" THE GOVERNMENT IS BUYING ALL THE BULLETS, i CAN'T GET BULLETS".

[DainBramaged]

This from someone at work who I thought was sane after seeing an article on line about the bullet shortage from where I don't know but it wound him up good.


What do you mean you can't buy bullets?


"Nobody's got bullets, the government's buying up all the bullets!"

That didn't answer my question, but how many bullets do you have now?

"I don't have enough and I can't get any no one can get any!"


(At this point I realized he was becoming irrational, so I tried a different tact)

How many bullets do you have now and what kind do you need?


"It's a black powder gun, I shoot tin cans I can't buy bullets for it nobody has bullets, it's the government buying up all of the bullets"


I turned and walked away. He was serious. You can't talk to a crazy person. You can't talk to a FAUX head.


Government isn't buying bullets, it's another gun industry ploy and paranoia depleting supply and driving up prices.

[kestrel91316]

1. Gun nutters are the ones buying up all the bullets.

That's why some police agencies are having trouble getting them.

[NightWatcher]

12. Go to a gun store or Walmart when they get a shipment

The word will have gotten out amongst the gun folk and there will usually be a line of old white guys and each one will buy their limit (store imposed). You're right, that's why there's an ammo shortage.

[dixiegrrrrl]

13. THIS is one of the reasons cited for ammo scarcity:

1.6 Billion Rounds Of Ammo For Homeland Security?

The Denver Post, on February 15th, ran an Associated Press article entitled Homeland Security aims to buy 1.6b rounds of ammo, so far to little notice. It confirmed that the Department of Homeland Security has issued an open purchase order for 1.6 billion rounds of ammunition. As reported elsewhere, some of this purchase order is for hollow-point rounds, forbidden by international law for use in war, along with a frightening amount specialized for snipers. Also reported elsewhere, at the height of the Iraq War the Army was expending less than 6 million rounds a month. Therefore 1.6 billion rounds would be enough to sustain a hot war for 20+ years. In America.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/ralphbenko/2013/03/11/1-6-billion-rounds-of-ammo-for-homeland-security-its-time-for-a-national-conversation/

[krispos42]

17. That report is bit BS-ish

using expanding ammunition is standard for self defence and law enforcement purposes. It can't be used in war, but DHS is not the Pentagon.

Only a few places in the US outlaw expanding ammo.

Also, the DHS would not be buying non-tactical rounds like .30-06 or .243 Win or .30-30 or .22-250 or 20-gage shot shells.

All popular hunting rounds that are also in very
short supply.

[AverageJoe90]

29. That DOES make a LOT of sense when you think about it. n/t

[hack89]

2. Ammunition is a very inelastic commodity

it doesn't take much additional demand to stress the system. It is pure panic buying.

[sofa king]

19. This is the second major panic, too.

The ammunition makers ran at full capacity for three years and change, starting more or less the day Senator Obama became President-elect. That's 24-7, with makers happily demanding overtime of all employees. Then Newtown happened, before the ammunition makers could even catch up to the last panic.

The GAO is still trying to determine whether or not Homeland Security has bought nearly 2 billion rounds since the start of 2012. DHS's official testimony admits to only a fraction of that number, and it's the right-wing press that continues to push the "2 billion" figure. (DHS isn't even sure how many gun-carriers it has, citing between 70,000 and 100,000 at various times.)

But DHS was also first to flash the "conspiracy theory" card, which for the past fifteen years has been the gold-standard of guilt on the part of the organization that alleges the conspiracy. So I would advise all of you to withhold judgement until the matter is settled, probably within a month or two.

[nebenaube]

3. black powder

and he can't find any balls? It's the easiest bullet to make.

[Posteritatis]

10. Emphasis on "make" too - isn't that trivial if you've got a heat source and some lead? (nt)

[lastlib]

16. the guy prolly can't find his OWN balls.........

jus' sayin....................

[GoCubsGo]

4. It's not even a gun industry ploy.

But, it IS paranoia. Why has nobody been pointing out that these nutbags have been hoarding bullets since Obama got elected the first time? These bed-wetting crazies have been urging each other to stock up from Day One. This run on ammo has been their own creation, not that of the government. If they want to see where all the bullets went, they should look in each others fucking bunkers.

