View Full Version : Feds buying up tons of ammo...
Found this article and found it very interesting... What is their motive behind this, I wonder?
http://news.investors.com/politics-andrew-malcolm/020813-643707-obama-homeland-security-vast-ammunition-purchases.htm
Beat Trash
02-12-13, 12:12
It says that the DHS bought 21.6 million rounds.
OK...
I don't know how many people DHS has to train per year. And what the breakdown by caliber was.
I know that my agency of just under 1,000 officers, buys about 1.3 million rounds per year. This may sound like a lot, but not really.
Our officers fire about 800 rds per officer per year in training. This does not special needs officers who might have to repeat training stages, or SWAT training, or special training classes put on. Nor does it include new duty rounds to be issued annually.
I believe that the U.S. Coast Guard is now part of the DHS, so any training they do must be included in this 21.6 million round order.
I guess from my viewpoint, when I read about this purchase on another site, my first thought was, "They only bought 21.6 million rounds?
Well in this current market I know that some agencies can not get enough ammo to qualify so they are moving to beam hit systems. Nothing like seeing people getting trained and never firing a single live round.
It says that the DHS bought 21.6 million rounds.
I guess from my viewpoint, when I read about this purchase on another site, my first thought was, "They only bought 21.6 million rounds?
Did you read the whole article?
"...an additional 21.6 million rounds"
"...just since last spring DHS has stockpiled more than 1.6 billion bullets, mainly .40 caliber and 9mm. That's sufficient firepower to shoot every American about five times. Including illegal immigrants.
To provide some perspective, experts estimate that at the peak of the Iraq war American troops were firing around 5.5 million rounds per month. At that rate, DHS is armed now for a 24-year Iraq war."
DHS buying 21.6 million rounds - OK, I can buy training. I don't know how many armed individuals report to DHS, so maybe that is about right, especially if the Coast Guard falls under them. If Big Sis wants to arm the TSA goons, I hope she limits them to the ever-deadly and intimidating Hello Kitty bubble gun, or the even deadlier invisible grenade.
However, the report linked to above mentioned 1.6 billion rounds.
She keeps telling us that if we see something we should say something. Well, what I see here doesn't look good.
However, the report linked to above mentioned 1.6 billion rounds.
She keeps telling us that if we see something we should say something. Well, what I see here doesn't look good.
1.6 billion rounds - it's either a buy out to keep it out of our hands, they're planning on instating martial law soon, or worse...
Upcoming zombie outbreak anyone? :D
Littlelebowski
02-12-13, 13:00
1.6 billion rounds - it's either a buy out to keep it out of our hands, they're planning on instating martial law soon, or worse...
Do you really believe that?
Do you really believe that?
Not really, but can you think of a legitimate reason why they're stockpiling all of that ammo?
GeorgiaBoy
02-12-13, 13:13
I think there is an average of at least 4 of these "DHS/FBI/NOAA/GAO/White House/Supreme Court is buying up millions/billions/trillions/zillions of rounds of ammo" threads every month.
Ammo has to be purchased. The DHS might be stockpiling because they know something we don't regarding future availability of raw materials and its prices. They can buy low now and have plenty of ammo for the future to train with.
Further, 9mm and .40 are not the best rounds to declare martial law with... Those are service pistol rounds. If they were buying just 5.56, I may be a little bit more skeptical.
Do you really believe that?
I don't know if I do or not, but I don't want to.
Hell, who knows what the Gov may know and not tell us. I am not about to go into the pantry and make myself a shiny new tin-foil hat, but anything is plausible.
When you see a number like 1.6Bil rounds, the mind does tend to wonder as to the purpose behind it all.
billybronco
02-12-13, 13:16
Careful now, folks....
I posted a similar thread last week and was railed for "wearing a tinfoil hat".
Guess I'm paranoid cuz really, the DHS is TRULY looking out for our best interests.
Yeah right...
According to my google-fu DHS has approximately 200,000 employees. Add in another 150,000 contractors and the 1.6 billion rounds equates to 4700 rounds per employee which includes all the janitors and secretaries... I seriously doubt they are using this ammo for training. This is all bing stockpiled somewhere for some reason. Not saying its for nefarious reasons, but I do find it odd that they are gobbling up ammo at that rate.
According to my google-fu DHS has approximately 200,000 employees. Add in another 150,000 contractors and the 1.6 billion rounds equates to 4700 rounds per employee which includes all the janitors and secretaries... I seriously doubt they are using this ammo for training. This is all bing stockpiled somewhere for some reason. Not saying its for nefarious reasons, but I do find it odd that they are gobbling up ammo at that rate.
Tinfoil hat donned, crawling into faraday cage...
Maybe to drive the prices up for the civilian market, creating an artificial shortage? Also, news sources are notoriously unreliable. For all we know, 5.56 is on that list as well...
F-Trooper05
02-12-13, 13:34
Some of you are giving the Federal government way more credit than they deserve. They are NOT that calculated (or organized). They also buy more toilet seats annually than they need. It doesn't mean jack shit other then that they're a broke dick organization that's very good at waisting money.
Okay we'll go over this AGAIN:
A single agency may be the contract-holder/purchaser, and OTHER AGENCIES may procure under that contract, though may not do so directly.
Thinking that DHS-specific entities are gonna be the only users of this ammo, or of the prior-purchased, greater amount specified is basically nothing more than chasing the mice running around in your head. Which is fine; everybody needs a hobby, I guess....
Putting any speculation of implications aside, the fact that a single "commodity area" has been identified as the purchaser of large quantities of ammunition is not, by itself, in any way ominous or inherently meaningful. They're the middle-man for a LOT of this stuff.
In the procurement realm, it's as common as (and as menacing as) toilet paper.
EDIT: Awww, hell.... Shoulda kept my damned mouth shut. Stand by for the howls of "Holy shitsnacks, they're giving it to the USPS black-ops directorate! They want to stop delivering on Saturdays so they can TRAIN!! I KNEW IT!!!"
Littlelebowski
02-12-13, 14:11
Some of you are giving the Federal government way more credit than they deserve. They are NOT that calculated (or organized). They also buy more toilet seats annually than they need. It doesn't mean jack shit other then that they're a broke dick organization that's very good at waisting money.
Precisely. Anyone who was military and/or worked as a federal employee (done both) would have no problem grasping how inefficient the gov't is.
I think we just did this one...
https://www.m4carbine.net/showthread.php?t=123724
billybronco
02-12-13, 15:03
Indeed we did....As I stated above.
The USCG is also part of DHS. The USCG has almost 40,000 active and reserve personnel. The USCG buys ammunition 5 years in advance. That is why they perform ammunition forecasting and expenditure reports.
The USCG has .40 SIG's and Beretta 9mm's. As well as M4's, M16's, etc...
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