Today, however, a report that has nothing to do with rhetoric, hyperbole or rumor.
A very disturbing report that points to a very real assault on ammunition supplies.
The Department of Defense has issued a directive that bans the sale of military brass to ammunition re-manufacturers.
Without that brass, a very large dent is put into civilian ammunition supplies.
New Defense Reutilization and Marketing Service,DRMS) requirements call for the 'mutilation of shell casings'. Mutilation, incidentally, is the destruction of the property 'to the extent that prevents its reuse or reconstruction'.
Government officials will determine what constitutes 'sufficient mutilation' but it's safe to say that it will no longer be suitable for remanufacturing.
The first word of this latest decision came over the weekend when Georgia Arms' Larry Haynie released a letter notifying him of the new requirement.
For a company with an order in for 30,000 pounds of expended military brass in .223, .308 and .50 BMG, that was not a pleasant notification.
Georgia Arms was remanufacturing more than one million rounds of .223 ammunition monthly; selling that ammo on the civilian market to resellers and to government agencies all over the country.
Tomorrow, Georgia Arms will start sending cancellation notices for .223 ammunition to law enforcement agencies across the United States. Haynie says he may have to layoff half of his sixty-person workforce.
The message is simple. The implication is chilling.
A new welcome page posted on Georgia Arms' website,www.georgia-arms.com) says simply 'Due to new government regulations concerning the purchase of surplus brass, we are removing sales of all 223 and all 308 until further notice.'
From there, it directs visitors to the government website for contacting elected representatives.
All of us need to start contacting our elected representatives -and telling them, quite directly, that we're not going to put up with a move that not only curtails access to ammunition,nearly all .223 and .308 manufacturing capacity is tied up to satisfy the needs of the military) for civilians - but wastes taxpayers' money turning usable surplus into scrap metal.
Reducing the ammo brass to scrap reduces the value of the metal/surplus by nearly eighty percent. It also means that recast brass - in shippable form - may be shipped to China, one of the largest markets for U.S. metals on the world market.
If this is allowed to go unchallenged, anyone who owns a modern or traditional rifle in .223 or .308 calibers will see the impact- probably sooner than later.
'Anyone' in this context means everyone from recreational shooters to law enforcement trainers.
Pulling military brass out of the consumer supply chain means that all the manufacturing capacity being dedicated to meeting the military need will effectively become unavailable to civilians - forever.
Export rulings, lead bans, and brass mutilation orders from separate areas of the federal government look coincidental - on the surface. I'm not big on conspiracy theories - partially because I doubted the new administration would have gotten its collective act together so rapidly.
Seems I've been wrong on that one - and mistakenly using the word 'hoard' when talking about the nearly-insatiable demand for ammunition that continues across the country. Today, laying up of ammunition might be better described as prudent preparation for possible problems.
States are beginning to serve notice to the federal government they will not enforce laws that violate individual rights. The federal government seems intent on creating a society with increasingly higher numbers of people dependent on the government for either sustenance or employment. Average citizens are beginning to grow tired of being asked to 'tote the note' for others' irresponsibility.
These are, indeed, uncertain times.
Today, it's important that every reader take time to notify Congress that we - taxpayers - oppose this latest DOD move- and all the other not-so-subtle moves against gun owners.
You can contact your elected officials in Washington by going to this webpage http://www.usa.gov/Contact/Elected.shtml and following the links to your respective Senator or Congressman.
One key member of the United States Senate is Montana's Senator Max Baucus, chairman of the Senate Finance Committee. Baucus could make a call to the Pentagon and let them know their budgets might be reexamined if they don't reconsider this latest directive. At that point, the directive might labeled a 'misunderstanding' and rescinded.
But it is important that we keep pressure on Congress.
If that means phone calls, e-mails, and letters, let's get that done. If that doesn't produce results, we need to look beyond symbolic gestures like sending tea bags or bringing hundreds of thousands of gun owners to Washington and state capitols to protest.
These are, indeed, uncertain times. But the time for uncertain actions may be passing.
We'll keep you posted. In the meantime, maintain situational awareness.
--Jim Shepherd
Mar 27-Dec 31 USPSA Double Tap Championship
Double Top Ranch Range, Wichita Falls, Texas
Mar 16-20 NRA Intercollegiate Pistol Championship
Fort Benning, Georgia
Mar 28-29 USPSA Indiana Single Stack & Production Match
Riley Conservation Club, Riley, Indiana
A very disturbing report that points to a very real assault on ammunition supplies.
