How Much Ammunition is needed?

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Just being a trusted person, willing to work for our mutual survival is enough for my group. I know that friend I mentioned won't kill me in the middle of the night, or take off with half my supplies. The fact that he's got a green thumb is just icing on the cake.
 
Not too many mention that buying ammunition is a hedge not only against low availability but as a hedge against inflation. Since I've been into firearms, a few decades, ammo has never reduced in cost, it has only constantly risen,
with some corrections during the rebound after shortages. A good portion of my stash was purchased in 2012-2015 and I don't anticipate we will ever see those prices again. So every time I shoot a box of ammo now that I bought
then, I reflect back on .22 per round .223, .16 per round 9mm, .02 per round .22 and I even have some .45 ACP I got for .17 per round just a few short year ago and realize that we won't likely ever experience that again.

What has also changed in this shortage are the costs of reloading components. The last two shortages, we had restricted availability of primers and powder but never with a huge price increase we have seen of both this time around.
Sure, primers won't always be .10-.14 ea. like they are now, but I doubt if they'll ever be .02 ea. again. So besides serving as a hedge against tyranny for when despots strangle civilian ammo availability, it seems to me that
building your ammo supply is smart financially and from a supply chain standpoint.

I can't fathom gun owners who only have a box or two of ammo for each gun. That leaves no ammo to practice with when the next shortage occurs and once you've shot that up, if there is no ammo available for you, your gun is a paperweight. Ammo, in America, in 2022 and going forward, shouldn't ever be thought of as a cheap, renewable supply to be replaced only when used. Recent history has shown us that forces will continually conspire to reduce or cut off ammo supply from consumers often. You don't have to go nuts and stockpile metric tons of ammo. Just buy a few extra boxes each time you buy and put it off to the side, to be saved and built.

Same as a 401k or an IRA, doing it over a long period of time will yield good returns. I used to say, learn how to reload, but since the pandemic, reloading is only for the stubborn and those who
are disciplined in stockpiling components. I've been seeing 9mm brass cased ammo lately as low as .30 per round. When people are paying .10 per bullet and primer, about .02-.04 worth of powder per round , plus scrounging brass and all
of the time and labor, reloading, at least for that common caliber doesn't begin to make sense. Of course for rifle or less common pistol calibers, if you have components, reloading makes financial sense.

So the question, "How much ammo do I need" has a LOT of different factors in it.
 
My buddy thinks he has a lot of ammo because he has 6-8 boxes for his 270.

I keep more than that just for my working supply in 30-30.
 
How much is enough or too much or too little is in the eye of the shooter, no? If one shoots a lot, then a couple of boxes would be frightening. If one rarely shoots then a couple of boxes may seem like a lot. For example, if one pushes 200 rounds weekly, then a case of 2000 rounds of 5.7x28 ammo would last only 10 weeks. That is not a long time - 2.5 months. Especially given the time to acquire any sort of "stash" of ammo for many calibers in today's envieonment.

100boxes.jpg
 
Capybara said:
Not too many mention that buying ammunition is a hedge not only against low availability but as a hedge against inflation. Since I've been into firearms, a few decades, ammo has never reduced in cost, it has only constantly risen,
with some corrections during the rebound after shortages. A good portion of my stash was purchased in 2012-2015 and I don't anticipate we will ever see those prices again. So every time I shoot a box of ammo now that I bought
then, I reflect back on .22 per round .223, .16 per round 9mm, .02 per round .22 and I even have some .45 ACP I got for .17 per round just a few short year ago and realize that we won't likely ever experience that again.

What has also changed in this shortage are the costs of reloading components. The last two shortages, we had restricted availability of primers and powder but never with a huge price increase we have seen of both this time around.
Sure, primers won't always be .10-.14 ea. like they are now, but I doubt if they'll ever be .02 ea. again. So besides serving as a hedge against tyranny for when despots strangle civilian ammo availability, it seems to me that
building your ammo supply is smart financially and from a supply chain standpoint.

I can't fathom gun owners who only have a box or two of ammo for each gun. That leaves no ammo to practice with when the next shortage occurs and once you've shot that up, if there is no ammo available for you, your gun is a paperweight. Ammo, in America, in 2022 and going forward, shouldn't ever be thought of as a cheap, renewable supply to be replaced only when used. Recent history has shown us that forces will continually conspire to reduce or cut off ammo supply from consumers often. You don't have to go nuts and stockpile metric tons of ammo. Just buy a few extra boxes each time you buy and put it off to the side, to be saved and built.

Same as a 401k or an IRA, doing it over a long period of time will yield good returns. I used to say, learn how to reload, but since the pandemic, reloading is only for the stubborn and those who
are disciplined in stockpiling components. I've been seeing 9mm brass cased ammo lately as low as .30 per round. When people are paying .10 per bullet and primer, about .02-.04 worth of powder per round , plus scrounging brass and all
of the time and labor, reloading, at least for that common caliber doesn't begin to make sense. Of course for rifle or less common pistol calibers, if you have components, reloading makes financial sense.

So the question, "How much ammo do I need" has a LOT of different factors in it.
Click to expand...

This is a good point and I totally agree.

I started building my ammo stash after retiring from active duty...it was much too big a pain to have a lot of ammo while moving from location to location. Didn't even see my rifles in two consecutive assignments over 8 years...but I wasn't into shooting much back then.

