US asks private sector to ease bullet shortage

Financial Times ^ | May 26, 2004 | Christopher Bowe

[inflation]

I said no such thing. I just said that, having been in office for 3.5 years, the current administration shares some of the blame. To place all the blame of clintoon isn't truthful, not I didn't say he did not share in the blame just that he wasn't the only one responsible. And last time I check, President Bush didn't ok ammo orders, someone lower in the Military does. THEY should be brought to task.

[Harmless Teddy Bear]

I never said they couldn't produce a quality product. I am sure they do. I just don't like the idea of the government owning and running factories.

It just seems wrong.

[El Gato]

Not sure how I feel about the army owning factories in the first place. Just seems wrong somehow.

Maybe so, but it's traditional. Most bombs and other heavy stuff is made in government owned factories even today. Oh the guidance equipment and so forth are made by private industry, but the ordance part is made in government owned factories. The same holds for missles, motars and so forth. The famous M-1 Garand was a product of a government Arsenal (and John Garand worked for the government), as was the follow on M-14. Of course the M-1 Carbine was not, nor was the M-16. During WW-II much of the production was done by private industy, including many that had never been involved in making guns or ammunition before. Prior WW-I, most of the military small arms, and the big guns too, were made in government owned arsenals. Harper's Ferry in Virgina for example, or Springfield in Massachusetts for example. The big overhall and modification depots of the Air Force (Air Logistics Centers) are government owned factories for all practical purposes, although more of the support work in now done by contractors than was the case 30 years ago.

[El Gato]

I think the problem is that our ammo has to be envirowacko freindly.

Only the practice ammo, not the war reserve stuff.

[El Gato]

How about a bullets fundraiser. Imagine school children sending their penies to bullets to kill terroirsts. The left would go bald from pulling their hairs

Now that is a great idea, which is why it will never happen, at least not in the public schools.

[DuncanWaring]

During WW-II much of the production was done by private industy, including many that had never been involved in making guns...

My M-1 was build by International Harvester, and my M-16 was build by GM.

[spectre]

The USAF owns all warplane production facilities, to include dies, jigs, machinery, etc.

Aircraft companies such as Lockheed, Boeing, Sikorsky, etc., lease the facilities and equipment from the government to produce the aircraft.

[DuncanWaring]

...can produce only 1.2m bullets annually...

I'm interpreting "1.2m" as 1.2 million. Shouldn't this be 1.2 billion?

[Ruy Dias de Bivar]

I will give up my private stock of .223 ammo to the Military providing each bullet ends up residing in the torso or head of a terrorist.

[Cold Heart]

Army should get a Sportsmans Guide catalog (10% off on ammo with membership card).

[HP8753]

who in the private sector makes ammo for AC130 guns, or the guns on the Bradleys?

The Same Company>>>Alliant Techsystems,Inc.
Lots of cool military products.
It used to be Honeywell's Defense Systems Group.

ATK's Home Page

[Mulder]

IIRC, Klinton signed an Executive Edict banning the sale of military surplus ammo to us peasants.

Thus, ammo companies had no motivation to build the infrastructure to make as much as a single round more than the military had contracted for that year. And even that was risky as funding from year-to-year is always at the mercy of Congress and politics comes into play.

Any extra ammo had to be stockpiled somewhere (which costs $$$$) since they couldn't sell it to American citizens.

[Mulder]

The free market always fixes these things

Well, it's really not a "free market" when your market is artificially restricted by government edicts.

[John Lenin]

You don't see the correlation between stupid gun laws and military gear shortages ? Believe this, the last administration did everything it could to DESTROY this country.

[Feckless]

Dammed thing was only good for making sure you didn't get captured alive anyway :->

[Trinity5]

I was issued 12 rounds of 9mm ammo during Desert Storm. Six rounds for each 15 rd clip of my FN 9mm. Was threatened with a court martial when my wife sent me 2 boxes of 9mm ammo in the mail.

Try Beretta, not FN.

[Dog Gone]

Well, true, but tell me a US market that isn't affected that way. Oil? Farms? Automobile manufacturing?

I'm suggesting that it's all relative in a capitalistic environment despite the government edicts.

[Trinity5]

Unless you were a Brit which now makes sense after I posted!

[GSlob]

"How hard is it to add a second or third shift ?" 1.2 million cartridges/yr=5000/day (250 workdays/yr). A single amateur with a progressive reloading press could do 2000 per day, IF THERE ARE COMPONENTS (brass, bullets, primers) in quantum satis. Since even a primitive electric machine could do 8000/hr, their problem must be with components, not with assembly. And automated components lines should be making way more than 5000/day. Maybe there is a typo somewhere - 1.2 billion/yr?

[Ranger]

This situation is at least six months old. Unbelievable that it hasn't been addressed yet.