CNN now running with ammo shortage story

[RamboLiberal]

"In the last two months it's gotten very, very difficult to find ammunition," says Richard Taylor, manager of The Firing Line, a gun shop and shooting range in the Denver, Colorado, suburbs.

Two weeks ago, The Firing Line was forced to impose a four-box-per-customer limit on ammo. Before that, the shop was selling 10,000 rounds of 9 mm handgun ammunition a day.

Some calibers of ammunition have been unavailable for months.

"Currently no .380 ammunition -- I haven't seen any for about four months ... .38 special, it's been at least a couple of months," Taylor says. "It's just that there's been a huge demand and it's far outweighed supply right now."

"People are buying cases or whatever they can get their hands on and putting it away, absolutely," he says. "The only way that this shortage can have to do with it is that people are buying and hoarding."

http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/05/04/ammo.shortage/index.html

Bottom of story some comments from the manufacturers. They claim they are going 24/7.

[mikelgb]

1. charming

[damntexdem]

21. But so sad -- let me shed a tear.

Oops, I seem to have encountered a tear shortage. Too bad.

[tridim]

2. Ammo, the new duct tape and plastic sheeting. nt

[Somawas]

8. At least the people who have hoarded ammo

can use it eventually.

[AtheistCrusader]

42. I was going to say 'and the ammo too'.

6mil plastic sheeting came in pretty handy when my neighbor had some roof damage, in a storm.

I go through duct tape so fast, buying in bulk makes sense anyway. But yeah, just a matter of time on the pile of ammo getting used too.

[rl6214]

47. But at least the ammo is worth something

[phantom power]

3. Have any of these ammo-hoarding paranoid rubes noticed...

that neither Obama nor Congress are showing any interest in coming to take their gun collections and ammo?

[MercutioATC]

9. Bullshit.

Obama's official position as stated on his website is that he supports reinstatement of the AWB.

Dems keep making noise about silly things like putting serial numbers on ammunition.


Until that stops, people will continue to stock up.

[phantom power]

11. I see. Well, I wish them all good luck with their stockpiles.

[MercutioATC]

12. Ammunition has a near-unlimited shelf life.

I'm sure they'll be fine.

[phantom power]

17. I bet you can explain this: what, exactly, are these people worried about?

From where I sit, it all looks like pretty standard-issue narrative that the hard-right trots out whenever they're out of power. "The Democrats are going to send in their jackbooted thugs to confiscate your registered weapons"

But you seem to think otherwise.

[X_Digger]

20. SoS Clinton, AG Holder, DHS Sec Napolitano, Pa Gov Rendell..

All have been saber rattling for a new AWB. Most were smacked down quickly by the whitehouse after a vociferous backlash on one hand , but the endorsement of a new AWB was left on whitehouse.gov until a couple of days ago.

There are 'ammunition tracking' bills in a bunch of states (though most seem to be stuck, thank goodness); HR 45 was introduced 9 days into 2009; Lautenberg & Feinstein introduced a new gun control bill asking congress to step in between the private sales of firearms between state residents; President Obama pressed for ratification of a 1997 treaty that, under some interpretations, could outlaw home reloading or building of firearms; New York state assembly is considering 'recalls' of some guns and ammunition tracking / licensing for everyone..

Gee, I don't know how anyone would think that at the very least an AWB might be on the horizon.

[Pullo]

29. NEWSFLASH: Its not the NRA that is driving this frenzy

Its the fed and state governments

Yes, the NRA is screaming right now, but they always are.

Ted Nugent could be president and NRA would still find something to scream about. Its like the Big Bang echo.



Pelosi talks registration, Feinstein goes on 60Min to proclaim she's foaming at the mouth to ban the most popular rifles in the country, while several Admin officials wax openly about their desire to do the same thing. Rendell can't jump in front of a camera fast enough to broadcast his intentions to stomp all over the 2nd.....this in a state with more NRA members than any other.

Gee, I wonder why people are hoarding guns and ammo????

[X_Digger]

31. It's a mystery and a wonder..

we must all be paranoid misogynistic, racist, RW stooges

:sarcasm:

[MercutioATC]

22. Actually, it's the perfect storm for some gun owners.

The economy is tanking, so they feel threatened.

