How much ammo?

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Gosh, I don't know if I'd feel comfortable stating on the internet how much ammo I had stocked ... just like "how many guns do you own?" ...

But if I could afford it, I'd sure be stocking at least 1,000 rounds for every firearm I owned ... so, for example, if I had 10 9mm pistols, that'd be 10,000 rounds of 9mm ... That seems like a good start ...

Now, how much of that is defensive ammo (good quality, fast JHPs) and how much of that would be reserved exclusively for range use? Well, I'd say 80% for range use, and 20% held for home defense/carry use ...

I heard some guys from BATFE and DHS joined internet gun forums and were asking questions such as "How much ammo do you keep on hand?" and "How many guns do you own?"
 
I heard some guys from BATFE and DHS joined internet gun forums and were asking questions such as "How much ammo do you keep on hand?" and "How many guns do you own?"
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Right, they would need to do this because gun owners haven't been asking this question of each other on the internet for years and years. :rolleyes:
 
Ah, Jorg, you know those guys aren't real gun-owners ... they're all ATF and DHS informants and agents ...
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Yeah, too bad I lost all my ammo in an unfortunate boating accident....
 
Well, I met a guy a few years ago who had about 75,000 rounds of .22 long rifle ammo...

:what:​

You know the type, every time it was on sale he'd grab somewhere between 2 bricks and a case. He burned through .22 ammo fast, but not that fast.

And yes, I SAW the stash once. I accused him of single-handedly causing a shortage, he shot back that I should thank him for spurring additional production to meet his demand, then laying off purchasing more, leading to clearance sales on ammo locally!

Not surprisingly, he had to be the deadliest shot with a .22 rifle or handgun I've ever seen.
 
Warners said:
I'm sure this has been asked before, but I'm curious to find out how much ammo (for each caliber) that folks generally consider keeping "in stock". Since I started reloading late last year, my goal is to have at least 1,000 rounds for each of the pistol calibers that I reload for (9x18, 9x19, .38, and .45acp), and at least 100 rounds for my 30-30 and 30-06 rifles. What do you guys keep around?

Let me know and thanks,

Warner
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Tens of thousands of rounds. Of .22lr.

Thousands of rounds of 9x19.

Fewer of the rest, due to cost.
 
When I was purchasing one of my handguns at my LGS, the salesman asked "do you need any ammo" to which I replied "no, I already have enough to start a small war" to which he replied "the idea is to have enough to start a big war"! :eek:
 
I guess it depends upon your situation/outlook/plans.

Do you plan to bunker down in some kind of fortress or compound, and fight off marauding hordes?
If so, then yes, you need lots and lots of ammo for every weapon you own.

Do you plan on "bugging out" during times of distress and traveling, possibly on foot, over great distances?
if so, the no, you will not be able to carry great sums of ammo for every weapon you own.



Personally, I prefer to have the ability to move out fast at a moment's notice.
Water, food, medical supplies, communications, protection from the elements....that doesn't leave a lot of space/weight for ammo.


What good is two tons of ammo when you are forced to relocate due to a hurricane or a chemical leak, or a radiation leak?
 
People worried about future marauding hordes have watched the "The Road Warrior" too many times. Maybe they own a retail gas station.

The reason I have about 6,000 rds. of centerfire ammo is because the US dollar will weaken further, and general demand could increase in the long-term due to growing public awareness of the logic for gun rights etc.

A simmering threat is the UN which spends some US tax money, and the British/Euro "Arms Control" organizations which use their taxes to pay numerous countries to destroy full-auto and even heaps of obsolescent bolt-action Lee-Enfield rifles etc. It's likely that along with the rifles, huge pallets of their ammo have also been destroyed.

If I could "reasonably afford" it, the objective would be to buy at least 5,000 rds. each of Greek (HXP) M2 Ball, Prvi .303, any type of .308,
plus 10,000 rds. of Russian-made 7.62x39. A friend has 30,000 rds. of centerfire ammo, primarily east Euro/Russian for his guns (I've seen most of the ammo), all of which are milsurps. He gets by on investing in the stock market, and knows what is a good value.
 
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Oh boy, another "How much ammo?" thread! It's been a whole week since the last one!

Ammunition will continue to get more expensive....everything does. I keep enough cases on-hand for my personal use. I won't need to buy any at higher prices for a few years to come. This is strictly personal economics, not due to any imagined end of the world scenario.
.
 
pockets -

one of these days I'm going to get a picture of a warehouse full of ammo, just to post on threads like this. :)
 
pockets said:
Ammunition will continue to get more expensive....everything does. I keep enough cases on-hand for my personal use. I won't need to buy any at higher prices for a few years to come. This is strictly personal economics, not due to any imagined end of the world scenario.
.
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+1 the sad truth, times like this you're better off not waiting to see what the price is next year. All my spare nickels goes to pistol ammo whether I need it or not.
 
