

 

[rclark]

After the last time around when I got caught, I did stock up (.22) to hopefully last through some bumps. Also should have enough reloading components for a years worth of shooting.... I hope. Problem is if the states, and Feds keep gun control on the table, it isn't over .... nor will it be.... Might be four years (or more) at least. If mid-term elections turn sour it might even be worse than what it is now as the governments are bent on destroying the 2nd Amendment one way or another....

Right now if I find some 'extra' at a reasonable price, I will buy what I think I need to replenish. Of course, the longer this shortage is, the more that will have to be bought .... Catch .22 ... pun intended.

 

[lcpiper]

We have plenty of members who compete in shooting events or for whatever reason they want, they shoot more then a guy like me. I haven't bought a box in months, certainly not since this mess started. I was too late to the party.

But I wouldn't point fingers haphazardly because it's a free market, everyone who buys ammo is only able cause someone else didn't chose to buy it first. I didn't buy before so I find it tougher now. But I have no doubt we are all doing it to ourselves.

You can bet the Antis in Congress and elsewhere are laughing up their sleeves every time they here about the "Great Ammo Buy-up Conspiracy".

 

[xnaerughiazk]

Most of us wouldn't think about buying an ounce of gold, a really itty bitty coin for 1600 dollars.

But we know that ammo is worth money and most importantly retains value and it doesn't go bad like some food/fuel.

There is insecurity in the worldwide banks, the US FED is buying like 82 billion dollars of bonds/month with just printed money.

The dollar could go south at any time, lots of people know this. Most of gun guys won't contribute the ammo craze with the weakening dollar, but I'd bet it is a bigger part of it than given credit for.

A dollar bill will not go bang.

 

[lcpiper]

Gold is not a good deal. The single most basic rule in investment, buy low, sell high. Gold is not priced low. If someone is making a major effort to sell gold then it is because they own a lot of it and they want to sell it now while it is priced high. I know there is a radio talk show that airs all day long targeting conservative folks with doom and gloom stories then has entire dedicated segments pushing gold. The radio station is owned by the gold sellers and they are no more honest and above board then the other media outlets. I wish it weren't true but all the media outlets are owned and corrupted.

We couldn't keep gold as a standard for money anymore cause we are using it as a material in manufacturing products, sooner or later it will keep getting used up. How can you base the worlds currency on a material that is disappearing. Precious metals are just a commodity, no different then tin and copper. They all have value, but it is market value determined by supply and demand.

Ammo is also a commodity, we have seen the effects of supply and demand lately and we see that it is real. But like most commodities, its real value stems from the use you can get out of it.

 

[Evan Thomas]

Point made. Further discussion of investing in metals, precious or otherwise, is off-topic.

 

[coldbeer]

I have significantly less ammo now because I like to shoot and shoot often. I'm not much of a hoarder.

@Gaz in NZ - I had a box of Federal Spitfire 22lr where the nose spun inside the case. I ended up shooting them anyway and I didn't have any problem. Accuracy wasn't great, but Spitfires are hyper velocity 22lr and they aren't known for exeptional accuracy in the first place.

 

[Gaz_in_NZ]

I had a box of Federal Spitfire 22lr where the nose spun inside the case. I ended up shooting them anyway and I didn't have any problem. Accuracy wasn't great, but Spitfires are hyper velocity 22lr and they aren't known for exeptional accuracy in the first place.

Thanks for that, I did check some of the CCI that I have left and the noses were all tight.
I have never noticed lose noses before on .22's but in all honesty I don't think I have ever checked .22 before yesterday so dunno why I checked the Winchesters (never used them before, maybe that's why).

Cheers

G

 

[Willihunt]

Practical

I generally have 500 to 1000 rounds of 22lr and a hundred or so 12gauge shells in various forms. I don't collect or keep a lot of firearms other than the general three guns and a couple fun guns. I don't feel unsafe but I keep a loaded 357 in a quick access box. If I can't sort something out with 5 rounds from an sp101 I need to reevaluate some life choices. This ain't a charlie bronson movie.

I don't think President Obama has any interest in taking my firearms and, as much as I think the NRA needs to reevaluate some of its Public relations ideas, I trust them to block legislation which attempts to do so. I have a big dog that pretty much alleviates the home intrusion problems. I have 30 round clips that seldom see daylight as they serve no purpose hunting or in home defense (I am not a professional hunter, those guys might need a 30 clip for hogs or varmint). Doesn't mean I don't have the right to own them.

I agree with the sitting this out. I see a lot of ads encouraging hoarding. I keep a little freeze dried food for backpacking. Nobodies invading, coming for us, or imposing martial law. We are a large country of well armed citizens and huge military capabilities. I don't think its just the branches of government that balance each other as much as we the people balance the government.

I'm not shooting as much cause ammo's so darned expensive but I'm having a lot of fun squirreling with an air rifle. Sometimes the guys with the most guns and bullets are the most afraid of everything. Just enjoy yourself and if it hits the fan at least I know there are good people out there who wouldn't mind having an honest guy with good aim and clear head to help weather it.

Sorry this is a little long winded. Yall take it easy.

 

[Boomer58cal]

The billionaire George Soros bought two ammo manufacturers and is selling only to the government. That's who's filling the government orders.

