Emergency Ammo - How much is REALISTICALLY needed?

[Neo-Luddite]

Apart from 'the pile' of stored ammo, when it comes to grab-ready ammo, mags for each weapon, special tools and so on---I have packed 200rds minimum for each pistol, and 300 rds for each rifle. For the shotgun(s) I have 50rd bandos loaded. I'd regard these as my emergency minimums for each. The 10/22 shares a go-bag with the MK-II pistol with about 500rds of ammo including defensive and other special purpose---like .22 shotshell, shorts, CB's, etc.
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Day-to-Day I rarely carry more than my S&W 64 .38 spl and a couple of extra loaded speed loaders. So I guess you might call that a personal threshold---enough to re-load twice is bare bones.

 

[MIL-DOT]

..... I do not think it's "silly" to plan for unpleasantness. It's actually the smart thing to do. However, most people, especially us "gun types" tend to over-inflate the value of a firearm in case of emergency. It's never wrong to have extra ammo or magazines. However, having a bit less of those might mean the difference in having enough drinkable water, food, hygiene items, heat, tools, etc. I think you're better off having a few hundred rounds and several spare mags to throw in a bugout kit than to have cans upon cans of ammo but no place to go, no means to get there and no supplies to sustain you on the way or when you get there.......

Excellent post, very well stated !! I think this should be posted as a sticky on nearly every firearm and survival-type forum on the interwebz.
Along with the throngs of these people I run across on the internet, I actually know people personally that have more guns than they can count, crates of ammo, and an armload of magazines for each one........but don't own a water filter, or ever have more than $30 in cash on hand.
And I can't count how many times I've seen someone post something illustrating yet another threat to our rapidly crumbling liberties, and the response has been something like, "I need to go get another case of 5.56", as if that's going to do anything. :banghead:

 

[JohnBiltz]

An Infantry man would have a basic load of 7 M16 magazines. At the company truck would be one, maybe 2 resupplies for the company and battalion would have two more. That is for a war. You are not in a war. You don't get to put down suppressive You do not need more ammo than a soldier.

Realistically if you are carrying a hand gun or shotgun how many fights do you think you can survive at shotgun or handgun range. Not very many. What you are carrying is your basic load. Have one reload of your basic load to reload and another as just in case.

I do agree about ammo being a very good trade material even if your just trading in neighborly good will.

 

[Walkalong]

It is whatever you are comfortable with.

I have a .30 Cal ammo can of 9MM and another of .223. That should be oodles and gobs. Enough for me and enough to hand out some to the neighbor who wants to help defend our homes.

Either way, it's going to be a disaster. One we hope never arrives.

 

[skoro]

For me, it's a couple hundred rounds in each caliber except 22LR, which I like to have at least a thousand on hand.

 

[denton]

What emergencies are going to happen in my neighborhood? Well, we are going to have a blizzard and be snowed in. It happens every few years. We are going to have a truck overturn on nearby Hwy 89. It happens every few years. We are going to have a strong East wind that uproots trees. It happens every few years. Maybe we will have an earthquake. It happens every few centuries. None of those are going to require a lot of ammunition.

I keep half a dozen bricks of 22LR on hand, reloading supplies for several hundred rounds of various types, and a few hundred pistol and a few dozen rifle rounds. But the thought of home or home/self defense is secondary. I have the supplies because the market is volatile, I like to target shoot, and I don't want to run out.

A couple of magazines full is enough for almost any emergency.

 

[jamesjames]

Living on the southern Oregon coast, I've thought about this a lot and plan for it. We have an M9 earthquake and tsunami that hangs like a sword of Damocles over our heads. About every 240 years for the last 10,000 years, the Cascadia subduction zone ruptures. Its been 315 years since the last one in 1700, so we're due.

Preparedness is a full meal deal. We are most likely sheltering in place. All infa-structure will be damaged or destroyed. Roads blocked or destroyed by mudslides. Communications, gas and electric , sewer and water, motor fuel, all gone. We are talking weeks until help arrives, months until transportation links are re-established, years until infa-structure is restored.

How much ammo do you need? That all depends on how seriously you think you and your family will be under threat. In this scenario, everybody's in the same boat. The only people you need to defend against are the people with arms who want to kill you and take your stuff.

We are going to be caring for the injured, digging latrines, improvising cooking and sanitation, cleaning and using ground water. Hauling a lot of ground water from springs, creeks and lakes. We are going to be working hard. We'll probably be too busy to engage in fire fights (except when we have to fight fires without fire fighting equipment).

