War stretches nation's ammo supply

[RamboLiberal]

Source: Pantagraph.com

Ammunition shipments to local gun shops and police departments are being delayed for months because the Army has more than tripled its demand for small caliber ammunition.

Ammunition plants have dramatically ratcheted up production, but company officials acknowledge delays to police and retailers of up to a year.

"There are millions of rounds backordered because the war has put such a demand on the manufacturers," said Lana Ulner, manager of Rapid City, S.D.-based Ultramax Ammunition, a distributor for several manufacturers. "In some cases, it can take eight to 12 months."

The Army's demand for small caliber ammunition has soared from 426 million rounds in 2001 to 1.5 billion rounds in 2006, according to the Joint Munitions Command at the Rock Island Arsenal in Illinois.

The government spent $688 million on ammunition last year, up from $242 million in 2001, said Gail Smith, a Joint Munitions Command spokeswoman. The most common rounds ordered are 5.56 mm, 7.62 mm and .50 caliber, she said.


Read more: http://www.pantagraph.com/articles/2007/05/22/news/doc4651a159183ed439300621.txt

[slackmaster]

1. 5.56 mm ammunition is approaching 50 cents per round at the discount suppliers

It's a cycle that happens with every war. Production will be ramped up, the fighting will cool off sooner or later, and surplus ammunition will have to be sold as it approaches its shelf life.

[spotbird]

7. ammunition has a shelf life?

About how long is it good for?

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

8. In a dry place? A long time.

[slackmaster]

15. It can last for decades - it's mainly the primers that deteriorate

Moisture is their second worst enemy, any trace of oil can render them useless. The military doesn't take any chances, and won't deploy ammunition more than a few years old.

The old corrosive chlorate-based primers had a much longer shelf life. I have fired 6.5 mm Swedish ammunition that was over 90 years old, in rifles about the same age. But it leaves corrosive residue and requires special cleaning to prevent rust.

[virginia mountainman]

17. You can say that again Slack..

I have stock pile of old WW2 era British .303 Mk 7 Ammunition, all of it head stamp dated to 41, 42, and 43

Loaded with Cordite powder, the stuff shoots HARD, and with very few misfires. But it is corrosive, and does take special care when cleaning the rifles.

I also have a couple of cloth belts of the .303 Mk 7 for Vickers Machine guns.

Several cans of US GI 30-06 loaded in bandoleers for my M1 Garand, corrosive primers, Korean war era stuff.

[NickB79]

22. Over on AR15.com there is a new price-bitching thread daily

They're all crying that they can't afford ammo anymore for their rifles, despite the fact they all supported this stupid war to start with, and many still do support it. Boo-fucking-hoo. They have drank deep of the Kool-Aid there.

[slackmaster]

23. They didn't plan ahead

I probably have 10,000 rounds of it that I bought when prices were low.

[NickB79]

27. I only started stocking up 2 yrs ago

I went the reloading route and purchased enough supplies to load a few thousand .223 rounds for my AR-15, as loaded ammo was already starting to get expensive then. Other than that I've stocked up on about 5000 rds of .22LR for my Ruger 10/22, and plan on buying another 5000 this summer if Cabela's has another sale or sends me another coupon.

It sucks that when .223 was cheap at $120/1000 and available everywhere, I was spending all my money on beer in college :(

[Solo_in_MD]

2. 30 caliber is still being sold cheap

[saigon68]

30. .308 is still around

And the best in a "deer rifle"

Reloading rocks

[Solo_in_MD]

31. not to mention 7.62*39

Which I use a fair amount of

[saigon68]

34. That's nice too-- too bad they banned the chinese steel cored stuff

The privileged were afraid the common people might use it to defeat "bullet proof vests" (an oxymoran) of their thug domestic peace keepers

[LiberalFighter]

3. Media did ammo shortage about a month ago

[mile18blister]

4. Just yesterday a friend asked me if there was anything still made in USA.

I told him bombs - I should have said bombs and bullets.

[Kelvin Mace]

6. Actually

we are starting to buy ammo overseas as well.

