bluethunder1962
Member
I love buying bulk ammo to save for a "rainy day" but my problem is they keep disapearing.
Creating a stash of ammunition in common calibers
- Thread starter Warp
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RedHeadHunter
Member
I don't know if I agree with the "in case of emergency" thought, but I do have ammo and reload for ammo I don't have firearms for.
Since I built a very informal shooting range on our family property, I bring people that have never shot or have not shot in many years to spend the afternoon on the range. People from countries that don't allow firearms are the most fun because they really don't know what to expect.
Every now and then I get "My (friend or mom or . . .) has this gun and I don't know what it is." I tell them to bring it and we'll see if we can make it shoot. I check the condition, then determine which round will fit. They get to try out a gun that they have access to with out spending any $$. I have converted several new fans of shooting this way.
Since I built a very informal shooting range on our family property, I bring people that have never shot or have not shot in many years to spend the afternoon on the range. People from countries that don't allow firearms are the most fun because they really don't know what to expect.
Every now and then I get "My (friend or mom or . . .) has this gun and I don't know what it is." I tell them to bring it and we'll see if we can make it shoot. I check the condition, then determine which round will fit. They get to try out a gun that they have access to with out spending any $$. I have converted several new fans of shooting this way.
Maybe you should move somewhere with fewer rainy days!
beatledog7
Member
Building an inventory of ammo makes sense for a lot of reasons, but for me it has to be cartridges I can actually use.
I have a decent stock of components, and I try to reload 100 or so rounds a week in between other things. I'm slowly building inventory that way, but only in the calibers for which I actually have firearms. To those who load a lot of rounds that probably doesn't sound like much, but if I load just 100 a week and shoot just 50 per week, I add a net 2500 or so every year. Making two for every one I shoot makes sense to me.
If I were to have additional time and financial resources to devote to stockpiling, it'd be in other things (I won't bore you with the list) that people would value in a crisis. I figure it this way: if it ever gets bad enough that people are out with guns seeking the things they need to survive, and they can't be bothered with things like laws and morality, I'd rather keep my ammo and barter with the other stuff.
In such a world, trust would be the thing in shortest supply. Why help someone else--a person who if pressed will ultimately turn on me--to be armed?
I have a decent stock of components, and I try to reload 100 or so rounds a week in between other things. I'm slowly building inventory that way, but only in the calibers for which I actually have firearms. To those who load a lot of rounds that probably doesn't sound like much, but if I load just 100 a week and shoot just 50 per week, I add a net 2500 or so every year. Making two for every one I shoot makes sense to me.
If I were to have additional time and financial resources to devote to stockpiling, it'd be in other things (I won't bore you with the list) that people would value in a crisis. I figure it this way: if it ever gets bad enough that people are out with guns seeking the things they need to survive, and they can't be bothered with things like laws and morality, I'd rather keep my ammo and barter with the other stuff.
In such a world, trust would be the thing in shortest supply. Why help someone else--a person who if pressed will ultimately turn on me--to be armed?
Lex Luthier
Member
Ammunition is one small part of stocking up. It isn't always about SHTF, but there is great comfort in believing you have the means to protect yourself and survive a catastrophe.
Bleach will be like gold. Toilet paper, soap, extra boots and shoes, non-perishable food items. Propane. A good tactical rig, since carrying a mission critical load out in a suit jacket just won't work. The commodity that will run short real fast in that situation is common sense, so I would put that on top of the list and keep it there.
I suggest reading "One Second After". It details the life of a small college town in desperate times following an EMP.
Bleach will be like gold. Toilet paper, soap, extra boots and shoes, non-perishable food items. Propane. A good tactical rig, since carrying a mission critical load out in a suit jacket just won't work. The commodity that will run short real fast in that situation is common sense, so I would put that on top of the list and keep it there.
I suggest reading "One Second After". It details the life of a small college town in desperate times following an EMP.
SabbathWolf
member
A good tactical rig?
I am assuming you mean some sort of LBE/LBV/Plate Carrier or similar?
I'm surprised actually that this doesn't come up much here that I've noticed.
I agree with you 100%
In addition to water, food, 1st Aid Supplies, commo, shelter, fire, etc., in an emergency...all the guns and ammo in the world won't mean a thing if you have no means of carrying said items if you have to relocate.
When I think of relocating, I always plan for the "worst" case scenario, yet still hope for the best anyways.
By "worst," I mean you are going on foot because of no vehicle fuel or jammed roadways or whatever the case may be.
