Ammo dump

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I checked to see just how much ammo I had today and find I have about 250 rounds of every caliber I use except .270 and .22s; less of the former more of the latter. So, just how much ammo is a good number for ready supply?

I was with a guy Saturday who had 6,000 rounds of 9mm with him at the range for a class. That seems a bit on the high side. I know I begin to feel very uncomfortable when any caliber drops below 100. (Then again I have about 150 pounds of charcoal handy so I know I'm not exactly in the center of the bell curve on some things.)
 
As a VERY conservative estimate a minimum of 250 rounds of each caliber for anything that is not magazine fed. For magazine fed calibers a minimum of 500 rounds in each caliber. For 22LR a minimum of 500 rounds per gun. Of course I always err on the optimistic side :rolleyes:
 
I get uncomfortable if I don't have at least a 1000 round per caliber.

I'm very glad I have much more than that in 7.62x39 and 5.56 with the prices and availability lately.
 
Eleventy billion rounds is the magic number. I'm workin' on it....:)
 
In times gone by, i never gave it a lot of thought and was always comfortable with a box or two of whatever caliber or guage was in the lineup. Unfortunately these are somewhat less certain times, given the almost weekly inflation in ammo prices of late and some of the current spot shortages that have been noted in other threads.

All of us will have our own definition of what a "good supply" amounts to. Some will try to stockpile for TEOTWAWKI scenarios, which i consider unlikely, and you couldn't possibly stock enough to last forever anyway. The scenario i consider much more likely is some localized SHTF event that lasts a week or two ( think NOLA ) to a month or so. For that i am well supplied.

About a year ago, and especially after Katrina, I started consolidating my guns to certain calibers and keeping a good supply of each on hand. 500-1000 of each serious caliber or guage, of which i have four, seems more than sufficient to me.
 
Handguns I shoot often or carry - atleast 200 rounds.

Handguns I own but dont shoot often - atleast 100 rounds.

Defensive rifles (AKs and SKSs at my house) - atleast 2K rounds.

.22 ammo - alot, its cheap and very versatile.....not sure how many rounds I have now but probably 5K+ give or take.


If anything happens (civil unrest, SHTF, etc) I cant imagine running gun battles with a sidearm - it probably wont play much more of a role than it does now. Rifle for home defense is going to be #1........

100 rounds in a pistol shootout is ALOT

100 rounds in a rifle shootout is just warming up
 
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100 rounds in a pistol shootout is ALOT

100 rounds in a rifle shootout is just warming up
Click to expand...

That may be the Funniest and Most true thing I've read all day!

They have discussions about this topic on http://neardeathexperiments.com/ . People on all sides of the issue.

I personally like to keep 50 rounds of pistol in my BOB. I'd LIKE to keep 200 per pistol for the house, 500 - 1K for my rifle, and maybe 200 for the Shotty. I have NO WHERE NEAR the rifle and shotty rounds I want to have.

I don't think you can ever have enough .22 rounds.
 
5k - 7.62x39
5k - 5.56/.223
5k - .308
1k each for every other caliber rifle I own
1k each for each handgun caliber I own
 
I just inventoried all my ammo after moving and consolodating all my stuff.

I've got ~750 .22LR's, 220 rounds of 9x19, 450 rounds of 12 ga. target load, and 150 rounds each of buckshot and slugs (!) give or take a couple of odds and ends.

That fills three 50 cal ammo cans, one 30 cal ammo can, and one "tall" ammo can that was originally used to hold shell fuses if I'm reading the stencils on the side correctly.
 
100 rounds in a pistol shootout is ALOT

100 rounds in a rifle shootout is just warming up
Click to expand...

As for pistol vs. rifle ammo, how can you tell what’s what. With 9mm carbines and .223 pistols I can’t decide which is which.

Buying by the case is usually cheaper, so just buy :)
 
It all depends on how much you shoot, how much you care to store and how much you can afford.

Personally, I will never believe I have too much ammo. No such thing. You know, the whole have it and not need thing. It really comes down to I buy as much as the budget will allow.

100 rounds in a pistol shootout is ALOT

100 rounds in a rifle shootout is just warming up
Click to expand...

If both my wife and I go shooting out in the desert and make an afternoon of it with our friends, I can expect the two of to go through at least 500 rds of handgun and 500 rds of rifle ammo. At least that much but usually more.

I buy as much as I can afford.

P.S. I really need to get into handloading.....
 
Probably about as many answers as there are people responding. For me, I am heavy on .22 LR, My supply of hunting ammo is mostly in .270 Winchester and 30-30.
For the handguns, I have a good supply of .45 ACP, .45 Colt, .44 Mag, and 9mm.
Most of my 'ammo dump' is filled with 7.62 NATO and 5.56 Nato. To meet my comfort level, I need multiples of 1000 rounds for those, as well as a goodly supply of magazines and spare parts.
I have only a few commie rifles left, and not a lot of ammo for them, couple of thousand rounds all told.
 
My Goal is something like this

1-1.5K For my defensive rifles(5.56 & 7.52X51 each) for backup(STHF/civil unrest) + whatever I want for training, plinking, & hunting. (Usually around 4K)

Shotgun rounds for backup ( like 400 buckshot & 200 slugs) + hunting and sporting clays for a year (that ends up at about 4K)

Also for my shotguns I would throw some game loads in there in the event I had to provide food (generally what I didn't shoot the year before)

500 - 750 for handguns in reserve + training and plinking ammo + everyday cary (think nice JHPs) = around 2K
 
About a year ago, and especially after Katrina, I started consolidating my guns to certain calibers and keeping a good supply of each on hand. 500-1000 of each serious caliber or guage, of which i have four, seems more than sufficient to me.
Click to expand...


