IBD wonders aloud:
According to one estimate, just since last spring DHS has stockpiled more than 1.6 billion bullets, mainly .40 caliber and 9mm. That’s sufficient firepower to shoot every American about five times. Including illegal immigrants.
To provide some perspective, experts estimate that at the peak of the Iraq war American troops were firing around 5.5 million rounds per month. At that rate, DHS is armed now for a 24-year Iraq war.
The perceived need for so much ammunition in federal custody is especially strange given Obama’s double-barreled emphasis in his inaugural address on the approaching end in Afghanistan “of a decade of war.” And he also noted, “We, the people, still believe that enduring security and lasting peace do not require perpetual war.”
The lack of a credible official explanation for such awesome ammunition acquisitions is feeding all sorts of conspiracy theories, mainly centered on federal anticipation of some kind of domestic insurrection. Napolitano has at times alluded to threats from the extreme right-wing.
Other conspiracists harken back to an Obama Colorado campaign speech in July, 2008. That day he deviated from his prepared text to say:
“We cannot continue to rely on our military in order to achieve the national security objectives that we’ve set. We’ve got to have a civilian national security force that’s just as powerful, just as strong, just as well-funded.”
Spooky indeed. Then factor in Obama’s personal pet activist army, Organizing for Action. The man has a way of looking and sounding sinister.
Here’s an idle thought about all this. Anyone who has tried to buy much beyond shotgun ammo has probably run into shortages and rationing. At the local ammo store of your choice, they’re probably limiting you to one box per customer per caliber per day, when they have any ammo in stock. Most days, they don’t. For range and recreational shooters, that’s not a lot. If you go the online order route, it may take months to get anything. Gun ranges are also limiting the amount any single shooter can buy to fire, because their own supplies are strained.
Maybe the Obama government is stockpiling all this ammo to drive up scarcity and, in their anti-Second Amendment way of thinking, functionally keep guns off the streets. Ammo scarcity is surely one effect of the government’s stockpiling. Who has more buying power than almighty Uncle Sam? No matter how many guns there are on the streets, most Americans don’t know how to manufacture their own ammo. So most guns, absent ammo, could soon turn into nothing more than weak billy clubs.
OK, is this something new or have the Feds been doing this all along and we just noticed it? Can somebody show me a chart?
It would be interesting to see if bullet making supplies start to become scarce as well.
1. Are these confirmed stockpiles or just the upper limit of contracts? When the feds contract for ammo, they often have a minimum and maximum amount they can buy a given price. They rarely max out.
2. If they plan to put down an insurrection, they are buying the wrong stuff. Pistols wouldn’t get it done.
3. Many serious shooters can reload their own ammo. Lack of ammo won’t stop an insurrection. It hasn’t stopped Syrian or Afghan insurgents.
They’re also stockpiling .223. You know, the caliber useful in military style fully automatic, crowd suppressing, get the job done, weapons.
When in doubt make your own bullets.
Stop getting your data from Infowars. They have an agenda and quite often leave out fair analysis in order to fit. They also never do any research, which also fits their agenda as well as the psychology of their average reader.
For example, they claim the DHS just bought 21.6 million rounds even though the solicitation for bids they linked to clearly states its for 240,000 rounds. Really, can they not read?
Additionally, the contracts in the last year or so for the famous 1.6 billion rounds were multi-year contracts AND the amounts of ammo were UP TO the stated amounts, which, like most federal contracts means they might buy a million rounds this year but they could buy 450 million. Its the .gov way of contracting when they don’t have a clear handle on how many they need. If you checked other contracts you would find that the .gov contracted for eventy bazillion staples but only actually purchased one bazillion. Ammo, paperclips, staples, toilet paper, all expendables are treated like that.
Thank you.
Ragnar,
As a person who looked at the (online) contract for the Social Security Administration and its ammunition purchase, I have personally calmed some fears of people I know who were concerned about an order of over one hundred thousand rounds of ammunition purchased for its security personnel. It turns out that it corresponds, somewhat on the high side, with annual qualification requirements for its security personnel who guard the SSA offices around the country. So it seems a little creepy but isn’t out of the realm of reasonable justification once you dig under the covers.
That being said, where is the reasonable justification for DHS to (potentially) stockpile enough ammo, during a one year period, to run 24 years of Iraq (during peak combat)?
DHS has nearly 100,000 people spread among a dozen or so agencies. ICE, Border Patrol, Coast Guard, etc.
