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

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solareclipse
people who keep a munition depot probably think of waco too often, just like the people who freak out and pump gas into water bottles whenever there is a hurricane.

live life, enjoy..
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Or maybe they were smart enough to pay $45 a case for the same ammo that sells for $150 a case now.

It's called planning ahead.
 
I haven't read through all the posts, so I hope this is not a repeat of someone else's post, but Jeff Cooper is of the opinion, and it makes sense to me too, that in the case of an authentic break down of civilization, temporary or not, you'd be at least as well off having stockpiled bricks of ammo as bricks of gold. You can both use and trade it for valuable life saving resources. Yes, you can trade gold too, but try loading it in your rifle.

Here's what I have on hand, and it's not intentional stockpiling either. Just the result of having been involved in shooting for like thirty years now.
 

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The original post talks about credit card debt, pay all debt off.

Once you do that you get to keep more of your money for spending on things you want.

If you want another gun or reloading equipment, go buy it when you can afford it. If you spent too much money on ammo already, sell it if you have to sell it. Right now all the ammo I have bought for the past several years is worth more than I paid for it so I could unload it easily.

As far as worrying about moving ammo, I moved a couple tons of ammo earlier this year when I moved and it is not a big deal. Then again I moved myself and I own a dually pickup so I am all setup for silly things like that.

Personally I wish I had a couple more tons of ammo from aim because the south african 308 surplus is now way more expensive than it was early this year.

I personally own a few guns I really like shooting. So I don't want to buy more guns, I want more ammo so I can keep going shooting.

All you have to do is be happy with the choices you make. If you don't want a lot of ammo on hand then don't have a lot of ammo on hand.

I personally see my ammo stash as being worth more than the money I have in a savings account since the price of new ammo keeps going up but the ammo in my stash is all paid for.

Overall it comes down to one simple fact.

Not everyone does things in similar ways, therefore you have to figure out how to best afford what you wish to accomplish.

As far as ammo left over when I die, my relatives don't shoot so I just told them to hop on my puter and check out some sites and emails and give my ammo to a few good homes where it will be used up as intended.
 
Wow, as usual some pretty big extremes.

I live in a small place without a lot of storage room so I'm pretty limited.

I buy about 1,000 rounds of "cowboy" .38 special (used in my pistols and rifle) and that gets me through a year of Cowboy action shooting plus a little practice.

I keep around 250 rounds of Winchester AA "Featherlight" 12 guage shotshells, also for Cowboy Action Shooting.

I keep 10 rounds of "00" buckshot for "just in case".

I keep 100 rounds of .357 magnum "treasury" rounds.

I keep 2 magazines full of Winchester Ranger in .40 S&W, and another 50 boxed rounds on hand. I also usually have somewhere around 200 rounds of .40 S&W practice ammo (which is 2-3 practice visits to the range for me).

And the big bopper <grin>, about 2,000 rounds of .22LR because I love to plink whenever I get the chance.
 
If your bills are paid, who cares? Get debt free and it should be no ones biz, but yours.

Me, I got enough for three years of regular practice at my max. It cost me less that way.

I also plan to maintain this level of stock, just in case of SHTF. I got enough rimfire, if the game holds up, I can eat for three years. I got enough of the common stuff for barter and still take care of personal business. Do I have enough, I don't know. If I knew, maybe I'd order a few more cases?

I got bad vibes, but I ain't Psychic. I am just gambling at the present it is enough. The news is beginning to push me into ordering mode, though. I do plan on ordering a few cases for Christmas for relatives. Man, I never expected 9 mm Mak to get so scarce amd costly. Glad I don't need it myself.

Jerry
 
I'm a .308 junkie, and I stockpile MilSurp 7.62 X 51 for two reasons:

1. I predict ammo prices will continue to outpace inflation, hence I believe it's cheaper to purchase it now vs. the future.

2. I predict federal laws banning/limiting/taxing ammo will be passed within the next 10 years.

I currently have over 22,000 rounds of quality MilSurp 7.62 X 51 in the basement. And I will continue to buy more. ;)
 
How much ammo?

I am not one to keep thousands of rounds intentionally of any caliber around. The amount I have is based on how much I shoot. I tend to buy a little at a time when I run into such things as 41 mag ammo in 50 round boxes. I shoot this stuff up with some regularity. I probably have a few 100 rounds each of 40 S&W, 38spl, 357 mag which is plenty for me. Hunting calibers, I have 50 to 100 rounds generally. I have lots of 22 ammo as I have not been shooting it up much. The centerfire caliber that I keep the most of is .223 and that generally just means I have enough for a couple significant shooting sessions. I don't believe in preparing for the world to end or law and order to break down.
 
Depending on which gun I try to get it 1000 rds at a time. More than that just seams silly:D (unless jerry "moonbean" gets elected here) Then when I'm down to 100-200 of any given caliber I get more at the next gun show or on the internet. The only exceptions are 9mm which I try to always keep above 500 rounds but better at 1000+ (for range time) and 25+rounds of self defense loads to fill my 3 mags.

