Rolling Your Own Ammo & the NY State "SAFE" Act

Jack E. Kemp

American Thinker has an insightful article by Michael Filozof on the new gun control law in New York State, including its implications for other states. I urge you to read the entire article that points out, among other things, that the government's buying up of ammo has left gun stores without inventory and hurt their income stream by not having popular ammo supplies to sell. Of course, many private citizens have bought up a lot of ammo and guns.

The surge in the price of Smith & Wesson and Sturm Ruger stock in the last year or more has been helped by what some have called the "greatest gun salesman in America" - Barack Obama. Michael Filozof says in his article, in part, that:

http://www.americanthinker.com/2013/02/new_yorks_safe_act_the_rape_...

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Shockingly enough, in many ways the "assault weapons ban" is actually one of the statute's lesser infringements on the Second Amendment.  The statute criminalizes,  potentially criminalizes, or places under state surveillance even the  most innocuous, banal, and pedestrian forms of gun ownership, and it  restricts the right of self-defense.

The new law prohibits the sale of any quantity of ammunition by anyone other than a licensed dealer and requires that such dealer perform a criminal background check on the purchaser and forward the purchaser's name, address, age, and  occupation, and the quantity, caliber, and make of the ammunition, to a  State Police database.  Thus, the ammunition database creates a de facto universal long gun registry.  A hunter who purchases a box of five  12-gauge deer slugs may think that his purchase is innocent enough;  however, it will have the effect of informing the State Police that he  owns a 12-gauge shotgun, enabling them to confiscate it in the future if  they so choose.

The  purchase of large quantities of ammunition will likely set off alarm  bells at State Police headquarters.  But what is truly sinister about  the ammunition registry is that no one actually knows "how much" will be  deemed "too much" -- because the law does not prohibit the purchase or  ownership of any specific quantity of ammunition.  Thus, one may become  the target of a police investigation for engaging in a perfectly legal  activity.  Since many gun owners have vowed to defy the "assault  weapons" registration, it is highly likely that the State Police will  use the ammunition database as a means to discover and confiscate  unregistered rifles.

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This lead me to inquire among my contacts and my friend Dana Mathewson came back with this remark:

"Rolling your own" -- a.k.a. handloading -- is done all the time by serious shooters..."Friend X"...He handloads most of his pistol ammo (except for .22 cal, which you can't).

You buy the bullets, powder and primers and use your own (or sometimes purchased) shell casings. A wealth of information is available on various sporting websites.Diehard DIYers, or people determined to "live off the grid" might manufacture their own gunpowder -- the formulation is no secret, after all. And it is not impossible to cast your own bullets. I seriously doubt anyone but a very dedicated "loner" (and one with special equipment at that) would attempt to make his own primers.

It's just that commercial powder and bullets are available, made to exacting specifications -- better than home-brew.
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This lead me to ask a better question: Are there enough small machine shop specialists in various US regions who can manufacture serious amounts of ammo to sell to other gun owners? The first possible specialists would be the gun store owners or someone associated with them, I would think - assuming they don't have legal problems. An ammo maker doesn't have the ready clientele that a gun store owner does, so these two would make a great partnership, but there are other ways to be innovative.

If you take the tour of Betsy Ross's house in Philadelphia, not far from Ben Franklin's homesite and Constitution Hall, you will learn that when the British occupied the city, Betsy was busy in her basement, away from prying eyes, making cap and ball loads for muskets.

She would pour the lead into a mold and after it cooled, put in a tiny paper bag along with gun powder and tie the end with string. This was a standard load at the time. A soldier load a musket by tearing the little bag with his teeth, pour the gunpowder and lead ball into their musket, tamp it down, aim and fire. There were many men doing the same thing, but their homes, but they didn't become as individually famous as Betsy who also sewed rebel flags in her second story, away from the prying eyes of the British forces.

These times are resembling the olden times in Philadelphia each passing day. As our government infringes more on the Second Amendment, we have to be at least as creative as Betsy Ross and her fellow male patriots.