We will pull together as communities with a common purpose. We won't need a lot of ammo to do that. I have a couple hundred rounds of handgun calibers and a similar amount of rifle fodder. I have hundreds more rounds of range ammo. I'm sure that will be plenty. I'm hoping to not have to fire a shot. We will have the real work of surviving to keep us occupied.

 

[Jackal]

Emergency Ammo - How much is REALISTICALLY needed?

However much fits on your chest rig.

 

[Sam1911]

However much fits on your chest rig.

But I don't have a chest rig. Got a couple of shirt pockets. Will that be enough?

 

[Inazone]

It's been covered but the most realistic "emergency" I can think of is another ammo panic.

I remember the empty shelves at Walmart and I remember the guy right behind me in line who looked like he wanted to kill me when I asked for .40 S&W and they only had 2 boxes left. I actually turned around and told him I only want one box and he could have the other.

That went on for a couple of years and was one of the primary reasons I cut down to 2 calibers and decided to stock ammunition every chance I get.

I have no idea what "enough" is but I do know it's likely ammunition will never be as cheap as it is today again and it doesn't go bad so it makes sense to get it now.

I got caught unprepared after Sandy Hook. I'd been shooting .22LR and 9mm for years, and was just getting into .223, and was accustomed to walking into the store on my way to the range. When that ceased to be the case, I found myself down to only enough ammo for one or two trips to the range, plus a bit more of "the good stuff" for my CC handgun. For those of us who shoot for enjoyment, that still equates to a sort of emergency in my opinion.

Having said that, I do have quite a bit more than that but not because of potential civil unrest. If I was guaranteed supply, I'd have less than I do now.

I feel like the days of guaranteed supply may be a thing of the past. Every publicized shooting, political grandstanding or other shortage turns into a panic as soon as word reaches the Internet. I vowed never to be put in a position where I can't shoot because I let myself run low on ammo due to taking availability for granted. I'm squared away on the premium defensive stuff up, but that's not what flies off the shelves in a panic anyway. It's the cheap plinking stuff that dries up.

 

[Sam1911]

Every publicized shooting, political grandstanding or other shortage turns into a panic as soon as word reaches the Internet.

Fortunately, I don't think that's quite as much of the case as we often believe. Sometimes yes, disastrously so. But when you look at most of the high-profile shootings that make the news there really isn't a "Bannic" caused by them. San Bernadino was an example of that. Haven't really seen any serious fluctuations in prices or availability from that.

Every once in a while there's a Sandy Hook level event that really does have enormous repercussions. But they seem to be the minority.

 

[22-rimfire]

Realistically it would depend on the duration of the situation. Let's assume it is a week or less.... one box (50 rounds) should be enough for a handgun and probably 100 rounds if you are an AR kind of person. A box> 25 rounds if it is shotgun.

If you are talking living off the land, well.... that is another kind of situation.

If you are thinking "ammo cache" for longer term emergencies such as not being able to buy ammunition, that depends on what you are comfortable with. For me, I would like to have at least a couple thousand rounds of 22LR, 500 rounds of my favorite handgun, and 1000 rounds if you are an AR kind of person. This assumes that you will not be plinking or going out shooting targets.

 

[ColoradoShooter77]

For a bug-out bag, 200 rounds of 9mm, 500 rounds of 22 LR and 200 rounds of .223 should be sufficient.

If I had to leave the house during an emergency, I'd take the SR9-C, Ruger 10/22 and my AR-15.

 

[BSA1]

I think those that are comfortable with 50 -200 rounds of ammunition are those that don't actively practice or participate in shooting sports. One of the competition shooting sports I participate in I can go through 200 rounds in just one day.

Reloaders smile when this topic come up as we make many more rounds of ammunition for the same cost of commercial ammo.

 

[armoredman]

The area I live in is not subject to natural disaster of most normal types. Flooding would have to be EPIC to threaten us. The closest we could have to a real Feces Hit The Rotating Oscillator would be home invasion by some of our wonderful cartel visitor types. The cartel Corridor is just a few miles from me. With that in mind, and with short distances/angles/maneuverability in tight spaces, this is what I would establish as minimum.



That's 90 rounds in three magazines for the Scorpion and 19 in the one magazine for the P-09. Might add a mag pouch for the P-09 when I can get one, much more likely to add a cell phone pouch with a no-sercive but charged phone for 911 calling. Chances of actually having time to throw this hard armor ON...?
*hand waggles back and forth*
Depends on a lot of circumstances, but I digress. In an ALMOST realistic scenario, this would be the minimum I would want with me.

 

[Reloadron]

One magazine in the gun (7+1) and two magazines on my belt. (7 + 7 + 7 + 1 = 22 Rounds). Works for me.

Ron

Following careful thought and consideration I wish to change the above.

