On Thu, 05 Apr 2001 07:51:30 -0700, Jesse Talley <talley@cet.com>  wrote:

Dear Friends,
    First of all, please note my new e-mail address:   talley@cet.com
This is to all of you who reload, and please tell your friends that
engage in this activity.

A couple of days ago I stopped in to speak with the owner of  the local
handgun ammunition factory, Pro Load.  He has been selling reloading
components for some time and advised me that the ATF has passed a new
'ruling' which will affect the availabity of brass, at least as far as
he is concerned and several other dealers of reloading components that
he knows.
    This 'ruling' states that the Pitman-Roberts 11% tax will be imposed
on all reloading components that are sold by a dealer that sells brass,
powder, and primers, since these comprise unassembled ammunition.
Therefore he is going to stop selling brass as he does not want the tax
to be imposed on powder and primers
that he sells.

    So, that's what we get when we have 'rules' that can be imposed by a
bureau.  Why shoud the BATF care whether a certain tax is imposed or
not,,,,,,unless it may cut off a source of funds that they had rather not
talk about?  Or, because it gives them a way to know how much reloading
components are being sold in the country?
The sad part is that these self serving bureaucrats are free to engage
in wide ranging activities that were never imagined by the originators
of the P/R tax.
    The message here is, buy your brass now, there might be closeout
sales by lots of dealers and brass could be harder to find in the
future.

Sincerely,   Jess