Is It Time To Stockpile Ammo?

[Reloadron]

While ammo cans stacked may make it look like I stockpile ammo I really don't and never have. Over the past 35 years or so when I saw ammo on sale if it was cartridges I shoot I bought some. Anytime out and about with my wife in for example Walmart if I saw a good price on cans or boxes of ammo I would buy some. The same is true of reloading components, when a price looked good I bought more. I am loading primers left over from a shop we owned early 90s. Primers and bullets have a very, very long shelf life . During the worst droughts I have always had plenty for family and friends to shoot. Not like I stockpile or hoard I just try and shop wisely. You buy what you can when you can and for the new young up and coming shooters that does not mean spend a mortgage payment to buy ammo or loading components. Really don't let who may or may not win an upcoming election bother me or let it give me a panic attack. Nor will speculating on an election outcome have me panic buying.

I guess if people feel they may come up short for any reason then yes, buy but it is also nice to be prepared rather than last minute looking for ammo.

Ron

 

[goon]

One way I think of it is if you don’t have a .50 caliber ammo can stored for every caliber you really rely on, you should try to get that now. Put aside an entire can of 5.56, 9mm, whatever - and don’t touch it. This is your emergency fund. It’s quite a bit to use up even during a riot. I’d think you’d have to be John Wick to fire 840 rounds of 5.56 in a two way firefight and not get clipped yourself. But it’s also affordable, and compact enough that you can move it to your car if you need to evacuate. Most anyone can manage this financially and practically. You fill the can and keep that as your emergency reserve. Choose something reliable like milspec M193, M855, something expanding if you can afford it, maybe 9mm HST or Gold Dot. Maybe a mix of NATO spec 9mm ball and good civilian JHP. Whatever calibers you prefer - just get good quality ammo. Unless you’re actively rotating old ammo out for new, you don’t use this ammo.

After that, you can watch for better deals and specific things to be in stock. And you can live a little. It’s not all doom and gloom. Have a good dinner with your partner, buy luxury calibers for your more obscure guns, work on other preparations. You don’t have to worry as much knowing you have enough ammo to secure your home through 90% of panics or short term crises.

 

[FROGO207]

I try to keep something loaded up for each firearm. Say 200 to 500 rounds depending on what its used for. The rest I keep in limbo as unused components . I keep enough that at present shooting habits I will not run out for 6 years at a minimum. Buy when things are low priced/ on sale. I can always taper back after a couple years if supplies dry up. You can never have enough rimfire either.

 

[Old Dog]

 

[AlexanderA]

As expensive as ammo is, it doesn't make much sense to buy a lot of it and have it sit in the basement. Buy what you realistically need. End-of-the-world scenarios or societal breakdowns are not realistic.

 

[d2wing]

Don't worry, Kamala just said she wants Red Flag laws nationally. They are going to take away your guns so you aren't going to need ammo. They already know who we are and where we are.

 

[AK Hunter]

The real time to stock up on ammo ended about the same time that Obama took office.
Anything after that it has been to high to buy factory ammo. The reloading supplies prices took off just before covid hit.
So unless you have big deep pockets it's too late to do any real stockpiling.

 

[Old Dog]

Disclaimer: Nothing said or pictured in photographs in any thread member "Old Dog" has posted in on any internet forum should be construed as depicting actual property or possessions of Mr. Old Dog.

He has renounced all earthly material possessions and is now residing in a Buddhist monastery in Wat Pha Luang Ta Bua, Thailand. But with high-speed internet.

 

[Walkalong]

It's a good time to stockpile ammo when prices are at a low point and supply is high. This makes it simple to find what you need and relatively inexpensive to buy it.

This, but averaging it in by buying a little extra here and there as you buy normally, is always good too.

 

[luv2safari]

As expensive as ammo is, it doesn't make much sense to buy a lot of it and have it sit in the basement. Buy what you realistically need. End-of-the-world scenarios or societal breakdowns are not realistic.

