ammo stash?

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Joe in Fla:

gold will be good for trade when things begin to settle down as cash will be worth nothing gold and silver will always have some value even if it is a low amount. i know if things ever do go bad gold will be one of the things that I would be willing to trade for. It has always been worth something and always will be worth something even if it is a small amount. I do aggree though that ammo and survival supplies will be something in higher demand
 
Trying to keep on the OP's first post. I would like to keep 1K of most of my calibers and 15K of rimfire ahead for any shortages. I do have brass, propellant, lead/molds and LOTS of primers on hand. As I use them up they are reloaded as needed. Never had a serious problem with the "shortage" around here, just shot a little less to slow primer usage.:D
 
myself I 'stashed' 300 rd of minimag and 500 rd SuperX for my 4 .22LR's - 2 pistols revolver and Ruger Mk and 2 rifles AMT and Henry 'survival' takedown.
several centerfire pistols/revolvers have around 200 rds for of 'the good stuff' jhp 'performance' and maybe that much 'practice' rn ammo.
rifles I have a good bit for my Mini maybe 500 rd. maybe 200 for my '06.
shottys about 200 different shot size for my 20ga mag and about 300 the same for my 2 12ga mag
myself I figure about 90% of situations I may face in case of 'SHTF' can be handled by a .22lr rifle but a big bore pistol hanging off the belt and couple-3 speedloaders/mags is gonna mighty comforting.
I'm counting myself on kith and kin comeing around is one reason I have so many guns and ammo.
I also have 2 Marlin Camps both 9mm Para and .45acp and couple-300 round of 'good stuff' for them too. an ideal 'SHTF' weapon if ever was one. maybe better than shotgun due to range, 100 yds no problem w/either one.
 
Frequently when this discussion comes up, large quantities of .22 are mentioned. Which would make perfect sense except that .22 ammo, particularly the cheaper bulk fodder, starts failing to fire after about a decade in storage, according to many reports. Something to do with the rimfire primers.

There are three basic factors I consider when deciding what to buy next:
1. How long will it keep? Corrosive milsurp ammo stores longer than non-corrosive, but is usually older to begin with.
2. How many of my firearms use the caliber? Am I likely to need more if it's pistol or rifle, bolt or semiauto? Which firearms do I like to shoot more?
3. Which calibers or types of ammo is most likely to go up in price or become scarce? This is a real consideration with milsurp ammo. GP11 and 8mm come to mind.

I figure I can always use more ammo as long as I have the room to store it safely, don't anticipate having to move a large amount of it anytime soon, and am likely to shoot it before it goes bad. To me, keeping a stock of ammo is more about anticipating market changes than crises, because I don't plan to barter ammo.
 
surplusfan said:
Frequently when this discussion comes up, large quantities of .22 are mentioned. Which would make perfect sense except that .22 ammo, particularly the cheaper bulk fodder, starts failing to fire after about a decade in storage, according to many reports. Something to do with the rimfire primers.
Click to expand...
I've got plenty of Remington .22lr ammo from the late '50s or early '60s that's fine. It's accurate and 100% reliable. There may be problems with some of the newer bulk packed stuff but most .22 ammo is perfectly reliable, in my experience, as long as it was taken care of. I think one of the problems with .22 ammo is that it's so cheap that people don't take care of it or store it properly. I have one box of bulk pack that's not reliable but I didn't keep it in an ammo can and the box got wet when a dehumidifier overflowed. Other than that one box, all my .22 ammo is at least 98% reliable, even the cheap stuff, and all of it is at least fifteen years old.

OTOH I'd really like to know from the .22 manufacturers if there is any difference between the bulk packed stuff and their standard 50 round per box stuff.
 
I only have enough ammo that I can take with me, which is about 1,000 rounds of handgun ammo and 1,000 rounds of rifle ammo; even so, 2,000 rounds of ammo is still pushing the limit, it's very heavy.
 
I say, the more the merrier. However, I don't keep very much on hand for calibers I don't shoot often. I probably only have around 1000 rounds for .22LR and maybe 250-700 rounds each for my "rainy day" calibers (5.56, 7.62x39, 9mm, 12ga).

For some reason, I can never pull together enough money (or will) to buy a huge amount of ammo all at once. So, as a rule of thumb, I always buy 1-2 boxes of ammo every time I'm go to the gun store or gun show.
 
Frequently when this discussion comes up, large quantities of .22 are mentioned. Which would make perfect sense except that .22 ammo, particularly the cheaper bulk fodder, starts failing to fire after about a decade in storage, according to many reports. Something to do with the rimfire primers.
Click to expand...

I'm not so sure about that. My father recently found several thousand rounds of bulk winchester 22's. They were bought when I was a young kid, which puts them around 20-25 years old. It was stored in a shoebox in the back of a closet. They've all shot reliably so far.

But then again, I'm unsure of what differences are in the manufacturing and materials used now and then.
 
A couple good reasons for stocking up on as much ammo and reloading components as you can are,

You can usually get a better price buying in bulk.

During the recent ammo shortage and outrageous prices, those people that saw it coming and stocked up had plenty of inexpensive ammo to shoot.
About the time the current president appeared on the scene, a friend and I were at a gun show deciding on how many boxes of bullets to buy from a dealer. My friend said, "If you don't like the price today, you are going to hate it next year".
We bought all the dealer had.:D
I don't think we have seen the last of high prices and shortages.

Even now I have $4.39/box WWB 9mm and $54/1,000 7.62x39 and $70/1,000 and 9x18, etc.
.380 shortage. What .380 shortage.:)

Buy until it hurts. It's better than money in the bank.


The 22LR ammo storage thing.
Mostly it will last many years but I did have some thousands of rounds go bad after about ten years, where as I've got some that's over 15 years and it's fine.
It's a good idea to shoot up the old stuff first and replace it with new.
 
