Military Ammo Executive Order

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rednour1

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Kerry,

Maybe you can help me out on this one. I heard on the radio, that our Prez. signed an executive order this week, that does not allow the military to sell their brass (casings) to private companies to reload and sell to us (civilians), they are only allowed to sell them to companies to melt down into other products.

This would make every bullet out there brand new, driving the price up. Is there anything to this? I have also heard of outragous taxes comming on ammo (500%) was what one radio host was saying. I know rumors are rampant, but any truth to any of this?

Thanks,
 
The truth is that this change is not an executive order as first reported. It was a decision made by the DOD with regard to how scrap can be bought from their agency. In the past, once fired brass from military bases could be sold to scrap dealers and resold to companies who would then reprocess the brass and sell it as reloaded ammunition. Good brass can be reloaded up to 10-12 times so this was one method of providing economical ammunition for shooters.

The new directive is that all brass must now be shredded before it is sold or must be shredded in the presence of a DOD inspector after it is sold.

This change does two things. It results in reduced scrap sales income for the government ands it will dramatically increase new brass prices and in turn new ammunition prices for everyone...civilians, law enforcement officers and even government agencies. This will increase ammunition prices substantially.

However much of the increase in ammunition prices is due to public fear that the Obama administration will push for new proposed legislation now being considered in 12 states (including Missouri)..that would require all ammunition manufactured after Jan 1st 2011 to bear a micro code laser etched into the base of the bullet with a matching code on the body of the shell casing.

The purported intent is to allow Law Enforcement to more easily trace shell casing from a crime...back to the original shooter. However this technology is very new and unproven and is available from only one source. A company lobbying hard to have this legislation passed.

The problem is that a criminal could easily defeat this technology by leaving shell casings at a crime scene picked up at a local shooting range. It would also provide an additional incentive for criminals to steal ammunition bought legally by law abiding gun owners so that the spent shell casing would not leave a trail back to the criminal...but rather back to the law abiding purchaser.

This same legislation will also make the reloading of ammunition by civilians illegal as they will not have the technical capability to produce reloaded ammunition with the required micro laser ID number on both bullet and casing. This will accomplish a long desired goal of gun control advocates: Making it illegal for civilians to make their own ammunition.

It is another liberal "feel good" measure that does not solve it's intended purpose while generating other adverse unintended consequences. If this legislation were to pass...all ammunition in private hands after Jan 1st 2011 would immediately become contraband. It would have to be turned in or destroyed without any compensation to the owner. Since ammunition can last well over 50 years if properly stored...we are talking about destroying ammunition worth billions of dollars. Most law abiding owners I have spoken to have openly stated they will NOT turn in their ammunition under any circumstances. You therefore...with the stroke of a pen...make hundreds of thousands of law abiding citizens,with no criminal record...felons overnight.

Both of these efforts are part of a larger movement by gun control advocates to redirect their efforts from guns to ammunition. Since the supreme court ruling in the Heller case which confirmed the second amendment is an INDIVIDUAL right...gun control advocates now believe that controlling ammunition in private hands accomplishes the same thing as controlling firearms. BY making it more difficult or expensive to buy ammo they render many firearms useless. Since ammunition is not specifically protected by the second ammendment...this is the route we now see being taken to disarm the public.

I spoke recently with a ammunition distributor who said he expects a 1,000 rd case of .308 ammunition to cost him over $1,000 at the wholesale level before the end of this year. Four years ago that same 1,000 rds cost $98. Today that same case is selling at the gun shows for $595-$650.

Regarding taxes...California legislators have been trying to impose a $.10 tax on every round of ammunition sold. Even .22 rimfire. A 500 rd box of .22 ammo that sells today for about $15...would cost $65 under the proposed legislation.

What makes these measures so onerous is that low income individuals living in high crime areas would be unable to afford ammunition for personal protection. People who need personal protection the most. At some point the cost of ammo would only be affordable to affluent shooters....or politicians.

To put my own thoughts on the seriousness of these efforts into perspective...I have bought 14,000 rounds of once fired military brass in the past week...and looking every day to buy more. Unfortnuately...there is nearly none available to buy.

Go into your local Walmart and look for .380 Auto ammunition...or 9mm...or .45 ACP. The most common pistol rounds for personal protection. You will find the shelves empty and the managers will tell you they have no idea when they will ever get more in. One manger I spoke with said he had over 100 cases on back order for his store..yet receives less than a case a week. All of which sells out in minutes...

Welcome to change...

After all....Obama never suggested it would be "Good" change...

Kerry
 
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Here is a update received from the administrator of the 68forums.com web site who has been actively involved in tracking down the individual in the DOD who initiated the change in policy:

"FYI... as OF TODAY March 17, 09 got word of this

DOD has rescinded the order to mutilate all spent cases as of 4:30 pm on 3/17/09. Got word from a fairly reliable source too...will see what others hear."

Kerry
 
Another confirmation here:

Dear MSSA Friends,

I just received a phone call from the office of U.S. Senator Tester of Montana to inform me that at 5:15 (EST) today a letter cosigned by Senator Tester (D-MT) and Senator Baucus (D-MT) was faxed to the Department of Defense asking DoD to reverse its new policy requiring destruction of fired military cartridge brass. At 5:30, I am told, Tester's office received a fax back from DoD saying that the brass destruction policy IS reversed.

Others report to me that they are already seeing evidence of this on the Websites of entities that liquidate surplus DoD commodities.

Our thanks go out to Senator Tester and Senator Baucus, and their staff, for getting on this problem promptly and making the reversal happen

Staff for Tester and Baucus promise they will get me the documentation for this reversal tomorrow morning. I'll forward that when I get it.

Best wishes,

Gary Marbut, president
Montana Shooting Sports Association
http://www.mtssa.org
author, Gun Laws of Montana
http://www.mtpublish.com

and -
http://www.georgia-arms.com/

Dear Loyal Customers,

Thanks to your voice, DOD has rescinded the order to mutilate all spent cases as of 4:30 pm on 3/17/09. We appreciate the time and effort that you expended, together we all made a difference. We will be posting the email we received from DOD as well as any additional information within the next 12-16 hours. Thanks so much and lets get to work!!! Georgia Arms

The citizens have spoken Good thing I didn't have time today to get the pitchfork sharpened...
 
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