A serious question regarding ammo. How much is realistically needed?

[Ben Shepherd]

We've had several "how much ammo do you have?" threads lately. I don't want this to turn into a *you can never have enough* thread. I'm asking seriously here.

How much ammo do you think you realisticly should have? Do you keep an ammo budget? Or do you just buy what you can when you can? Minimum amounts? Optimum amounts? Keep in mind you may have to move some day.

I'm probably one of the more *stocked up* members here. Not bragging, just stating. This isn't a *bragging rights* thread.

My angle of approach- albeit an extreme example, is this:

You only shoot 200 rounds of caliber X in a year. This isn't going to change, you've been doing this for the last 15 years. You are presently 55 years old.

Then why on earth have you got 35,000 rounds of the stuff?

Wouldn't it make more sense to sell off the excess you'll never use, and put the money from the sale towards another gun, paying off a credit card, buying some new reloading equipment, etc.?

I'm wanting input from others on this topic. Well reasoned responses please.

 

[SoCalShooter]

Well I just always keep a lot of ammo on hand, such as 300 weatherby I am stocking up on since wally world is no longer carrying it. .45acp I keep a lot on hand for practice and match and of course for zombie purposes, most of my ammo supply is for a post apocyliptic world. ( I wish that were not true). I definetly believe that one can never have enough ammo, regardless of my amount of useage. I am sure later in life I will probably keep less on hand.

 

[Froggy]

Wouldn't it make more sense to sell off the excess you'll never use, and put the money from the sale towards another gun, paying off a credit card, buying some new reloading equipment, etc.?

Yep! I keep just enough ammo on hand to get me through one range session with each of my firearms. The idea being that I can just "grab and go" with whatever gun I desire on whatever day it strikes my fancy.

The exception is black powder for my muzzleloaders. Since that stuff is a little bit harder to come by, I order a new 25 lb case when I get down to 10 lbs or less on hand.

 

[Ben Shepherd]

Sure, I keep a lot on hand as well, at least 1,000 rounds per firearm.


But if I literally keep enough on hand that it would take me 2-3 lifetimes to shoot? Would I not be better served by spending the money on something like a gunsite course or similar training?

My angle of attack on this comes from a little wrestling match I've been having in my mind the last while about avalible assets and thier uses. Trying to use what assests I do have in the most efficient manner.

 

[Preacherman]

I don't know that the term "appropriate" is the one to use. I buy my annual ammo supply in bulk, as I can get a really good discount (about 40%) through a local agency by doing so. I might buy 10,000+ rounds in January or February, and they'll see me through the year. (Of course, the last two years this hasn't happened, due to recuperation from an injury, so I've had lots of ammo sitting waiting to be used up. Next year . . . )

 

[Lou629]

Ben,

In the aftermath of Katrina, i think a lot of us decided that having ammo to spare might be a good idea. Since that time, we have also been confronted with ammo prices that seem to go up almost weekly in the past year or so.

I've been involved with firearms for the last 34 years, and for most of that time i rarely kept more than a box or two of any caliber or guage that i owned on hand. However, most of that time was back in the day when there were no issues of so-called 'shortages' or weekly price increases.

Since i doubt that ammo is going to get cheaper anytime soon, and the Democrats are more than likely to be back in control starting next week, possibly for years to come, my current thinking has been to keep a case or two of the calibers i shoot most, and a good half-dozen boxes of all the others i don't use as often on hand.

This allows me to shoot when/as often as i like, while being able to keep an eye open for a good sale price on whatever i need to replace, without being at the mercy of whatever they decide the price is going to be next week.

I also keep in mind that should the dems. decide to introduce or re-introduce some of the more draconian legislation that's been talked about regarding ammo taxes, 'arsenal licenses', Brady II, AWB II and so on, i won't be left without a decent supply if it should come down to that.

 

[Outlaws]

I just buy an ammo can of 30-06 and a few hundred rounds of everything else (exept .45). I would buy more, but I am cheap and there are so many other calibers that I can't justify 35,000 rounds of one type of ammo.

I look at it like, if the SHTF, then everyone in my family and most of my friends will have a firearm of some various caliber and a few hundred rounds of ammo. IMO that is enough because realistically, if you in a situation and shoot a few hundred rounds of ammo via a non-fully auto weapon, you are in some serious doo doo and probably won't live long enough to use 35,000 rounds anyways. (its nice to think you are that good, but we are all still fragile human tissue) Plus one ammo can is heavy enough anyways if you have to huff it on foot.

 

[Chris Rhines]

If you don't shoot much, then yeah, there's no real point in stockpiling a huge cache of ammo that's just going to gather dust.

On the other hand, ammo doesn't go bad. And ammo prices are at historic lows right now.

Myself, between 9mm, .40, .223, and shotgun, I probably go through 20k+ rounds per year. I like to keep a case or two of the common calibers on hand. If nothing else, it keeps me from having to scramble around the night before a match.

