Iraq/Afghan wars to cause bullet shortage for local police depts? (lancaster, pa)

[gauguin57]

http://local.lancasteronline.com/4/208780

Cops worry: Will we run out of bullets?
More ammo going to soldiers in Iraq, Afghanistan wars.

By AD CRABLE
Lancaster (PA) New Era

LANCASTER COUNTY, Pa. - Local police departments could be sweating bullets soon over a nationwide ammunition shortage caused by the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Lancaster County's five largest police departments and the countywide SWAT team say they have not had to cut back on firing range training or outfitting officers in the field.

But with stockpiles dwindling and order delays of up to nine months, supply officers say training could be scaled back after the first of the year if the situation doesn't improve.

... A shortage could result in (police) training without firing ammunition.... Troops in Iraq and Afghanistan and soldiers in training in the United States are firing more than 1 billion bullets a year, according to one national report, and supplies of ammunition for handguns and rifles have not kept pace with the demand.

Also contributing to the shortage is increased police department firearms training in the wake of the events of Sept. 11, 2001. piraling demand for copper and lead — two main ingredients in bullets and their casings — in China and other countries also is a factor in the shortage. ...

[kirby]

1. Just how many bullets to the police need?

How many round are they firing?

I read recently that the ammo manufacturer recently upped their production to 1.2 BILLION rounds per year. The article said basically since the 'chaos' of Katrina, police departments have been stockpiling more ammo. And with the increased order times due to the war on Iraq police departments, departments are ordering even more than usual causing an even higher increase in demand.

Shortage of lead due to China? If they would stop using lead in the toys, maybe that would free some up.

Still, 1.2 BILLION rounds PER YEAR (from ONE manufacturer), just boggles my mind.

[benEzra]

2. U.S. target shooters go through several billion rounds per year...

production and consumption of .22LR alone is in the billions of rounds. Remember, there are 80 million gun owners in this country, and many of us shoot hundreds of rounds a month. I went to the range a while back with my sister and a friend of hers (pistols only), and we probably shot 500-600 rounds between the three of us. A typical range trip with the "AK" is 50 to 80 rounds, for me, and a pistol or carbine match (every other weekend) is another hundred rounds or so.

Most police ammunition is used in training, not on duty; an average pistol or carbine training session would use 100 or 200 rounds per officer, and for SWAT teams who use machineguns and train a lot. Some departments train only once or twice a year, but many do so more regularly (which is a good thing, IMO).

I have read recently that since 9/11, there has been a 40% increase in police ammunition purchases, and the Katrina gun confiscations sent civilian purchases through the roof, due to concerns about future bans/confiscations, I think. This affects police purchases to some degree since some of the most popular rifle and pistol calibers used by civilian target shooters are also the primary police calibers.

Prices for civilian ammo have gone up 100% to 350% in the past two or three years, depending on the caliber.