And the other exception that will soon drive me to reloading. My steyr 95/34 the 8x56r hasn't been made since WWII so the surplus is getting harder to find, and more expensive. As I type this I have about 60 rounds. I've left this gun at home for a few months now:(
 
it still makes me chuckle, to see so many otherwise prudent folks blithely giving out info like this on the internet. I bet if asked, a number of folks would provide their Social Security number, bank account and address.

Gee

but to answer the original question, no two people have the same requirements, or the same reasons for what they keep around the house. Just because one guy doesn't feel the need to have more than the 5 in the J frame, others may look at the issue differently.
 
I agree with Mannlicher, not giving amounts. Suffice it to say, enough to go the the range, not enough to fight off China. I usually buy when I catch a sale in a calibre I shoot.
 
7.62x51 = 2000 rds
9mm = 1000 rds
12 ga 00 buck 200 rds
22 LR 1000 rds
.32 100rds

I never go below this count , whatever I use I replace within a week or so. I dont realy care who sees this thread reply as the
old saying goes Dont mess with the old man .
 
I will give general info on ammunition, but rarely provide countable information on firearms for the reasons just stated. Who really cares anyway? Again, how much you stock is up to you. When the floor sags, I guess you found out you have too much.
 
it still makes me chuckle, to see so many otherwise prudent folks blithely giving out info like this on the internet. I bet if asked, a number of folks would provide their Social Security number, bank account and address.
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The question that begs to be asked, how much is true? Is it more, or is it less. I am content with generalities. One would assume, the population could supply the U.S. Army, tho. I kind of doubt this.

Now, I am not accusing anyone of being less than honest. I kind of like making any possible Tyrant nervous. I am tempted to embellish myself, but modesty prevents. I have taken care of business for myself, let this suffice.

Jerry
 
well i reload i dont know how many rounds i have, but i can tell you ammo is going up, reloading supplys are going up, lead is getting out of site!i look at it this way, they dont have to take our guns just take away the ammo! so ill keep on loading until i cant aford too any more, now my question? do you have enough??????????:rolleyes: csa
 
"it still makes me chuckle, to see so many otherwise prudent folks blithely giving out info like this on the internet."

The government has known that I like guns for at least 30 years. If anybody breaks in and steals all of my ammo I'll just go replace it. Next day. Cash. Sort of like my car. Somebody steals it I'll go get another one. The government also knows I have a car. Scary ain't it? ;)

John
 
Just ask yourself,

Do you have enough if you can't get any more? For whatever reason. Can't afford it, govt bans it, society collapses, etc.

If you have what you figure is enough to last until you can get more, then you have enough.

Me, I like somewhat more. I reload for 23 different calibers currently, and it don't spoil.
 
Do you have enough if you can't get any more? For whatever reason.
Can't afford it, govt bans it, society collapses, etc.

If you have what you figure is enough to last until you can get more, then you have enough.
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I nominate that as the best response to this thread so far.

Nem (who is revising my budget to buy more ammo...way more ammo...especially .22LR...)
 
I buy as much as I can afford when I find a good deal. If I knew then what I know now, all prices 12-14 months ago were a good deal.:(
Glad I stocked up. :D
 
Unlike others here I don't store up 10s of thousands of rounds but I do try to keep at least 2000 rnds of .223 and 1500 rnds of .308 on hand at all times. When you travel to the range with a semi-auto and about 10-15 30rnd mags, that ammo goes pretty fast. And sometimes when you get a lot of friends together, 10-15 mags are just a warm up to some real shooting.

One major factor for me is being part of a gun club. Not only are there the periodic group shoots, you never know when an informal weekend shoot will arise out of nowhere. The last thing you want is to have a group of friend decide to go out for a shoot to blow off some steam and find you are out (or almost out) of ammo.

So what I do is buy a couple thousand rounds of my most used ammo whenever I have the extra money on hand.

*One trick I use when running low on ammo is to only take a couple of unloaded mags for each semi-auto to the range. By doing this I am required to take the time to load (and reload) the mags rather than just have a bunch of pre-loaded mags ready to blow through.
 
A serious question regarding ammo. How much is realistically needed?
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How much do you realistically shoot? I know some guys that agonize over buying a box of 9mm's. Some guys blow thru 500 rounds per session.

Assuming it's nice weather, at my family Thanksgiving get together we'll go thru well over 1,000 rounds. Just my 45 LC eats up maybe 200. Add 22's, 9mm, 7.62x39 and it goes quick with 10 people shooting at the same time.
 
How much is "realistically needed"? It's hard to say. But in these unpredictable times, I think it's prudent to maintain at least 1,000 rounds of ammo for any emergency weapon you might have, be it AR, AK, etc. Beyond that, a brick or two of 22 LR is usually a good idea, especially if you live in a rural area, as I do. For hunting, just buy what you need for sighting in, practice, and the hunt itself, whatever amount that turns out to be. My $.02
 
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