Basic ammo load for SHTF

[Pulse]

IHMO, 300 rounds for your long guns plus 10 mags worth of ammo for your back up weapon(s) each and a list of every place around you with spare ammo should be enough.

if SHTF you will have groups of scavengers raiding the Area and they will probably be better equiped then you, especialy when they can get there hands on military hardware.
it should be in your best interest to lay low and not offer your house as a target in the first place.
once you had the first encounter with looters, it time to move, building a fortress ala 'Mad Max' is not a option, because the second the badguys turn up with a armored Humvee and a mounted weapon, your house turns in to a deathtrap.

my 2 cent.

 

[Treo]

How Do We Define SHTF ?

In general Co Springs is one of the safer places to live in America. In terms of floods,tornados, hurricanes ( won't even go there) and such our odds or pretty low. We've had one earthquake since I've been here, and that was over before people could even say "Was that an earthquake"

So in most instances it would be better for us to bug in.

The only two scenarios that I can imagine would get me out of here would be an NBC attack or a declaration of martial law. In either case you probably wouldn't have (depending how close you lived to the edge of town) more than 20 minutes to load up and go before they closed the roads.

In that case I think you'd have to load what you had room for and go. If you're going by car carry all you can of ammo and one or two rifles. ( As opposed to every rifle,pistol,or shotgun you own)

 

[22-rimfire]

If you are talking AR's, I think it would be wise to have at least 10 good functional magazines available for loading in the event you need to arm yourself. I doubt you'll be carrying more than 10 magazines at any one time and most people aren't set up for carrying that much of a load efficiently. Ammo is heavy. Think 22LR.

You can dream up all kinds of scenarios and many of us like to ponder such things. But from a practical matter, should the shooting start, you'll l be able to find rifles and ammunition from others "who won't need them anymore". You can get what you want with a 22 and a reliable handgun. Battlefields are messy places.

Your most important asset will be your like minded neighbors. You need to band together for the common good until things calm down. As an individual, you won't last long. Retreat in the event of confrontation and avoid contact with anyone you don't have to.

 

[JDoe]

I would bet you would do fine with a single magazine for your AR. After a 30 round fire fight, you will either be dead, or there will be plenty of dead people around you and you can scrounge their guns and ammo.

Unless of course your opponents had the same idea...

 

[fireman 9731]

Its better to have it and not need it than need it and not have it.

 

[GeezerwithGuns]

About 5,000 rounds of 7.62x39, 2500 rounds of .357 mag, 1000 rounds of 9mm, 5000 rounds of .22 and about 2000 rounds of 12 gauge. Not necessarily for SHTF, but useful in case the worst happens. I buy because I can and the shelves in the local stores seem to be getting thinner and thinner all the time.

 

[armoredman]

270 rounds 7.62x39mm, 71 rounds 9mm. I'm good.

 

[1858rem]

~Ace~
There is no limit on the Max.. Keep in mind, a 500% Tax on ammo will be the same as a Ban, what you have on hand may be the Only Ammo your grankids ever SEE. If SHTF bad enough, I'd much rather have to much to tote, than not enough.

is it really a 500% tax......? i am pretty sure it is a 500% increase, or about an actual 35%tax, not bad but not enough to essentially ban all ammo either. please correct me if im wrong. btw i like armoredman's setup, nice! what about does that weigh, looks fairly light.

 

[Japle]

Over 7,000 rounds here, plus a case of surplus 7.62X54R in the attic and a couple of thousand rounds of .22s on the shelf.



I don't see any real need for all this ammo, I just can't stand having empty cases laying around!

 

[1858rem]

nice stock! you coulda spread it out some more an made it look even bigger too lol

 

[rbernie]

I define SHTF to include import bans on inexpensive commonly used ammo, or exorbitant taxes imposed upon commercial ammo. For THAT kind of scenario, you may just want to have a lot more than a couple of hundred rounds (or even a couple of thousand rounds) of stockpile for the ammo you value most.

Just sayin'.....

 

[BADUNAME37]

If

the country (or world, for that matter) gets so bad that I'd have to revert to some things mentioned in this thread, my opinion is just let me go home to be with the Lord.

 

[BrandonBowers]

Unless you are a serious competition shooter, I think anything over 2000 rounds is going to be strictly for trade.

Ammo is the new gold at this point.

 

[X-Rap]

Shoot or trade, it makes no difference. Ammo stores much better than some other commodities and when needed is much more usefull than gold and no less subject to confiscation.
If it all went real bad I have some guns that I would keep to arm my party and use others to trade and barter with as needed, the fact is though for either to be useful you must have ammo.

 

[rbernie]

I think anything over 2000 rounds is going to be strictly for trade.

I do not compete. I consume 5000rds of 9mm a year, in basic practice. There are some who suggest that I should have more than a six month supply on hand.

I am not sure that they are wrong.

 

[jackie treehorn]

OK, so when the SHTF many people talk about leaving and I figure to go to the mountains or National Forest. So, if you already lived there, what would you stockpile, knowing that chances of your leaving are slim? I have a few guns that could be used for hunting, but no home-defense type semi-autos. Ideas?

 

[armoredman]

1858rem, the rifle is about 6 pounds loaded, and fully loaded chest pouch is a bit over 12 pounds. vZ-58 mags are aluminum, saves a lot of weight, and are still quite tough. That's a Blackhawk AK Chest Pouch, holds 8 AK mags, and two pistol mags, plus I was counting the mags in firearms, and my standard double pistol mag pouch I always have on.

