4um: Why Does The Department Of Homeland Security Need 450 MILLION Hollow Point Bullets?

Somebody out there has decided that the Department of Homeland Security needs a whole lot of ammunition. Recently it was announced that ATK was awarded a contract to provide up to 450 MILLION hollow point bullets to the Department of Homeland Security over the next five years. Is it just me, or does that sound incredibly excessive? What in the world is the DHS going to do with 450 million rounds? What possible event would ever require that much ammunition? If the United States was ever invaded, it would be the job of the U.S. military to defend the country, so that can't be it. So what are all of those bullets for? Who does the Department of Homeland Security plan to be shooting at? According to the U.S. Census, there are only about 311 million people living in the entire country. So why does the Department of Homeland Security need 450 million rounds of ammunition? Either this is an incredible waste or there is something that the Department of Homeland Security is not telling us.

I could understand if the U.S. military was ordering ammunition in this quantity. When you fight wars you can go through ammunition very rapidly.

But the Department of Homeland Security is only supposed to be shooting at people very rarely.

It simply does not make sense that they would need so much ammunition.

The following is an excerpt from the official press release about this deal between ATK and the Department of Homeland Security....

ATK announced that it is being awarded an Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) agreement from the Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (DHS, ICE) for .40 caliber ammunition. This contract features a base of 12 months, includes four option years, and will have a maximum volume of 450 million rounds.
ATK was the incumbent and won the contract with its HST bullet, which has proven itself in the field. The special hollow point effectively passes through a variety of barriers and holds its jacket in the toughest conditions. HST is engineered for 100-percent weight retention, limits collateral damage, and avoids over-penetration.
"We are proud to extend our track record as the prime supplier of .40 caliber duty ammunition for DHS, ICE," said Ron Johnson, President of ATK's Security and Sporting group.

But this is not the only kind of ammo that the DHS is placing an order for.

Business Insider is also reporting that the Department of Homeland Security is seeking to buy 175 million rifle ammunition rounds....

We've also learned that the Department has an open bid for a stockpile of rifle ammo. Listed on the federal business opportunities network, they're looking for up to 175 million rounds of .233 caliber ammo to be exact. The 223 is almost exactly the same round used by NATO forces, the 5.56 x 45mm.

This all comes at a time when gun sales are absolutely going through the roof in the United States.

Gun manufacturer Sturm, Ruger & Co. recently announced that it would be suspending new orders until May because it received orders for more than one million guns during the months of January and February.

The following announcement about this suspension of sales comes from their official website....

The Company's Retailer Programs that were offered from January 1, 2012 through February 29, 2012 were very successful and generated significant orders from retailers to independent wholesale distributors for Ruger firearms.
Year-to-date, the independent wholesale distributors placed orders with the Company for more than one million Ruger firearms.
Despite the Company's continuing successful efforts to increase production rates, the incoming order rate exceeds our capacity to rapidly fulfill these orders. Consequently, the Company has temporarily suspended the acceptance of new orders.
The Company expects to resume the normal acceptance of orders by the end of May 2012.

Since Barack Obama first took office, gun sales in America have risen to extraordinary levels.

Overall, more than 10 million guns were sold in the United States during 2011.

And gun sales have continued to rise at a brisk pace in 2012. The following was recently posted on Yahoo News....

The NSSF said that 920,840 instant criminal background checks were made in January alone, a gain of 17.3% over the same month in 2011. This now makes it the 20th consecutive month of increases. While using the number of background checks is a good measurement of sales, it doesn't paint the whole picture as some checks are used for the purchases of multiple firearms. Also, some private transfers and sales from gun shows are exempt, making the actual number of guns sold higher.

According to Gallup, 41 percent of all Americans said that they owned a gun in 2010. But when that question was asked again in 2011, that number had risen to 47 percent.

Clearly, a lot of Americans are feeling the need to arm themselves.

Unfortunately, they may find themselves short on ammunition for those guns considering how much ammo the government is buying up.

So what is causing everyone to buy so many guns?

Well, without a doubt we are likely to see a rise in crime as the U.S. economy continues to crumble. People want to be able to protect themselves and their families when everything falls apart. In fact, we are already starting to see some really violent home invasions in many parts of the nation. Many in the prepper movement are deeply concerned about the direction this country is headed and they want to be prepared for whatever happens.

Of course the rising gang problem in America is a major concern too. According to the FBI there are now 1.4 million gang members living in the United States, and that number has increased by 40 percent since 2009. Many urban communities have essentially been taken over by these gangs, and many of these gangs are definitely not shy about using violence. Average Americans that live in these communities want to be able to have a fighting chance against these gangs.

But that doesn't explain why the DHS needs so much ammunition. Yes, our world is becoming increasingly unstable, but under what conditions does the DHS ever anticipate firing off 450 million rounds?

Something does not add up. If anyone has a possible explanation for why the DHS would need 450 million rounds of ammunition, please post a comment and share your thoughts with us below....

I've done some thinking on this. Considering the abhorrence for firearms that Holder has, and of course, their intention of bankrupting everyone, not to mention that the government has more 9mm's in service than anything else, this is my theory.

They not only bought 450 million rounds of .40, but bought nearly as many .223 rounds.

Did the government recently get a contract with any manufacturers to make .40 cal weapons? If so, who? What was the purpose? Could they be retiring their stockpile of Beretta service pistols in lieu of a .40 cal pistol? Anyone think about that?

They also are procuring .223 rounds, which of course can be used in the M-4's, M-16's, and all the AR variants that are chambered for 5.56. What version of these rounds were they hoarding?

Now, as much as I'd like to tilt at windmills with everyone else, worrying to death about how bad a hollow point bullet is going to smart, I really can't. Here's why.

Most hollow point bullets are good for about 150 feet, 200 at best out of a .40 cal pistol. If you own a good rifle, you can engage targets at 300 yards with minimal effort. So I don't think it's going to be one of those situations.

Has anyone stopped to think that these purchases might be done, just to jack up the cost of ammunition? If there's a surplus, then the prices go down. If there's a shortage, well...? Anyone notice the price of .223 going through the roof lately? How about 9mm? .308? Everyone needs to think also about the fact that we are all purchasing guns out of fear right now that Obumbski and his Commie Cronies are going to destroy the 2nd Amendment through a contrivance, and our representatives are going to sell us out. People are seeing a major campaign of fear being waged against them, and perhaps this fear has crept into this traitor's administration?

Maybe they're worried that the people are going to get tired of being preyed upon, and are preparing for what is going to happen when the people want their country back.

I'm not concerned, and anyone who has been smart the last 20 years, shouldn't be either. When the first shots happen, it won't be Patriots taking them, it'll be the tyrants, in order to gin up another Waco, or Ruby Ridge. They want a confrontation they can control, and turn into something that it isn't, but it won't happen under Bubbles the Wunderaffe's watch.

No. All of the legislation that has been procured, created and implemented won't be used by the administration that passes it, it'll be the ones who supercede them. Look for Mittens, or Sanscrotor to do something about that pesky constitution.

“We cannot continue to rely on our military in order to achieve the national security objectives we’ve set. We’ve got to have a civilian national security force that’s just as powerful, just as strong, just as well-funded.” - Der Wunderaffe

Yeah, I recall way back in the old days of Chicago, the anarchists bombed the statue of a Chicago cop, the Haymarket Square bombing, as I recall. Don't think anything major came of it.