How much defensive ammo to keep on hand?

[Justin]

How much defensive ammo do you keep on hand? What is the optimum amount and why?
To differentiate between the two, defensive ammo is pretty much any hollowpoint/expanding round, rather than just standard ball ammo.

[Wil Terry]

FILL IT ALL UP.
Now find some more room and start working to fill that
At home currently I have well over 100,000 rounds and am out of some stuff I need.
YOU CAN NEVER HAVE TOO MUCH AMMUNITION!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[CMichael]

In what case would you need over 100,000 rounds for defense?

I think if you need to fire more than 10 rounds you are in deep doo doo.

[Wil Terry]

you ever heard of and some you haven't. Included is every caliber in every bullet weight you can imagine for use in every test gun that comes along plus my personal armaments.
Actually 100,000 rounds is very little in the general scheme of things. I burn up 6-800 rounds of it a week, sometimes 1000 rounds a day when I feel like it and am overwhelmed with ambition.

[Zak Smith]

When trying out a new "carry" load, I test several hundred rounds of it through the gun in question.

I keep 100-200 rounds on-hand for each caliber (assuming a couple/few guns per caliber), including those loaded in mags.

I rotate out those 100-200 rounds/caliber yearly by shooting it, and order new stuff.

Proload.

-z

[Preacherman]

Terry, I have GOT to get to South Dakota and help you dispose of that mountain of old and moldering ammunition... I'll count it as a corporal work of mercy! :D

[Wil Terry]

Me a nice COLT SAA in any caliber as a house warming gift and you'll kill two birds with one stone.
Then we'll go up in the hills shootin' all day every day until you say " UNCLE!!! "
Now that I think on it a COLT NF 5 1/2" 357MAG would tickle me no end...just tryin' to be helpful to you in yore search you understand.

[WonderNine]

Sometimes 1,000 rounds a day? :what:

I'll bet you've got a constant sore shoulder/wrist :D

[Country Boy]

Terry-
I live in Eastern SD, so if you want to store some of that ammo at my place, just drop me an e-mail. :D Do you work for Black Hills Ammunition in Rapid?

To answer the question, I probably only have less than 50 rounds of defensive ammo on hand. I keep plenty of the FMJ around, but not a whole lot of premium stuff.

[461]

500 rounds per weapon I consider defensive in nature. I've got about five thousand rounds of .22lr on hand as well. I'm not looking for an invasion, I just shoot my favorite weapons a lot for one and for another I reload as a hobby as well.

[Wil Terry]

have been with CORBON in Sturgis for the past seven years as the Tech Support Manager.
I'M TELLIN' YOU BOYS, YOU CANNOT HAVE TOO MUCH AMMO!!!!!!
It's good for two things, loadin' and shootin'...

[Bowlcut]

Well I usualy only keep no more than one carry's worth around. So two 10 round(grrrrrr) mags of .40s&w. Bad habbit of shooting up almost everything when I go to the range. So went and got a box of nice fedral hydra shocks to keep behind as a defensive round for the house and carry

[Black_Talon]

I've socked in about 2500 rounds of WW Ranger RA45T over the last month due to the impending Kali 10¢ per round ammo tax. I've got another 1000rds incoming via UPS. That shold hold me until I can figure how to get a new job out of state and move.

[Mastrogiacomo]

I only keep one box per gun of Federal. It'd be a waste of money to keep more than that -- don't they lose their power with age? I never fire them with personal as I spend more time at the gun range just for fun.

[Skunkabilly]

Mastro, I don't think they lose much power over time, if so it's prolly negligible, and it won't hurt to make sure it functions properly in your dual Berettas....

[cool45auto]

I try to keep one ammo can full for each gun I've got.

[JeepDriver]

Current Count:

1. 3/4 full ammo can Loose 115 gr 9mm FMJ
2. 700 - of 9mm (124+p Gold Dots non-reclassified stuff)
3. 1500 - 9mm (Reclassified 124+p Gold Dots)
4. 2500 - 7.62x39 (123 gr Wolf HP's)
5. 120 - 12ga (Rifled Slugs)
6. 73 - 12ga (00 Buck)
7. 1/2 full ammo can Loose 12 ga bird shot
8. 60 - 30-06 (165gr Winchester)
9. 80 - 357 Mag (125gr Gold Dot's)
10. 34 - 357 Mag (180 gr Partition Golds)
11. 100 - 7.62x54R (Surplus stuff)
12. 80 - 30-30 (150 gr Remington)
13. 20 - .380 Auto (90gr Hydra Shok's)
14. ? - 22LR (can't count that high)


Most of it is ammo I shoot on a regular basis. But I keep 250 rounds 9mm 124's and 600 - 762x39 packed up and ready to go. The rest is packed into Ammo cans, and the cans are labeled with the contents.