The Department of Defense has issued a directive that bans the sale of military brass to ammunition re-manufacturers.
Without that brass, a very large dent is put into civilian ammunition supplies.
New Defense Reutilization and Marketing Service,DRMS) requirements call for the 'mutilation of shell casings'. Mutilation, incidentally, is the destruction of the property 'to the extent that prevents its reuse or reconstruction'.
Government officials will determine what constitutes 'sufficient mutilation' but it's safe to say that it will no longer be suitable for remanufacturing.
The first word of this latest decision came over the weekend when Georgia Arms' Larry Haynie released a letter notifying him of the new requirement.
For a company with an order in for 30,000 pounds of expended military brass in .223, .308 and .50 BMG, that was not a pleasant notification.
Georgia Arms was remanufacturing more than one million rounds of .223 ammunition monthly; selling that ammo on the civilian market to resellers and to government agencies all over the country.
Tomorrow, Georgia Arms will start sending cancellation notices for .223 ammunition to law enforcement agencies across the United States. Haynie says he may have to layoff half of his sixty-person workforce.
The message is simple. The implication is chilling.
A new welcome page posted on Georgia Arms' website,www.georgia-arms.com) says simply 'Due to new government regulations concerning the purchase of surplus brass, we are removing sales of all 223 and all 308 until further notice.'
From there, it directs visitors to the government website for contacting elected representatives.
All of us need to start contacting our elected representatives -and telling them, quite directly, that we're not going to put up with a move that not only curtails access to ammunition,nearly all .223 and .308 manufacturing capacity is tied up to satisfy the needs of the military) for civilians - but wastes taxpayers' money turning usable surplus into scrap metal.
Reducing the ammo brass to scrap reduces the value of the metal/surplus by nearly eighty percent. It also means that recast brass - in shippable form - may be shipped to China, one of the largest markets for U.S. metals on the world market.
If this is allowed to go unchallenged, anyone who owns a modern or traditional rifle in .223 or .308 calibers will see the impact- probably sooner than later.
'Anyone' in this context means everyone from recreational shooters to law enforcement trainers.
Pulling military brass out of the consumer supply chain means that all the manufacturing capacity being dedicated to meeting the military need will effectively become unavailable to civilians - forever.
Export rulings, lead bans, and brass mutilation orders from separate areas of the federal government look coincidental - on the surface. I'm not big on conspiracy theories - partially because I doubted the new administration would have gotten its collective act together so rapidly.
Seems I've been wrong on that one - and mistakenly using the word 'hoard' when talking about the nearly-insatiable demand for ammunition that continues across the country. Today, laying up of ammunition might be better described as prudent preparation for possible problems.
States are beginning to serve notice to the federal government they will not enforce laws that violate individual rights. The federal government seems intent on creating a society with increasingly higher numbers of people dependent on the government for either sustenance or employment. Average citizens are beginning to grow tired of being asked to 'tote the note' for others' irresponsibility.
These are, indeed, uncertain times.
Today, it's important that every reader take time to notify Congress that we - taxpayers - oppose this latest DOD move- and all the other not-so-subtle moves against gun owners.
You can contact your elected officials in Washington by going to this webpage http://www.usa.gov/Contact/Elected.shtml and following the links to your respective Senator or Congressman.
One key member of the United States Senate is Montana's Senator Max Baucus, chairman of the Senate Finance Committee. Baucus could make a call to the Pentagon and let them know their budgets might be reexamined if they don't reconsider this latest directive. At that point, the directive might labeled a 'misunderstanding' and rescinded.
But it is important that we keep pressure on Congress.
If that means phone calls, e-mails, and letters, let's get that done. If that doesn't produce results, we need to look beyond symbolic gestures like sending tea bags or bringing hundreds of thousands of gun owners to Washington and state capitols to protest.
These are, indeed, uncertain times. But the time for uncertain actions may be passing.
We'll keep you posted. In the meantime, maintain situational awareness.
--Jim Shepherd
Mar 27-Dec 31 USPSA Double Tap Championship
Double Top Ranch Range, Wichita Falls, Texas
Mar 16-20 NRA Intercollegiate Pistol Championship
Fort Benning, Georgia
Mar 28-29 USPSA Indiana Single Stack & Production Match
Riley Conservation Club, Riley, Indiana