Good load bearing equipment is one of those things you hope you'll NEVER ever need...but if you do, it will truly suck not to have it!
This exact thing happened to me once, except I had just been discharged from the Air Force and moved from Texas to Ohio. I brought a Mossberg 590 with me but no ammo, and my new next door neighbor was kind enough to gift me about 25 rounds of assorted 12 gauge shells to tide me over until I could pick up a few boxes of my own.
As to the OP, I'd keep it simple. Telekinesis has the right idea:
Buck Kramer
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Do you live in Seattle? lol I have the same problem
David E
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As a former Marine myself, the reason why is, despite his experience, he sounds like an idiot.
Why do you think that's YOUR problem to solve? I'm not going to stock any .256 Belchfire Magnums just in case some dumb cluck has something chambered in that obscure round, but has no ammo for it...AND I find out about it AND think it's safe for me to give him ammo that he could kill me with (in your SHTF scenario)
Too late, sorry!
Look, if you want to stock ammo in oddball calibers you have nothing chambered for, that's your business. But for me, a much better reason is in case _I_ come across something that I take possession of, I can put it to use immediately.
But first, I'll make sure I have "enough"* ammo in the various calibers I currently own.
* "enough" is a whole other topic.
SabbathWolf
member
22-rimfire
Member
Seriously, it might be fun to do but I doubt that I want to supply my neighbor's firearm that he does not care enough to even buy ammo for it. I can see it now... gee no 41 mags left, better talk to warp and see if he has any. Maybe I can trade him a can of chunky soup for a few rounds?
I suspect your thinking is about on the money however in terms of quantity. In a "situation", I doubt most would need more than a box of ammo for whatever gun they have. For the most part, it would provide a calming effect.
I suspect your thinking is about on the money however in terms of quantity. In a "situation", I doubt most would need more than a box of ammo for whatever gun they have. For the most part, it would provide a calming effect.
fatcat4620
Member
If you can stock ammo in calibers you dont own them you dont have enough guns
I stock 12 gauge, .40 s&w, 9x18, .45 acp, 7.62x25, .38 special, .357 mag, .22lr, 7.62x39, 7.62x54 and I dont have jack compared to most.
I stock 12 gauge, .40 s&w, 9x18, .45 acp, 7.62x25, .38 special, .357 mag, .22lr, 7.62x39, 7.62x54 and I dont have jack compared to most.
I know I'm not the "idiot" in question, but in my case:
I lived in the dorms until my (honorable) discharge. I had just pulled my shotgun out of the base armory and moved halfway across the country. I hadn't been to the ammo store yet (actually, I was so new to town that I didn't even know where the ammo store was; this was before smartphones, and my internet hadn't been hooked up yet).
If that makes me an idiot... whatever. Your opinion is worth exactly what I paid for it.
R
22-rimfire
Member
Announcement.... I have figured it out! Warp is a hoarder! He hoarded so much already and now is wanting to hoard for his fellow man.
I'm one too
or I would be considered that by many people. But I just can't bring myself to dumping perfectly good boxed cartridges loosely into an ammo can just because it takes up less space unless I bought them that way of course.
I'm one too
or I would be considered that by many people. But I just can't bring myself to dumping perfectly good boxed cartridges loosely into an ammo can just because it takes up less space unless I bought them that way of course.SabbathWolf
member
Did you expect your neighbor to give you his ammo, or did you go get some on your own?
That's the difference I think.
Captains1911
Member
This is one of the strangest threads I have ever read...seriously.
...And here I thought I was the only one.
There is a reason that people who really have to depend on their weapons for survival will often try t limit the types of ammo needed. That is why we have both rifles and handguns in 32-20 and other rounds from the late 1800s as it made sense for one round to work in both firearms.
I have at east 100 rounds for every gun I own but none for a caliber I do not have. Finding a great deal on .44 mag is not a deal to me since I dont own one.
In virtually any situation that would require you to defens yourself for an extended period of time it only makes sense to stock 3-4 types of ammo since mobility could become a major factor. I would have to devote a full day to loading all of my rifles and all of my ammo into a truck and getting out of town. Do I really need the black powder gun? How many .22 rifles should I carry? Is the 20 ga worth carrying?
Rifle- Based on ammo availability and prices today this would probably be a .223 AR. It will kill anything at any distance so it can be used for sd and hunting. AK may be your favorite but the ammo weighs more if you need to be on foot for an extended time One of the 9mm carbines might need to be the choice because that would allow you to carr onless type of ammo but there are obviously some drawbacks.