[Daniel Flory]

I like to have enough to fill every magazine I have for that pistol twice. But really, one can never have too much since there is always that day were you blow a ton of rounds downrange and come home with an empty can.

[Sven]

My rule of thumb: enough to fill the mag in the gun, plus two spare mags, for each gun. As a MINIMUM.

[El Tejon]

Couple of cases of carry ammo. I'm paranoid, so I always test my carry load. One never knows if/when they will change the receipe to less power or less flash suppressant. YMMV.

[Stevie-Ray]

Terry, I am insanely envious.:banghead:

[cratz2]

I admit, I'm an ammo junkie. Glad to hear I'm not the only one. :p I really don't know how much I have on hand but it's quite a bit. I have two safes... well one safe and one 2 door Stack-On metal caninet. The bottom three shelves of that cabinet are fulled with ammo and there are only about 5 boxes of rimfire or shotgun ammo in that cabinet.

Upstairs, I have six 30 cal ammo cans each of 25-06 and 243 handloads and three of 270. Maybe 300 rounds of various 22-250. Too much 223 to even guess and about the same of 308. I have so ungodly much rimfire it's ridiculous... I know I have close to 180 boxes of Lightning and last time I actually ordered rimfire, I got 5 5,000 round cases of SuperX cause it was on sale. Plus all kinds of various CCI, Federal and Winchester 22lr and Magnum. I don't shoot a lot of shotguns but I have about 250 rounds of S&B buckshot and about 20 boxes of various slugs. One year, when Meijer did their annual end of hunting season, they had #6 and #7.5 Remington shot on sale and I literally cleaned them out. I think they had it priced at about $1.50 or $1.75 per 25 rounds and I had a bunch of cash on me so I bought all they had. The cashier looked nervous.

Bought 2,000 rounds of the reclassified Gold Dots in 124 +P and 500 in 115 Gr +P+. I try to keep 500 rounds each of S&B 45ACP and 9mm on hand. Only have two 40s and don't shoot either of them much anymore... I might have 100 rounds of Gold Dots and 300 rounds of ball. I got 10 boxes of the LVE Mak ammo last time I was at the shop that has a bunch of it and I have the better part of a case of Barnaul. Maybe 5 boxes each of 32ACP, 38 Special, 357 Magnum, 44 Magnum, 45 Colt. I have ten boxes of Winchester 9x23 HPs and don't even have a gun I can shoot them in.

And we haven't even started talking about the cheap MilSurp stuff yet. I just can't pass up cheap ammo. 440 rounds of 7.62x54R for $25? I got 8 of them. Plus three more than came with M44s. 1300 rounds of Yugo 303 ammo, a few hundred of the South African stuff. Not a whole lot of 7.5 Swiss or 6.5 Swede but have probably 100 or 200 rounds of each. A guy gave me a bunch of 30-06 ammo with the green steel cases when he read that this was probably bad for his inheireted Winchester rifle... has a guy looks like Milek with a rifle on the box...I don't have a 30-06 either.

But for actual defensive ammo that I would carry in a gun and bet my life on, I try to keep 100 rounds per cartridge. I shoot up whatever I have in my carry gun at least once a month, maybe twice a month, to keep it fresh. Only guns I've seriously carried in the last two years are two 45ACP 1911s, a 38 Super Commander and the Kahr P9. And the P32 is always with me. I have at various times carried the G23 and the Makarov but not for long. Total I probably have 500 or 600 of serious defensive ammo.

[foghornl]

Minimum of 100 rounds per weapon in "personal defense" loads, much more in practice ammo per calibre.

[Justin]

For y'all that have skads of hollowpoints laying around, where in the heck didja get 'em?
I mean, seriously. A 20 round box of Gold-Dots is $12 on a good day.
Terry, you're exempted because it's a job perk. :neener: :)

[Smoke]

50 - 100 of "Defensive" rounds.

Keep 500 - 1000 (depending on the $$$) of FMJ ball ammo.

I carry 3 mags for most of my CCWs. IF that doesn't stop the threat I gotta get to the safe/truck and I won't care what kinda ammo I'm throwing at that point.

[Gordon Fink]

I don’t have any 100,000-round stockpile, but every time I stock up on FMJ range ammo, I buy a couple more boxes of hollow points for each caliber.

~G. Fink

[Dorrin79]

Let's see....

for my 9mms I currently have about 100 rds of defensive ammo (EFMJ and Hydra-Shoks) and another 500 rds of Winchester White Box FMJ. When I get my Hi-Point Truck Carbine I'll probably keep a 100rd White Box in the truck, along with 2-3 mags loaded up with JHP.

