The comedian Chris Rock once joked that the way to stop gun violence was not to seize guns, but to drive up the price of ammunition.
In other words, make bullets so expensive that people would think twice about shooting.
Perhaps this is President Joe Biden’s secret gun-control plot.
Last month, the Biden administration imposed new sanctions on the importation of ammunition from Russia, a consequence of the Kremlin’s alleged poisoning of opposition leader Aleksey Navalny in August 2020.
The ban on imported ammo comes as demand for bullets is far exceeding supply, and sending prices spiraling upward.
Writing at The Federalist on Tuesday, David Kopel, a leading gun rights’ advocate, noted that the State Department’s targeting of Russian ammo is one of other “efforts to disarm Americans by other means.”
Kopel noted that concerns about COVID-19 policies and unpunished violence in the streets of America’s biggest cities fueled a gun-buying binge. That rebounded back into the ammunition market, which was also affected by pandemic-related supply-chain issues.
Last month, Forbes reported that prices for boxes of ammo in the most popular calibers – .22, .38, .380, and 9mm – had spiked between twofold and fourfold.
“In today’s extraordinary times, many new and old gun owners are seeking to buy more, since they do not know if they will be able to buy ammunition at all in the future,” Kopel noted. “The ongoing ammunition shortage is seriously impairing the exercise of Second Amendment rights. Many gun owners have cut back on practice because they cannot be sure they will be able to replace the ammunition they use. Some firing ranges are not even able to sell customers a box of ammunition. The shortage is particularly burdensome for the millions of Americans who purchased their first firearm in 2020 and are being deprived of practice opportunities.”
Kopel pointed out that Russia is America’s biggest foreign supplier of ammo. And the ban imposed by the Biden administration affects primarily imports of 7.62mm rounds, used in AK-model rifles, and 5.56mm, used in the AR series.
Kopel also pointed out that legislatures in blue states are trying new tactics. California, for example, requires a new background check to buy ammo. If Californians cannot show proof of U.S. citizenship – an odd mandate for a state where illegal immigration runs amok – and are not already in the state’s gun registry, then they likely cannot buy ammo. The system has deterred or prevented 2 million California residents from obtaining ammunition, Kopel wrote.
The gun prohibition lobbies are more sophisticated than ever,” he concluded, “and they have discovered that even if they can’t ban guns outright, choking off ammunition is an effective way to prevent people from using guns.”
As Chris Rock understood long ago.
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Russian ammo, in the main, is cheap, low quality, practice ammo at best. I quit buying and using it years ago, as American ammo and imports like Fiocchi and Aguilla were far more reliable and not much more expensive. Most new shooters would benefit more from fewer rounds and a good instructor. Dry fire, no ammo involved, is a great way to practice trigger control which leads to greater accuracy. You can purchase lasers in cartridge form that will fit in most any gun, put the dot on the target, squeeze(no jerking) the trigger without moving the dot. When you can do this consistantly, shoot a few rounds of practice ammo in the same bullet weight as you premium self defense ammo and watch your accuracy improve. The best way to get good is to practice OFTEN. Ask a golf pro what he/she does when not playing. The answer is ALWAYS “practice”.
Apparently the Biden administration and the California government have forgotten about reloading, which thousands have been doing for hundreds of years. The recent surge in demand for melters and molds should perhaps have been a clue that governments won;t be able to control ammunition either.
Dry fire only applies to pistols. Rifle practice requires actual target shooting rounds.
Reloading improves accuracy. Loads can be customized to chronometer standard deviation results and shot placement results. Rumor that primer manufacturers (CCI, Remington, Winchester, & Hornady) will not sell to general public after Nov 1, 2021. All primers go to ammunition manufacturers.