Crime is increasing, so they feel threatened.

Dems are talking about stuff like serializing ammunition, so they feel threatened.

Obama's own position on his website is that he supports renewing the AWB, so they feel threatened.


Keep in mind that there's also a (justified, IMO) sentiment that anybody who thinks things like the AWB make any sense is a complete idiot who's likely to push for even more draconian and senseless legislation.


I'm just an average single parent air traffic controller. I'm not some militia-joining, backwoods-living, shaved-head social malcontent. I'm not an inbred idiot. I'm not a conspiracy theorist (Need proof? Look at my interactions with the loons in the 9/11 Forum). I still believe that it's prudent for people who enjoy shooting to obtain whatever guns and ammunition they can NOW, because the people in charge right now are ignorant of and scared of firearms.

[louis-t]

27. And people wonder why N. Korea restarts nuke program.

Eight years of threats from stupidface.

[phantom power]

28. I see. My own position on gun control is...

somewhat ambiguous. I own a couple of shotguns. I don't use them much any more, but hey maybe I'll get back into it some day.

I've never quite seen the appeal of assault weapons, but I do have a few relatives who own them and I know they take gun safety seriously. Since they're former military, they've also had professional training on such weapons. I've even gone to the range with them a couple times and they let me try them out.

I'm sure you yourself realize that gun ownership helps not at all with a tanking economy. Doesn't seem to help much with crime either. I do know that having a five year old daughter, my guns have trigger locks on them, and I keep them up out of reach in a closet, so there is probably no way I could use them for self defense, even if I wanted to.

Having watched certain types of people at the shooting range, my observation is that there is some number of gun owners who have no business owning a gun of any kind, much less an assault weapon. You probably know of the kind of person I'm referring to. That's either for reasons of insufficient training, or just reasons of emotional maturity. In principle, I think the solution to that could be better training requirements, not weapons bans. In practice, for whatever reason, they're out there, and I don't think it's idiotic for people to be frightened of them. They frighten me a bit too.

What is this proposal for serial numbers on ammo? Do they mean the casings? I don't see how a serial number would survive on a bullet.

[X_Digger]

32. serialized microstamping of cases and bullets..

..along with requiring ID and logging all sales, along with making reloading illegal, and making having unserialized ammunition a crime after a certain period of time.

Basically two guys in Seattle were broke, came up with this idea, patented it, approached ammo mfgs, and couldn't sell it.

So they approached the law makers. The lawmakers ate it up.

:eyes:

[Statistical]

35. Pretty good summary. n/t

[one-eyed fat man]

54. Micro-stamping

If they do pass that and you ever plan to shoot someone, go to the police range and pick up a 5 gallon bucket of brass.

Scatter that around the crime scene and they'll spend the next 6 months arresting each other.

[jmg257]

33. Casings and/or the bullet (reloads). Supposedly more info at the crime scene for cops. n/t

[AtheistCrusader]

43. It generally doesn't.

"I don't see how a serial number would survive on a bullet."

That's part of the complaint. I don't care if my ammo has serial numbers on it. It would be nice if the microstamping worked though. The general complaint is, the ammo will be more expensive if you add the stamping and tracking systems to the manufacturing process, but well.. We're sorta paying a premium right now, what with all the panic going around. So probably a wash, overall.

The part that concerns some of us the most is, sometimes the new 'stamping' provisions have language attached requiring you to use or destroy all the non-stamped ammo you have, within a certain timeperiod after the bill taking effect. That's a problem. We're talking about hundreds of billions of cartridges in circulation. I don't mind if stamping becomes the way of the future, if it helps solve crimes, I like it. I'd pay a bit more for my ammo.

BUT, add provisions requiring destruction of existing ammo, and I'm upset.

[TheWraith]

51. Personally I DO have a problem with that.

For the same reason that I have taken issue with computers transmitting unique identifiers, TV cameras on every streetcorner, police profiling of public database. It's all based on the assumption that if the average citizen isn't under tight control every second, they'll explode in an orgy of lawbreaking and chaos.

[phantom power]

53. I can see two possible problems...

The first is that a lot of people re-load to save money. So you are sort of forcing everybody to purchase from the ammo manufacturers. Actually, I'm surprised to hear the ammo manufacturers aren't supporting this. It would be like a cash cow for them.

