Atlanta ammunition supply is severely constrained

March 16, 11:16 PMAtlanta Gun Rights ExaminerEd Stone

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Students prepare to burn through 1,000
rounds in a training class at Firearmz.

Larry Guarcello is having trouble locating a source of discounted ammunition.  He has been attempting to make a group purchase for members of GeorgiaCarry.Org who are attending firearms classes with instructor Ken Forbus at Firearmz.  These courses are not run of the mill familiarization courses where a student might expect to expend a single box of ammunition, but intensive courses requiring hundreds or even thousands of rounds.  At current prices, such prodigious shooting that can add up to a noticeable sum.

Because the cost is significant, Mr. Guarcello thought he could realize a substantial savings if the students banded together to purchase their ammunition, but so far he has met with frustration.  "Nobody is willing commit to price or availability at this time," he remarked.  He added that he has not given up.

Many readers no doubt have experienced similar frustration recently.  Mike Jones was at the Walmart sporting goods counter in Fayetteville, Georgia this evening, looking desperately through the empty shelves for ammunition to feed his .45 ACP pistol.  He did not find any, and his said that this was the second store he had visited in less than a week.

The situation is poised to get worse.  Larry Haynie, the owner of Georgia Arms, has completely shut down his sales of .308 (7.62 mm) and .223 (5.56 mm) ammunition due to the government reneging on its sale to him of thousands of pounds of fired brass in .223, .308, and .50 BMG.  The notice on the home page of his company web site contains the email Georgia Arms received from the government contractor that auctions surplus military items:

Effective immediately DOD Surplus, LLC, will be implementing new requirements for mutilation of fired shell casings.  The new DRMS requirement calls for DOD Surplus personnel to witness the mutilation of the property and sign the Certificate of Destruction.  Mutilation of the property can be done at the DRMO, if permitted by the Government, or it may be mutilated at a site chosen by the buyer.  Mutilation means that the property will be destroyed to the extent prevents its reuse or reconstruction.  DOD Surplus personnel will determine when property has been sufficiently mutilated to meet the requirements of the Government.

 Georgia Arms supplies "hundreds of thousands" of rounds to the Kentucky State Police.  In addition, many law enforcement agencies in Georgia purchase ammunition from Georgia Arms.  Sheriff Scott Berry, of Oconee County, confirmed that his agency is a large purchaser of Georgia Arms's .223 ammunition, which he reports functions flawlessly in the department's rifles.

Now that supply source is in doubt.

Georgia Arms is taking stock of its inventory of brass to determine what orders it can fill.  Larry Haynie predicts the impact on the civilian shooting market is going to be dramatic in the very near future, and he is asking Georgians to contact their Congressmen to return the sales of used brass from military installations.

The move to stop the sales makes no economic sense for the federal government.  Mr. Haynie estimates that the government receives about $2.50 per pound for its used brass, but brass that is good for nothing but scrap brings only about 45 cents per pound.  In a time of reduced federal revenues, Congress should ask whether this move by the Department of Defense is prudent.