The Department of Homeland Security has put out yet another solicitation requesting hundreds of millions of hollow point rounds, this time 200 million rounds of .223 and .308 for the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency, to be obtained over two years, with 40 million the first year and 160 million the second.
For the .308, the agency has ordered two types: blanks and hollow points. The blanks will be sent to two locations in the southeast and Puerto Rico, with the hollow points going throughout the entire country. Blanks are used in movies and television, but can also be used to teach new shooters proper breathing and control of the trigger.
This is the latest order by the DHS of hundreds of millions of rounds of hollow point ammo. Back in March, the agency purchased 450 million rounds of .40 caliber ammunition from the ATK company out of Minnesota. This was followed in April by a solicitation for another 750 million rounds, including .357 magnum rounds that are capable of penetrating walls. All together, this is over a billion rounds.
The DHS has so far refused to say why they are purchasing billions of rounds, as this is an unusually large amount. When more people started questioning these purchases, the DHS responded by classifying information, blacking out certain sections of a solicitation, including portions pertaining to 64 and 65 grain .223 ammo and the number being requested.
Other agencies have also begun buying large quantities of ammo, including the National Weather Service’s order of 46,000 hollow point rounds, and 174,000 .357 magnum rounds ordered by the Social Security Administration. Though the SSA has explained away their purchase as being typical for agents and the NWS claims that the purchase was a “clerical error” and was actually for NOAA's Fisheries Office of Law Enforcement, the reasons for the DHS’s purchases still remain unknown.
Because law enforcement agents typically carry hollow point rounds, the large number ordered might be assumed to be used for training; however, hollow points are not used for target practice. For training, full metal jacket rounds are used. Hollow points are too expensive. They are also incredibly deadly, so much so that the Geneva Convention has forbidden their use in warfare, though law enforcement is allowed to use them. When a hollow point round hits the body, the round expands, limiting penetration but causing more tissue damage.
Besides the ammunition, the DHS has also bought bullet resistant checkpoint booths complete with “stop and go” lights. In preparation for the Republican and Democratic National Conventions along with the presidential inauguration, the department purchased hundreds of riot gear items.
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