If there is an ammo shortage, you'd never know it when going to the American Shooting Center in Katy, Texas. They are burning through ammo like it was on sale at Walmart. The pistol range is always crowded and now even the longer ranges, 300 to 600 yards are busy with future snipers training every day.
Six years ago I could go to the long ranges knowing that I'd have the place virtually to myself. Not so any more, and on the weekends you may not get a place there at all. I've seen more 50 BMG rifles there than I'd ever seen in my life in this last year, and each with large boxes of ammo to practice with. Also lots of 300 Win mag. shooters and 338 Lapua. I've never seen so many Nightforce scopes in my life either, with virtually every rifle adorned with one.
It appears the upper middle class has discovered shooting sports, and they are doing a LOT of shooting. It appears that Obama has awakened the marksman in the middle class.
Perhaps the article is correct. But, the potential for, 'sleight-of-hand', is also a possibility. For me, an example would be how CIA, FBI and many others, hid funds for black ops, in the Department of Agriculture. Who would think to look there, for black ops slush money? This went on for decades. So, what's to keep, say, DoD from hiding a shit load of ammo for the Homies? It isn't like either group has a high rating on credibility. I'm just suggesting other possibilities that could explain the differences between claimed ammo stockpiles and reality.
"Hoarders"? "Speculators"? A poor choice of words on Bob's part. Sounds a little to Marxist for my tastes.
One man's "hoarder" may simply be a beginning prepper.
A lot of shooters previously bought ammo the same way they bought food for their family. Just in time. Just what they were consuming that week or that once a month trip to the range.
Even at 80 million to 100 million rounds per year, that is a large quantity compared to say the DoD which is buying about 250 million rounds of 5.56 this rear and at the peak of action in 2005, about 1 billion rounds of 5.56. DHS is still buying enough for a small war.
It's simple mathematics. Let's hypothesize that there are 5,000,000 active shooters in the U.S. If every active shooter were to purchase 5,000 rounds of ammo a year, the sales of ammunition would equal 25,000,000,000. That exceeds the annual output of American manufacturers by over 2 times.
This is why I stopped reading Bob Owens and his pro-fed agit-prop.
He didn't read the report. Otherwise, he'd have noted the GAO report conveniently focuses only on consumption by DHS, and leaves out the real concern to the People, (the active contracts for ammo), to an appendix.
Infowars et al. raised the alarm that for 70,000 agents DHS has contracted to buy 1.6 billion rounds by 2018. Doing the math shows the amount per agent per year is well over the 1,200 round use per year claimed by the GAO report.
But the GAO has only 704 million rounds left on contract until 2018; let's pretend that is true. It's still over double the amount the DHS claims it uses for training for its agents.
Finally, the contracts call for the delivery of almost all duty ammo i.e. hollow points. This is not referenced in the GAO report but is significant as even the feds don't train with their duty ammo but like the rest of us, use FMJs for qualification, with maybe the final three set of mags for the duty ammo.
Why have a DHS? Well Bush wanted to create a cabinet officer, which every president is empowered to do, so there was one person who would actually take the wrap when there is a 9-11 type disaster. Let's be honest - firing a president in that context is not gonna happen.
BUUUUUT the DEMOCRATS, who were in control of the congress decided to create a DEPARTMENT instead - which justified in their eyes a huge expansion of government under the guise of reorganization.
Shame on Bush for not standing up to stop that action. He COULD have, but he didn't. That, along with not vetoing spending were his two greatest failures IMHO.
Here is what this country needs. A president who understands that they are empowered to build their own cabinet and that each and every "department" along with its underlings, can be closed upon inauguration. Take the stick and turn off the autopilot.
The FEDS can buy all the 5.56 they want. I already have enough of that stuff for my old Mattel Toy. What I like is the 308 and the 30-06 which has a much better reach than the puny 5.56 ammo.
12 comments:
If there is an ammo shortage, you'd never know it when going to the American Shooting Center in Katy, Texas. They are burning through ammo like it was on sale at Walmart. The pistol range is always crowded and now even the longer ranges, 300 to 600 yards are busy with future snipers training every day.