Will I ever need this getup? I hope not, but in the meantime it's neat to have, the rifle is a fun and accurate man toy, and the whole thing is light enough to pack a ways, even for this fat old man.

 

[John Wayne]

In a SHTF situation twenty rounds should suffice for a centerfire rifle.

That and a brick of .22 LR will provide food for a very long time.

Most of the ammo I buy is not for defensive purposes...mostly sporting clays or light game 12 gauge loads and target loads for the handguns because that's what I shoot most often.

I buy in bulk because it's cheaper, more convenient, and a sound investment. Think about it, if you buy a thousand round case of ammo for the gun you shoot most often, you have purchased a useful commodity which will increase in value over time.

 

[goon]

I think a .50 caliber ammo can full is a good arbitrary amount for most of us.
I don' think it will ever be possible to have "enough" but I also can't see how you'd consider a man with an Enfield, Mauser, AK, etc and 200-500 rounds of ammunition helpless either.
It's enough to get you through a short term crisis, it would get you a long way in a long term crisis, it's a small enough amount that you can move it fairly easily, and it's an amount that is affordable for pretty much anyone.
For .22LR, I'd double that if possible just because it's cheap and takes so little space to store so much ammo.

 

[expvideo]

I would say that an acceptable load of ammunition is 300 rounds in magazines, with potentially 300 more to refill them.

Personally that would be enough for me. More than enough, really. However, I would personally like to stock up on a few thousand rounds more than I need because they may come in handy for bartering in a SHTF situation. I would recommend buying 1 case of ammo per weapon you own, then when the SHTF you can decide how many rounds you want to bring with you.

 

[WardenWolf]

I'm going to be frank and say this, even though it's going to be unpopular with a lot of people: a standard AR-15 is NOT a good SHTF weapon. There are multiple variations of SHTF, but more than a few of those situations involve conditions where you will NOT be able to regularly clean your weapon, either due to lack of downtime or lack of adequate cleaning supplies.

You need to consider this: how many rounds can you expect to put through your weapon before it becomes unreliable? How often will you have to clean it before you can no longer count on it to protect your life or bring in the bacon? How much cleaning supplies do you have? Frankly, when you look at the conditions you will likely be facing, an AR-15's viability starts to look bleak.

You can improve this by going with a piston upper, or you can get any of countless other firearms that use gas pistons and are designed for long-term reliability without deep cleaning. However, it would behoove you, if you are really serious about preparing for SHTF, to have at least one firearm that you can count on to keep working even when it's dirty, and that will require a minimum of cleaning supplies and time.

 

[expvideo]

I'm going to be frank and say this, even though it's going to be unpopular with a lot of people: a standard AR-15 is NOT a good SHTF weapon. There are multiple variations of SHTF, but more than a few of those situations involve conditions where you will NOT be able to regularly clean your weapon, either due to lack of downtime or lack of adequate cleaning supplies.

You need to consider this: how many rounds can you expect to put through your weapon before it becomes unreliable? How often will you have to clean it before you can no longer count on it to protect your life or bring in the bacon? How much cleaning supplies do you have? Frankly, when you look at the conditions you will likely be facing, an AR-15's viability starts to look bleak.

You can improve this by going with a piston upper, or you can get any of countless other firearms that use gas pistons and are designed for long-term reliability without deep cleaning. However, it would behoove you, if you are really serious about preparing for SHTF, to have at least one firearm that you can count on to keep working even when it's dirty, and that will require a minimum of cleaning supplies and time.

Exactly what I've been saying for years. I personally bought an AK last year, even though I wanted an AR. My reasoning was that once I have my AK for SHTF, I can start working on buying the rifle I want. But the AK is there in case SHTF, due to the fact that I don't know when or if I'll be able to clean it.

Besides, if I'm on foot getting to my secret squirrel bug-out-spot, my girlfriend will probably want the lighter rifle, so I won't get to use my AR anyway

 

[drgrenthum]

What are you guys talking about.....An AR15 is a fine SHTF rifle. I have two and have never had a ftf or fte. I do make sure and clean them every 1000 rounds or so but what kind of shtf situation are you going to have where you need to shoot 1500+ rounds at a time without breaking contact.

It takes me 15 mins to clean an AR and while cool cleaning kits are great you can easily improvise cleaning in a shtf fan scenario. Well any i could think of anyway. An AK may go 3500 without cleaning but as many people have posted the likely hood of that happening (or any of this i guess) is nil.

To get back to what the OP said i like the idea of keeping 1000 for my main rifle, for larger game and defense, 3000 for my 22 rifle for feeding ones self and 200 for my pistol, which is probably alot considering in a shtf situation it is not something i would use on a regular basis only for backup.

 

[WardenWolf]

Your AR-15 is a freak of nature, then, because I've seen plenty that need cleaning after fewer than 200 rounds.

But yeah: 1000 for your main "battle rifle", 500 for your hunting gun, and 200 for your pistol. In a pinch, I could hunt deer with my .223, but I'd really rather not.

 

[Japle]

No citizen is going to be in a firefight that lasts long enough to foul an AR to the point where it won't function. Even using Wolf ammo.

I fired over 1,000 rounds of Guatemalan M193 and US made XM193 through my AR without cleaning it (yes, I'm ashamed) without a problem.

I keep 10 loaded 30 round mags for the AR in its case next to my gun safe. Does anyone think I might fire that much ammo is a fight in or near my house? Well, if I do, there's always the five 20 round mags sitting right there.