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


The American Dream
Thursday March 29, 2012

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 thought the Hague conventions called HP ammo inhumane. I guess these rules don't apply to us.

Okay, here is a possible explanation. Feel free to tear this up, because I honestly don't know exactly what DHS policy is, regarding live-fire training.

DHS (as of 2010) has roughly 220,000 employees. That's roughly 2045 rounds of ammo per employee for the next five years. So roughly 410 rounds per person per year.

Considering how much ammo I shoot off by myself per MONTH (about 1000-1500 rounds between pistol and rifle), 410 rounds for a YEAR is really not much at all.

Perhaps they are trying to do the smart thing and qualify their agents more than one or twice a year. I don't know, but I don't think we should look into this too far.

Or 2045 SHTF

Yeah, looks like qualification and carry ammo. Training ammo would generally not be the hollowpoints.

It does however demonstrate the utility of the .40 in the resistance fighter's inventory if the resistance fighter expects at least partial supply from opposition stockpiles.

My thoughts exactly.

Same thoughts here too.

With all the cops and feds using the .40 s&w (short & weak) it will be in short supply and that will leave more .45 acp which is superior to the .40 for patriots who can handle the power of the .45 acp. The first .40 caliber was the 10mm which is a lot more powerful than the .40 s&w but women and some wimpy men could not handle it.

Time to buy a gun in .40 SW!

Persistent rumors have been that the FBI is still using 10mm, just not as general everyday issue. I once was at a shooting range in California with a shoot house that the FBI had previously been using, and found 10mm brass with that telltale squarish firing pin imprint that gave me the strong impression that it had to have come from a Glock 20.

I asked around a bit, and heard that it was their SF bay area SWAT that had been there earlier, but everyone was otherwise hush-hush about them. What I gather from other sources, at least some of their groups use 10mm Glocks as tactical sidearms, then 10mm variants of the Mp5s as their rifles, with the 10mm Mp5 variants as often as not being semiauto only. Apparently the Mp5/10s were getting phased out with age, but it is unclear what they are getting replaced with. That information was from 2005.

Pricks who questioned me in 2007 had what appeared to be Glock 19s, but could have been the .40 cal variants. I don't think Glock ever came out with a mid-size 10mm.

I forget the name of the lady, but I read a memoir type book written by a female FBI agent who was actually suing for disability over recoil damage to her right wrist and shoulder. She had apparently gone through the academy during the short period they were using the 10mm Smith & Wesson pistols but her main complaint was the 12g shotgun slugs.

From what I understand, the 1076 had complaints from the non-shooter types but then some agent on a drug case had one that somehow malfunctioned on the inside and locked itself up shut and totally inoperable. The problem was traced to a design fault and then the guns were all recalled and either junked or surplussed out. The civilian 1076 pistols were never recalled that I know of, but the FBI issue causes their value to be all over the map since nobody knows exactly what is wrong with them, just that one locked up and ceased to work when some FBI agent had a confrontation with some dopers in the early 1990s.

This is great news!I can always use more 40.cal rnds!Now,they just need to get,tanks,Jet fighters and all the bells and whistles of a real army.Then the "FIELD" will be littered with all their Equipment,as their organized retreat breaks down into a full rout...Just like the Germany NAZI's in the Falaise Pocket(WWII,Normandy 44')..Then we'll have everything we need to secure America!...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Falaise_Pocket_map.svg