+1


.223, 9mm, 45ACP, .38/357 (count as common), 22lr (no reason not to have at least 2000 rounds of 22LR) 45GAP (I'll use that Glock 37 until I run out of ammo. :) )

12ga - for some reason, about 200 rounds seems acceptable for the pump shotgun. Hasn't been shot in 20 years.
 
I shoot mostly pistols and I reload by the can. I usually have between 1 and two cans (500-2400 rounds depending on caliber) of all the following:

.45 ACP
.38 SPL
10 mm
500 S&W Mag (I loaded up 500 rounds last night - Whoo Hoo!)
.380
.30 Carbine

I don't reload 9mm but instead buy it by the case, and re-buy when I have less than 1/2 case - so I usually have 500-1500 rounds on hand.

I usually have two to ten 550 round bulk packs of .22LR on hand too.

I have about 10 boxes of 12GA buckshot (Note to self - Buy more)

Jeepers, I guess I have a lot of ammo.
 
500-1000 rounds per caliber, plus reloading supplies for each.

I'm kind of funny, I have rounds for rifles I no longer own. On the plus side, if the go to pot, I have rounds for rifles I might *acquire*. :evil:
 
i got a case of 7.62 for the SKS a while back shot some of it so i have about 800 left.

about 800 FMJ for the 1911.

about 150 FMJ and about 30 HP for the kel-tec p-11
 
Engineer...

I am now the proud recipient, officially, of my very first +1! Thank you Sir! :)

About your shotgun stash...200 rds of what though? If it's say 200 rds of 16-pellet #1 buck, that's like 3200 individual .30 caliber projectiles. That's still a pretty serious stash by any measure. If it's 200 rds of birdshot, i think i would upgrade a bit to something heavier, but even birdshot should be able to do a good job at short range.
 
Lou629

Another +1 on the upgrade from bird shot.

Box 'o Truth shot a steel cased door with the birdshot and did nothing, not even minimal penetration.

I personally saw what 00 does to a solid wood door and will not discount that it does look exactly like a bunch of 9mm holes, clean through the door. Well dirty on the back side...

Back On Topic

1K-2K is the minimum for commonly used ammo. Besides there is usually a discount by buying the case. So why not have "extra".

DCH
 
I am now the proud recipient, officially, of my very first +1! Thank you Sir!
Click to expand...


:)


About your shotgun stash...200 rds of what though? ........
Click to expand...

20 rounds slugs. 180 ish rounds 00 Buck. Approximate numbers.


YMMV for others with different strategies.
The shotgun, with a snub 38, is the wife's bugout rig. I don't see her unloading too many shots even in a worse case scenario.


I need to learn to skeet shoot and use that shotgun more. :)
 
151515 - 180-ish of 00-B is nothing to sneeze at. Before i decided to increase my 'holdings' last year, i think i may have had a grand total of 25 of the 00 and perhaps an equal amount of #4 buck lying around in the attic, along with a box and a half or so of 6 shot. Certainly not more than that.

DCH - And +1 back to you on the 1k-2k for 'common' ammo. I have been thinking of increasing the minimums to about 1500, mostly due to the ever increasing prices lately, ( more as a hedge against inflation than because i'm expecting the apocalypse to begin tomorrow. :) ) Prices have been rising dramatically in my area just in the past few months :cuss: and buying case loads is getting to be the only way to go anymore, especially if you're going to want to do some practice shooting once in a while.
 
ammo dump...

Going from the top of my head, I have the following pile...

7.62x51 Portuguese: 3 ea 1k cases + 1 battlepack

7.62x51 various surplus (Canadian IVI, Izzy IMI, Lake City match), on strippers in bando's: 2/3 of a 60mm mortar ammo can

.308 handloads: ~200-250 rounds

.300 WinMag ~250 rounds handloads, another 120 rounds factory

.222 Rem ~400 rounds (half handloads, half factory)

6.5x55 Swede ~200 rounds (handloads)

45acp, 40SW, .357Sig, 9mm: ~500 rounds including ball and HP for each...and growing when I can.

.303 British 40 rounds (pitiful, ain't it, gotta get some PMP)

.22 LR: 60mm mortar can very nearly slap full, HP and solids, inc some shorts, CB, ratshot, and Super Colibri

12 gauge (for old Rem M10 shotgun made ~1913), ~75 rounds inc buckshot, #6, and dove loads. **needs improvement, both in weapon and ammo**

I reload for the following at this time: .300 WinMag, .308, 6.5x55, .222 Rem, and .270 Win (for neighbor). I use a single stage RCBS press, so it's slow going, but I make very nice ammo. I need to upgrade my stock of supplies, though. I should also get into some pistol caliber dies, too. I'd also like to get a turret press, too.

I really should get my paws on a couple cases of South African 7362x51 while there's still some around.

It's a fair sized pile, I believe, but it must improve. -FNR.
 
myself, i plan on stocking up on popular calibers - milsurp .30-06, .308, and .223,[>1500 rounds each] aswell as a few kinds of .22[ a few cubic feet - don't know the numbers for that one].

for pistol, i'd say about 1000 each of 9mm, .45ACP, .38SPL, .357Mag.

Others, specialty calibers (larger pistol rounds and hunting rifle stuff) i'd stock only a few boxes because i wouldn't really need much. it's just a specialty round.

~TMM
 
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