When do you have "enough" ammo?

A sufficient supply for a standoff against whom? It makes all the difference.

Other variables:

How many attackers are coming at you, and how many other shooters do you have supporting you (and are you providing their ammo as well)?

It’s already getting kind of ridiculous lol. These questions are just about impossible to answer with any semblance of realism.

It’s whatever makes you comfortable, man. For me, that amount was six loaded 30-round mags ready to go in a harness, plus a seventh in the rifle. 210 rounds. That’s the most I could realistically carry with me without becoming too encumbered, or losing the option to carry other stuff without becoming encumbered. Even if making a stand in your home was a realistic scenario, it would still be a losing one.

I would guess that a bunch of shooters on this forum (including myself) have accumulated a supply of ammo much greater than needed due to their fear of a stand off with (previous) availability. Based upon my use, I would say that I have a market fear driven “way too much”.

I couldn't honestly tell you within +/- 5k rounds how much I have. Just .22's it's probably approaching if not surpassed 10k.

Except in rare cases, it's probably not gonna get cheaper. In one range session we can go thru hundreds, sometimes a thousand rounds.

I probably have enough components to load 25-40k rounds

Hp 9mm ammo, maybe 100 to 300, with 3-4 magazines

223/556 in magazines, 6 or so

You mentioned a stand-off, I find it hard to believe that a criminal that you need to engage in self defense will hang around after a full ar mag is emptied in their direction. I believe if you find yourself in a firefight you really screwed up somewhere

If you are trying to be ready for teotwawki then you need more of everything, including rifles and a whole lot more 22lr as your budget allows

In today’s world you need a lifetime supply. You need enough to shoot like you do now for the rest of your life.
It’s not going to get cheaper and I’d bet on it getting harder to get since everyone running the show is a liberal from the city (no matter what pin is on their jacket)

Trying to stock up for some sort of war scenario won’t do you any good. As soon as all hell breaks loose you’ll only be able to take so much with you unless you have some sort of mega compound.

I’m just trying to make sure My boys and I can shoot coyotes, pigs and steel plates as well as reasonably defend ourselves for our life on earth with or without the blessing of our tyrannical government.

Look at it this way.

With 4,400 rounds, if you bring your A-game, that is a lifetime supply.

If your A-game is AWOL, that is also a lifetime supply, but your heirs might not match your beneficiary designation.

Unless you live in an armored bunker or your being attacked with bows and arrows, about 3 magazines.

Robert, how many pistol mags do you have, you should have enough JHP to fill all of them.
Replenish as needed.

Ugh...uhm...i.have....about 20 rounds for each rifle on hand at any one time.
Stuff to load a few hundred. I actually have maybe 1 box of 9mms and two loaded clips for my hipoint. No .45s on hand right now, but I can load some.

I do normally keep somewhere between 5 and 10k .22 rounds on hand.

Honestly, with my component supply i can make my big guns go bang for quite some time.

I never have enough loaded ammunition. My range time ends at the bottom of the container. I have a lot of componentry, to assemble into ammunition, but keeping it loaded is tough. I change things every time I go out, I can't help it!
Even if or when I find "the load" for a firearm, I would probably stock components over loaded ammunition. I believe it will last longer this way. (Maybe because I can't shoot it up so fast!)

I don't wish to disparage your thinking, but a standoff usually involves the Police or other authorities. Those humans are on my side, and yours as well.

I too, don't see a gang of ne'erdowells hanging about after a few rifle rounds seperates one of their buddie's soul from their body. Soon after the Police will show up. I would meet them with coffee and lawyer, instead of a firearm.

Robert B Bender said:

... Kind of bragging on on my stash of ammo.but, am genuinely concerned as to what is a sufficient supply of each. Not peparing for war nut, would like to have a sufficient supply for a standoff.

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A standoff?

I have always approached the subject quite differently.

Do I have enough to easily weather a years-long ammunition shortage, price hike or, heaven forbid, some restrictive new legislation?