Six years ago I could go to the long ranges knowing that I'd have the place virtually to myself. Not so any more, and on the weekends you may not get a place there at all. I've seen more 50 BMG rifles there than I'd ever seen in my life in this last year, and each with large boxes of ammo to practice with. Also lots of 300 Win mag. shooters and 338 Lapua. I've never seen so many Nightforce scopes in my life either, with virtually every rifle adorned with one.
It appears the upper middle class has discovered shooting sports, and they are doing a LOT of shooting. It appears that Obama has awakened the marksman in the middle class.
And that's a good thing.
Perhaps the article is correct. But, the potential for, 'sleight-of-hand', is also a possibility. For me, an example would be how CIA, FBI and many others, hid funds for black ops, in the Department of Agriculture. Who would think to look there, for black ops slush money? This went on for decades. So, what's to keep, say, DoD from hiding a shit load of ammo for the Homies? It isn't like either group has a high rating on credibility. I'm just suggesting other possibilities that could explain the differences between claimed ammo stockpiles and reality.
"Hoarders"? "Speculators"? A poor choice of words on Bob's part. Sounds a little to Marxist for my tastes.
One man's "hoarder" may simply be a beginning prepper.
A lot of shooters previously bought ammo the same way they bought food for their family. Just in time. Just what they were consuming that week or that once a month trip to the range.
Even at 80 million to 100 million rounds per year, that is a large quantity compared to say the DoD which is buying about 250 million rounds of 5.56 this rear and at the peak of action in 2005, about 1 billion rounds of 5.56. DHS is still buying enough for a small war.
And yet no one asks why we even have DHS at all. SMH
It's simple mathematics. Let's hypothesize that there are 5,000,000 active shooters in the U.S. If every active shooter were to purchase 5,000 rounds of ammo a year, the sales of ammunition would equal 25,000,000,000. That exceeds the annual output of American manufacturers by over 2 times.
This is why I stopped reading Bob Owens and his pro-fed agit-prop.
He didn't read the report. Otherwise, he'd have noted the GAO report conveniently focuses only on consumption by DHS, and leaves out the real concern to the People, (the active contracts for ammo), to an appendix.
Infowars et al. raised the alarm that for 70,000 agents DHS has contracted to buy 1.6 billion rounds by 2018. Doing the math shows the amount per agent per year is well over the 1,200 round use per year claimed by the GAO report.
But the GAO has only 704 million rounds left on contract until 2018; let's pretend that is true. It's still over double the amount the DHS claims it uses for training for its agents.
Finally, the contracts call for the delivery of almost all duty ammo i.e. hollow points. This is not referenced in the GAO report but is significant as even the feds don't train with their duty ammo but like the rest of us, use FMJs for qualification, with maybe the final three set of mags for the duty ammo.
Why have a DHS? Well Bush wanted to create a cabinet officer, which every president is empowered to do, so there was one person who would actually take the wrap when there is a 9-11 type disaster. Let's be honest - firing a president in that context is not gonna happen.
BUUUUUT the DEMOCRATS, who were in control of the congress decided to create a DEPARTMENT instead - which justified in their eyes a huge expansion of government under the guise of reorganization.
Shame on Bush for not standing up to stop that action. He COULD have, but he didn't. That, along with not vetoing spending were his two greatest failures IMHO.
Here is what this country needs.
A president who understands that they are empowered to build their own cabinet and that each and every "department" along with its underlings, can be closed upon inauguration. Take the stick and turn off the autopilot.
The FEDS can buy all the 5.56 they want. I already have enough of that stuff for my old Mattel Toy. What I like is the 308 and the 30-06 which has a much better reach than the puny 5.56 ammo.
Disappointed- bitterly- in Bobs' article. It's all the work of "conspiracy theorists?"
BULL.
I've seen the government RFPs sent out for ammo manufacturers. These are actual bids issued by DHS, on their own websites.
Bob is being suckered on this one.
WHY?
Because I've SEEN the DHS solicitations. An article that has the exact solicitation history from 2004-2012 is here.
I'm reluctant to put much credence in NSSF and NRA material. And indeed, blaming "hoarders and speculators" is socialist claptrap.
On the other hand, I don't put much credence in Infowars either.
Bottom line, no matter what is the explanation, this is a nation preparing for civil war.
Post a Comment