It has been mentioned there is a shortage of ammo and it is getting worse. The specific calibers in question are .223 and 45acp.

-- Racegun (g.g.williams@mindspring.com), April 15, 1999

Answers

Data, links, pointers, press conference, evidence, something (new) please... ?

-- Ct Vronsky (vronsky@anna.com), April 15, 1999.

And don't forget: guns don't kill people, BULLETS kill people.

-- yep (that's@it.fer_sure), April 15, 1999.

Here's a link from a Wired article:

http://www.wired.com:80/news/print_version/politics/story/18716.html?w npg=all

In the last 2 months I've noticed that 45ACP is VERY difficult to find here in NJ. Last year the shelves were full, but now there's only a few boxes here and there of factory ammo and the rest is reload-crap. Good thing I stocked up in January...

As a side note, one of the guys at the pistol range I go to told me that in just the last week he's had over a dozen programmer/technical types come in and purchase guns. All were first time buyers.

-TECH32-

-- TECH32 (TECH32@NOMAIL.COM), April 15, 1999.

A friend told me that one of the reasons for the shortages is because the ever loathsome and trecherous Klintoon Administration had put a ban on ALL ammo imports. Domestic manufacturers just can't produce enough ammo to keep up with the growing demand which is getting bigger every day.

-- Racegun (g.g.williams@mindspring.com), April 15, 1999.

Reloaders working shows also recently reported extreme difficulty in finding .45, .223, .308 and components such as new brass and factory JHP's.

Import ammo is also going WAAY up in cost. High demand, low availability.

Something's afoot folks.

-- INVAR (gundark@sw.net), April 15, 1999.

Racegun,

I read an article (I can't remember where) by the NRA spokeswoman that said the Klinton Administration is limiting ammo imports by using a little known law that allows ANY IMPORTED ITEM used by the military to be banned from purchase by civilians. Just have the military purchase a few boxes of ammo type X and suddenly you and I can't buy it. Ain't that just grand?

-TECH32-

-- TECH32 (TECH32@NOMAIL.COM), April 15, 1999.

There was an earlier thread on this a week or two ago. As I remember it, the only ban was on one lot of .223 ammo from Israel (?) that apparently was manufactured using American-supplied equipment. Importation is banned under a law that U.S. ammo manufacturers themselves asked for and supported. I've asked around at gun shops and gun shows here in northern New England and retailers are telling me the problem is demand, not supply. They've never seen anythng like it, and they are all pointing to y2k and Klintonista anti-gun rhetoric as reasons.

-- Cash (Cash@andcarry.com), April 15, 1999.

People kill people. Any other perspective is ridiculous!

-- onlooker (onlooker@view.com), April 15, 1999.

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-- compost (aaa@aaa.com), April 15, 1999.

-- Ned (entaylor@cloudnet.com), April 15, 1999.

Best I've been able to tell by talking to folks here is that there are actually three seperate problems here:

1. there *is* still ammunition getting into the country. However, what is happening (and what the NRA has reported) is that billy jeff and company are attempting to misuse a law which was originally intended to keep third world dictators from reselling arms given in military aid, and then pocketting the bucks. Basicly what the law actually says is that *US made military equipment* which has specificly been provided to another country as part of a military aid package, cannot be reimported into the US.

What the clinton administration has attempted to do is to stretch the law to include banning importation of *ammunition manufactured on equipment* given to another country as part of a military aid package. That is why all Israeli (and even some Korean) 5.56mm (.223), .45, and 7.62mm NATO (.308) are scarce right now. You'll also notice that Czech .45 ammo is still available as is ammo produced by other countries not currently on the clintonistas' hate list.

2. The second problem is also caused by the clintonistas who have instructed the various federal agencies involved to drag their feet on approving the final paperwork for ammunition imports. In some cases shipments have sat on the docks for several weeks waiting for the various customs duties and what not to be approved and processed.

3. Sales of all types of small arms ammunition have skyrocketted over the last eight months or so. (gee, I wonder why!) Production is not keeping up with demand here in the states, and problems 1 & 2 are making the situation worse than it would be otherwise. I'd look for the market to remain tight right up through December...

should be an interesting new year,

Arlin

-- Arlin H. Adams (ahadams@ix.netcom.com), April 15, 1999.

Arlin,

Thanks for the straight info on which law the Klinton Administration is abusing this time around.

-TECH32-

-- TECH32 (TECH32@NOMAIL.COM), April 15, 1999.

I can vouch for 308 ammo being in short supply or 'back order' as the retailers are saying. Been waiting over 5 weeks for my order.

-- (guns-R-us@shoot.com), April 15, 1999.

If only people kill people, instead of gun control it'll be people control...



-- Ct Vronsky (vronsky@anna.com), April 15, 1999.

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Coughed up a lung on that one...

-- Nathan (nospam@all.com), April 16, 1999.

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Hope this works.

the cleaning crew

-- chuck, a Night Driver (rienzoo@en.com), April 16, 1999.