Yeah, all the good surplus 8mm was gone by the time I finally got around to buying an 8mm rifle. Now I've got 3 of them, and pay through the nose for ammo.

Which sucks, because I sold tens of thousands of rounds of surplus 8mm when I had my gun shop.... and didn't bother to keep a single frigging round of it for my own use.
 
I admit to being amazed at how much ammo some people keep on hand. I wish I had the money and space for thousands of rounds!

Ideally, I would like to have this much on hand at any one time. This is purely for normal use to get me through temporary runs on ammo or short term shortages. Not SHTF or long term problems:

  • 500 rnds - Each SD handgun caliber (at least 100 of those premium SD rounds)*
  • 100 rnds - Each non-SD handgun caliber
  • 500 rnds - Each SD rifle (at least 150 of those premium SD rounds)*
  • 50 rnds - Each non-SD rifle caliber
  • 100 rnds - Each Shotgun gauge (at least 20 buckshot & 20 slugs)
  • 1000 rnds - .22 LR
*This is in addition to what I keep loaded for each gun.​

Now, as I said these are "ideal" amounts, so I don't really have this much stockpiled for most catagories. :(
 
if your talking emergency bug out/bug in,............basick combat load is 210 rounds/7-30 rd mags, with a sustainment load, a 500 round case minus zero and familiarization expend.,..............Pistols, all mags loaded with a sustainment reload, plus how much do you want to shoot the things, and if you get a good deal, buy it all up if you can afford it.
 
+1 the sad truth, times like this you're better off not waiting to see what the price is next year. All my spare nickels goes to pistol ammo whether I need it or not.
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About a year before the Presidential election a friend and I were at a gun show table trying to decide if we should buy a LOT of bullets to reload or a WHOLE LOT of bullets.
My friend said, "If you don't like the price now, you are going to really hate the price next year".
We bought the dealer out of every bullet we reload.

Sure enough the following year we were glad we stretched the budget to stock up.


Well, I met a guy a few years ago who had about 75,000 rounds of .22 long rifle ammo...
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75,000 rounds of 22LR may seem like a lot but for a person that shoots a good bit, that's less than a two year supply.
I shoot about 750 22LR a week.
 
Some people say ammo is not a good investment, but I have to disagree to some extent. About 11 years ago I predicted that ammo would sky rocket after the 9/11 attacks assuming we were going to go to war with Al Qaeda. I purchased about 13,000 rouds of Federal 550 box .22lr @ $10.53 a brick. Today that same ammo cost $19.89 at WalMart. To me that $10.53 per brick was a great investment because my wife and I shoot alot of .22lr. We have depleted my stock over the years and I have very little left of .22 but that proved to be a good investment for me (much better then my 401k). At the time I also purchased a lot of other ammo at cheap prices (Remington 9mm 115gr HP 100 pack @19.98 per box and now that same box is over $35)

One of these days my supply will run out and I will probobly buy a huge supply again so I can shoot the next 10 years at a reasonable price. I would buy as much as you could afford at todays prices because I'm guessing over the next 10 years the prices will keep going up.

Just my .02
 
I like to have at least a year's supply on hand to fill my shooting needs during times of shortage and panic.

Since I'm approaching retirement, I'd stocked away about 10 years worth of components back when they were less than half want they cost now -- one of my best retirement "investments" :)
 
I'd say for your primary firearm at least 5,000 rounds and about 1,000 rounds for every other gun/caliber you have. That would be a good start.

1,000 rounds of .22 is a must too, for $40 that's 1,000 squirrels, rabbits, woodchucks or gophers you could eat if food supplies run out :D
 
Thanks for all the responses, guys. It's really interesting to see the differing opinions on how much is enough. My main reason for wanting to get a fair amount of reloads done is to justify the cost of my reloading equipment. :D
I have done that now.....but wanted to get an idea of what the general consensus was on a "reasonable" amount to keep around. I'm a ways off from my goals, but appreciate all of the replies.

Thanks again,

Warner
 
Ryanxia said:
I'd say for your primary firearm at least 5,000 rounds and about 1,000 rounds for every other gun/caliber you have. That would be a good start.

1,000 rounds of .22 is a must too, for $40 that's 1,000 squirrels, rabbits, woodchucks or gophers you could eat if food supplies run out :D
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Sounds like you're a better shot than me! :)

Warner
 
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