The second problem is making use of this new serial number info for law enforcement. I wonder how hard it is to subvert that system. If somebody steals my box of .45 rounds, now I have to report it to the authorities, before they go out and shoot somebody with my serial numbers. Or, if somebody illegally re-loads used casings. The cops pick up those casings at a crime scene, do they mis-interpret the serial numbers?

I just wonder if the information in that new signal would be reliable enough to make it worth the extra cost and book-keeping.

[HALO141]

55. With regard to a higher state of readiness

with small children in the house, these work very well.
http://www.deansafe.com/ftk-pb.html

I just did a quick google. I have an almost identical safe to this one but mine was less than half the price when I got it (several years ago). I'm sure much better prices can still be found.

[WheelWalker]

14. But, see this....

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=118&topic_id=220427&mesg_id=220427

[X_Digger]

18. That is a recent change..

..unaccompanied by any whitehouse statement. It was removed for a while from change.gov, but it came back. We're crossing our fingers.

[RamboLiberal]

26. Hello - that position has been pulled from Whitehouse.gov

website. I think they got the message it's a loser for them.

[Statistical]

36. Or a clerical error by the IT staff at whitehouse.

Generally when one changes policy they ANNOUNCE IT. Cover it in a press conference. The media picks it up and talks about it. People become INFORMED about it.

If it wasn't for DU I would still be assuming it was on whitehouse.gov.
Most people don't check a website daily for the off chance it has been changed without notice.

It still is up on change.gov so we kinda have a mixed message.

Add to it no explanation from whitehouse and it is kinda hard to blame someone for not taking it has the Holy Grail that Obama supports RKBA.

Now maybe if the administration comes out saying "we have no interest to persue an AWB and the AWB was a failure last time because it neither reduces crime nor solve the underlying problem that leads to crime" and that story got picked up by MSM then you might see a change.

[TheWraith]

50. This isn't the sort of thing they'd announce.

An announcement and formal policy change would alienate people who think the AWB was a good idea. They need those people, so if they really don't want to do it, they'll just let it quietly fade away.

[Tim01]

13. You don't know what you are talking about.

One of the most recent attempts to cut off the ammo supply came in the form of an order to destroy all used military brass instead of selling it to reloading companies as has been done for decades.
We got wind of that one, and others, and managed to stop them so far.

[AtheistCrusader]

44. I'm guessing that WAS actually a clerical error.

If nothing else, it would have cost the government millions if that had gone through. Shredded, bulk brass wholesale is nearly worthless, as a raw foundry metal.

[RamboLiberal]

61. IMHO it was probably some DOD bureacrat who didn't have a clue

that military brass was a commodity that was being bought for reuse and decided under national security it too should be destroyed.

See this Snopes article. http://www.snopes.com/politics/guns/casings.asp

[jmg257]

16. Don't forget about the local govts. NY has been entertaining some real dumb-ass laws.

Pennsylvania governor has been yaking it up too.

[SteveM]

58. Obama & Congress want another AWB. But they have been beaten down...

by heavy opposition; so much so that they dare not float the bill of their dreams without incurring a risk of losing future elections.

Frankly, it is my opinion that the greatest sales force for firearms and ammunition is the Democratic Party leadership which can't seem to shake off its addiction to prohibition. It needs to shut its collective mouth. (Hell, I'm low on .38s!)

[C_U_L8R]

4. Happy days for the arms dealers

Bunch of idiot lemmings running to the gun store in a panic to stock up... viral marketing genius.

[benEzra]

46. Tens of millions of us, of all political stripes, were burned by the 1994 Feinstein idiocy

and are not so naive as to believe that it could not happen again. So people go ahead and buy guns that the repubs at the Brady Campaign wish to ban, and they buy a year's supply of ammunition to go along with it.

There is also the concern that the Clinton Administration's stroke-of-the-pen ban on ammunition imports from China could be emulated, halting ammunition imports from Europe. That would easily double or triple the price of several popular rifle calibers overnight.

The current tight ammunition market actually dates to 2005, when post-Katrina hedging (due to the illegal confiscations and ammo sales ban) met Iraq war demand, as I've pointed out elsewhere. But it was concerns over new supply bottlenecks that have led to the current difficulty keeping up with demand.