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As soon as I run out of primers, powder, cases and bullets. I will have enough ammo stashed away.
 
For when you have the SHTF event, it may be weeks or more these days, Haiti comes to mind. Home protection is 20 rounds or so per event. Neighborhood protection, 100 plus. Zombie hunting is all you have, have enough ;>0

In meltdown's it is a barter item equal to or greater than cash.

My basic inventory would be based on the guns I own: 1,000 or more .223, 1500 or more 9MM, 500 .40 cal, 500 .45, 200 12 GA 00 Buck and 50 slugs and 5,000 .22 LR. The .22 LR would be used for hunting for food.

I reload and have bucks of brass and parts.
 
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I saved up my ammo by putting back a box or two everytime I went shooting. That way I would know if the ammo out of that particular lot was good or not. Not that there is typically an issue with that but I'm odd about ammo.

I have 500 rounds of 12 ga - I've found that much more than that gets far to heavy to move around.

1800 rounds of 5.56 - I have 900 rounds in a sealed box of LC 62gr and a managery of loaded mags and single boxes.

1-2000 rounds of 9mm - I reload almost all of my 9mm now so I don't feel like I need to keep as much loaded ammo. As much as I keep components around.
 
I keep a lot more 9mm around than any other caliber. I decided a long time ago to make the 9mm my "go to" caliber for many reasons. 9mm is a very popular and affordable caliber which can be purchased in bulk at very reasonable prices (at least it used to be affordable). The 9mm is used on every continent on the planet so no matter where you are or who comes to visit the 9mm should be there.

I also purchased multiple handguns and carbines in 9mm. I like the idea of being able to use one caliber for multiple purposes in multiple guns.
I use ball ammo for practice and good +P+ for self defense.

I think 5,000 rounds of 9mm is a good number for that "rainy day" should it ever come.

I understand the 9mm is not all things to all people but it works for me and meets my needs.:D
 
TEOTWAWKI is off-limits, okay, but I've gotta get my .02 in before it's too late...:uhoh:

Stocking up as much ammo as you can is a great start, but the real key to surviving is being prepared to do without it at some point. Hypothetically, I would plan on hoarding several thousand rounds for each of my guns, but if I'm forced to move on with only what I can carry on my back, I think I'd end up preparing myself to slowly weed out the guns and learn to favor more improvisational weapons and tools.

Total self-reliance is the only way to realistically survive any type of situation of this nature, and unfortunately standardized ammunition works against this. Unless you built and designed the gun and ammo yourself, using supplies you can grow in your backyard, you're going to run into problems somewhere down the line. I guess refining your own metals is a possibility, but personally that would not be worth my time when my life is on the line.

Think of Mad Max. In a world where finding a single shotgun shell is near to impossible, suddenly the guy with the homemade crossbow has a lot more of an advantage.
 
If you live out in the country like me you can stock all you can afford of every caliber if you know you are staying put. Just in case I keep several thousand rounds of 22lr for loading in the Jeep or ATV with several mags for a scoped 10/22, Single Six and Mark II bull barrel. I can carry a few hundred rifle rounds and shotgun, centerfire pistol ammo but long term I would depend on the 22lr for most everything. I only keep a few hundred rounds for firearms I use and less for others I don't use as often.
 
Ammo supplies

For my .22LR, I have about 2500, mostly Winchester Wildcats. I have about 500 .22 Mag, about the same in reloads for my .380.
For my 7.62, I have about 2500 rounds with 6 different clips loaded and a bunch of stripper clips loaded and ready to go.
Four other calibers that aren't used much have limited quantities, partly due to the age or value of 3 of them. Two are 80-95 years old.
For my 12 gauge, there are probably 8000+ :eek: shells of various loads.
Think I need any more?
;) :D
 
As much as you can afford to stock up on. If you don't need it for a doomsday scenario, you can probably sell it for a profit later. You will probably get a better return than putting the same amount in the stock market.

I usually buy FMJ ammo in quantities of at 1,000 - 2,000 rounds at a time because it's cheaper in bulk. Because it's more expensive, I usually buy JHP in smaller quantities, around 200 rounds at a time. This is for each caliber that I own. In the meltdown situation, the FMJ would do just fine. I do tend to let my stocks run low though before I replenish. This thread got me thing that it wouldn't hurt to have a minimum of 1,000 per major caliber and much more in 22LR.
 
During the 2009/2010 shortage where Walmart rationed sales to 6 boxes if they had them, and almost nobody had 380acp for sale unless you bought a pistol at the same time. I was glad to have a small stash so I could continue target practice with no worries. The local paper ran a story about the 380 shortage and gouging at $80/box. At that point I stopped practicing with 380 for a few months because my $8/box stash just seemed to precious to waste. I wouldn't stock up for the end of the world, since I am pretty sure ammo will not help. You should, however, stock what you think you will shoot in the next year. Keep adding to the pile as you run across sales to keep up with your rate of use. I certainly wouldn't depend on Walmart on the morning of your big hunt.
 
Ammo stash? I have no earthly idea.

I was gathering up all of my .32 ACP ammo this morning and discovered some forgotten ammo - 17 boxes of Lawman 9mm and 14 boxes of Lawman .45 ACP.

And where'd the .32 go? I didn't find nearly as much .32 as I remembered having 4 years ago when I stopped carrying the P-32. I'm still looking, I know it's in one of these closets because it wasn't under the bed or the dresser.

I have too much ammo; I thought the box I've been using to prop open the door to the second-floor sun porch had a few bricks of Dynapoints in it, but it turned out to be full boxes of 28 ga. Win AAs.

And I hate moving stacked ammo cans. And then there's the junk piled on top of the ammo cans.

John
 
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