Emergency Ammo - How much is REALISTICALLY needed?

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old dog said:
Seems like a lot of y'all really place a lot of trust in your local, state and federal governments.

More so than we do someone who thinks that:

old dog said:
within the next few years, we will be entering uncharted waters with respect to how our country is governed and the threats we face.

I'll match your prediction with one of my own:

No matter what happens in the next elections (Hillary, Trump, Demos, Repubs, etc, etc), no matter what the popular radio and media talk says, the way that our country is governed and the threats that we face within the next few years will still remain essentially the same as they have since 9/1/2001.
 
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Preparing for armageddon isn't really sensible, because you can't prepare for it. If it comes, it comes. Being on good relations with people is going to help you out more then the 100.000 rounds stockpile, because the order of the day will be grouping up. You can actually take a look at post-apocalypse societies. Take a look at Somalia, Yemen, or any other similar third word dysfunctional country. People don't sit on, or need, ammo stockpiles there.

For the likely sort of disaster, which is a temporary disruption, a 50 round box of ammo will be sufficient. Opportunistic looters are opportunistic, they aren't going to assault an armed group head on, it goes against the idea of easy money.

When the war started in my country, lots of people were buying (generally, black market) guns of all sorts, but they'd buy a box or two of ammo and that's that; it was sufficient for the purpose of protecting themselves against opporunistic thugs which exploited the disruption in law and order during the first couple of years. I know of a number of incidents of people defending themselves, but I never heard of someone running out of ammo doing it, and most of the time it ended without any shooting at all, or with a warning shot; often nothing was reported to the authorities, too.

If something similar happened again, the thing I'm counting on isn't a big supply of ammo, but rather that every house has something, legal or not, and the relations with the neighbours are good. This means in case of a breakdown in law and order, anyone raising hell would be watched through many sights from many windows, something a lot more effective then sitting on a warehouse of ammo.
 
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In spite of having cases on hand, a spare mag is enough. If I don't get it done with 21 rounds, it's not going to end well anyway.

I keep more on hand to enable me to enjoy shooting when the market is bare.
 
A "Strategy" I like, that I think I picked up on here at THR is:

300 Rounds for Bolt actions
500 - 1000 Rounds for Semi Auto Rifles
2500 - 5000 .22lr.

Not for each one necessarily (Depending on how many guns you own).. But for the ones that you'd bring / carry / keep in any kind of emergency. That gives you enough that you can in everyday normal life shoot / practice / trade / sell / etc. and not be using the last of anything. Should something happen you'll have enough in inventory to not have to buy during a panic, or worry if it becomes temporarily un-available. (All things that have happened).

Approximate Quantities:
7.62x39 = (1) 50 caliber ammo can will hold 700 +/- in 20 round packs
22lr = about (2) 50 caliber ammo cans if rounds are kept in original packaging.

Note: 30 caliber cans hold less but are A LOT easier to carry
 
Much talk here centers on a belief that any "emergencies" will be short term in duration, the government will quickly restore order and the power grid will be maintained.

EMP was mentioned. A threat very few seem aware of, yet a real possibility, particularly with the growing numbers of rogue nations constantly testing their weapons capabilities.

I doubt I'm alone in thinking that within the next few years, we will be entering uncharted waters with respect to how our country is governed and the threats we face.

While the most likely disaster in my region is a strong earthquake (and the scientists say 10.0 is possible here) or a volcano erupting, I don't think there's anything crazy about preparing for the worst possible scenario with the worst possible outcome.

Seems like a lot of y'all really place a lot of trust in your local, state and federal governments.

So, the emergency is months and years long now.... I think that you have to trust the infrastructure to survive even an EMP burst. I have read "One Second After" and it is one of the scariest scenarios that I can imagine. The infrastructure was gone... Short of having a farm, having at least 5,000 gallons of fuel stored, food for several years without any replenishment, ability and seed to plant crops, nobody can prepare adequately for a worst case scenario. Survival will be a matter of luck in most cases. Then you have to factor in what the government and gangs are going to do about sparse resources and their distribution. Your 5,000 rounds of 5.56 won't last long... and you probably will have the opportunity to fire a couple large magazines of ammo before your "dead", not 5,000 rounds. But those that come after you will enjoy your fuel and ammunition supply.

Having an ammo cache might be important in the long run, but feeding yourself is more important.

