Received this is my email today from a well known ammo distributor. These 50-round boxes have been the best deal going to quite some time now. Needless to say, I placed a large order with SGammo immediately upon seeing this, and I just hope it ships out



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I shop at an LE oriented LGS, and have similar conditions. Some for active LE in specific departments, some general LE, and some open to anyone.

Hornady is especially severe in some of their rifle lines.

I suppose I'm not surprised.

I've bought a LOT of Winchester Ranger T, and Federal HST 50 round white box non nickel plated LE ammo from a online store.

It's odd if you try to buy the ammo it says...

Law enforcement agencies and officers
Corrections officers
Retired officers in good standing
Licensed, uniformed security guards/companies

But I can buy all the 50 round boxes I want in the LE trade in ammo section.

Hornady and I had a falling out over this as they would not warranty ammo I bought legitimately from one of their largest LE and civilian dealers! One box from a different lot shot like poop! The other lot was as close to perfect as 308 can get! And the Custom line (civilian line) is trash in every cartridge I've used! With TAP 165 A-Max (LE) I get 2" at 500 yards, with 155 A-Max "Custom" I get 3 to 4" at 100, same rifle! Now what do you do with the remainder of 2 cases that are junk? (155 Palma by Sierra, hand loads do 1/4 to 3/8" at 100 and 3" at 1000 yards!)

What good is ammo the won't hit a barn, when shooting from the inside?

Ivan

I'm afraid that's too often the truth, but you hit the funny bone today!

Thanks!!

Buy an M60 and an have a fun day at the range.

Not saying this is a marketing ploy, but could it be?

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Some collect art; I shoot it!

Seems to me back in the day when the Federal BP9LE was the best round available it was tightly restricted in terms of who could buy it. Then came Cor-Bon with an equivalent round available to non-LEO's. I suspect that if the big ammo companies re-institute a policy of restricted sales, we will once again see comparable ammo being offered by the smaller ammo manufacturers.

Why???? the restriction on sales?

At least in my area, LE Departments have strict and limited lists of what officers can carry. The lists are a bit exotic, so my shop limits sales on the on-list / hard to get stock to active members of the departments in question.

I was told that the Hornady limits on rifle ammo are to be sure there is stock for LE, while not increasing the production / pipeline. I'm thinking it could just as well be a cost factor. The LE-only boxes are horribly expensive.

In the 70s my Dad use to have a lot of "LE only" ammo because it was hot +P or +P+ and the worry was shooting it in older guns.

You would think the ammo makers would want to make and sell as much as possible......

Around here most Depts buy their issue ammo in bulk/ by the case(s) from Police Supply companies.(I have a couple of friends in the business)

I remember getting Gold Dot from a police supply house in 50rd boxes and 500rd cases much cheaper ( Dept pricing 10-15%) than it could be found in LGSs.

I'm not so sure about this...kind of seems like horse poo to me. This has been this way for a very long time now. I've seen plenty of "LE only" offerings from Winchester and Federal on the market. I mostly buy it from SGAmmo as they have the best prices on the stuff. The Fed HST 50rd boxes are always in/out of stock there.

I'll admit that the whole "20-round" retail box has always ticked me off.$19.95 for 20 rounds of Win 9mm self defense ammo or $26.95 for 50 rounds of the same stuff in a plain box...total garbage.

i just placed an order with Target Sports for Speer Gold Dots 135 gr. +P .38 Spl. in 50 rd boxes #53921. Also a couple boxes of Federal HST 124 gr. 9mm in 50 rd. boxes.

Ding ding ding! That’s almost certainly why the manufacturers are tightening up the availability of the 50 round boxes. They know that we know (some anyway) that it’s FAR more economical over the 20 round buck-a-shot retail boxes to just get these LE overrun 50 round boxes.

Hoping Speer doesn’t do this with their Gold Dot line.

Pure hype is great for creating legendary mystique, maximizing profits and increasing perceived additional reassurance for those who may own them for carry and for defense.

The best thing about 9mm is that it is cheap to shoot, vs. other larger and more capable calibers, and creating the impression that 9mm ammo is as "effective" as other types may lead to a lot more of the next generation's new shooters to be able to regenerate our shooting sports in the coming years!


It is much cheaper to shoot and encourages shooters on a tight budget to go with the mild but "effective" 9mm round. That is a very good thing in the long run!

This is why we have to load our own ammo! 😁

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Freedom is never free!!
SWCA #3437

I don’t think I’ve bought a twenty-round box of pistol ammo since the Black Talon days, and probably will never buy another. If they won’t sell me a fifty-round box I’ll just do without.

The first thing I do when acquiring a firearm in a new caliber is to order a set of reloading dies and a bullet mold. We have experienced a couple of long periods in which ammunition, powder, primers, and other components were not available at any cost. We have also seen political efforts to limit, eliminate, or tax to death any and all sporting ammunition. I will always be able to supply myself, regardless of market or political conditions.

