[Rick Lee]

I don't know for sure, but I highly doubt cops' ammo purchases have any effect on the market. One cop I talked to in KY told me he gets ONE single box of Federal Hydra Shoks per year to "practice" with. All the local ranges here offer discounts for LEO's because they know these guys get so little practice oppotunity from their police depts. When the US military switched from .45's to 9mm for sidearms to make everything compatible with NATO ammo, I'd say that made 9mm ammo a lot cheaper. Military sales are what keeps things cheap for us civilians, which is another reason I want an East German Makarov and a Russian MAK-90. The old Soviet and Chinese surplus ammo is dirt cheap.