[krispos42]

18. And bullshit. Lots of bullshit

it's called 'marketing'

[virginia mountainman]

5. It is also driving up

7.62 X 39

I still have several cases in reserve (bought back when it was $120 a case, but some of my friends say that even it is getting hard to find

[Posteritatis]

12. How much is in a case? (nt)

[benEzra]

16. A case of 7.62x39mm is generally 1200 rounds. (n/t)

[burrowowl]

9. Buy it from China!

:sarcasm:

[RL3AO]

10. The U.S. cant keep up with bullet demands? Time to bust out the WWII propoganda

Maybe it will work for gas too. Just put Osama in there.

[roamer65]

11. Nickel has always been a good barometer during wartime.

Both the USA and Canada eliminated from their coins by mid-1942. Canada did so again during the Korean War. Nickel is near all time highs of around $24 a pound right now. Just like Vietnam, the Iraq fiasco will start competition for resources between the military and consumer economy. The result will be a nasty spike in consumer prices (aka inflation). We're gonna see the same.

[krispos42]

19. Why nickel?

The brass in the cartridge is an alloy of copper and zinc, sometimes with aluminum. The bullets are lead with a copper jacket.

Is it the primer or the primer cup, maybe?

[virginia mountainman]

28. I believe....

And I very well could be wrong...

That nickel is used in the production of armor plate, gun barrels, and such, it is used to harden steel.

[krispos42]

32. Silly me, I'm thinking of ammunition

We're talking war in general. Nickel is a critical element in stainless steel. IIRC most stainless steel is actually about 10% nickel by weight. And in regular steels as well.

In 1943 they made pennies out of steel. I have a couple of those. Off-topic slightly, but cool. :-)

[roamer65]

35. Yup, Nickel is needed for armor plating...

hardened and stainless steels and now NiMH battery packs for electronic gear. It is the most supply sensitive war metal, well beyond copper. When I saw its price going through the roof, I knew we were in for a rough ride. Nickel is now in such short supply that the Chinese are trying to substitute chromium and manganese in their stainless steel production.

Krispos42, if you want something neater than the '43 steel pennies then get a 1944 or 1945 penny. They were made from brass shell casings from the war itself. So the 1945 penny you have may have actually shot down a Japanese Zero.

[krispos42]

36. Hmmm... don't know if I have any of those

I'll look one day, though. Thanks!

And I'm glad the stainless we use at my job is made in the USA. Stainless has about 18% chromium in it anyway, but skimping on the nickel will do god-knows-what to the metal. And our stuff is used in domestic water fixtures, so people drink from this stuff!

[LynnTheDem]

13. That's what we are in the eyes of the world.

Not "land of the free".

Not "America the beautiful".

Just a rogue state committing the "supreme crime" of wars of aggression, letting our own people lie dead in American streets as we spend every dime on ammo to kill more of other people's kids.

[jody]

14. Lead prices were about 20 cents/lb in 2002, today over 95 cents/lb.

http://www.infomine.com/investment/historicalcharts/showcharts.asp?c=Lead

[ShortnFiery]

20. WAR is TERRORISM ...

WAR is DEATH.

Dammit, I'm NOT at war. Refuse to partake in this utter bullshit. Slap the bastards back down in their place. Don't let your loved ones join the military.

[BrotherBuzz]

25. Hoot! I guess I just rediscovered my goldmine

I collected lead for years, and years, for my 'never to be cast' lead sailboat keel. Last time I looked at the lead market was about twenty years ago when the price was hovering around eight cents a pound! I've got 1500 pounds in ingots, and another three hundred in loose scrap!

I collected a lot of copper, too; I need to sell all of it before the prices drop!

[denverbill]

21. Wow. Enough bullets to kill 1/4 of the world's population every year.

It's a wonder there are any people left in Iraq. Even if only 1 in 1000 hits anyone that would be 1,500,000 people hit in a year.

[slackmaster]

24. Most ammunition is used for target practice

:nuke:

[krkaufman]

26. It's my understanding that we've been without active ammo for training ...

... for quite some time.

[IndianaGreen]

29. Our Second Amendment is more important than waging an oil war in Iraq

Let us have our bullets, and let our troops return home!

Where's the NRA when we really need them?

[Forkboy]

33. I don't see how with the Dems firing so many blanks.