Out of Ammo? Not Quite

I have written, as have many others, about the extraordinary shortage of ammunition that the United States is now suffering. The most common calibers, .22LR and 9 mm., are virtually unobtainable, in part because federal agencies have purchased well over a billion rounds of civilian ammunition. This situation has, naturally, given rise to rumors and speculation. Is the government trying to achieve de facto gun control by buying up the entire supply of civilian ammunition? Is DHS expecting some kind of invasion that explains its hoarding hundreds of millions of small arms rounds in depots around the United States?

I don’t know the answers to these questions, but I assume that what is mainly going on is a classic panic-driven shortage. If you are a gun owner, you likely have been stocking up on ammunition. When a whole lot of people stock up at once, as a result of draconian anti-firearms legislation that has been introduced at both the federal and the state levels, a shortage results. The shortage lasts until it becomes evident that manufacturers, working overtime to meet demand, have enough products to go around. Then there may be a glut.

For the moment, though, ammo is in short supply. And yet…for those who had foresight, or who, like me, had friends with foresight, there are still cartridges to be had. So today I depleted my stash to the extent of 200 rounds fired at my favorite range. I shot reasonably well; this group was at 7 yards:

As was this one:

I was mostly shooting my Armalite AR-24. My friend who owns a gun shop where I bought the AR-24 describes it as the best handgun that no one knows about. I will second that: I test-fired it against a P226 and a couple of others, and wound up buying the AR-24. It is a beautiful gun with extraordinary feel and balance. Its barrel, frame and slide are made from forged steel. It feels great in the hand and shoots with remarkable accuracy, right out of the box.

Really, though, this has been a digression. What I meant to say is this: the world seems to think that we conservatives are out of ammo, too. But we are not. Everywhere, conservatives are checking their weapons–i.e., their ideas–and husbanding their ammunition. We are organizing for a comeback. Our principles are as strong as ever. While we have suffered setbacks over the last year or two, we are not licking our wounds, let alone giving up, but are focused on how to recover the power and responsibility that rightfully belong to those who understand and treasure our nation’s constitutional heritage. Today, we may be taking target practice, debating among ourselves and refining our ideas, but tomorrow, we will be back before the American people, making the case for freedom more forcefully and, we hope, more effectively than ever.

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