SSA orders .357 Ammo

Social Security Administration Requests Massive Amounts of .357 Ammo — But Why?


First the Department of Homeland Security ordered 450 million rounds of ammunition, then the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) submitted an order for 46,000 rounds of high powered ammo, and now Business Insider reports that the Social Security Administration is asking to purchase 174,000 rounds of .357 hollow point bullets.

This type of ammunition is arguably one of the more powerful available. R.K. Campbell at Gun Blast describes his experience with the .357 ammo:

“I observed the effect of the .357 Magnum 125 grain JHP once over the top of my own sights. The effect was gruesome. A solid hit that produced a severe blood flow AND dramatic effect from the rear, including lung tissue thrown perhaps three feet.”

The purchase request from SSA was discovered at FBO.gov. What the agency plans on doing with these bullets is still unclear at this point, but the move has set the internet ablaze with speculation.

[jetmonkey]

They're keeping ammo out of the hands of redneck GOOPERs

[b23hqb]

Head to your nearest WalMart NOW and scoop those round up before the obamas can get there.......

[jrt_ms1995]

It's nearing the end of the fiscal year; they've got to spend the money on something! If they don't, they'll be punished for it next year! That's how our bureaucracy works these days (past several decades, anyway).

[kwillia]

[Larry Gude (Premo)]

174,000 rounds is not massive.

That's 1,000 rounds each for 174 people. Anyone who carrys a firearm for a living should be shooting, at least, 1,000 rounds a year and I gotta believe there is way more than 174 people who carry in the Social Security universe.

450 million rounds for the DHS 200,000 members, that's 2,250 rounds per person, 45 boxes of 50 per. Is a box a week a 'massive' number for people who carry for a living? I used to shoot that much a year. Per caliber.

[kwillia]

So it's not a big deal that the NWS and SSA as well as several other government agencies are stocking up on hollow-points... So does that mean this is NOT something new? Is this something these agencies have been doing for years and it has never made the news?

If it is something that has been the norm for years, then indeed we may be blowing it out of proportion... however, if this is something new, then I believe we have reason to question it.

[Larry Gude (Premo)]

Originally Posted by kwillia

So it's not a big deal that the NWS and SSA as well as several other government agencies are stocking up on hollow-points... So does that mean this is NOT something new? Is this something these agencies have been doing for years and it has never made the news?

If it is something that has been the norm for years, then indeed we may be blowing it out of proportion... however, if this is something new, then I believe we have reason to question it.

DHS Buys in Bulk to Save You Money (Ammunition)

f you take the number of agencies that will be using this ammunition – CBP, Citizenship and Immigration Services, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), ICE, the U.S. Secret Service, Transportation Security Administration, the DHS police force, and all the guards that protect the various buildings these agencies are housed in, and spread that out over 5 years, you start to see that 450 million rounds really isn’t that large of an order. Especially considering it is used for training purposes like firing range and live fire exercises, on-the-job use (though that is very limited), and to shore up their supplies. In fact, there are 65,000 – 70,000 law enforcement personnel at DHS who would be covered under this IDIQ ammunition contract. If DHS were to purchase all 450 million rounds over 5 years, then that would equate to only about 1,384 rounds of ammo per year per law enforcement personnel (or about 155 rounds per month (about 10 magazines worth of ammo per month) or 3-4 rounds per day) assuming the lower estimate of only 65,000 law enforcement personnel at DHS. Considering those agents go through training exercises several times per year, that is not a lot of ammunition.

Nothing to see here.

[kwillia]

Originally Posted by Larry Gude

Nothing to see here.

So these solicitations for hollow-points by these agencies have been going on for decades?

[Larry Gude (Premo)]

Originally Posted by kwillia

So these solicitations for hollow-points by these agencies have been going on for decades?

Let's start with what your fear is, Turkey gurl, and, maybe we can shorten up the process?

DHS is not a decade old so, no.

SS, the other SS, Capital Hill cops, FBI, I would imagine they are all using, and long have been using, hollow points. You train with what you carry.

There was a famous FBI shootout in Miami some 20 odd years ago and the Bureau lost people they shouldn't have due to their 9mm FMJ rounds hitting the bad guys but not doing enough damage soon enough to git' r done. Clearly, they needed to go to the tried and true .45 and put some hollow points in them so, being a federal agency, they started using .40's with HP's.

What are you looking for? Nefarious intent?