- Chris

 

[THE DOC 44]

I keep approx. 700 - 1000 rounds of the calibers that I shoot , so that adds up to some 20,000 rounds metallic and 6,000 shotshells . Think that those quantities are about right .

 

[tubeshooter]

I don't have a wide variety of calibers to deal with, which makes it easier. I basically take Outlaws' approach; if I need more than a few hundred rounds in a situation, I don't think ten times that is going to help.

 

[Lou629]

Chris...

ammo prices are at historic lows right now.

No disrespect, but where do you buy your ammo? My local prices are more than 30% higher, on average, than they were a year ago. Historic highs are more like it here behind the wire in the DPR of NJ, and they're getting to be just about the same over in Pa. too.

 

[wally]

Enough to fill all the mags for every gun seems a good minimum to keep on hand, much beyond this it'll take planing and logistics to transport it.

Reloading supplies I can never have enough of, prices keep going up and I keep using them up

--wally.

 

[B yond]

I keep what I can afford.

I make sure I have enough for a range trip with any of my firearms. Other than that, I only stockpile when I find a really good deal and have a little extra cash.

I always have a few hundred rounds of .22LR for survival purposes, and I try to keep a few hundred rounds for my long range rifles just in case the zombies attack. Other than that I just make sure I have enough to spend a day at the range without running out of ammo.

 

[candr44]

For me it depends on how much I like to shoot a particular gun, ammo availability, and price. I like to buy in bulk of 1000 rounds if I can for the guns I shoot most because it is cheaper and I don't run out as quick. I also buy in bulk if it is a caliber or brand that may not be very easy to find in the future like 9 largo or surplus South African .308. Also, if it is for an auto loader it will get used up faster than in my bolt action rifles so I buy more.

I have some guns that I don't have ammo for and some I have very little. The ones I like to shoot I have a couple thousand rounds for. My job and family don't let me get to the range as often as I use to but when I do get there I can easily go through 500 rounds in a day. Although, not all in the same caliber.

 

[Soybomb]

Its like toilet paper, you can always have a little extra with no ill effect but if you run out and need it you'll be mad.

Seriously I'm 25, I'm not at all budgeting my purchases around the end of my life yet. If I buy it, I'll use it sooner or later. I'm glad I bought a few extra cases of 9mm last year when it was $100 instead of $125 now. I got a couple cases of 7.62x39 before it went up and was hard to find too.

 

[tubeshooter]

As far as .22LR, I like to stay at least one brick to the good... which isn't hard to do. I hardly count that as far as considering ammo amounts.


Prices have been higher lately, which spurred me to make a 7.62 x 39 purchase I had been putting off for awhile. That seems to be more of a factor for me than being able to "ride out" a situation, so to speak.

 

[usp9]

So far this year I've used 6,702 rounds. At any one time I may have from 500 to 1,500 on hand, or about 3 months worth. I don't see that as a problem as I buy in bulk when on sale to save $$. A years worth, unless I got a really great deal, would be too much.

 

[wacki]

buy my annual ammo supply in bulk, as I can get a really good discount (about 40%) through a local agency by doing so. I might buy 10,000+ rounds in January or February

Ok, local agency =?

Gun shop?
Distributer?
Local factory?

 

[Hemicuda]

I need all I can afford, while still maintaing a home and my other hobbies... 'nuff said!

 

[Blackfork]

That reminds me...

I need some more K31 Ammo from AIMSurplus.

A friend of mine who has an ammo stash detectable from low earth orbit by any magnatometer says: I don't know if you can have TOO MUCH ammo...but you can have a LOT.

 

[Blackfork]

Ammo needs:

You need to have enough so that you can give any new shooter a couple hundred rounds and say: Try some of this.

Get 'em hooked.

 

[wacki]

I don't know if you can have TOO MUCH ammo...

Sure you can. When you can't take care of the building that houses the ammo you have too much:

 

[Ben Shepherd]

Blackfork-

That I have, in spades, for just that purpose. And I have a buddy like that myself.

 

[shotgunkevin]

More is better,

but more costs more. I try to buy a little every payday, & spread it around through my calibers. The local prices here, if you shop around, always beat the online stuff I've seen. 9mm for $4, .223 for $3, .22 for $7.50 a brick, .40 for $8, 12 gauge for $3.75. These are all plinking ammo. I'll pay more for the serious carry stuff. Anyway, I end up storing 200-300 rounds of each centerfire caliber, and a couple of bricks of .22. But I know I'll get more in a couple of weeks. I'm not too worried about a SHTF situation depleting my resources - I live withing shouting distance of the gun shop!

 

[hqmhqm]

I hardly have enough time to get to the range once every two weeks at this point, and I do not have time to shop for ammo, so I like to keep around 1000 rounds of each caliber I need. If I had to make ten trips to the store to get a couple boxes each time, it would add up to a huge amount of wasted time. So I tend to order 1000 rounds at a time, shipped by mail, because the prices I get including shipping end up about the same as at the stores around here.