Is the US Military stockpiling ammunition amid the coronavirus scare?

a reply to: TheAMEDDDoc

Don't take me the wrong way. I long abandoned the Alex Jones style hyperbole I once fell prey to well over a decade ago. Certainly, it is inevitable that some day in the probably distant future that we will become an authoritarian state for a time, but I do not believe that will be in my lifetime or even my future grandchildren's lifetime.

We aren't communist China. We are America.

I think it much more likely that they would prepare for an expected conflict with another world superpower by collecting even civilian supplies. The government bids on ammunition same as the private sector. That does not make our military incompetent. Our military is the best in the world.

I'm only trying to either substantiate these rumors or debunk them. I have no bias either way.

originally posted by: Lumenari

originally posted by: Oaktree
Interesting you bring this up.
Last night, I made a last minute run down to a large sporting goods/outdoor store.
As I pulled in, 15 minutes before they closed, I noticed a store clerk helping load 4 cases of what appeared to be ammo into the back of what was quite obviously an unmarked state patrol Tahoe.

Not trying to be alarmist, and can’t even guarantee it was in fact ammo, but I know a case of ammo when I see it.

Until I saw this thread, I hadn’t given it a second though.

State police are not the military.

State police are also sometimes whack.

I worked at a Ford dealership once and a state trooper had a recall I needed to do which required me going into the trunk to replace a fuel pump module.

To do that in this case I had to remove 1,000 rounds of 12 gauge tactical rounds, 3,500 rounds of .223, 750 rounds of .308 armor piercing rounds and an assortment of 9 mil rounds.

I noticed when I took the vehicle out for a drive after that he was a BIG fan of the Walking Dead... he had a collection of DVD's.

It could very well be the local police overbuying in a panic.... not the military at all.

Worked a similar job working on law enforcement vehicles. They seem to all like coming in with a bunch of their crap in the way of whatever I had to work on. It got to the point I started telling them it's their crap, and if they want any work done they move move.

The breaking point that caused me to lose all Fs was when I had to do some routine maintenance on a prison bus, and there was feces everwhere. Dried piss I'm used to (and for those who aren't familiar I'm not talking sticky dry. I'm talking so dry that it's dusty yellow particulates floating through the air. So much so that when you remove an air filter yellow dust falls out), but friggin crap? Heck no.

They wanted to get a freebie cleaning out of the deal, and I told them nope. Straight up no. That if they wanted me to do what I had to do they were either going to clean it themselves or find someone else to do it.

In the end they cleaned it. Prison buses are nasty yall.


Ammo is dry everywhere.

There's a few reasons.

It's common practice to replace old ammo with new ammo once a year, and that time is usually at the beginning of the year.

Anytime there is panic, people buy up ammo. It's one thing to buy all the TP and Lil Debbies, but the more logical members of the human species will know they need something to protect themselves, their family, their buttwipes, and that cute little redhead.

Lastly, making ammo at home is a PITA. It takes forEVER. even with a good setup, I can only make so much in one sitting. So, I usually only did it once a week until I had enough to blownoff at the range at the end of the month.

To make ammo, you have to have good cartridges, primers, the right powders, accurate scales, ideally a clean work area, and lastly the projectiles themselves.

Making the projectiles in my opinion is the slowest and biggest PITA. You gotta get the metals needed flux, a good melting pot, and the molds. Some molds only make one or two molds at a time, but there are some that can make multiples, but you're lucky if all of them come out in good shape.

And that's if you know what you're doing and haven't screwed up making the powder.

So long story short. It's easier and in my opinion well worth the money just to buy it, and know that quality control means that 99.9% of my rounds will pew pew when I need them too without putting all of the labor and headache into it.

Back to the OP.

The military is stockpiling ammunition. They always have. Probably not more than is usual if at all.

Are they buying up ammo from local gun stores? No. The military basically gets all ammo straight from the manufacturer. Well, by whatever contract it is currently. I don't remember.

If anything local law enforcement officers are more likely to be buying up a bunch of ammo, but that's just because most LEOs are also people with families.

That, in addition to the hundreds if not thousands of individuals trying to shop at the same three of four (if your lucky) local gun shops probably doesn't help.

a reply to: TheAMEDDDoc

Let me be clear. I do not think the US military is going to run around shooting Americans. They are our family; our blood. Our culture in America is not conducive to the sort of authoritarianism it takes for military to gun its own people.

However, if we were to face an imminent threat of war with a superpower, then our military would need all the supplies they can get including that which should normally go to the private sector. Think WW2 rations on everything from foods to metal. Everything not designated for civilian use was allocated to the war effort.

It obviously didn't make the military incompetent or unprepared during WW2. In fact, one could argue quite the opposite.

a reply to: filthyphilanthropist

The military has been at war for two decades. They’ve hoovered up ammo that entire time.

They don’t need 10 boxes of 9mm from the local Academy to be ready for anything.

a reply to: Shamrock6

Well, thebrumor wasn't that they are buying all the ammo off the shelves. Duh, even a dolt like me knows that.

The rumor is that once the shelves are empty they won't be restocked for several months because the military is acquiring it before retailers can.

a reply to: filthyphilanthropist

I don't think that's the case really. Manufacturers figure in how much they set aside for military use before they even factor in civilian use. The military is going to get whatever they've been getting.

The problem arises when civilians start buying more than what the manufacturers predicted, so there will be a slight lag, where either the manufacturers ramp up production or civilians stop buying as much and production catches up.

Also the military as a whole pretty much uses Winchester rounds. Well, I think Sig Sauer won the new contract.(I really gotta look into that. Since I think for the longest time It was Lake City.) So, military use doesn't factor into other ammunition such as Hornady, Federal, or Speer, etc.

a reply to: AutomateThis1

Thank you. That really is helpful information.

originally posted by: filthyphilanthropist
a reply to: AutomateThis1

Thank you. That really is helpful information.

No problem. I do what I can. I'm actually planning on doing some research and following up later today.

a reply to: filthyphilanthropist

What is more important that buying guns and ammo, is having an escape plan from dense cities and populated areas.
Along with the obvious food and shelter.

a reply to: filthyphilanthropist

The military wouldn't be able to use most of it for the small arms they have. Doesn't sound likely. Impounded by the police in anticipation of unrest? Maybe.

Cheers