Academy Sports has 5.56 Ammo in Drums

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r1der,

Lake City Army Ammunition Plant is a GOCO. (Goverment Owned, Contractor Operated)

You have to ask why the government would allow a contractor to make money by selling ammuntion made on government owned machinery, and probably with government supplied components. Ammunition can be stored indefinitely, and after 10 years of war, there are plenty of empty magazines out there, so the chances of there being large over runs that the government won't take are close to nil...

Now, say ATK ( the current contractor) made some bad ammo. Selling that ammo commmercially allows the government to recover some of the sunk costs.

The government also routinely checks lots of ammunition for degradation. When a lot is degraded, the governemt will either have the contractor sell the ammunition, or have it demiled. (this is where all those pulled bullets come from.)

Any suplus ammo coming from the US government should be suspect, and is definitely not worth paying a premium for.
 
It may be government owned but the government gets paid via lease aggrements.

That's not how GOCOs work. The government doesn't get paid anything. ATK gets paid to run the plant. ATK can not use government furnished equipment or material for anything but government purposes: that's the law.
 
I just bought Tula .223 from Walmart for $.28 per round including tax. $5.27 a box and I loaded up and got the whole 60 rounds I could buy. I didn't need any but I haven't seen any in months so I just panicked.
 
Man, that much weight, I'd be worried about the cases on the bottom getting smooshed out of round.

I've had that happen with 223 brass when piled in 5 gallon buckets for long periods of time. Brass on the bottom was no longer "round" (when I finally got down to it).
 
So the gov. is mandating the selling of ammo to the public that is either faulty or degrading.
That is of great concern, both for the well being of those who may use it and the general liability of my gov. and what may eventually be a cost to me as a tax payer.
Is this ammo sold with some type of disclaimer or caveat?
 
Two years ago this month, (6/22/11) Natchez had 12500 round drums of Fed. 5.56 62 gr. green tip on sale for $3993.75; marked down from the regular price of $4900.. That was $6.39/per 20, according to the ad.
 
X-rap...it'll be safe, just a high misfire rate, variable velocity (from exposure or aging) or just generally out of spec.
 
It's absolutely true that if the Army rejects a batch of M855, Lake City packages it up and sells it as sporting ammo.

I'm not very fond of ammo with a steel penetrator tucked inside the jacket, ahead of the lead. But I do keep a couple of boxes around as momentos of the consulting work I did there.
 
r1der,

Lake City Army Ammunition Plant is a GOCO. (Goverment Owned, Contractor Operated)

You have to ask why the government would allow a contractor to make money by selling ammuntion made on government owned machinery, and probably with government supplied components. Ammunition can be stored indefinitely, and after 10 years of war, there are plenty of empty magazines out there, so the chances of there being large over runs that the government won't take are close to nil...

Now, say ATK ( the current contractor) made some bad ammo. Selling that ammo commmercially allows the government to recover some of the sunk costs.

The government also routinely checks lots of ammunition for degradation. When a lot is degraded, the governemt will either have the contractor sell the ammunition, or have it demiled. (this is where all those pulled bullets come from.)

Any suplus ammo coming from the US government should be suspect, and is definitely not worth paying a premium for.
Gotcha! Makes perfect sense!
 
That's not how GOCOs work. The government doesn't get paid anything. ATK gets paid to run the plant. ATK can not use government furnished equipment or material for anything but government purposes: that's the law.

We know that never happens.
 
It may be government owned but the government gets paid via lease aggrements.

No, owen is providing accurate information. ATS is the contractor that operates the facility for the Fed and they get paid to do that. The "product" from that effort belongs to the Fed and any that is sold is sold by order of the Fed. Only two types of ammunition come out of modern GOCO facilities, over run or out of spec. Back when you'd see large quantities of it in years past packed loose in 1,000 rd cardboard cases with plastic bag liners it would often be labeled "For Training Purposes Only".

It ain't a sweet deal unless the price is dirt cheap (says the guy with a couple of cases on the shelf).
 
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I find that I can buy .223 for less locally than I can in bulk online. Seems like it should be just the opposite.
 
Has anyone actually used any drum-packed ammo?

With 350# of lead and brass in there, I wonder how the ammunition on the bottom holds up to the weight, particularly when slammed down on concrete a few times.
 
That's part of the reason it used to be not much more than the cost of recycled components.
 
Is the information that the ammo is bad based on empirical review by anybody posting here, or is it just the repeating of internet lore and/or speculation?

Has anybody actually bought a barrel of that ammo and chrony'd it? What's the date on the headstamps? If it's LC with recent dates, then wouldn't that contradict the "it's government rejected" information??

Where does the brand-new, unfired LC brass with recent headstamp dates come from? Inquiring minds (well, at lest one) want to know. :cool:
 
The brass could very well be rejected brass that doesn't meet any of the government specs. If that were the case, the brass would be scrapped and sold for metallic content. High bidder can do with it whatever he pleases as long as the contact does not specify demilitarization, and generally anything under 50 cal doesn't.

I ran a company for many years that used GFM (government furnished materials) and let me assure you there are very strict controls on that material. It must be accounted for from receipt from the government all the way through production to the final product. Any component that does not meet the requirements MAY be scrapped after a government inspector examines it, tests it, and declares it non-conforming. Then disposal is up to the government representative. Small valued items can be tossed, but anything with any value such as brass, powder, lead, bullets, and the like, must be sold and the funds reimbursed to the government. Otherwise the government will take possession of the material and handle the scrap sale themselves. It just depends on the item, the cost, the residual value, and the amount of time involved for the government. The contractor isn't free to make product, sell it, and pocket the funds from the sale of GFM. Or product made on government owned tooling either.
 
Is the information that the ammo is bad based on empirical review by anybody posting here, or is it just the repeating of internet lore and/or speculation?

It is based on one person in the industry and another in an associated industry both familiar with GOCO ammunition plants and their operations.

Perhaps this will help the folks that don't get how disqualification of ammunition works.

https://acc.dau.mil/adl/en-US/645411/file/69847/AIN 072-13.pdf

It isn't unsafe to use, or they wouldn't sell it, but it is out of specification and the quality/accuracy/reliability of it may not meet military standards. Heck, it might be that it isn't properly marked for military use, but that it is fine from a shooting perspective. Regardless, it failed inspection and is being sold off.
 

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SOME of the Academy's are getting Federal XM855's (62gr.) in 30 gal. sealed barrels.
12,500 rounds for $6500, all or none. Weighs 350#, bring a truck.

CONGRATULATIONS! You just made Barack Obama's sphincter muscle quiver! lol! I bet he has heads on the chopping block for this. that much ammo, in one persons hands, all at one time. i am sure he will try to RAM a law down our throats stopping anything like this in the future.
 
Not great but not horrible either. It is surprising for such a large amount of ammo...that they wouldn't be a little on the lower side.

This is a good way to only market to the serious ammo enthusiast I guess...that's a serious purchase.
 
Torian,

Serious ammo enthusiasts wouldn't buy it because of the way that it is packaged and why it is being sold to the public. Only folks that just want blasting ammo.
 
It still serves a market, and takes pressure off other markets. I wouldn't buy it at that price but I'm glad to see it available. (and I learned something about GOCOs)
 
As I recall, Academy had this stuff last year before the craziness for the same price. Not a great price for a loose-packed bulk drum container of ammo that be had for the same or less in a 20 to 50-round box.
 
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