Back in the 1970’s, the “Army surplus store” was actually filled with Army surplus. Military outfits, helmets, bayonets, de-miled flamethrowers, de-miled rocket launchers, flak jackets, instruments, grenades, shells, bombs, guns, you name it. Back then the stores were loaded with surplus from Viet Nam, Korea and even WWII, along with the “peacetime” in between. But if you go into such a store today, you’re far more likely to find a store full of commercial camping supplies and the like. Now, it’s not as if the military hasn’t been buying, and then replacing, shiploads of *stuff,* but there seems to be vastly less of it making its way back to the US civvie market. For instance: when was the last time you saw a civilian owned M-1 Abrams, AH-64 Apache or F-14 Tomcat?

There is news relevant on that topic:

Scrapping equipment key to Afghan drawdown

the U.S. military has destroyed more than 170 million pounds worth of vehicles and other military equipment as it rushes to wind down its role in the Afghanistan war by the end of 2014.

About 2,000 MRAP (Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected) vehicles are listed as “excess” and are being shredded.

One would imagine that there are a vast number of AR-15/M-4/M-16 magazines that are kinda beat up, but that civilian gun owners woul snap up if the price was right. Not to mention the M-4’s, M-16’s, M-14’s, Barrets, sidearms and all the rest that would find many happy buyers back home.