PEAX Equipment

ATF puts the breaks on banning 5.56 M855 Ammo

Big Fin

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Not sure how this issue makes it up the ladder of priorities in an agency. Well, really I do understand - political pressure from some politician who has big donors who don't like guns, or in this case, don't like ammo.

And now it is nice to see that pressure from the other side, a side I am aligned with, has forced ATF to reconsider a decision that they had a hard time explaining to most everyone. They struggled to explain the rationale for the decision and the process by which the decision was arrived at. They may still arrive at the came conclusion, but they are re-opening the comment period and state they have to reconsider issues not previously given consideration.

http://www.atf.gov/press/releases/2...-piercing-ammunition-exemption-framework.html



A group that has a ton of influence on these issues is the National Shooting Sports Foundation. Many do not know of NSSF and the influence they have. I am thankful NSSF is here when such craziness somehow enters the DC drinking water.

http://www.nssf.org/

Not that we need any further evidence that neither side can claim sole ownership of the political fringe. Too bad the folks putting this kind of pressure on the agency live in Congressional districts with such huge partisan support that any efforts to hammer them politically is cause for them to laugh.

Such is what we get when the two political parties get together on redistricting; very few districts have a real race based on ideas and leadership. Rather, boundaries drawn so dramatically favorable to one party or the other in such a way that politicians can just thumb their noses at any opposition, knowing their districts have been drawn so heavily to their partisan favor. End result, the real elections become the primaries for the party of favor, with primaries usually being dominated by the activist fringe on either side.

Will be interesting to watch how the agency responds to this pressure.
 
This whole thing was silly anyway. It was just a ploy to prevent the civilian use of one of the most commonly produced .224 bullets, it had nothing to do with safety.

This reminded me of the DOD order that came out a few years ago that mandated all military brass be ground and sold as scrap, rather than sold whole for more money. Just reducing the amount of brass available for sale to civilians, unless you can come up with a reason why the government would turn down $$.
 
They will get some credit from their donors for the attempt, the .223/5.56 ammo that had begun to stack up at the wholesaler and retailer levels enjoyed a week long spike in sales. And for now the based on ignorance ban has been shelved.

Paraphrasing an old quote: "Do not rejoice in his defeat for the bitch that bore him is back in heat"
I am sure there will be more to come.
 
A news cycle shiny coin distraction form gridlocked critical issues.

*I should have never watched the House of Cards series...a whole new level of cynicism has rooted.
 
I hate conspiracy theories but...

I wouldn't claim it likely, but it wouldn't surprise me that secretly in a back room somewhere, the ammunition industry just bought someone from the ATF some figurative "beers". Start a rumor...err...reconsideration, manipulate the population of overly credulous gun owners out there, and collect the money.

Cui bono?
 
In my opinion they got caught before they were able to backdoor us then tried to justify it, and when they couldn't they did an about face in the name of "popular opinion". Either way hopefully we got our message across.
 
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