I found myself shorter of money this month than usual so I dug through

[petronius]

17. I understand that it seems strange to non-shooters, but buying and possessing ammo

in large quantities is very common and cost effective. Showing up with a new batch of gold jewelry every week would make you look like a thief very quickly, but buying 1000 or so rounds of ammunition every week just means you've been shooting or you've found a good deal - it's not outlier enough to trigger any sort of useful alarm. And I didn't pay particularly close attention, but I didn't get the sense that the Santa Monica or Boston guys had unusually high quantities.

I get what you're saying, but I don't think monitoring purchase quantities (of guns or ammo) has any chance of separating incipient mass killers from the average weekend shooter - there's just too much overlap. And really, a mass killer doesn't actually need all that much (1-2 guns and a few hundred rounds would be plenty) so the alarm triggers would be easy to avoid.

But I do think that sellers of used items (gold or guns) should be recorded, just to protect the dealer and recover stolen property. And every gun purchaser should pass a check.

However, you'll be glad to know that our state Senate just passed a bill (SB53) that would require background checks, permits, and fees for ammunition purchasers as well as guns - personally, I oppose it...