GAO Report Projects Civilian Marksmanship Program to Earn $100 Million

The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a report recently concerning the Civilian Marksmanship Program (CMP). Moreover, the report highlighted how many firearms, including the recent addition of the M1911, CMP has sold to the public. Further, the report projects the CMP could generate as much as $104.9 million before it exhausts all reported surplus firearms eligible for sale.

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GAO CMP Report

The report, entitled “Civilian Marksmanship Program: Information on the Sale of Surplus Army Firearms,” details the arms transfers. Both Army-to-CMP transfers and CMP-to-civilian sales transfers are covered in the report. While the report details CMP’s policies and procedures in accordance with federal laws concerning firearm sales, more interesting are the numbers.

Surplus Arms Transferred to CMP

According to GAO, the Army has transferred more than 700,000 surplus rifle and handguns to CMP since 1996. Further, the Army transferred 279,032 surplus rifles to CMP from 2008 to 2017. Of that nearly 280,000 rifles, GAO determined 203,644 of those were M1 rifles. More than 5,000 Kimber M82 rifles were transferred, while various other models came in less than 1,000. Those models include rarities such as M40X1/M40, M1917 Enfield, M1903 and Winchester Model 70 rifles.

The report confirmed earlier numbers published by Tactical-Life, stating that CMP acquired approximately 8,000 M1911 handguns. The report further stated CMP received more than 19,000 orders for those same 8,000 M1911s. Above all, demand far outpaced supply for the old warhorse. Even with prices exceeding $1,050 for field grade guns, CMP M1911s created extremely high demand.

Bulk ammo has also been a hot item for CMP in the past, and this report confirms that. GAO found that ammunition and memorabilia, oddly lumped together, generated $76.4 million.

Revenue Generated by CMP Sales

Arguably more interesting than the sheer numbers of guns transferred is the revenue these sales generate. From 2008 to 2017, GAO found that CMP sold 304.233 surplus rifles, generating revenues of $196.8 million. Also, CMP made big news with the acquisition of M1911 pistols in 2018.

With 228,791 rifles still on hand, along with M1911 inventories, GAO predicts CMP could earn as much as $104.9 million in the near future, “enough to fund CMP’s operations for several years,” according to GAO. Further, GAO reported that CMP had cash value of $3.6 million and an investment account valued at a whopping $188.6 million.