Warp said in response to my last post.... It is a perishable skill. To cease all practice/training, or even just to cease or severely restrict all live fire, would leave a person less prepared for emergency use

It is a perishable skill, but there are degrees. But if you are used to shooting rifles, how difficult is hitting a man sized target at 100 yds? How difficult is hitting the same at 20 feet with a handgun you are comfortable shooting? I plan on short term emergencies and shooting for the sake of shooting is pretty low on my priority list. Remember, as the antagonist/aggressor, you are facing another human being who is armed and you have no idea what their skill level is. It is a crap shoot no matter how you play it.
 
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How difficult is hitting the same at 20 feet with a handgun you are comfortable shooting?

Tired and injured in the dark with one hand while being shot at while you are moving and the target is moving and the target has two friends...it might be really damn difficult
 
Warp, I have no interest in tactical training what so ever. I shoot because I enjoy shooting and it is not just in case there are two people trying to attack me in the dark and I am wounded. The important thing in this scenario is that I can shoot and being wounded would mean there would be no hesitation on my part to do what is necessary. If it doesn't work out that way, tis the breaks. I can live with that.

I would try to run and hide. Then I would wait for them to come to me. They won't. But you're right about moving targets. Makes it a lot more difficult.
 
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Clearly, the definition of "emergency" varies from person to person. None of the scenarios mentioned (except perhaps hurricanes) are impossible at any given location, but most are improbable. So, now we're discussing the levels of improbability. It's highly improbable that I would have to deal with an earthquake or riots. It's fairly improbable that I would have to deal with flooding. It's entirely probable that I could have to deal with an extended loss of power this time of year. None of those emergencies are - on the surface, anyway - made more survivable by having a large stockpile of ammunition.

That being said, if one of those emergency situations does occur, who knows how people are going to react? Much like a weather forecast, there's only so much you can actually predict, and until human behavior can be predicted with 100% accuracy, there will always be scenarios - however improbable they may be - where survival depends on having "a lot" of ammo.

I for one am willing to accept a certain degree of improbability that I'll ever be fighting for my life and need anything more than the ammo already residing in my CCW. However, as it stands now, I do have the capability of turning my "range visits for the next 10 years" supply into enough to hold down the fort for an awful long time.
 
I'm not in any kind of state of denial, grandiose imaginations, etc... I know the likelihood of me ever firing a shot at someone is slim to none in any of the aforementioned scenarios. I'll pass on what I've stocked up to my kids and grandkids because who knows what will happen in the decades to come. With that being said I'll collect firearms and ammo as long as I'm able to.
 
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Stockpiling ammo for some sort of government ban on firearms eventuality wouldn't do much good. If it comes, you'll keep the guns hidden and won't shoot them with any regularity for fear of getting caught, so a few boxes will last a lifetime, with the occasional black market purchase. That's how people who want something "just in case" who don't want to bother with licensing or wouldn't be eligible for licensing keep illegal guns in Europe.

It's cool to have a lot of ammo, of course - there's nothing wrong with "well, because I want to" answer. I just don't see the need to stockpile, except to get over shortages or buy cheaper in bulk.
 
500 rounds for your home and 100 rds for the "road" if you have to bug

I will say the world is changing and could civil unrest/urban rioting put you in the "box."

It definitely could for say 36 hrs ....until the national guard was called in for support. Police agencies could be overran but I would think within 36 hrs you would have order UNLESS you live in a real shady part of the US.

Urban areas where looting took over...but that is typically not residential.

I think the more realistic scenario is that some factors (politics, natural disaster, and/or etc.) create scarcity of resources and over a long period of time (years) ammo/firearms become harder or impossible to get.
 
Color me surprised at how long this thread has stayed open, especially with how vitriolic members seem to be getting with their arguments.

Personally, I like ammo and I like guns. I hate ban panics and I hate not being able to shoot. And I plan accordingly. Emergency situations will be dealt with and responded to based on the viable threat.

Hey - then not to worry! There is no economic downturn at present; things are better than they have been in 8 years, and getting better.

Hahahahahahahahahahahaha. Sure.
 
Color me surprised at how long this thread has stayed open, especially with how vitriolic members seem to be getting with their arguments.

Personally, I like ammo and I like guns. I hate ban panics and I hate not being able to shoot. And I plan accordingly. Emergency situations will be dealt with and responded to based on the viable threat.



Hahahahahahahahahahahaha. Sure.
Well, I am only talking about objective measures; I am sorry if you are not feeling it:

Big-Four-Indicators-Since-2000.jpg
 
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