Anyway, retired from active duty in 2010 and settled in South TX. Took up shooting as an active hobby again. Got serious about building up my ammo on hand after my first Gunsite class and during the Obama administration. Got very serious during Trump administration and made up for lost time with $0.28 5.56MM, $0.16 9MM and $0.04 .22LR.

But had I doubled down on ammo and bought up 15-25K rounds of the very cheap steel case 9, 5.56,and 7.62 MM's and 30K rounds of blaster .22LR, whooooeeeee! I would have done pretty fine...

So how much ammo is needed? Final answer after much thought...as many value-priced rounds as you can comfortably afford that your wife lets you store in her house.

;) o_O :cool: :thumbdown: :thumbup:
 
rust collector said:
My rule of thumb is just based on my unique experience and opportunity.

Rimfire 22 10,000
Smallbore centerfire rifle 2,000
Big game rifles 100 rounds each
Auto pistol 9mm 2,000
7.62 x 39 2,000
Odd lots 100 to 500 each
Click to expand...

This is about perfect and I also keep about these amounts on hand. Anything above these amounts is my worry free range ammo.
 
Afterthought…not much (if any) mention of shotgun ammo. I like to buy target loads when they are reasonably priced ($5-6 per box). Used to buy cases during dove season and stack it up. Been a few minutes since I saw cases of #8 12 gauge for under $50 per case (250 rounds), but still have some.

I also keep 20 boxes or so of #00 buck and some slugs. Just never know when you need to breech a door or whatnot.
 
new57 said:
How much is enough or too much or too little is in the eye of the shooter, no? If one shoots a lot, then a couple of boxes would be frightening. If one rarely shoots then a couple of boxes may seem like a lot. For example, if one pushes 200 rounds weekly, then a case of 2000 rounds of 5.7x28 ammo would last only 10 weeks. That is not a long time - 2.5 months. Especially given the time to acquire any sort of "stash" of ammo for many calibers in today's envieonment.

View attachment 1057317
Click to expand...
not enough mate, but a decent start :)

Thewelshm
 
I'd like to have so much that if it made the news, foxnews would video call me several times and i'd be the poster child for a prepared American gun owner. It'd be known forever as a bazoo sized stash. And anything smaller would be considered not newsworthy. That's bout enough.
 
I personally know three firearms owners who are not rich but successful and count their ammo by the pallet. And yes, after a recent move,
I can see the need for at least a pallet jack, freaking ammo and bullets are HEAVY to move, even with my meager stash.

One of them a few year ago told me he gets nervous when he goes under a million rounds total although he has a LOT of guns and calibers.
So it's all relative to your wealth, space, dedication and OCD ;-) I will confess to having every round and component counted and spreadsheeted.
When I go shooting, I track exactly what I took, what I return, if any and I try to work hard to replace it either by reloading or buying replacement ammo.
 
JCooperfan1911 said:
18 shots is enough.

Until it’s not.

The truth is, it’s all angels dancing on the heads of pins and what capacity is up to the individual user.
Click to expand...
I think we’re all talking about what’s in the storage, not the carry piece…
Oh, I see what you did there!;)

Prudent analogy, sir.:thumbup:
(Places extra magazine in belt carrier.)
 
How much do you want, how much of the sort that you desire can you find, and how much of that can you afford?
Where those 3 questions intersect, we each have our answer.
Personally, I'm at this stage where I'm going through a lot of target- or match-quality .22lr, which means the stuff from Germany or England.
Would I gladly grab a case or two or even three of what, pre-panic, was going for $70 or $80 a brick? Yes.
Do I want those same rounds at 2x those price levels? Nope.
 
In a month I used to shoot 200 22LR, 5-600 45acp, 1000 223 and 300 or so 308; which I reload everything except 22LR and kept a years supply of components on hand … then when my youngest was born my shooting slowed way down but buying components didn’t for 7-8 years.

I started putting back 22LR in 2010 and have enough for my grandkids, and maybe more. Unfortunately none of my kids are into shooting as my grandkids keep them busy … they do appreciate grandpa teaching them to shoot tho.
 
ms6852 said:
I have enough to hold the Chinese army at bay for a week. In a weeks time if I have not made them surrender, our country has fallen. By that time I will have to fall back on my Daisy BB gun and pellet rifle. We are in dire need then.
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I like that.
 
My uncle sold me 2 bricks of 22s from the 70s. I sold the boxes an shot the bullets. They all fired no problem. That was about 10 years or so back. Still they were 50 years old or more at the time. So.... One cannot ever have too much ammo.
 
Archie said:
How much ammunition does one really need? Or perhaps one should determine how many primers and how much powder does one really need?

Now, before anyone responds with "Ten thousand rounds", consider these thoughts:

1. How many arms does one shoot? How much does one shoot?
2. What sort of ammunition is to be 'stockpiled'?
3. (Possibly the least considered) Where does one have to store it all?

The reader's needs and thinking may be considerably different than mine. What is your thinking?
Click to expand...
Without reading more than a few of the responses, I figure mine falls in line with the majority.
I load as much as I can, for as long as I can find materials, to hedge against the times (like now) when components are difficult to find (primers). I shoot quite a few calibers; I reload for nine handgun and three rifle calibers, and shoot them all regularly when I have the opportunities. I also shoot shotguns but don't reload for them. Much of my disposable retirement income goes to my gun hobby.
I load both target ammunition and defensive ammunition, the difference usually in the projectile type, and keep a supply of a few calibers I use for carry stored away separately. I try to keep around 500-750 rounds each for my rifles, and 300 or so for each handgun caliber. I use old military ammunition cases to store everything.
 
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