I own a few firearms that, although more than 40 years old, have never been fired with factory ammunition. I also own a number of antique arms that can only be kept functional by loading my own. I usually shoot once per week to maintain proficiency with my handguns, something that would be much more expensive if I did not roll my own ammo.

From my tabletop with my computer I can see my ammo closet right now. It contains over 10,000 rounds of ammunition in a dozen calibers. I can take my .45 to the range every week and shoot 50 rounds for the next year or two without reloading more, and I have the primers, powder, and bullets laid in to load another two or three thousand rounds.

Anyone who relies upon retail sales outlets for ammunition should think long and hard about either stockpiling now while it is relatively available, or getting set up to make their own. The next shortage (whether it be by manufacturers' limitations or government restrictions) will come, and probably without much warning.

Anybody else ever read the UN Treaty on Small Arms? Check out the proposed limits on ammunition, reloading, licensing requirements, and all the rest of what they have planned for your future.

This is all actually very good advice, which most of us will not give heed to, in hopes that you are wrong


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Just ordered 2 boxes of Federal 9mm HST Tactical (P9HST1) 124gr JHP 50 rounds per box from Outdoorlimited.com with shipping, cost was $63.03 Total.
That is about normal at $24.95 per box. I usually get it for $3 less,but that was before Manufactures put the LE/Security requirement on sales.
This is the SAME ammo that is listed as "Law Enforcement" on the boxes I already have.

Be SAFE and Shoot often!

As good as HST is I still ccw the old Federal 115-gr+P+ in my Glock 19s. SGA has a hard time keeping that in stock also.

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Some Might Say.

THIS IS DISTURBING ! ! ! HOPEFULLY, HORNADY'S CIVILIAN CUSTOMERS WILL GO ELSEWHERE FOR QUALITY, MATCH GRADE AMMO........

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'Nam 1968-69.DAV,VFW,NRA Inst.

I called Double Tap to buy a couple 50 round boxes of their products.

They only had 20 round boxes advertised on their web site, but I found references to 50 round boxes with lower prices somewhere on the web.

I asked the company for 50 round boxes, and instead they sent me six 20 round boxes for the price of two 50 round boxes.

So I came out ahead with a free extra 20 rounds.

But then, I don't know if any PDs buy Double Tap anyway.

They seem happy to have my business.

Good company to deal with.

I'm late to the party as I don't order SD ammo very often. But I just found out about the restriction on 50 round boxes. It doesn't make sense to me. I/we should be carrying a good quality JHP for obvious reasons. Forcing us to spend more $$ on less ammo is just not the way to treat the gun owning community. I'm gonna start firing off emails to ammo manufacturers for whatever that's worth. Seems to me they're gonna lose business by restricting access to good ammo at lower prices.

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One of the outfits I ordered from recently sells 50 round boxes of Federal HST to LEOs and agencies "only" now. Luckily, I am an LEO. I had to prove I am by checking a box during the ordering process. ; )

GT Distributors has been like this for quiet awhile now. It hasn't hurt me too bad as LEO agencies tend to trade a lot of the good stuff back in and I end up getting it cheaper than the retail price to begin with...the "not for duty use" sticker means nothing to me as I know it's the same factory ammo I can't buy off the other damn shelf lmao...

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Earl Battey

Sent an email to Federal Ammunition this morning expressing my opinion for whatever that's worth.
Did some searching and ended up buying Remington Golden Saber 9mm 124gr from Ammunition Depot for $21/box of 50. No qualifications required. And free economy shipping.

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This is the reply I received from Federal. Seems pretty vague. I replied back and told them I found a different brand of SD ammo in 50 round boxes and bought them instead.

Thank you for your inquiry. Our HST ammunition is available to all customers. We’re proud to offer competitive products and pricing based on technology, value and pursuit. The industry standard 50-round Law Enforcement packs are and always have been offered to the LE channel to meet their needs. There are often sales that occur outside of our direct customer channels that provide excess inventory of these packs to the commercial market. We appreciate your feedback and will consider it as we develop new products. You can find limited time discounts and promotions on a variety of Federal products by visiting Federal Ammunition. We look forward to continuing to offer the best ammunition and service to all of our customers. 

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I buy my starline brass 500 count each time, no restrictions. I can cast as many bullets as I want, though I do usually only buy one container of powder at a time. Primers are bought 1000 at a time.

Ammo manufacturers marketing is done on the PT Barnum rule.

worth nothing if you can't depend on it--- just another reason I load my own.

I find Federal HST 125 and 147 gr 9mm at about every gun show
I go to for $25 for the 50 rd boxes. Really hard to beat those
prices. I reload almost every thing I shoot, but at those prices,
I'll stock up.
Denny