But, politician skulduggery is real, and that's a major threat to anything shooting related. Look at politicians pushing for ammo purchase limitations and background checks just to buy a 50/ea box of 22 ammo.

Lessons from WWII have unfortunately been forgotten. They're not taught anymore and are all just ramblings of crazy unenlightened commoners. Early on in our WWII history the Japs had us on our heels. Never forget that!

With nukes and loony despots acquiring them and means to deliver them breakdowns are realistic. A simple cyber attack on our electrical grid would leave us with our union suit flap open. Small countries can cause major chaos now in a matter of hours. Religious zealots don't fear consequences of righteous destruction. March along with the Hamas operatives FJB allowed into the country, and you'll get a dose of what they really want, our utter destruction.

I wasn't going to go here, but wake up. Keep shooting and enjoying our sport, all the while realizing that it could end suddenly. This isn't wiggy prepper talk.

 

[W.E.G.]

 

[W.E.G.]

Always maintain your wiggy stash. That's the stuff you will go to if things get wiggy.

I own a bunch of guns and a bunch of calibers because I'm a gun nerd. Nothing wrong with that. I burn through my nerd ammo like a 6-year-old eating cupcakes at a birthday party. Just have at it, and don't worry about "saving any."

When things get wiggy, I won't be loading mags with handloads with 5x-fired brass.
That's cupcake ammo.

The wiggy stash is there if things get wiggy.
Wiggy supply aint cupcakes.

 

[BJung]

I am a poor stockpiler but always have the idea in mind. First, I bought a crate of military ammo and just put it away for an emergency. Unfortunately, that crate burned up in a house fire. The ammo should last longer than I will live. Second, is a small box of factory ammo for home defense. I don't want prosecutor to have a field day saying I shot a home intruder with "killer" ammo I assembled. Third is enough ammo to shoot at the range with family. It's enough to hold off a group if SHTF. During this time I have components to load more ammo. I also have cast bullets, ingots, and bags of range scrap to make more bullets. In addition, guns and ammo need to be stored in many places. All it takes is some people to pistol whip you, rape your wife and daughter for you to give up the combo. Or, a fire that will burn up everything. I suggest hiding your least used guns in a different place with ammo. Better yet, extra gear, ammo, and guns in a mini-bunker away from the main house or dug into the side wall of your basement.

 

[Space Ghost]

It is always the time to buy more ammo.
It stores well, keeps it's value, and is looking more and more like it may be needed here before too long, yet become unavailable to buy.

 

[Beck]

PLEASE DON'T FALL FOR YET ANOTHER PANIC BUYING THREAD. IT ONLY BENEFITS VENDORS. THESE TYPES OF THREADS MAKE PRICES GO UP WHEN THERE IS OTHERWISE NO REASON FOR HIGH PRICES.

Yeah, I know I can't stop this sort of nonsense anymore than I can stop any other rumor about anything on the web... or off the web in a small town on Maple Street...

https://d3id26kdqbehod.cloudfront.n...The+Monsters+Are+Due+On+Maple+Street-480p.mp4

 

[Old Dog]

PLEASE DON'T FALL FOR YET ANOTHER PANIC BUYING THREAD. IT ONLY BENEFITS VENDORS. THESE TYPES OF THREADS MAKE PRICES GO UP WHEN THERE IS OTHERWISE NO REASON FOR HIGH PRICES.

Yeah, I know I can't stop this sort of nonsense anymore than I can stop any other rumor about anything on the web... or off the web in a small town on Maple Street...

https://d3id26kdqbehod.cloudfront.n...The+Monsters+Are+Due+On+Maple+Street-480p.mp4

I'm not seeing this as another panic-buying thread. Those normally are based on national economics. This is simply a question asked based on observations about the current -- and emergent -- world situation.

 

[Beck]

I'm not seeing this as another panic-buying thread. Those normally are based on national economics. This is simply a question asked based on observations about the current -- and emergent -- world situation.

Thou sayest...

