You can buy ammo at the range, pretty much have to. Ought to rotate it, of course, as well as check lot quality.
I doubt there's any close checking at the range, haven't heard any horror stories about that, but I'm not exactly wired into that scene.
And, yep, the Left would absolutely be worried about (counter-)revolution, since they do a lot of unpopular things, especially after 1973-7.
The authorizes for example issue real rifles to security groups, and often take them back, infamously did so for one town to close to Gaza not long before October 7th.