I have about 100 rds of Stingers (and another 2500 rds of cheap bulk ammo) for my .22s

I have almost 1000 rds of 7.62x39 for my SKS, but it's all cheap commie FMJ.

I have about 40 rds of S&B 8mm for my mauser, and another 380 rds of cheap Romanian surplus

the only part of my ammo stockpile that I feel is insufficient is my 12ga stockpile. Right now I have a measly 5 rds of 00 buck and 20 of birdshot

[Logistar]

I have around 700-800 rounds but about half that is FMJ.

[Erik Jensen]

man... I'm waaaayyyy below average.

current count: 200 rds of Winny whitebox 9mm
16rds of Cor-bon 90gr +P (yes, a measly one mag full) 18rds of Winny SXT JHP 180gr .40 S&W (that's two mags for the MK40 + one in the chamber, and six still in the box)
600+rds of Federal .22lr


I've been meaning to stock up, but I just haven't gotten around to it. I think I'll buy a few boxes of each tomorrow.

[oscar]

On Rec-Guns back before Y2K, a guy took a survey of such. The average was about 7-8 thousand rounds. The big boys had 10 times that amount. I keep at least 1000 rounds loaded per caliber except for 380. I also have about 6-7 thousand rounds of 22rf. I plan to retire in the next 4 or so years and my income will drop so I am stocking up now. I try to spend $20.00 per week on brass, powder, shot, primers, etc. Also buy 22 rf if on sale.

[surfinUSA]

A box or two.

[blades67]

I keep a box or two of my carry ammo on hand most of the time. I don't use that for practice, that's why I reload.

[stevelyn]

TERRY MURBACH

I once told a locomotive engineer with the Alaska Railroad that he had the coolest job in the world.
I now take that back.......your's is the coolest.:cool:

I keep several boxes of hardball/practice ammo on hand for each gun, but only a box or two of premium stuff.

[Johnny Guest]

Justin, you wrote - - -To differentiate between the two, defensive ammo is pretty much any hollowpoint/expanding round, rather than just standard ball ammo. Well, it's your thread, and I guess you can state whetever premise you wish, but - - -

There was a time, well within memory of some on THR, when no manufacturer gave any thought to use of hollow points in certain handguns. I believe Colt didn't do "throated" barrels for the 1911 series, other than the National Match (pre-Gold Cup) until the late 1960s to early 70s. I have at least three which came with standard hardball-ramped barrels. At the same time, I consider any of these fine pistols as good sidearms.

I changed the barrel on one of these to use JHP ammo. The others remain standard, and I use factory 230 FMJ when I carry one. Just last night, my wife was packing up to drive to Houston. She asked for, "a forty-five and a couple of extra magazines." This is why I bought a Sistema Colt 1927 Argentine pistol - - Dead-serious, reliable, powerful handgun, no pampering needed. And, if it were stolen or ended up in an evidence locker for a few months, it would be no tragic loss. :p

My wife is a responsible handgun carrier, and yes, she has a little 9mm of her own, usually right on her person. But she also knows the comfort a major car gun . . . .

SOooo - - By your definition, I keep around 100 rounds of .45, and 50 to 100 each of .38 Spl, .357, and 9 mm "defensive ammo" on hand. By MY definition, a good deal more. Like so many hobby shooters, though, I get uneasy when there's less than a thousand good handloads in stock for my favorite sidearms.:D

Best,
Johnny

[JohnBT]

Defensive ammo? It's all defensive ammo. The safe has a little in it, the Kencraft cabinet is full of ammo cans, the ammo cans in the hall closet, the Rubbermaid tubs, the copy paper boxes under the bed(an old iron bed with lots of clearance), odd boxes and bags in the old desk I use for fiddling with guns in the back bedroom, some in the basement under 2 of the three workbenches, and then there's the nearly 3 cases of .22 I keep tripping over because I haven't put it away. And what's left of a case of old Gold Medal Match .38 Sp. WC I bought for my dad to shoot - he'll get it all eventually, I've got him on a diet - it was only $8 a box.

Now, where did I put the shotgun ammo?

Seriously, years ago I discovered that almost all of my carry guns like Georgia Arms ammo from the gun show. I've been stocking up on 9mm Gold Dot +P, and .45 *P, and LSWCHP +P at every show...you get the idea.

And some people say to put all the ammo in the safe :)

John

[SIC TRANSIT GLORIA MUNDI]

Lemme see,... 6500 rds. of 30-06, 1500 rds. of .223, 1500 rds. of .22LR, 250 rds. of .45 Auto, 250 rds. of .32 APC, and about 150 12 ga. shells, evenly split between slugs, 00 buck and birdshot. Is that enough?... no, never mind, of course it isn't.

[ahadams]

same as Smoke. I'd like to have 500 to 1000 per firearm, but THAT ain't happening anytime soon....