Do You Have Enough Ammo to Last You 4 Years?

3/18/09 Update: While we're ecstatic to hear that the NRA-ILA and a couple of good politicians have rectified this wrong, there's still merit to this particular blog below in showing just how vulnerable we are to the minds and wills of a select few.

I would suspect that there are very few readers who do. And that’s a huge problem with the latest twist in the government soap opera.

As you may know, Obama previously proposed as a Senator that ammunition would receive a 500% tax hike. He did so as a crafty way to essentially take away our guns. Obviously, without ammunition, gun owners had better get good at throwing our firearms at an assailant or using them as batons without ammo. You and I both know that with his penchant for taxing the American people worse than any president ever (even through the liability of his spending packages), he’s not likely to get past a deaf and moot Congress this proposal for a 500% tax hike on ammo. So what does he do? Nothing. He doesn’t have to do anything because his Secretary of State is interpreting a Department of Defense directive to favor this new administration’s distaste for guns. And it’s done without Congress having any say in it. As of June 11, 2008, the Department of Defense is to no longer allow the military to sell fired casings to ammunition remanufacturers until they have been “mutilated”, aka shredded into scrap brass.

Let’s break this down a little bit.

In order for you to shoot, you have to have ammo. Duh, right? Bear with me here. When you practice shooting, you will typically use remanufactured ammunition because it’s less expensive. For example, 1,000 rounds of 9mm ammo (115 grain) which is remanufactured costs $207, while new ammo, 9mm (115 grain) costs $269 at a bargain price. So the savings can be substantial. The key to the pricing advantage of remanufactured ammunition is that the remanufacturers are able to buy their once-fired casings primarily from the military. As you can imagine, the military uses a LOT of ammo and due to their rules they can only use new ammo. This makes them an ideal source from which to purchase used casings. However, now that the DOD has determined that they are only permitted to sell their ammo casings AFTER they have been shredded, this means a whole lot to your wallet.

1) Yes, the “remanufactured” ammo will be more expensive (as if the past year of price increases haven’t been bad enough.) The reason being is now there is an extra step in the process in order for the remanufacturers to have foundries turn the shredded brass (and other metals) into the casings they need. The reason why I put the “remanufactured” in quotation marks is that it’s doubtful to me that the new product should be called “remanufactured” as opposed to new since this additional process entails what new-ammo manufacturers have to do to produce their ammo.

2) Your tax dollars now pay for the shredding of the casings which the military will now perform on all of their casings prior to selling it.

3) The remanufactured ammo represents approximately 65-75% of the ammunition market among civilians AND law enforcement. Law enforcement regularly uses remanufactured ammo for their target practices. Thus, now law enforcement is paying a higher price either for the remanufactured ammo, or a higher price to buy new ammo. Guess whose tax dollars pay for that?

4) Due to the interpretation of this DOD directive, there are a great deal of ammunition remanufacturers who will have to lay off a sizeable portion of their employees. Hello, unemployment. Hello, extra foreclosures. Hello, extra bankruptcies.

5) This all presumes that since the casings are being shredded they will still be sold to the remanufacturers. This is doubtful as China is the largest buyer of such metals from us in its shredded condition. Don’t think for a second that they won’t get first crack at buying this shredded brass. After all, we owe them for buying up so much of our debt, right? This means that we may have put out of business ALL of the remanufacturers in the U.S. with this one strategic directive. If the remanufacturers go out of business, then we have the small number of new-ammo manufacturers to provide all the rest of us with ammo. And the military gets first shot in front of any buyer to obtain their ammo. Now think about this economically. You have what used to represent about a third of the ammo sales in the U.S. and now they are the primary source to handle nearly all of the ammo manufacturing. That’s called a serious supply-and-demand problem. If you talk to anyone who buys ammo, you will undoubtedly hear stories of empty shelves, and hard-to-find ammo. Are you starting to see why ammo is so hard to obtain now and why prices have increased substantially? Expect an even greater supply-and-demand imbalance as the dominos continue to fall, folks.

So why do I ask if you have enough ammo for 4 years? Because if you don’t, that situation is not likely to change unless this administration reigns-in how the directive is being interpreted, or an administration change occurs four years from now. It won’t matter how much money you have. You simply won’t be able to buy enough with the military standing in line in front of you. NOW some of you may know why I predicted that there would come a time when a bucket of ammo would be worth more than a bucket of gold…on so many levels. (see http://www.preparednesspro.wordpress.com/)

Clearly the economists who thought this one through are on the same team as those who are running Wall Street and are devoid of much in the form of patriotism or intellect.

See the link below the draft of this directive.
www.dla.mil/j-6/dlmso/Archives/JSACG/meetings/11Jun08/ADC_220_Small%20ArmsDefinition_DRAFT_JSACG_11June2008.doc

Copyright 2009 Kellene Bishop. All rights reserved. You are welcome to repost this information so long as it is credited to Kellene Bishop.