[kairos12]

6. Sad thing is the bullets probably aren't in bunkers but in their many and various

weapons located where children can get them.

[kairos12]

5. It so bad I can't even get bullet points on my Power Point

[winter is coming]

14. DUzy!

I too, have been reduced to using daggers instead of bullets in my presentations.

[wercal]

7. I don't think the government purchases are causing the scarcity

But certain calibers are very hard to find, without paying triple price on some internet auction site.

I believe your last statement is false...and part of the problem. The ammo suppliers have not raised their prices, because they don't want customers to accuse them of gouging and never buy from them again. So, what happens is everyone buys out a store's inventory around 15 minutes after a shipment comes in, and put the stuff on an auction site. If the ammo suppliers would actually raise their prices to match the auction site prices, this secondary market would go away, and the scarcity would be solved.

[Autumn]

8. Assholes will really be in trouble when the government buys all the tin cans.

I hear that's Obamas next diabolical plan People are so stupid

[Jenoch]

9. It sounds like a made up story to me.

I am unaware of any government agency that uses black powder guns.

[DainBramaged]

15. Of course it does to you, you're a gunz expert.....

[Jenoch]

21. I'm not an expert,

but I have never heard of a law enforecement agency equipped with black powder guns.

[DainBramaged]

23. Oh Jesus do all of you have to be so literal?

We fucking KNOW THAT.


Holy shit.

[Jenoch]

28. Since you

you self-proclaim your brain deficiencies, how is anyone to know?

[DainBramaged]

31. Four words and they aren't go polish your guns

have a nice life.

[Ganja Ninja]

11. A lot of Black Powder enthusiasts cast their own from lead.

The gun shows usually have them by the garbage bag full. I can't imagine why the government would be buying up muzzle loader bullets.

[Morning Dew]

18. Maybe they are going to start

a well regulated militia.

[DainBramaged]

24. Gun shows in NJ, nope, we barely have gun stores.

One that opened in Rockaway NJ back in the 90's closed for lack of demand. Most people don't own guns, except plinkers, that they can't find balls for......even at Cabella's.

[badtoworse]

20. I was on Cabelas website last week and they're pretty much sold out of 9 mm

If Cabelas is sold out, there is a shortage.

ETA: Homeland Security has purchased massive amounts of ammo. My question is why?

[pinboy3niner]

22. Snopes has more info on government purchases

Government purchase figures represent the upper limit of purchase options over multi-year contracts (5 years for DHS).

http://www.snopes.com/politics/guns/ssabullets.asp

[jazzimov]

25. Well, OF COURSE the Government is buying bullets -

we're in a f*cking war! At least, we're not in 2 wars in the same time. But it still means that the Government is spending a lot of coin on bullets.

But that's not what is causing the "shortage". That's being caused by all of the idiots hoarding bullets.

Only idiots and paranoids would create a shortage and then blame the shortage on the "powers that be" such as the Government.

[Pholus]

26. Importing ammo at 38 times the rate at which we used ammo in 2004 Iraq just ISN'T enough...

Consider these two numbers:

In 2004, during some of the nastiest fighting of the Iraq war (first battle of Fallujah) the military was expending 72 million rounds a year in Iraq hostilities. See http://commdocs.house.gov/committees/security/has176250.000/has176250_0.HTM

This year, the commerce department released figures showing that Ammo imports in the U.S. reached 457 million rounds in just the first two months of 2013. See http://dailycaller.com/2013/05/08/foreign-ammo-imports-doubled-in-early-2013-to-meet-exploding-u-s-demand/

So we IMPORT 38 Iraq war's worth of bullets each year. That neglects our domestic production.

Why isn't that enough again?

[Bigmack]

27. Nobody is saying the really relevant thing...

... about ammo.

The real crazies think they're going to need lots of ammo when the MI-NOR-A-TEE's rise up when their welfare and food stamps and free cell phones and medical care get cut off.

"Them people need lots o'killin'.... they jest ain't lahk us!"

[olddots]

30. they arrested a guy a few miles from here

when they found out he had so much ammo in his garage that a fire would have leveled an 1/8 mile around his house .

Not only are these walking venereal warts stupid they're criminally insane .