No, this is not a joke.  We hinted at this on the terms page of a recent AGM catalog, but things were so hectic before the web opening that I did not have time to prepare this news article.  So here it is at long last - the official AGM Ammunition for Militaria Program!

Due to circumstances which we will not discuss here out of respect for our customers who may have a different political view than those espoused by the management of AGM, people around the US have been stockpiling arms that they believe may be subject to a new ban, and ammunition - oodles and scads of ammunition.  That is all well and good, but supply has not kept up with demand.  The result is that those of us who are active, regular shooters are having trouble replacing what we shoot up. 

I got the idea for this when one of our friends (and a well-known military collectables author) made the off-hand observation "good ammunition might just be the most stable currency of the 21st century."  Hmm... ammunition as currency.  Why not?  We’ll give it a try.

The purpose of this is not for AGM to acquire ammunition for resale.  This is strictly an effort to feed our own habits.  Consequently, though there are many very good brands of ammunition available out there, we plan to start this out small and limit it exclusively to the three main types that we use most often.  This ammunition is carried by major sporting goods stores and even Wal-Mart (when they have a supply... which recently has been very sporadic.)

Here is the current ammunition to militaria trade value conversion chart.  Again, there are many different good brands of ammunition out there; we are limiting the ammo for militaria program to these few brands at the moment simply because this is what we normally use.  If this is well-received, we will expand it to include defensive ammunition (Winchester Ranger, Speer Gold Dot, etc.) and other quality brands of target ammo.  At no point will we ever be accepting any ’Wolf’ brand ammunition, or corrosive, outdated surplus ammo.

SO, if you are lusting after an item on the catalog and can’t easily come up with the cash - but you happen to be sitting on a few cases of 9mm, .45, or .223 that you view as expendable, then under the new ammunition for militaria program you’re in business! 

Here is how it works:  The trade value is listed on the chart above.  You are responsible for shipping the ammunition to AGM.  This can NOT be done via the US Postal Service.  UPS (Ground only) will accept ammuntion.  It must be packed securely in a sturdy box and marked "ORD-M" on the exterior.  Many individual UPS stores have policies against shipping ammunition, weapons, etc. (Try shipping swords via a UPS store in California - not an easy task!)  Consequently you may need to schedule a UPS pickup or drop it off at a UPS hub.  If you need clarification or wish further guidance, call them at 1-800 PICK UPS (1-800-742-5877) and they will be glad to help.

In return, your account will be credited with the proper amount, and AGM will dispatch your order to you with no shipping charge.* (restrictions apply - see below.)

Do we expect most or even many people to take advantage of this offer?  No - certainly not.  A few customers that we mentioned this to have expressed a serious interest, and for those folks I hope it turns out to be a useful way to add a few items to their collection that they would not have been able to afford otherwise.  I’m also well-aware that this will cause a few of our international customers to officially and finally declare us ’madmen.’  Oh well, they would have found out eventually, anyway, and hopefully they can overlook our ’scary’ extracurricular activities because of all of the cool militaria they get from us.  Besides - they should still be basking in the glow of our recent declaration in favor of the metric system!

*Even-up shipping trade restrictions: applies only to orders that AGM would ship via USPS (domestic) mail and UPS Ground - does not apply to Anvil Weight items, or orders that must ship via truck freight.