Agents have to qualify several times a year and an individual may have to shoot 1000 or more rounds to do so. Add in practice outside of quals. And add in that DHS runs the FLETC (Federal Law Enforcement Training Center) which trains people from nearly 100 federal agencies.
They shoot a lot of ammo.
And like I said before, DHS didn’t get 1.6 billion rounds last year. They let a multi-year contract with a minimum buy of 1K rounds and a max of 450 million. Its not an unusual contract considering that its an indefinite quantity indefinite delivery contract.
Some random thoughts. We The Elite People of Culture of Corruption in Washington DC really must have fear as their guiding principles nowadays. They’re in the “circling the wagons” phase! Need proof? 1)Feema is quietly moving large, heavy duty military equipment around the country. 2)Silence on their Internment camps. 3)Weapons purchases continue unabated. 4)On HBOGOHD channel 2/7/2013 a documentary on “Taking of Maryah”…with air support, fire power, snipers and ground support. 5)Where’s “posse comitatus?” 6)Search warrants? 7)Wanton shooting of american civilians, by law enforcement, is now justified? 8)“Rule of Law” is non-existent? What’s up with this tyranny?
9) Now comes this story:
Liberty National News (Tea Party Wire) 2/8/2013
The outrageous and unexplainable purchase of now 1.6 BILLION bullets by the Feds can be summed up in the following sentence.
the DHS has purchased enough bullets over the last 10 months to wage a full scale war for almost 30 years.
That from the news that feds have ordered yet another round of ammo, this time 21.6 million rounds of hollow point .40 and .9 ammo. The FedBid document has the order details. The document reads to suggest the ammo is heading to a training facility in New Mexico. Perhaps this is indeed the final destination for the ammo. But why would the feds train with more expensive hollow point ammo? And 21.6 million rounds?
Last weekend I fired about 250 rounds of .40 at a range here in Virginia. This over a period of two hours. If my math is correct (and it may not be thanks to public education), it would take me eight hours a day, firing 1,000 rounds a day, for approximately 59 years, to fire that much ammo. And that’s just a single order for the fed.
Where are our representatives on this? What is going on with all of this ammo hoarding?
Hollow points have been banned across these fruited plains!!! What gives??? And 1.6 billion bullets, most are hollow points…Napolitano is really afraid, shakin’ in her boots or Obama is seriously preparing for some really serious “Executive Orderin’” times.Pray. Amen.
They didn’t order 21.6 million rounds. The solicitation for bid clearly states its for 240,000 rounds. Thats not an excessive number for the federal training center in Arizona.
And here’s the link to the fedbid document. In the “unit” column you will see “MX”; that means 1,000. “MM” would mean 1 million. So when the quantity column says “100″, that mean you multiply 100 x 1000, which is ?
https://marketplace.fedbid.com/fbweb/fbobuyDetails.do?token===wBKxmaVGYR9Kcq5Ajq%2BRH6QAAAAAHeAAgAgTFCGg/FzzqQbJAAyVXBA0Or
Hmmmm, shooting for 8 hours a day for 59 years? Sounds like Nirvana. Wonder if DHS needs any more range coaches?
Responding to Ragnar in Post #5
“If you checked other contracts you would find that the .gov contracted for eventy bazillion staples but only actually purchased one bazillion. Ammo, paperclips, staples, toilet paper, all expendables are treated like that.”
Not so fast. I work in government contracting. Do managers set high upper limits for their orders? Of course. But they don’t set them to the moon, and here’s why:
- Every bidder on a contract must be able to meet the _entire_ contract order.
- Part of the technical evaluation process for a contract order includes examining whether the company has the ability, and the past proven performance, to deliver the quality and the quantity of the ordered article. Basically this is a reality check on whether the company can do it now, and whether the company has done it before.
- Setting Requuirements artificially high results in _fewer_ bidders because once a company hits their theoretical production capacity, they must pay costs for building/acquiring additional facilities/factories/capacity. This isn’t free.
In short, setting your requirements as high as the moon results in higher costs and many fewer bidders. Furthermore, if a requirement is artificially increased and it precludes small business competition, and a small business protests it, the SBA and/or GAO step in, and the courts are quickly brought in if the contracting agency does not yield. All it takes to lodge a protest is “a postcard” (quoting a Contracting Officer). This isn’t just policy, this is law. Therefore there must be a rational basis for the upper limit of a contract order set by the government.
