I guess this explains all the DHS Ammo Buys...

[graywolf]

Why is the Department of Homeland Security buying so many bullets?
 

Published February 14, 2013
 
Associated Press
 



Online rumors about a big government munitions purchase are true, sort of.
 
The Homeland Security Department wants to buy more than 1.6 billion rounds of ammunition in the next four or five years. It says it needs them -- roughly the equivalent of five bullets for every person in the United States -- for law enforcement agents in training and on duty.
 
Published federal notices about the ammo buy have agitated conspiracy theorists since the fall. That's when conservative radio host Alex Jones spoke of an "arms race against the American people" and said the government was "gearing up for total collapse, they're gearing up for huge wars."
 
The government's explanation is much less sinister.
 
Federal solicitations to buy the bullets are known as "strategic sourcing contracts," which help the government get a low price for a big purchase, says Peggy Dixon, spokeswoman for the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center in Glynco, Ga . The training center and others like it run by the Homeland Security Department use as many as 15 million rounds every year, mostly on shooting ranges and in training exercises.
 
Dixon said one of the contracts would allow Homeland Security to buy up to 750 million rounds of ammunition over the next five years for its training facilities. The rounds are used for basic and advanced law enforcement training for federal law enforcement agencies under the department's umbrella. The facilities also offer firearms training to tens of thousands of federal law enforcement officers. More than 90 federal agencies and 70,000 agents and officers used the department's training center last year.
 
The rest of the 1.6 billion rounds of ammunition would be purchased by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the federal government's second largest criminal investigative agency.
 
ICE's ammunition requests in the last year included:
 
--450 million rounds of .40-caliber duty ammunition
 
--40 million rounds of rifle ammunition a year for as many as five years, for a total bullet-buy of 200 million rounds
 
--176,000 rifle rounds on a separate contract
 
--25,000 blank rounds
 
The Homeland Security ammo buy is not the first time the government's bullets purchases have sparked concerns on the Internet. The same thing happened last year when the Social Security Administration posted a notice that it was buying 174,000 hollow point bullets.
 
Jonathan L. Lasher, the agency's assistant inspector general for external relations, said those bullets were for the Social Security inspector general's office, which has about 295 agents who investigate Social Security fraud and other crimes.
 
Jones the talk-show host did not immediately respond to requests for comment.


Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013/02/14/why-is-department-homeland-security-buying-so-many-bullets/?test=latestnews#ixzz2KuWblyyz

[crusader rabbit]

Yeah, I'll buy that explanation.  Makes total sense to me.

Now, do you still have that beachfront property in New Mexico and the Alpine Chalet in the Florida Alps that I wanted to buy?

Sheesh...

Crusader Rabbit

[lhprop1]

The training center and others like it run by the Homeland Security Department use as many as 15 million rounds every year, mostly on shooting ranges and in training exercises.
 
Dixon said one of the contracts would allow Homeland Security to buy up to 750 million rounds of ammunition over the next five years for its training facilities.

15 mil rounds expended every year.  750 miil rounds total.  They're set for the next 50 years, I guess. 

They're not stocking up for nefarious purposes, they're stocking up to save us taxpayers some money.  It's like the government version of buying ammo at Sam's Club. 

How thoughtful of them.

[twyacht]

I trust Alex Jones more than a gov't spokesperson's "explanation"......

I think ammo companies should come together and "suspend" all non military orders until civilian orders catch up....No rds. to the DHS, FBI, SS, ATF,...etc,....

Watch how fast this "gun control issue" goes away.

[Jrlobo]

The last time the government bought so much stuff to save money, I was eating WW II C-rations in chow halls during the 1960's. Oh oh, I hope this situation is not analogous!

[Sponsor]

[Magoo541]

I know there will be a least one 40 in my safe soon.  I think it is in the process of replacing the 9mm as the buy anywhere ammunition and I see future surplus being created by DHS now.  650 million rounds?  Some pro shooters shoot around 85k a year it so with that in mind it would take 1000 people shooting 65k (1250 a week) a year to consume all of that ammunition- or 10000 people shooting 6,500 rounds per year (500 a month) or a million people shooting 650 rounds.  I know that some training courses (like Chris Costa's) will run through 1800 rounds in a 3 day course but these are some staggering numbers.

Somewhere in there is a scary number of Federal "Law Enforcement" Officers.  They may be enforcing tax law, civil laws (or the repeal of civil liberities), marshal law, Obama Executive Orders (the LEOs would be part of the Executive Branch after all).

[tombogan03884]

Alex Jones has repeated shown himself to be an ass with inaccurate and sensationalized reports and using one provable "fact" to build an entire conspiracy.
He's no better than the MSM.

[jnevis]

You all make me laugh.  Even when you do the math yourself and the numbers come up pretty close you STILL insist that its some conspiracy.  How much ammo do YOU shoot every year?  I shoot more at an IDPA match in a weekend than I did as base police, and I was range staff that shot off all the excess rounds at the end of the quarter.  Every department is only allowed so many rounds for training every quarter.  You are required to expend it, even if you don't need to. Every round not expended in training but allocated must be accounted for and either used for "remedial" training or disposed of.  Even the remedial rounds MUST be expended prior to the end of the year.  No extras, no spares, no stockpiles, it must be gone.  How much ammo is in your locker from last year? The Social Security numbers work out to around 600 rds per agent for the year, which you'd typically shoot a qual course either every three or six months.  The handgun qual for the Navy is 48 rds start to finish and you are required to do it at least twice for score,plus any practice prior.

[twyacht]

Alex Jones is an ass and a sensationalist. But compared to a gov't spokeweasel? Really?

However, at no time in history has specific branches of the gov't ordered so much JHP and PDW ammo. It ain't range ammoi!

What changed?

Perhaps an Annointed One/Community Organizer that touted a Civilian Defense Force that rivals the military....

OBTW, Janet From Another Planet, "our borders are secure" Napalitano, is such a trustworthy spokesperson.

[jnevis]

Read the article on the FBI training.  They just raised the number of rounds per agent per qual by ten.  That alone could equal a million rounds a year for a department.

They don't order different ammo for duty and training, it is in fact the same ammo.