 

[Beck]

"And just like that, they forgot everything they knew leading up to the Pandemic, and what they learned during the Pandemic."

~Beck

 

[Old Dog]

Thou sayest...

Well, as I noted previously, if one hasn't been stocking up, one is behind the curve... I try to put myself in the position of those that have little or no disposable income to buy ammunition (my first few years in the military, buying a couple 50 round boxes of 9mm or .38 was an extravagance). I'm blessed nowadays, won't deny it. Prioritize. Forego the alcohol and tobacco, buy ammo now.

 

[Buzznrose]

I am of the opinion that we should be adding to our loaded ammo personal reserves, not playing spray-n-pray games and leaving the ground glittering with spent brass. A global conflagration is a real possibility, and there won't be recreational shooting if it happens.

My two 21y/o grandsons and two of their friends came out a week ago to do some shooting. They went through more ammo in two hours than I burn in a year and thought nothing of it. When they got done shooting all of theirs and too much of mine I asked them how much do they have at home. They looked dumbfounded and said they just go to Scheels and buy what they're going to shoot a given day.

I'm not advocating hoarding, just some judicious buying. I think a well thought out plan to accumulate 22LR, 38 Spl, 9mm, 223, and 308 ammo is something most of us should consider. Watch for sales and pick up a few boxes of what you shoot. With China pressing forward against Taiwan, Russian aggression, and the Middle East fuse now lit on that powder keg chances of a black swan flying are all to real.

What ammo should each of you consider buying more of, bearing in mind it might never again be plentiful and affordable?

Your grandkids probably need to live through an “ammo drought” to really understand the realities we’ve faced in the last couple decades, so preaching about saving ammo, money, food, or whatever is likely a waste of breath.

As for what ammo to stock, as I’ve said before, ammo has several purposes for me. Training/range time, hunting, self defense are the most obvious, but don’t dismiss ammo as a store of value and bartering asset. With that in mind, I buy and store up .22, 9MM, and .223 mostly. And I’m reloading heavier to meet my own shooting needs.

I don’t expect my kids (30’s) to stack ammo up as they have a lot of other needs with their growing families, so I do it for them.

I avoid mindless blasting in any cartridge other than .22 LR. I have started building a collection of good .22’s for training and range instruction for new shooters. This works well for my current needs.

 

[Double Naught Spy]

I am of the opinion that we should be adding to our loaded ammo personal reserves, not playing spray-n-pray games and leaving the ground glittering with spent brass. A global conflagration is a real possibility, and there won't be recreational shooting if it happens.

After seeing this opinion and logic expressed repeated online after the last 25 years, my answer is simple. No. It is not time to start stockpiling ammo. That you haven't done it already, means you have been missing all the signs throughout your adult life (you just turned 18/21). You are behind the curve and should have been stockpiling all along.

 

[jmorris]

Well, as I noted previously, if one hasn't been stocking up, one is behind the curve...

Or were way ahead of the last few panics, I still have components left over from before Clinton signed the AWB. I sell more stuff in panics than I buy. By low, sell high or you are not getting the most out of your dollar.

 

[Walkalong]

PLEASE DON'T FALL FOR YET ANOTHER PANIC BUYING THREAD.

99% of us aren't recommending panic buying, we've said to buy when it's low, we've said to buy a little extra here and there........

 

[Laphroaig]

Some advice I got long ago was "it's never going to get cheaper." So far that has been 100% accurate.

 

[hutch51]

Approx 1500 .45ACP.
Approx 1300 9mm.
Approx 400 .380.
Approx 1800 7.62x54R.
Borderline hoarding? Yeah I know I'm a piker compared to some (a lot?) of you folks out there. This, except for the rifle, is a few years shooting. The rifle ammo will be a problem for my estate executor. I figure I have about 20 years left on this rock.
When I go to the range I'll usually buy 100 rounds of whatever and use that so supply stays about the same.
Storage is in the basement. Weather down there is a pretty steady 66 +-1 degrees at 40% humidity.