Awhile back I stocked up (!) on milsurp ammo when it was available and relatively inexpensive. I have also developed a relatively large stockpile of reloading components/supplies.

I probably have way too much ammo but it's a problem I like having. Most of it was bought here and there, always on sale or at a price too good to pass up. Only made two large scale purchases over the years: went halves on a 1000 round case of Chinese 7.62x39 with my brother and picked up 10 bricks of Wolf Match Target at a gun show for $34.90 a brick.

I don't know the answer either.
I keep a few hundred on hand for each centerfire caliber. I usually have components on hand for a few thousand (I cast, so it's easier).
So I may not have all that many loaded rounds, but I like to have plenty of primers, powder and lead on hand.

With rimfire, as much as possible.

someguy2800 said:

Unless you live in an armored bunker or your being attacked with bows and arrows, about 3 magazines.

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exactly, really how much can you carry ? The idea of shtf stuff defending your home in a 50k round shoot out is silly , like also said I do reload and have lots of ammo stored but it is to allow me to go shooting whenever I want , and allows for another ammo dry up with the next election !

SamT1 said:

In today’s world you need a lifetime supply. You need enough to shoot like you do now for the rest of your life.

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Ha! That seems rather ambiguous. I'm 69, my wife is not that far behind, and we both shoot. Therefore, the amount of ammo we need for shooting for the rest of our lives isn't nearly as much as we needed 30 years ago. Besides, the roads here in SE Idaho are icy this morning, so there's a better chance we're going to get killed on the highway on our way to church today than there was even last Sunday.
Just kidding around Sam. I just don't think there's a pat answer to the OP's question about having "enough" ammo.

My ammo supply is not represented by loaded ammo. Bulk components make up the vast majority of my potential hoard.....I'm only limited by the number of projectiles that I have on hand at any one time......As for powder, primers and cases? The answer is "enough".

someguy2800 said:

Unless you live in an armored bunker or your being attacked with bows and arrows, about 3 magazines.

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Yup, anybody that believes they'll survive long enough to go through thousands of rounds is kidding themselves.

Stock pile for a rainy day, stack it deep because you like to shoot, that makes sense. Thousands of rounds for the zombie outbreak or the WROL scenario doesn't understand the concept that luck works both ways.

Chuck

There is some ammunition.
There is more ammunition.
There is never "enough" ammunition. (Unless you start wieghing it and dumping them into pallet boxes! You know who you are!)

.308 Norma said:

Ha! That seems rather ambiguous. I'm 69, my wife is not that far behind, and we both shoot. Therefore, the amount of ammo we need for shooting for the rest of our lives isn't nearly as much as we needed 30 years ago. Besides, the roads here in SE Idaho are icy this morning, so there's a better chance we're going to get killed on the highway on our way to church today than there was even last Sunday.
Just kidding around Sam. I just don't think there's a pat answer to the OP's question about having "enough" ammo.

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You better have enough to make 100 for the both of you!
It’s like a retirement fund except you can’t plan when to stop contributions. Any second now ammo could be come unattainable as we know it today.
I could open up an ammo planning service, where we sit down and figure out your future needs!

I'm not going to go buy $20,000 of ammo. I have about about a 1000 rounds of various loaded ammo and and components to load another 3000-4000 and another 3000-4000 in 22 ammo. If I was never able to buy another round of ammo or primers ever again I could live out my life very comfortably, I just wouldn't be able to shoot everything in sight for years. I would just have to adjust accordingly. That's probably not going to happen. Nor will I be besieged in my home by a marauding band of horrible shots.

The only time you can ever have to much ammo is when your house is on fire.

Or if one is swimming!

Fourty four hundred rounds is not enough for the next fourty two years. I plan on being here till I'm eighty, one never knows though, all my grand parents went to ninety and a great uncle made one hundred one. I do live a bit more dangerously though.

That is only one hundred and four rounds a year. That would be less than one range trip a year, for me. ( I didn't realize I shot that much, just wait till I start competing!) I won't get into pistols, I shoot those at least three times as much.