My source for the now 6,000,000,000(yes was 1.6 b) rounds is Theblaze.com.

Boomer

 

[Tom Servo]

The billionaire George Soros bought two ammo manufacturers and is selling only to the government. That's who's filling the government orders.

Which two manufacturers? When did he do this? If you're referring to the Freedom Group, they have openly denied his involvement.

Furthermore, I haven't heard from any credible source that any manufacturer has either been ordered or has chosen to divert their production to government contracts.

My source for the now 6,000,000,000(yes was 1.6 b) rounds is Theblaze.com.

Can you provide a direct link to a credible article? I've heard these allegations, but every one I've followed up has turned out to be rumor mixed with conjecture.

 

[Boomer58cal]

To go on Theblaze.com you either need a membership or you can watch their news channel on dish network. You could also listen to it's founder Glenn Beck on the radio. The truth is out there for those who are willing to go find it. Knowledge like freedom isn't free unfortunately. So sorry, no direct link. You can get a free ten day trial membership though. Their on line membership is well worth it. They even give their sources and most of the time they get more than one source to confirm things before reporting them. You know... like the main stream media should do.

Boomer

 

[2ndsojourn]

^^^ Well, if Glenn Beck said it, it must be true.

 

[ChaseReynolds]

I always try to hoard self defense rounds. Every time I am out and I see a box I will pick one or two up. As far as getting plinking rounds, that is a lot harder to come by and I must say that I just don't get to shoot as often as I like to.

I never plan on buying and flipping at double the value or whatever. But I will always gather more ammo than I hope to ever need.

 

[breakingcontact]

It is harder for those of us in the Pro-2nd Amendment group to fight 50 vs. just the Federal Govt. We could be loosing one State at a time.

This is increasingly my concern.

The left isn't honest, but they are smart. Divide and conquer. It is strange that as more and more states passes "some" form of concealed carry, many states are increasing their restrictions on other ways to practice one's first amendment rights.

 

[gaseousclay]

The billionaire George Soros bought two ammo manufacturers and is selling only to the government. That's who's filling the government orders.

My source for the now 6,000,000,000(yes was 1.6 b) rounds is Theblaze.com.

This is a quote from factcheck.org

The anonymous author of this chain letter asks why the media haven’t reported that George Soros is connected to a company that is buying a lot of other companies that make guns and ammunition. The answer to that question is simple: because it isn’t true.

Soros doesn’t own Cerberus Capital Management, a private equity firm founded in 1992 by Stephen Feinberg and William Richter. Both Feinberg and Richter currently serve as two of the firm’s senior managing directors. And Feinberg, also the firm’s chief executive officer, is an avid hunter.

Soros, a billionaire philanthropist and known supporter of Democratic causes, isn’t even one of the company’s 26 senior executives. But the firm’s senior executives do include former Republican Vice President Dan Quayle and former Republican Treasury Secretary John Snow.

It’s true, however, that Cerberus Capital Management owns Freedom Group, a leading company in the manufacturing and marketing of guns and ammunition. And it’s also true that in recent years Freedom Group has acquired many of the firearms and ammunition manufacturing companies mentioned in the email, including Bushmaster Firearms (in April 2006), Remington (in May 2007) and Marlin (in January 2008). But that’s about all the author of this latest viral message gets right.

It has even been taken apart online by none other than the National Rifle Association, the largest gun-rights lobbying organization in the United States. The NRA’s Institute for Legislative Action called the rumor “completely false and baseless.”

NRA-ILA, Oct. 14: Recently, an old rumor regarding Cerberus–the private equity firm that owns Freedom group, a holding company that in turn owns a number of firearms manufacturers, including Remington, Marlin, Bushmaster, and DPMS–was in some way tied to George Soros.

This rumor is completely false and baseless.

NRA has had contact with officials from Cerberus and Freedom Group for some time. The owners and investors involved are strong supporters of the Second Amendment and are avid hunters and shooters.

In reality, at no time has George Soros ever been a part of the ownership group of Freedom Group or Cerberus, and as a privately traded corporation, there is no possibility that he will be in the future.

This unsubstantiated rumor has caused a great deal of unnecessary concern for gun owners. NRA-ILA urges our members to take great care before repeating baseless rumors found on the Internet.

 

[Boomer58cal]

That's new to me. Theblaze said nothing about freedom-group. They say Soros himself bought them. Free trial membership. Check for yourself.

Edit. I just read the rest of your article from factcheck. That article is about gun manufacturers not ammo manufacturers. Many ammo manufacturers don't produce guns. Go to theblaze.com. It's the only real news out there.

 

[Tom Servo]

Theblaze said nothing about freedom-group. They say Soros himself bought them. Free trial membership. Check for yourself.

Nope. That's not how it works here. You made the allegations, and the responsibility falls to you to prove them. Claiming something, then saying "go research it yourself" doesn't help make your point, especially one as controversial as yours.

gaseousclay provided evidence in rebuttal, and that jibes with what I know of the situation. Glenn Beck is paid to get people riled up, and if he's saying these things, he's not doing his research very well.

Administrative note: we don't do pure right/left politics here, so let's put a lid on that.