How much ammo is enough?

[ohioshooter]

I'll have enough whenever I can't afford to reload anymore.

 

[Zeke/PA]

For hunting, I keep about 40 rounds for each of my three "deer rifles".
For my "fun guns" like my AK about 2000 rounds.
.38 Special, 9MM and .40 Smith about 1000 each .
I reload for everything except the auto handguns,and I purchase .22 stuff when it's available.

 

[JFrame]

Hey there is a caliber that I don't have plenty of. I still own a Raven P-25 but I don't know if I have more than the ammo in the mags. I don't really care either.

I have a Beretta Jetfire that I occasionally tuck in my pocket when I go out to rake the leaves, or whatever...

But yeah -- if it were to disappear from my line-up, I don't think I'd feel the effect...

.

 

[txblackout]

there is never enough, only what you can afford.

Maybe 10,000 rounds of 22lr
5000 rounds of any centerfire

 

[hatt]

How much ammo you need is based on how much you shoot. If you never shoot a few hundred rounds is plenty. If you shoot 1K/month you'll need a lot more.

I am in the firm belief that for each caliber you need a minimum of 1000 rounds. And for your go to weapons that you carry or shoot a lot, up that to 2000 as a minimum. And this is reserve ammo you have available. Not to shoot. Just to have for the Apocalypse!!!
Shooting ammo, I roll my own and have 500 per caliber for every day shooting.

That thinking usually just limits how many calibers and fun you have. For lesser used guns there's no need to stock a lot of ammo.

 

[joem1945]

You might have enough ammo when the shelves are full, bench is full, garage is full, upstairs closets are full and basement floor has many, many cases stored in the corners.

 

[bannockburn]

joem1945

Or when the upstairs floors start to sag?

 

[AR-15Nutt]

How much ammo is enough?

if you store it in your home and it starts to sink.., you have enough.

 

[ConstitutionCowboy]

When you can smell the ammo in your house from a mile away, you're close to having enough.

Woody

 

[Cee Zee]

If it is making you broke, you are doing it wrong.

Zactly. No one should feel the need to go broke buying ammo. If you're doing that get some help. It's called obsession.

Seriously I wouldn't buy more than I can afford. Some people can afford more than me that's for sure and I'm sure a few can afford less. I don't worry about keeping up with the Joneses. They have way more money than I do. I end up buying ammo because I can't afford new guns sometimes. I go to a gun shop (yeah it's compulsive) just to look and I want every gun I see pretty much but I can't afford them so I just buy some more ammo instead. I don't go crazy with ammo unless I think it might be hard to get in the future or I think the price is going to go up or I just happen to be shooting a whole lot of one caliber (like .22 - I stocked up just in time for the shortage but I can't shoot like I did because the ammo isn't there for that). I like to practice so that generally means I need a good supply for whatever gun I'm shooting at the time. I've put more than a few rounds through every gun I own. I'm not one to buy a gun and stick in the safe and forget it. If I figure out I've done that I'll sell the gun and buy more ammo.

 

[Sheepdog1968]

A six to 12 month supply of what you regularly shoot is a good start as it avoids temporary panic supply shortages. Two years is even better. As for self defense, I like to have a few hundred to few thousand on hand depending on what it is.

 

[Saddlebag Preacher]

I used to think that 300 or 400 rounds of the caliber one carries was enough for a major ammo shortage or stuff hits the oscillating cooling unit. Wednesday changed my mind when I spent two hours of range time on a security refresher course and I went through 250 rounds, and have another two hours coming up to complete.

I also see ammo I have that is older and is almost 1/2 to 1/3 cheaper than the current price, so cost wise I think I need to stock up for the future.

 

[susieqz]

you know, sheep dog, that amount is really hard. i shoot 1000 rounds/month of 22lr when i can.
i have seen 9mm luger cheaper than 22lr lately.
i'd stock up on that but it's not as fun for me.

 

[mgmorden]

Depends. I've got probably 3500 rounds of .22LR just because its cheap-ish.

For everything else - for my competition gun (in 9mm) I try to keep ~600 rounds or so on hand at any given time. I handload those and also typically have enough components to load up a few thousand more if I needed to.

