Within a couple of weeks, gun enthusiasts anticipate ammunition prices will rise 10 to 15 percent with the start of hunting season. But there is an underlying cause for the rise: There is a shortage of ammunition, with links to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The Associated Press says soldiers fire about a billion bullets a year, creating a shortage that even has police departments nationwide cutting back on their training. The Avalanche-Journal in Lubbock, Texas, says local gun ranges are quiet these days.
The AP reports a story that would be easy to localize:
Troops training for and fighting the wars in Iraq
and Afghanistan are firing more than 1 billion bullets a year,
contributing to ammunition shortages hitting police departments
nationwide and preventing some officers from training with the weapons
they carry on patrol.
An Associated Press review of dozens of police and sheriff's
departments found that many are struggling with delays of as long as a
year for both handgun and rifle ammunition. And the shortages are
resulting in prices as much as double what departments were paying just
a year ago.
"There were warehouses full of it. Now, that isn't the case," said Al Aden, police chief in Pierre, S.D.
Departments in all parts of the country reported delays or reductions in training and, in at least one case, a proposal to use paint-ball guns in firing drills as a way to conserve real ammo.
Forgoing proper, repetitive weapons training comes with a price on the
streets, police say, in diminished accuracy, quickness on the draw and
basic decision-making skills.
The story provides these examples of problems:
-
In Oklahoma City, for example, officers cannot qualify with AR-15
rifles because the department does not have enough .223-caliber
ammunition -- a round similar to that fired by the military's M-16 and
M4 rifles. Last fall, an ammunition shortage forced the department to
cancel qualification courses for several different guns.
-
In Milwaukee, supplies of .40-caliber handgun bullets and .223-caliber
rifle rounds have gotten so low that the department has repeatedly
dipped into its ammunition reserves. Some weapons training has already
been cut by 30 percent, and lessons on rifles have been altered to
conserve bullets.
-
Unlike troops in an active war zone, patrol officers rarely fire their
weapons in the line of duty. Even then, an officer in a firefight isn't
likely to shoot more than a dozen rounds, said Asheville, N.C., police
training officer Lt. Gary Gudac. That, he said, makes training with
live ammunition for real-life situations -- such as a vehicle stop -- so
essential.
- In Trenton, N.J., a lack of available ammunition led the city to give
up plans to convert its force to .45-caliber handguns. Last year, the
sheriff's department in Bergen County, N.J., had to borrow 26,000
rounds of .40-caliber ammunition to complete twice-a-year training for
officers.
"Now we're planning at least a year and a half, even two years in
advance," said Bergen County Detective David Macey, a firearms examiner.
- In Phoenix, an order for .38-caliber rounds placed a year ago has yet
to arrive, meaning no officer can currently qualify with a .38 Special
revolver. "We got creative in how we do in training," said Sgt. Bret Draughn, who
supervises the department's ammunition purchases. "We had to cut out
extra practice sessions. We cut back in certain areas so we don't have
to cut out mandatory training."
- In Wyoming, the state leaned on its ammunition suppler earlier this
year so every state trooper could qualify on the standard-issue AR-15
rifle, said Capt. Bill Morse. Rifle rounds scheduled to arrive in
January did not show up until May, leading to a rush of troopers trying
to qualify by the deadline.
The Avalanche-Journal says:
Local gun shop employees say stores are not in danger of running out of bullets -- there will be enough ammo for hunters this season -- but it will cost more.
"It's getting more expensive for everybody," said Peter Piepkorn, salesman at Sharp Shooters Knife & Gun, citing higher-priced raw materials as well as military demand.
Hunters Fear Marijuana GrowersThis is the time of year when hunters venture out into the woods to scout out prime hunting spots for the fall. It is also "high-time," if you will, for marijuana harvests. An Outdoor Life columnist says hunters are growing increasingly concerned about bumping into armed marijuana growers and dangerous traps around marijuana fields. In some places, police are moving in to attempt to clear pot fields before hunters stumble over them.
Reinventing Traffic Coverage
Traffic is such an important issue for so many cities. I don't know of a local news Web site that has been as creative
as
WRC-TV in Washington, D.C., in covering traffic online. I am crazy about this station's constantly-changing
box, allowing you to choose airport delays, road traffic, mass
transportation information, traffic maps and live cameras. I interviewed Jim Iovino, managing editor of NBC4.com, to find out how his good-looking site runs:
While developing this page, what were your main objectives? What did you want to achieve that had not been done?
We wanted to create a one-stop shop for all things related to traffic, and to have it include all forms. This is more than just traffic on the roads. Traffic can also be thought of in terms of airports and subways.
|
www.journalist.org
Jim Iovino |
If you're meeting someone at Reagan National Airport, normally you'd have to check several different Web sites. What's the traffic like on the roads in D.C.? That's one site. Should I fill up on gas before I head that direction? That's another site. If traffic is bad, perhaps I should take the Metro. Yet another site. What time is the flight coming in? Even one more site.
By the time you're done, you probably forgot why you were supposed to go to the airport in the first place. We've combined everything to help people save time, which no one has enough of in the D.C. area.
The site has so much information flowing in non-stop. How much hour-to-hour maintenance does the Web staff have to devote to it?
The traffic cams update automatically, as do the traffic maps, the airport delays, Metro delays and gas prices. We still write traffic-related stories (such as upcoming road construction projects) and create traffic-related video segments related to our newscasts. But most of the data you see on the page is turnkey.
The sources for the data are:
- The traffic maps -- Metro traffic network
- Travel by car -- Various sources
Except for pothole patrol, I notice that you do not invite people to send you photos or traffic information. Is there a reason?
We constantly ask for viewers to send in their video and photos on the front page of our Web site and during our newscasts, so our core audience knows the routine. When they see a crash on the Beltway, we get the pictures without having to ask. Our viewers become our eyes and ears on local roads, and we appreciate everything they do for us.
In the coming week or two, we will be adding another feature so that our viewers and users can upload videos and photos to our site directly from their cell phones. That will be added to our traffic section.
What do you wish you could figure out how to do to make one improvement
to an already great page?
We'd love to add more information on area road construction, both on a daily basis and long-term projects, as well as more information on all forms of public transit. Basically, anything else that would be of service to our users.
We are always looking for your great ideas. Send Al a few sentences and hot links.
Editor's
Note: Al's Morning Meeting is a compendium of ideas, edited story
excerpts and other materials from a variety of Web sites, as well as
original concepts and analysis. When the information comes directly
from another source, it will be attributed and a link will be provided
whenever possible. The column is fact-checked, but depends on the
accuracy and integrity of the original sources cited. Errors and
inaccuracies found will be corrected.
I just made three calls and every one of them...