Shotgun- Any 12 g. Pumps are probably more reliable than semis. Ammo is heavy.
Handgun- 9mm because of the price of ammo today and that it can be used in a rifle as well.
I have more money in ammo than I have in guns. As mentioned earlier I have some for all of my guns but I keep a decent supply of 12g, 9mm, and .22 We probably shoot .22 10 times more than other rounds combined. Headquarters will not be sending more ammo so having 25 different calibers will be moot in a shtf scenario. If my neighbor needs ammo then he better have the same calibers I have.
I have at east 100 rounds for every gun I own but none for a caliber I do not have. Finding a great deal on .44 mag is not a deal to me since I dont own one.
In virtually any situation that would require you to defens yourself for an extended period of time it only makes sense to stock 3-4 types of ammo since mobility could become a major factor. I would have to devote a full day to loading all of my rifles and all of my ammo into a truck and getting out of town. Do I really need the black powder gun? How many .22 rifles should I carry? Is the 20 ga worth carrying?
Rifle- Based on ammo availability and prices today this would probably be a .223 AR. It will kill anything at any distance so it can be used for sd and hunting. AK may be your favorite but the ammo weighs more if you need to be on foot for an extended time One of the 9mm carbines might need to be the choice because that would allow you to carr onless type of ammo but there are obviously some drawbacks.
Shotgun- Any 12 g. Pumps are probably more reliable than semis. Ammo is heavy.
Handgun- 9mm because of the price of ammo today and that it can be used in a rifle as well.
I have more money in ammo than I have in guns. As mentioned earlier I have some for all of my guns but I keep a decent supply of 12g, 9mm, and .22 We probably shoot .22 10 times more than other rounds combined. Headquarters will not be sending more ammo so having 25 different calibers will be moot in a shtf scenario. If my neighbor needs ammo then he better have the same calibers I have.
I didn't expect it. He was working on his van when I moved in, and offered to help me unload some of the more unwieldy items in my car. He happened to be OC'ing a Kimber 1911 at the time, and recognized my Pelican case, so the conversation naturally turned to guns. When he found out I didn't have any ammo for my shotgun, he offered to give me some. Basically he was just being a good neighbor.
I have purchased plenty of ammo since then, and wouldn't hesitate to give a box of 9mm to someone in a similar situation.
R
I've seen some prepper videos about storing ammo for trading.
It sounds like a combination of hording in response to anxiety and speculative purchasing for some future possible benefit/profit.
I think you could drive yourself crazy trying to figure out the future possible utility of various calibers - determing the demand versus the future supply.
As far as just having some ammo on hand in case you or someone else purdhases a handgun and doesn't have ammo for it?
I can see that you might purchase a handgun and the shop doesn't have ammo for that pistol, but is it really that big of a deal that they can't drive to another gun shop to get some or order it online?
See, this is why the Illinois 72 hour waiting period is such a cool thing. After you purchase your pistol and find out that the store you are purchasing it from has no ammo in stock - you have two whole days to go out and get ammo for your pistol.
It sounds like a combination of hording in response to anxiety and speculative purchasing for some future possible benefit/profit.
I think you could drive yourself crazy trying to figure out the future possible utility of various calibers - determing the demand versus the future supply.
As far as just having some ammo on hand in case you or someone else purdhases a handgun and doesn't have ammo for it?
I can see that you might purchase a handgun and the shop doesn't have ammo for that pistol, but is it really that big of a deal that they can't drive to another gun shop to get some or order it online?
See, this is why the Illinois 72 hour waiting period is such a cool thing. After you purchase your pistol and find out that the store you are purchasing it from has no ammo in stock - you have two whole days to go out and get ammo for your pistol.
SabbathWolf
member
OK, that's reasonable to me.
I can see giving a friend a box of ammo.
But I still cannot fathom "stocking up" on a bunch of ammo for guns I don't even own...just so I can give it away to other people.
It's just...well...weirdness.
denton
Member
If SHTF, a firearm and ammunition may be of some use. But peanut butter, a change of clothes, and toilet paper will definitely be of use.
There's something we agree on.
I wouldn't hesitate to give a box of 9mm to a friend in need, but I can't see stocking up on obscure mil-surp calibers for firearms I don't even own, on a "just in case" basis. But as they say, to each his own.
R
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