[SteveM]

59. See #58 above. Any questions? (nt)

[jmg257]

5. I haven't been buying much, but the new BS laws possible in NY have me shopping again. nt

[MercutioATC]

6. When Dems stop talking about gun control, it'll taper off.

...and by "gun control" I mean not only reinstating the AWB, but silly things like putting serial numbers on ammunition.

[X_Digger]

7. I went shooting Saturday..

then spent all day Sunday at a gun show trying to find a decent price on replacement ammunition (45 acp). Forget sporting goods stores, wal-mart, even the high end places like Bass Pro Shops or Cabelas. Ended up paying 50% more than I would have three months ago.

[MercutioATC]

10. How many rounds did you go through?

The reason I ask is that some here seem to think that having a few thousand rounds of ammunition makes one some dangerous "gun nut".

They don't understand that some of us go through that in a matter of months.

[X_Digger]

15. ~100 rounds of 45, ~200 of 22lr

I was adjusting the sights on my 45 (got new tricon night sights) and practicing drills for the concealed carry qualification, then I was sighting in a red dot for my ar-15 pistol / 22lr conversion. The practice drills eat up a lot of ammo because you have to do multiple shots in a certain amount of time, repeatedly.

[MercutioATC]

19. There are a lot of "liberals" who think 300 rounds is a ridiculous number to have.

...and you went through them in one day....and didn't shoot a single child.


Trigicon TruGlo TFOs, perhaps? I have them on my Glock 19 and I love them. I'd have gone with the yellow front/green rears if I'd have thought of it at the time but even with all greens, they're great.

[X_Digger]

23. Yup, green/green

I have them on a taurus 1911 (I'm left handed, so an ambi safety is a must.)

The drill eats 50 rounds, so I sighted in, did the drill, then added up my score (221 out of 250 the second round, 175 is passing.) Then I backed the silhouette away for some long range, ~40 yard shots. 9" spread on 8 round groups. Not bad after already going through 75 rounds.

[MercutioATC]

24. I'm an oddball...pistol right-handed, rifle left-handed.

I've had my share of getting ejected brass in my face, so I know what you mean.

Nice control! How do you like the 1911? I know that the Glock has an off grip for a lot of people, but it fits me well.

[X_Digger]

25. I like the balance of the 1911

It just seems to fit my hand better than an XD or a Glock. I'll probably end up getting a subcompact of either of those if I do actually decide to carry, as the 1911 is just a bit big to carry around.

[virginia mountainman]

30. I have carried full sized 1911's for years in CCW Carry..

For a good while, I have been carrying the Sub Compact, Glock 36 45.ACP

For "hot summer day, in shorts and tee shirt carry, that little Glock cannot be beat...

But carry spare magazines, it only holds 6 rnds.

Photo, is not mine, but to show the size of gun.

[X_Digger]

34. A buddy who went to the fun show with me..

picked up a subcompact Springfield XD in 40 cal. That looks about the right size for me. This being Texas, there's a lot more shorts and t-shirt weather than there is something bulkier to cover up a full sized 1911.

[virginia mountainman]

37. Thats right..

I carry the Glock many times, in my shorts pocket, behind my wallet....With a empty chamber, and a loaded magazine in the gun.. I figure, in a pinch, I can rack the slide, as I draw, and I practice this maneuver.

My other pocket,carries two extra magazines, along with my car keys and other "assorted pocket items"

I can even carry the Glock, in my sweat pants or sweat shorts pocket, without NO ONE NOTICING... IT really is that concealable.

If I need to "dress up" more, in nice dress pants, or nice jeans, with a nice button up shirt, I usually carry the 1911, inside the waistband on my pants, but the big 45, has taken a back seat to the little 45.

I DO carry, everyday....

[HALO141]

56. I picked up 350 rounds the other day

Bought the last 7 boxes that store had in that caliber. It's roughlt half of what I'll need for an upcoming training opportunity. On top of that I still have my weekly ammo consumption to keep up with. None of the retailers are selling by the case anymore. Hell, I can't seem to come across anyone with a full case on hand. Reloading isn't really an option anymore because as scarce as loaded ammo is primers are practically nonexistent.

