Guns need food. Starve them

[babylonsister]

Guns need food. Starve them
Marc Ambinder
December 17, 2012, at 8:43 PM

snip//

So as odious as it sounds, the argument that "criminals are going to get guns" is a valid one. Closing the private sale loophole might make it harder, as would common enforcement across states, but let's face it: These instruments of hunting, aggression, and self-defense are here among us. There aren't perishable. But bullets — bullets are a different story. An interesting story.

If you frequent "Survivalist" websites, you'll find that one of the most pressing topics discussed is gingerly called ammunition life span management. Ammo has a shelf-life. Even good ammo. Guns are forever, but ammo degrades, even if stored in precisely proper conditions and humidors that criminals don't often have.

Gun owners buy ammunition frequently. The website ammunitiontogo.com, which pops up when you search for "ammunition life," features a scantily clad busty beauty holding a rifle along with a warning: "Due to the extremely high volume of orders that we are receiving at this time we are experiencing a processing delay of 6 to 7 business days. We are working very hard every day to keep the delays minimal. Your patience is greatly appreciated! Thank you for your business!."

Ammunition degrades because the gunpower inside of it does not last forever in the compressed state that it lives. The accuracy of a bullet declines slowly over time. Heat is especially bad for ammunition of all types. The more times you chamber a round, the likelier it will degrade. For most people, the decline in accuracy is mitigated somewhat by the fact that they never use their firearms for self-defense purposes. But it really can be a problem in the long-run. And that's why ammo manufacturers are even more profitable than gun manufacturers.

Because ammunition is gun food, if we can starve the guns a bit, or change the way ammunition sales are regulated and controlled, perhaps we can change the way guns are used.

more...

http://theweek.com/article/index/237947/guns-need-food-starve-them

[a geek named Bob]

1. thereby making a thriving trade in handloading

The solution to the core problem is to get the crazies off the street.

[babylonsister]

6. Who determines who is crazy, and how?

That doesn't make sense either; have you ever heard of temporary insanity?

[a geek named Bob]

7. So we should let the crazies run around and kill?

a Gun isn't a demon out to destroy on its own. There needs to be a hand that pulls the trigger.

I gotta say that this site is really destroying my faith that progressives are logical.

[babylonsister]

11. So how do you weed out the crazies?

Why isn't that a logical question? Easy to type, not easy to do. Sure, some of them can/should be found and get help, but what precisely is your grand scheme to do that? And insulting progressives isn't really a good answer.

[a geek named Bob]

12. and again we go on

okay...

How did I insult progressives?

I merely said that I felt too many here were ready to jump on the demagogue bandwagon.

As for warning signs... Where would you like to start?
WHY should we be limiting what the abled can do, to make the disabled feel good?

[slackmaster]

2. I have fired rounds of 6.5 x 55 Swedish ammunition that were more than 100 years old

They shot quite well.

[ellisonz]

3. "The power to tax is the power to destroy" - Justice John Marshall

I support wanton destruction of the gun cabal.

[X_Digger]

9. You realize that Marshall was railing *against* a tax, right?

Boy, you couldn't have picked a worse case / quote to pull from.

See also NFIB v. Sebelius (the case that upheld the constitutionality of the ACA act) about the limits of taxation.

[ellisonz]

10. Of course!

Your gun culture is out of control. It's time to hit you guys where it hurts: in the wallet.

[X_Digger]

13. Only the 1% should have guns!

Seriously?

[ellisonz]

14. Clearly, Americans don't own enough guns.

[hack89]

4. Another idiot that doesn't understand guns or ammunition.

1. Ammo can last decades without degrading.

2. "Let's put aside the cartridges used for hunting and sporting. Those are easily identifiable." First off, nearly every military cartridge started as a civilian cartridge. Secondly, it is not hard for gun manufactures to modify rifles to take "hunting and sporting" cartridges. Here is a good example:

http://www.armalite.com/Categories.aspx?Category=f4bd4a13-55d1-41aa-aea0-49488ec48776

[-..__...]

5. From the article... "I'm no expert".

Thanks for telling us what we already know.

[spin]

8. I've shot ammo made in the 1940s and it was accurate. ...

I've reloaded ammo in the past and some of it was 15 years old when I finally got around to shooting it and it worked fine.

You say that ammo degrades because the gunpowder in the round is compressed. That depends on the amount of the powder used and the type of the powder. When reloading handgun grounds I often had to be very careful that I didn't drop a double charge of powder into the case with one type of powder but the case would be filled nearly to the brim with another type of powder.

It is possible that ammo will degrade but you are talking several decades before properly stored ammo reaches that state.

[jmg257]

15. Sheesh - are people a bunch of pussies or what? You want to ban guns THEN BAN GUNS!

What is with all these goofy angles?!?

Pass the laws, do what it takes, and get the things gone!