Ammo shortage???

[woodsman]

I am sure they will ramp up production, they surely don't want to miss out on the civilian market. Love my .40 cal have plenty for now, but just in case I think more is in order.

Perhaps FUD but a friend of mine was told by a Magtech rep that the government is requireing all new ammunition contractors to sign an agreement stating they will NOT sell commercially. Magtech refused to sign.

[MasterYong]

Perhaps FUD but a friend of mine was told by a Magtech rep that the government is requireing all new ammunition contractors to sign an agreement stating they will NOT sell commercially. Magtech refused to sign.

I don't know if the offer is FUD, but if anyone were to claim Winchester would accept such an offer I would definitely call BS.

There's no way a major ammo manufacturer would cut off their own legs by cutting out the civilian market.

[woodsman]

Perhaps, unless Uncle Sam promised to purchase a combined equal or greater amount. Like I said, maybe FUD but I'll be looking for anything that supports or rejects the statement.

[bohoki]

its a maximum supply order they will order less but the company has to be able to supply that much for the price quoted the gubmint wants any more and they have to renegotiate

but it is a concern since they can only make so many primers

[MasterYong]

Perhaps, unless Uncle Sam promised to purchase a combined equal or greater amount. Like I said, maybe FUD but I'll be looking for anything that supports or rejects the statement.

Still wouldn't work. If a major manufacturer took themselves out of the civilian market for a few years just to fill a gov't order they might as well never reenter the civilian market. Branding is everything- I buy Winchester for most of my ammo, but if it wasn't available for a few years I'd find someone else and when Winchester came back I'd likely not switch back, having found an alternative that I'm happy with.

Basic marketing.

[BigDogatPlay]

I have a good friend going into LE as we speak for the same reason. He told me "I'm going to be a cop" and I was shocked. He HATES cops. But there he was enrolling in an AJ course and signing up for the academy. He is a correctional officer currently.

I asked why he wanted to be a cop and he said "I can speed, heck, even chase people on the highway and it's legal. I can lobby to get approved for an AW. I can get tracers. I can get guns that are off-roster. I get to punk on the scum of society and there isn't a damn thing they can do about it. If you can't beat 'em, join 'em!"

I'm not sure that's a shining example of why someone should be a cop, but he's a good guy so I'd rather have him on the force than many others... he'll be a good cop. Probably.

Ahhhh we were all young and naive once. He's gonna punk the scum and there is nothing they can do.

Rude awakening, straight ahead.

Back on topic.... 800 rounds per year per agent? If they are shooting qualification quarterly plus practice, that's probably about right.

[mmartin]

Same reason a lot of people join the armed forces: it's a power trip. I'm convinced there's only small percentage of people who join the police force to "protect and serve."

One thing's for sure, I haven't been served yet.

long time ago I dated a cop briefly... he said there's two kinds of guys who become cops:
1) guys who want to save the innocent, protect the weak and catch and punish the bad guys, and
2) guys who want the power and control to do unto others.

and he said the job has a way of turning the 1) guys into the 2) guys. him included.
megan

[11Z50]

long time ago I dated a cop briefly... he said there's two kinds of guys who become cops:
1) guys who want to save the innocent, protect the weak and catch and punish the bad guys, and
2) guys who want the power and control to do unto others.

Having been a former LEO for 6 years, and being involved in the criminal justice system for the last 5, I have to agree with the statement. The system chews people up, both on the inside and outside. The type 1 folks don't make it, and if they do stick around, they become type 2.

Getting back to the OP, I do know that govt ammo requirements have increased for many reasons. My sources tell me that many agencies are feeling just like us. They operated for years off an inventory of a few thousand rounds, but the shortage has hit them too. Now, they want to stockpile just like us to prevent shortages in the future.

The war, and increased live-fire training to support the war has put a strain on the ammo producers, and the military has priority. (see Patriot Act) Although some of the big civilian producers don't produce for the military, they do for the police and civilian markets and they are all competing for the same limited material resources.

Factor in the justified worries of most of us that ammo will be increasingly hard to get, and naturally the supply of ammo will shrink. This will cause the cost to rise.

On a positive note, I went to a gun show Sunday, and the price of ammo seems to have stabilized a bit.