Contracting Officers routinely deal with this common issue, and once they explain the unintended consequences to the procurer the moon and the stars no longer become the limit. The procurer then sets his/her sights on the sky instead.
Yes, it results in fewer bidders, but since the guy who wrote the proposal probably wanted to get a certain brand of ammunition from a certain company he wrote in a number that only the company he wanted could conceivably supply.
The fact remains that the DHS did not receive anything near 450 million rounds last year from AKT (owner of Federal ammo), nor will they get anything near 450 million next year or the year after, etc.
Interesting cover-up, G-man. Why post as “Anonymous? I worked in the marine industry for quite a few years and it’s not uncommon during the end of fiscal budget years to see government entities rush in to purchase as much stuff as they can (whether they need it or not) to expend remaining cash so next year’s budget won’t be cut and probably expanded since they “had the need” and ran out of money. Bureaucratic BS or or protecting the “People’s” interest?
Of course, it couldn’t have anything to do with cornering the market to protect the “People” against themselves. How about a chapter in a new conspiracy theory novel called “Fast and Spurious” wherein government tries to fulfill under supplied Mexican cartels with ammo for their ill-gained “assault weapons” which “never” happened according to our highest LE officer in the land? That’s absurd!
. . . that is until you understand bureaucracies, apparatchiks, politicians and Idiocracies in their current states. Conspiracy theories? Maybe. How’s your health care and higher tax rates working out for you so far this year? Sometimes seeing is believing unless, of course, you voted for a king, a daddy or a great fiction orator.
Happy now? As if putting a name on a post means anything.
You need to tighten up the tin foil.
This is the same kind of conspiracy theory that was spun during th 1973-74 and 1979 oil “shortages.” The story back then was that the evil oil companies were hoarding oil to force the price up. All these rumors did was to send panicked people to the gas station where they waited in line.
If there were some grand conspiracy to buy up all the available 9mm and 40 cal ammo then why has 22LR and 45 ACP disappeared as well? The government doesn’t use any 22LR and very little 45 ACP. The explanation is as simple as the gas lines of ’70s. With every new statement by gun control advocates and every piece of citizen disarmament legislation introduced in some deep blue state the entire country runs out and buys every available caliber they can get their hands on as if the DOA Feinstein bill and legislation that passes in California or New York will restrict a Texan’s right to bear arms. If you don’t live in a failing blue state you have nothing to worry about in the short term. Concentrate on keep your state legislature red and the House pro-Second Amendment.
And please learn something from this. After 2008 I bought a moderate stockpile based on my extra cash and when it was on sale. With conservation I can make my stockpile last to the end of this year if necessary. When this is over I recommend that this course of action will keep this panic buying to a minimum the next time something happens. In the mean time I will spend my ammo budget to improve my stockpile of 12 gauge ammo.
We can relax. It’s just common sense progressive Forward Planning for Organized Change. It’s important symbolism for the current taxpayer base to pay now to stock up on bullets used much farther down the road of the Long March toward Total Freedom.
Intrigued?
Well, just project out a five or ten-year plan for a post-EMP North American People’s Republic and you’re looking at a transition government drawing up a new progressive constitution with a patriotic civilian People’s Militia enshrined to replace the Second Amendment.
Shall I go on?
The coalition in power would include a new Social Democrats for Solidarity party (SDS) organized with a Muslim radical alliance, the Allahmerican Brotherhood. Throw in a Cartel La Raza party to balance it out and you have real democracy which would require big supply contracts to keep the peace – if the dreams of General Secretary Van Jones and his newly remarried wife Michelle are to succeed that is.
Anyone who hopes this deeply patriotic dream of our “future forefathers” fails is a pre-terrorist. Leave these contracts alone!!! Focus on your Savior Rubio now.
Maybe they are preparing for the quarantine riots that could occur if the contagious biological weapons in Syria are released over there by accident or intent-or, over here in the USA from suitcases and by other means.
I live near Seattle. Just yesterday I purchased 8 boxes of 9mm at a mom and pop shop. No rationing, no obvious price gouging. This was not at Cabela’s, where I’m told they are rationing some types. There was also plenty of .45 and .40, but I didn’t see any .223
I expect the gun grabbers will try to limit ammunition through any means available. Manipulating commercial regulation is probably more likely to be used than simply buying everything produced.