For everything else as long as I've got a box I'm fine. I want to be able to shoot anything I own at least a few times if the mood strikes me.

For "end of the world" scenarios I find stacking thousands and thousands of rounds of ammo to be kinda pointless. If you're at a point where you'd have to shoot THAT many times, you probably aren't surviving the encounter. Bullets aren't quarters where you can keep playing the game so long as you have another token to drop into the machine. Eventually your luck runs out and there is no respawn.

 

[alsaqr]

You can never have too much ammunition.

Earlier this year i went through hundreds of VT fuze cans, .30 caliber and .50 caliber ammo cans searching for some Chinese military 6.5 mm Japanese ammo i acquired many years ago. Finally found the can marked 6.5 Japanese; it was empty.

 

[Arkansas Paul]

Enough to me is the most I can properly store.
It doesn't do you any good if it sits on a shelf and turns green with corrosion over time, which I have seen ammo do and I'm sure you guys have as well.

 

[Manny]

I'm a firm believer that a gun without ammo is about the most useless object in existence. I'm also a firm believer in living within your means and in the concept that sometimes less is more. I've purposely limited the guns I own to .22lr, .38/.357, 9mm, .223/5.56mm, and 12guage for my "working" gun, common shooters that I want to make sure I have plenty of ammo. I also have a couple specialty arms that won't get shot anywhere near so much, so a lesser amount of ammo's needed.

If you have a gun with no ammo, or many guns with little ammo you are doing it wrong IMHO. My concept is fewer guns, more ammo. As to how much is enough, my take is to be guided by how much you expect to shoot that gun, can comfortably afford and safely store.

 

[xxjumbojimboxx]

Most useless object in existence? That's a bit of a stretch.

They make excellent clubs when unloaded. Some have bayo's on them.

Theyre still valuable to someone who may have the ammo for that gun.

Useless? I think not!


I just realized that after my last purchase I have over 10k 7.62x39 rounds. I still don't feel as though I have enough... I'm going to be around for a long time. If some puke Democrat decides I cant have ammo anymore I'd like to know I had enough for the rest of my life.

 

[ol' scratch]

I reload with a progressive press and tend to do large lots of blasting ammo. I also picked up lots of surplus 30-06 Greek HXP, AP and even some LC ball. Then there is the 7.62 x 51 surplus and the 7.62 x 54r I picked up when it could be found cheap. I still have bricks of .22 I purchased before the panic.

I am sitting on just shy of 25,000 rounds of ammo that spans 10 calibers.

 

[MagnunJoe]

Like a true red blooded american I am proud to say that "nothing is ever enough" over consumption is a way of life in this country, that's why other countries hate us but I love it.
I have ammo to last me about 5 years of "normal shooting" which for me is about 20 times per year.

 

[Ryanxia]

50,000 rifle & 20,000 handgun in my opinion.

Gives you enough to be self reliant for whatever red blooded American activities you may need to partake in.

 

[ol' scratch]

For "end of the world" scenarios I find stacking thousands and thousands of rounds of ammo to be kinda pointless. If you're at a point where you'd have to shoot THAT many times, you probably aren't surviving the encounter. Bullets aren't quarters where you can keep playing the game so long as you have another token to drop into the machine. Eventually your luck runs out and there is no respawn.

I have never bought into the whole end of the world ammo hoarding bit myself. I know lots of people who pick up milsurp ammo cheap because it is finite and typically cheaper than reloading. You also don't know when the BATF will swoop in and try and reclassify something as AP. I just picked up surplus when it could be had on the cheap. There isn't a military that still uses 30-06 ball and the HXP is good brass. I still hold out hope that some military will release some more 7.62 NATO on the cheap, but if they don't components can be found that aren't too expensive and I typically load about 2000 at a time when I have the press up and going. That keeps me shooting for a while.

 

[Dr.Rob]

Since I started competitive shooting there is never 'enough'.

 

[ChCx2744]

Until the structural integrity of your home is at risk of being compromised from the weight.

 

[Sauer Grapes]

I have just enough to last me till I pass a store and buy some more.