A couple years ago when I did more competitive shooting I'd go through about 1000 rounds per month. If I bought factory ammo I'd buy it a couple cases at a time.

So, yeah... How much is a stockpile?

[Statistical]

38. 300 rounds WTF?

Just kidding.

I remember a while back some "liberal" (aka liberal who is willing to be a fascist about freedoms they aren't interest in) saying ammo should be limited to 50 rounds per month and reloading illegal.

If some people had their way you would need to save 6 months just to complete 1 day at the range.

I never buy less than a case at a time. Buying a box of rounds at a time is like buying one gallon of gas at a time because that is all I need today. Given that ammo if stored right will last longer than me I don't see a problem with buying all my ammo for the year at once.

[X_Digger]

39. I used to be a 'gallon at a time' guy..

.. I never paid much attention to the price, since it was always <$20 a box and it was always available.

Not anymore. Sheesh!!

[Statistical]

40. Me it wasn't so much the price...

Just laziness or wanting to go to range and realizing I am low. Do I shoot less? Do I stop by Wally world and grab couple hundred more?

I have nice dry location. Easy to just bulk order it by mail (pst don't let the antis know you can buy thousands of rounds via mail) and be done with it.

So when prices skyrocketed I kinda just lucked out. It was no plan on my part.

Even so my supplies are getting low and prices don't seem to be falling yet.

[X_Digger]

41. I need to find some good deals online..

Seems DFW is about dry on ammo, no matter where you go. Grr!

[dairydog91]

48. Ammoman is down to table scraps.

.223 Hornady TAP rounds for $139 per 100 :silly:
7.62x39 Wolf rounds for $359 per 1000
Absolutely no 7.62x51, .357 Magnum, .44 Magnum, .357 SIG, .30-06, 9mm, or .22LR :wtf:
.40 is going for .65 cents per round, and that's in bulk

Only stuff they seem to have in decent quantities at OK prices is 5.45x39 ($338 for 2160 rounds). A 5.45 upper for an AR is starting to look like a good idea. You can get .50 BMG for $2300 per 1000 rounds (I suppose you could sell a child or two). The damn ammo market has gone insane. I hope Obama doesn't say anything more about guns, or we'll see people pawning Rolexes to buy a 50 round box of ammo.

[aikoaiko]

52. I started to do the same math as you and decided to jump to 22lr for the AR

For the price of 2 cases of 5.45, you can get a sweet dedicated, accurate 22 lr upper and a case of 5000 rounds. For poking holes in paper, it suits me fine.

[SteveM]

60. Jeez, I may have to get a Ruger semi-auto in .22 as well. nt

[aikoaiko]

64. Agreed, everyone should have a Ruger 10/22 and a case of ammo.

;)

[AtheistCrusader]

45. Yeah, I saw that and went WTF too.

300 rounds? I'm north of 30,000 counting all calibers I own.

[dairydog91]

49. If legislators actually started to move towards that...

I'd guarantee you that bullet presses (The kind that you can use to actually make copper-jacketed rounds from lead and copper spools) would be selling like hotcakes. Maybe they are already, I don't know.

[happyslug]

57. 308? but not 30'06, 5.56x45 and 7.62x39, 38 Special, 9mm and 45 ACP?

While these are the most popular caliber, they are also the ones most used by the Military. Now the 9mm was to replace the 45 ACP and 38 Specials in the Military, both are still in use (Mostly the 38 special in revolvers given to Pilots as part of their survival kits). Now the 9mm is preferred and have been preferred since the 1980s, but pistols last forever so I will not be surprised if various 38 specials are still being issued to pilots and other military personnel.

Now, the war in Iraq and Afghanistan is now in its 8th year, a lot of ammunition has been used up. Most makers of ammunition are limited as to their ability to expand production and with Bush declaring each year the end of the insurrection the ammo makers saw no need to expand production. The makers can convert production from some of the other non-military calibers to military calibers but that is only possible so far, Sooner or later you have to increase production, but that means increase production capacity and no ammo makers is going to do that unless sure of containing demand.

