The real threat to ammo manufacturing

There has been lots of reporting on the closure of the Doe Run primary lead smelter in MO this week. Plenty of hysterical ravings about an impending ammunition shortage in 2014 and general doomsday predictions that all bullet material will have to be exported for processing and reimported. That’s not true- as noted by Emily Miller and Bob Owens. 

However there is a real threat to the production of bullet material in the US- and its part of the Obama Administratration’s War on the 2A. I have a couple friends who work in the lead industry who help supply ammunition manufacturers. Lately their insight into ammunition rumors has been pretty useful. With that as a backdrop here are a few ongoing attacks on ammo manufacturers that the MSM overlooks in its reporting:

• The EPA has been at war against lead for several administrations and the Obama Administration has finally imposed regulations on a major producer of domestic ammunition that will limit their ability to manufacture lead bullets (I promised not to name them but its a name everyone would recognize). With strong White House backing the EPA went full press on this company and they had to cease in-house projectile manufacturing and switched to buying up processed material at a much greater expense
• Executives at that well-known ammo manufacturer have expressed concerns that they were only the first name on a White House ‘hit list’ and that the EPA will be expanding these attacks to the rest of the ammuntion producers as quickly as it can
• The EPA has not levied any new or heavy handed regulations on the battery manufacturing industry – which is interesting because battery manufacturing employs about 24,000 people while the ammunition manufacturing industry employs nearly 45,000 people. Way to look out for the economy, Washington!

Once lead processing for bullets is limited and eventually regulated out of existance with selective enforcement of EPA and state-level regulations (like CA where lead projectiles are banned) what are our options? Well steel and copper come to mind. Both are classified in many cases as ‘armor piercing’ projectiles and subsequently outlawed in as many places as Progressives can get laws passed. Is it clear where this road leads? It’s more sneaky gun control, nothing more.

 

There is only one way to derail this train – be an active and informed voter. Drag EVERYONE you can with you to the polls (so long as they agree on our candidates). Stay vocal to your Congressional and State reps- let them know how angry you are that businesses are being regulated out of existance at a time where the economy desperately needs support.

 

Bonus lead industry rumor: all the major manufacturers are planning to bring new rimfire lines up in the coming months — that means .22 ammo should enjoy a resurgence very soon. Provided the manufacturers can keep the cost of projectiles down.