The folks announcing that they have an "arsenal" are the ones who will find their arsenal attracting attention. Suffice it to say that although I post here under my real name, don't assume for a moment that your alias in any way protects your anonymity. All I'm saying is that the internet is PUBLIC and what you "say" on the internet is equivalent to standing up at a town meeting and saying it out loud. YOU might think it's a great idea to announce your armaments and so forth, I can assure you that there are many people who would take your announcement as a threat. I personally think that's idiotic, but there ya go.

The idea that anyone would go to the trouble of tracking down someone on the internet for a few hundred bucks worth of ammo is, quite frankly, ludicrous. I think you're being paranoid.

Let me put this another way. It's not about the ammo.

Let's imagine a guy named "Joe" wants to run for the school board.
Let's imagine that "Joe" is running for a seat held by by "Bob" and the campaign runs ugly. Happens all the time, in communities of all sizes.

Now, folks in Bob's camp start looking for something - anything - that they can use to make Joe's campaign fall apart. With a little Google searching, and a little IP address matching, some smarts and perhaps a little subterfuge, you connect Joe with some email addresses, some web sites, and then you eventaually connect Joe to a username on a forum (say....this forum). No, it's not that hard. Yes, I know how to do it, and I have traced people from their internet postings when they posted threatening and harassing messages on an "anonymous" forum on iVillage where my wife was a frequent poster. And the guy was arrested, and went to trial, and he was fined and served some time. So I know how it can be done.

Now perhaps Joe has posted about his Ruger 10/22, and how he's looking for a new high-capacity magazine for it that won't jam, and he's looking for a cheap place to buy good ammo, because he's down to his last few hundred rounds of .22!

Now, run that same story through the filter of the hysterical, misinformed press with a "confidential source" from Bob's campaign:

HEADLINE: School Board Candidate Found Seeking Assault Rifle Parts & Ammo In Internet Chat Room

The Daily Hysteric has learned that Joe, a candidate for a seat in district 19's hotly contested school board elections, has been posting messages in a survivalist web site seeking high-capacity magazines for an automatic rifle he owns. Our sources confirm that Joe is an avid firearms enthusiast who has amassed hundreds of rounds of ammunition for his automatic Ruger rifle and several other assault-style weapons he owns. Incumbent school board candidate Bob laughed off suggestions that he "watch his back" stating that "while Joe and I have some pretty deep disagreements over how the school district should run, I doubt that he's dangerous to me or anyone else on the current school board." Joe could not be reached for comment at press time.

That's what I'm talking about. It's not paranoia, it's a realization of just how things are taken out of context and can be used to mix things up.

...and you don't even need to be as high profile as that. Many employers are googling the names of job applicants to see what turns up. Some of my usenet posts from 15 years ago still show up when I google my name. I try not to post anything I might be ashamed of at ANY time in the future.

The Google problem is exactly why I don't post using my real name. Sure, someone could figure out who I am using an IP address, but that is a lot more trouble than a simple Google search. Furthermore, it would require access to the logs from the equipped.org server. A potential employer is not going to go around to every forum on the internet where I might have posted and try to get access to their logs.

As far as the school board example, someone could find out what sort of weapons I own a lot more easily than tracking down my posts on the internet. All they have to do is come down to the range and watch me shoot. Hell, if they ask nicely, I'd probably let them fire off a few rounds.

Weren't a couple of hunters just busted for shooting 2 deer on opening day, in a state that only allows 1? Seems there were post(s) made on the net bragging about the getting of 2 deer. I understand a state DEC officer also read that same forum, and investigated.

with the introduction of prposal HR1022 to reinstate the brady bill you might want to consider doubling your stock pile, or as much as you can staying away from the ammo I told you about earlier.

There are a lot of them that will leave you alone till your backs turned.

Quite frankly, I don't think HR1022 has much of a chance of becoming law during this session of congress (perhaps after '08, depending on how the election goes). I just don't think there are 60 votes for it in the Senate. Of course, gun control measures are highly sensitive to current news, one nasty shooting could change the equation quite quickly.

If you are concerned about it, I think it would make a lot more sense to pick up extra magazines (and perhaps a black rifle or two) than more ammo. HR1022 doesn't have anything to do with ammunition, but it will ban a broad spectrum of rifles suitable for personal defense, along with any magazine over ten rounds. So if you've got your eye on an AR or AK, or if you have one already but don't have a good (read: lifetime) supply of magazines, now would be a good time to buy.

always practice with the ammo your gonna carry. different brands, types, and wieght shoot different. take a gun and put it in a vise and try different ammo, and you will get very different patterns. I know it's more expensive but it will help you hit your target when TSHTF.