Basically I suspect the Military is buying all of the Ammo it can, in 7.62x51 NATO (.308 Winchester) used in the General Purpose Machines guns in Iraq and Afghanistan, 5.56x 45 used in the M16s, M4 Carbines and SAW used in Iraq and Afghanistan, 45 ACP, 9Mm and 38 Special used in various pistols by the various services (I would not be surprised if Pilots have had to fire their 38 special on a month to month basis just in case their plane would go down behind enemy lines). The 7.62x 39 is NOT a surprise, for early stories (2002 or so) stated that many US Army units had a storage of M16s so soldiers used captured AK-47s in the early days of the Insurgency (I have NOT heard of this since about 2003 but a popular story in 2002-2003 time period). The main user of 7.62x39 ammo is our Iraq "allies" and our Afghan "allies" both of who are armed with AK-47s and thus need 6.62x39 ammo (which both can produce to a limited degree but the increase use means additional US demand for that caliber).

Now I admit the above is all speculation, but it is a better explanation then people stock piling ammo do to Obama's election. Those people who wanted to stock piles of ammo do to Obama's election, had stock piles BEFORE his election. Yes, some people have bought extra, but like the gasoline situation in the Summer of 2008, many buying it do to of an already existing shortage. The existing shortage, caused by the US Military increase use, then escalated when you had a slight increase in purchasing do to Obama's election.

In simple terms if you want to end the shortage, either get out of Iraq AND Afghanistan OR guarantee every maker of ammo today you will buy all they can produce over the next five years. Such a guarantee will encourage building new ammo making capacity for the ammo makers will know they investment in a new factory will be paid for and NOT be a lost when the US pulls out of Iraq and Afghanistan.

I mentioned the 30'06 round (7.62x63) for two reasons, first it is still the most popular Civilian round in the US (And as such a good round to compare the shortage of ammo with) and second, while "replaced" in the US Military in 1957 (Which had been experimented with since before the Korean War) with the adoption of the 7.62x51 Round, it was still in use in Vietnam, over 10 years later. Full replacement of the 30'06 round was NOT made till the late 1970s and that "rapid" pace had more to do with the fact Vietnam occurred and the US Army saw a huge increase in funding to buy new 7.92x51 Nato weapons as we turned over out older 30'06 Weapons to the South Vietnamese army and anyone else who wanted them (And a good many Armies did). Thus the fact that 38 specials and 45 ACP pistols were to be replaced by 9mm pistols starting in the 1980s may NOT have been the complete switchover should NOT be a surprise to anyone who have studied how weapons are replaced.

[RamboLiberal]

62. Some of the shortage is due to increased military demand

and also law enforcement but a good part too is due to new gun purchases (when you buy a gun you're certainly going to buy some ammo) and to people hoarding and buying in a panic plus ammo makers not anticipating the ramp up. Also early on retailers were probably reducing inventories due to the recession and decreased or at least did not increase their orders from the manufacturers.

As far as switchover on pistols I believe that was accomplished long ago by the services.

[happyslug]

63. My comment was more at the shortage that people have talked about for the last few years

It appears worse now, but it has long been in development. It still implies that ammo makers are in a dilemma, huge demand today, but they are unsure of how long it will last. Any withdraw of Military orders will give such ammo makers over capacity at today's civilian demand levels so such ammo makers are unwilling to increase capacity. The solution is to guarantee purchases from any new plants, but the Government appears unwilling to do that. Thus we will face a Ammo shortage until the Government reduces its demand for ammo, or someone makes the necessary guarantees that they will buy ammo even if demands drops.

As to the 38mm, I would still prefer pilots to have a revolver over an Automatic, do mostly to the fact Revolvers are "Safer" in that you can see with one look if it is loaded (i.e. by opening the cylinder and swing it out to make sure all rounds are gone). Automatics can only be made "safe" by first pulling the magazine and then working the action to get the round out of the chamber. If this is done is REVERSE order, i.e. work the action THEN remove the magazine, you end up with a round in the chamber. This safety feature is the chief reason people who do NOT use a pistol on a daily basis should be given revolvers NOT automatics. Pilots, whose primary job is to fly a plane, fit into this category. You do NOT need them at the range every week to make sure they know how to operate their pistol (Which is what you need if you have an automatic, and I know most people do NOT do that level of Shooting).

