"Theory" is being generous. At the time that the last smelter was being decommissioned, this was exactly the argument used by the plant's defenders.....that we would lose the ability to produce ammunition for the national defense. The econazis laughed with glee. After all, they were also pushing for the military to develop a lead-free alternative to lead core bullets.....one that would not be generally available to the civilian market for a very long time. Has anyone been able to get their hands on any M855A1 ammo? No? I didn’t think so.jason812 wrote: ↑Sat Aug 22, 2020 11:41 amThe conspiracy theory is that the EPA and other regulations that shut these down were to make it harder to manufacture ammo.The Annoyed Man wrote: ↑Sat Aug 22, 2020 9:06 am Add to that the fact that there are no more lead smelters left in the United States.
https://www.americanrifleman.org/articl ... cartridge/
And....has anyone priced copper these days?Various Army institutions initially emphasized the bullet’s environmental impact with no stated goal of improving the 5.56 mm’s performance. This program aspired solely, “to annually eliminate 2000 metric tons of hazardous material,” and that, alone. Army reports abound with terms such as “environmentally friendly,” and, “the Army’s commitment to environmental stewardship.” The M855A1’s development was even called a “moral obligation” in the Army’s 2010 Life Cycle Environmental Assessment.