Ammunition makers bracing for downturn

[NNN0LHI]

http://www.star-telegram.com/national_news/story/178901.html

WASHINGTON -- The Lake City Army Ammunition Plant in Independence, Mo., driven by the demands of war, produces nearly 1.4 billion cartridges a year.

"It's actually mind-boggling," said Karen Davies, Lake City's general manager.

The question is, for how long? Although no one knows when the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan will end, Davies and other ammunition industry executives understand that the heavy orders won't last forever. So as they churn out the military's most essential hardware, ammunition makers are preparing for a downturn in business.

They worry about a return to the period just after the Cold War when the Pentagon slashed spending for small-caliber rifle rounds and other munitions, forcing suppliers to cut payrolls, mothball manufacturing equipment and lose hard-to-get environmental permits. Some closed.

[Canuckistanian]

1. I thought the Army was running out of small arms ammunition

http://www.strategicstudiesinstitute.army.mil/pdffiles/ksil75.pdf

[razorman]

2. I expect the prices of ammo will go down

once the overage hits the civilian market.

[DonP]

3. I sure hope so.

.223 has been hard to find and way high priced.

All the old South African and British surplus that was stacked up in every gun store, disappeared about two years ago. It's made target shooting a very expensive proposition.

[razorman]

8. Fortunately, I am fairly well stocked.

I still have a couple of cases of .223 left (among other calibers) from the "assault weapons" ban scare several years ago.

[Ganja Ninja]

4. There was a lesson to be learned in all this.

If we keep exporting our manufacturing base eventually we are not going to be able to defend ourselves. You can't make planes and tanks when all the machine tools and even the ability to make them is in China.

[Squatch]

5. I've got a couple thousand rounds

of 12 ga (ranging from 00 to specialized duck loads), 20 ga, 300WinMag, 30-06, & 40 S&W...so I think I'm good for a while.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

6. The "Masters of War" are whining.

"Masters of War" by Bob Dylan

Come you masters of war
You that build all the guns
You that build the death planes
You that build the big bombs
You that hide behind walls
You that hide behind desks
I just want you to know
I can see through your masks

You that never done nothin'
But build to destroy
You play with my world
Like it's your little toy
You put a gun in my hand
And you hide from my eyes
And you turn and run farther
When the fast bullets fly

Like Judas of old
You lie and deceive
A world war can be won
You want me to believe
But I see through your eyes
And I see through your brain
Like I see through the water
That runs down my drain

You fasten the triggers
For the others to fire
Then you set back and watch
When the death count gets higher
You hide in your mansion
As young people's blood
Flows out of their bodies
And is buried in the mud

You've thrown the worst fear
That can ever be hurled
Fear to bring children
Into the world
For threatening my baby
Unborn and unnamed
You ain't worth the blood
That runs in your veins

How much do I know
To talk out of turn
You might say that I'm young
You might say I'm unlearned
But there's one thing I know
Though I'm younger than you
Even Jesus would never
Forgive what you do

Let me ask you one question
Is your money that good
Will it buy you forgiveness
Do you think that it could
I think you will find
When your death takes its toll
All the money you made
Will never buy back your soul

And I hope that you die
And your death'll come soon
I will follow your casket
In the pale afternoon
And I'll watch while you're lowered
Down to your deathbed
And I'll stand o'er your grave
'Til I'm sure that you're dead

[lpbk2713]

7. Contribs to the RNC campaign fund will be proportionately impacted.

:eyes: :eyes:


"Oh well, it was fun while it lasted", says they.

[benEzra]

9. Even if the military stopped buying small-caliber ammo tomorrow...

the civilian ammunition shortage is currently severe enough that the factories will be busy catching up for quite a while. And not just U.S. manufacturers, but the imported brands (Wolf, Barnaul) as well.

Have you tried buying .223 Remington or 7.62x39mm lately??

My local gun store has Brown Bear (Barnaul) 123gr JHP for $7.00 a box. Only 20 rounds!! Five or six years ago, the price was about $1.75/box.

And try finding the Winchester white box 55-gr .223...