All in all, I suspect a lot of 38s were retained by the Air Force for the reasons I stated above. The M9 automatic with its double action feature was suppose to replace all the Revolvers the Air Force had in the 1980s, but I suspect it has NOT been as complete as the Military has claimed (and the same can be said of Navy, Marine and Army Pilots). The advantages of the 9mm in fire power is more then compensated by the lack of ammunition of pilot carries on him as part of his survival pack. The ability to shoot all 15 rounds out of the automatic before you can shoot two rounds out of the Revolver is more then compensated by the fact the only ammo most pilots carry for either pistol is the ammo in the pistol, no more ammo no more Superior fire power. Thus I suspect some remain, and many revolvers may have been pulled out of storage to supply the Iraqi and Afghani armies or given to US Pilots who were then stripped of their Automatics and given Revolvers (i.e. to avoid what happen in post WWII Germany when the German police were giver 38 revolvers and then traded them in for any old piece of junk that was an automatic for the German Police viewed revolvers as being "old fashioned" and preferred Automatics even if the auto were inferior to the revolvers they had been issued, the Iraq and Afghanis may have had the same view).

My point is no matter what is the scenario (i.e. US arming Iraqi and Afghani forces with Revolver held in storage since the 1980s OR the stored Revolvers given to US Pilots whose Automatics were given to Iraqi and Afghani forces) the result will be the same, a shortage of 38 ammo.

As to the 45, it has also never fully been withdrawn, it fact in 2005 attempts were made to bring it back (Through in the form of a new pistol as opposed to the Model 1911).:
http://www.armytimes.com/news/2007/04/military_handguns_070425w/
http://www.airforcetimes.com/offduty/technology/online.gearguide.pistols2.12/

The Model 1911 is still is some service, how much I can not say. For more see:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M1911_Colt_pistol#Current_users

Now the above article does repeat the story of M9s blowing up during Desert Storm. The article then said the M9s were "improved" to avoid that problem. This is true, except that the reason the M9s blew up was some Seals ran 9mm ++ ammunition in them on a regular basis. 9mm++ is an enhanced loading of 9mm intended for use in Sub machine Guns NOT pistols. The excess stress caused on the frames by using 9mm++ ammo is what caused the M9s to blow up NOT any inherent problem with the design. I suspect the Model 1911 could have handled the 9mm++ ammunition (If the Model 1911 was chambered for 9mm, some civilian versions were as while as the almost as powerful 38 Super) but it still would have been an unsafe practice.

Now, while I can NOT find an article saying all revolvers an 45 automatic had been withdrawn (I ran across a lot that said the M9 was to replace them, had replaced most of them but no comment when the last ones were withdrawn) AND the Military has a history of keeping weapons for decades after the weapons had been replaced by other weapons (The US Government is only now getting rid of its M1 Rifles from WWII), 38 Specials Revolvers and 25 M1911 are still in the inventory, and being in the inventory will be issued if they is nothing else to issue. Supply in 1942 a National Guard Unit had its Model 1873 Rifles replaced by M1 Rifles, skipping over the 1873's replacement, the 1892 Krag, the Krag's replacement the M1903 Springfield and even the M1903 stablemate of WWI, the M1917 Enfield (The m1917 was produced for WWI do to the fact Britain had some of its Model 1913 Enfields produced in the US between 1914 and 1916 and the Machinery still existed for its production). Thus that National Guard unit missed NOT three replacement cycle, but four if you include the m1917. Why? The unit had plenty of 1873 and it was good enough for drills.

20-50 years delay in replacing weapons is NOT unheard of, especially when it comes to Infantry weapons. Each rifle is relatively inexpensive, but to replace every rifle in the military is a HUGE investment. Thus obsolete small arms stay on for a very long time, and are issued as needed in times of emergency. Right now that means Iraq and Afghanistan and that tends to require the need for the ammo in shortage now.

On getting rid of the M1 through the Civilian Marksmenship program:
http://www.odcmp.com/

List of M1 that can be purchased:
http://www.thecmp.org/m1garand.htm

List of m1903 for sale, very limited mostly "low numbered" i.e. NOT recommend to be fired:
http://www.thecmp.org/m1903.htm