Why This Woman Carries a Firearm

This is a derivation of a very well written piece by “Syd” on a fellow blog. I felt that it was very indicative of many of the reasons why sensible people do carry a firearm, but I felt that it needed some insight spiced with a tad bit of estrogen. :)

I carry a firearm to ensure my children are educated about firearm safety so they never become the victims of some other child’s (or adult’s) ignorance. I know that the best way to teach a child about firearm safety is to remove the air of mystery from it and truly educate them about the “when’s” “why’s” and “how’s” of a firearm. I know that if I am not educated on the use of a firearm then, should I come across one in the hands of a child, my ignorance may add to a dangerous situation instead of eliminating it.

I carry a firearm because I know what looks good on me—confidence. Possessing the ability to defend one’s self has an amazing affect on confidence. The opposite of confidence is fear. I’ve discovered that fear masks a great deal of my wonderful attributes, such as kindness, love, and charity. When I’m more confident, I’m a much better person to share with everyone else in my life.

I carry a firearm because I don’t trust my “gift of the gab.” As great as I am at talking to complete strangers in ideal circumstances, it’s unlikely to do me any good against someone intent on causing me harm. However, there is a great deal of research that says a firearm is a much stronger negotiator than I could ever hope to be.

I carry a firearm because I am a mother (or an aunt, grandmother, sister)—a calling which I take very seriously. As a mother I have no other more critical responsibility than to take care of myself AND those entrusted in my care. Should something threaten to eliminate me from this earth and my influence upon my children, or threaten to remove them from my arms of love, I am sufficiently armed and adept to ensure this does not happen. If some harm does come to my children, it will not be because I could not overcome my own fears or foolish prejudices. I cannot stop everything awful from happening to them, but I can ensure that I am the best prepared to stop most. Only then are my hands clean before my Maker, knowing that I truly did my best to protect them. In doing so, not only do I raise my children well, but I give them a chance to do the same with their own families.

I carry a firearm to help the nation I live and raise my family in to be strong and secure. Protection of a nation begins with protection of an individual. What good is sending my husband, father, brother or son off to fight in a war—whether in a foreign nation or within our cities—if I’m not willing to do my part to protect our nation as well? This nation is strong only because of our freedom. I carry a firearm to ensure I keep my freedom should someone else attempt to usurp it.

I carry a firearm because I know my physical limits. While I may run the equivalent of several miles every day and work out regularly to strengthen my muscles, none of this prepares me sufficiently for a violent encounter. Whether I like it or not, the prospect of a 6’4”, 280-pound, drug-crazed criminal acting against my freedom is realistic. A good right hook or kick to the groin, however well planted it may be, may just be the provocation my assailant needs to kill me. That’s unacceptable—unacceptable that the criminal’s actions against me could eliminate my freedom to live. I’m not willing to gamble with the use of weaker forms of defense. A firearm may be exactly what I need to stop the assailant because I fight back to win unequivocally, not to wonder if I have done enough.

I carry a firearm because I prefer my close encounters to be for love, not fighting. I prefer to never have to remember the alcohol and drug-induced breath, or the color or rage in the assailant’s eyes, or the feel of his powerful fists against my head. Instead I prefer to let the bullet do the fighting for me. I believe I will be much more stable after such an encounter.

I carry a firearm because I hate waiting and wondering. Given the number of police officers who work in any community at any given time, I know that the number of criminal offenses out-number law enforcement an average of 10 to 1. Only after I’ve done my part to ensure my safety do I wait on 911, instead of relegating my safety to the unlikely odds that someone else can defend me in my time of need.

I carry a firearm because I am an independent woman, not a statistic. I refuse to be weak, afraid, and naïve and insist on mastering my domain by asserting my time and talents to take responsibility for my own safety and peace of mind. Too many women are statistics of crime rather then examples of strength. The only one that can stop this false impression from perpetuating further is me.

I carry a firearm because as a woman, I’m all about being prepared. That’s the reason why I never let my gas tank go down below half, never open the door to someone I don’t know, and I never give out my credit card number to someone I didn’t call… just in case. If you were to look in my purse you would see band-aids (just in case) lipstick, face powder, hair brush, and hair spray (even though I leave my home properly made up... it’s just in case), more cash that I would ever think to use in a day (just in case), a fuel credit card because I don’t believe in using credit… just in case… and a small sewing kit with safety pins… just in case. Suffice it to say that I rarely use my “just in case” items, but I sure hate being without them when I need them. If you were to delve further into my handbag you would also find a knife, an Asp, red-dyed pepper spray and a firearm with a spare magazine. You guessed it…just in case.

I carry a firearm because as a woman I have the privilege of giving life. That’s right. I don’t carry a gun to take life, but to ensure that it’s fully given to those who choose to live.

Copyright 2009 Kellene Bishop. All rights reserved. You are welcome to repost this information so long as it is credited to Kellene Bishop.