I am going to work on an interesting story and I need your help in the investigative techniques.

It has to do with local gun and ammunition stores, and what could be illegal activity. I think I have evidence that a local shop is selling military ammunition never meant to be sold to civilians. I'm not even sure if that is illegal, but it is scary. Worse, some of that military ammunition has proved defective, causing rifles to "burst" upon firing.

Royal Arms Gun and Ammo faxed us a warning from a cartridge manufacturer. It said a certain cartridge causes rifles to explode. It says the cartridges were made for military use, and are not meant for civilian use.

Royal Arms wrote to us that they used to carry this cartridge. I called them. They didn't want it in the paper that they carried the cartridge. When I told them I thought that was important, they backtracked and claimed that the cartridges they had carried were actually from a different year than the ones for which the warning is issued.

So, first they say they had it, then they say they had a different version, but I'm holding a press release that says they shouldn't have that type of cartridge at all.

What regulations govern what those guns and ammo stores can carry? Are military weapons and ammunition being sold right down the street from where I live? What do people use these different types of ammo for? What kind of liability do these stores carry if they sell faulty ammo?

Even if illegality is not the case, I still think this story would pan out as a feature, if not a newsbreaker.

Our yellow pages list 13 gun dealers in this county. Ads say things like "Combat Pistol Craft" and "Cash in a Flash for Guns," so the trade goes beyond hunting.

I'd like to enlist the help of a gun expert -- maybe a police officer -- to take me shopping in these stores.

What do you think? The arming of Kitsap.