"We rely on the good will of our fellow man and the forbearance of reptiles".

I choose no ammunition or gun, my wife and I will run with the above quote.

Always liked that from the Unforgiven. One member had it as their tagline. Haven't seen it lately.

Ron

 

[TanklessPro]

It's a easy number to figure out. Multiple the number of rounds you think you will fire during the emergency times the number of days the emergency will last times 2, because 2 is 1 and 1 is none.

Personally I would have rather too much than not enough.

 

[Ignition Override]

1) Enough to weather a totally unanticipated panic, resulting from a very random, tragic event, or decisions & actions taking by a future Supreme Court/politicians' arrogant contempt for the 2nd Amendment and their own citizen-"subjects".

2) If in your late 50's, save enough to last you several years into retirement, as most peoples' incomes are reduced by a fair portion. This easily covers option #1.
But also----Which ammo types do your guns have in common with other family or friends/neighbors? This is one reason I 'justified' buying a Saiga .223 yesterday (didn't have a .223 for several years).

If this area were to suffer from another extremely rare earthquake or sabotaged electrical networks, no ammo quantity could procure Refrigerated Insulin for my wife.
Back-up electrical power/fuel is not as cool to discuss.

 

[huntsman]

2) If in your late 50's, save enough to last you several years into retirement

I'm only in my mid fifties but yes this is a motivating factor, even more so than some other scenarios.

 

[Elkins45]

For a bug-out bag, 200 rounds of 9mm, 500 rounds of 22 LR and 200 rounds of .223 should be sufficient.

If I had to leave the house during an emergency, I'd take the SR9-C, Ruger 10/22 and my AR-15.

Good heavens, how much does your bug out bag weigh? If I needed 900 rounds to bug out I would seriously consider staying put.

How many rounds would someone need to shoot the first armed assailant? He would be their resupply. If you are shooting unarmed people then I have no desire to help you out with that one.

Unless it's a 22 my vote is a couple of magazines. You need other stuff (food, water, shelter) a whole lot more than you need ammo under almost every conceivable realistic scenario.

 

[JSH1]

In my area the biggest threat is an earthquake. My primary goal it to give my house a better chance of surviving that quake in livable condition. That will mean fastening the beams to the foundation in the crawlspace and making sure the connection between the gas line and the house is flexible. We buy in bulk to save money so food isn't a concern and we have bottled water, filters, and chlorine to treat surface water.

As far as ammo, I purchase in bulk when I find a good price and free shipping. No change there. If I was to leave home after the quake (assuming that was an option) I would likely take my revolver and a box or two of ammo.

 

[Agsalaska]

One lesson I learned from the last three years was do not get caught without ammo. I was always a buy as I went ammo guy. As in I would buy what I needed and shoot it. When the shortage happened I probably had less than 50 rounds total for all of my guns. I had two loaded magazines for a glock 19, one loaded .38 with no extra ammo, about 10 rounds of buckshot, and a few random rifle rounds probably in .243. I now have enough of what I regularly shoot for a long long time.

That being said, what I had was enough for any realistic scenario. I have evacuated a city for a Hurricane. It took us 19.5 hours to go 95 miles to a relative's farm. I took my pistol, and extra magazine, and my shotgun with probably those same ten rounds of buckshot. I had my two dogs and my wife. We were at the time probably in our late twenties. In that entire evacuation of one of the largest cities in the US I only recall hearing one or two stories of a person actually needing their weapon. I would say my 32 9mm and 10 buckshot loads were plenty. The MREs, the gallons of water, the toilet paper, the extra gas, and the tent were FAR more useful than the guns.

If I had to do it again, and I do not live on the coast so it better not. But if it did and I had to evacuate I would probably take the same thing plus my wife's carry revolver.

 

[Jeff H]

It is also important to consider that for the price of a 1000 rounds of ammo, you can get food to last months.

Those must be expensive rounds. My Kroger bill doesn't reflect this.

 

[JSH1]

Well cheap target .38 special rounds are about $0.25 per round. Rice is about $0.20 a pound and dried beans are about $0.75 a pound. $250 buys a lot of rice and beans!

 

[theleo]

I have a sickness I shoot my guns so I can cast bullets and reload them. When I can't get away to shoot my guns I just buy brass so I can still cast and reload. I think I'm up to about 500 44 special +p hollow points on hand, 100 45-90's, getting ready for a run of about 200 38 specials, 200 357's, 150 280ai's, 100 338-06's, and about 300 22-250 rounds. I may not be able to shoot zombie samurai big foots as fast as some of you boys, but I can start when he's farther out at they'll be hitting him hard.