Strategy for Ammo/Supply Shortages

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My goal is a 5 year supply of components within the next 2 years. Right now I only have about 1 year worth. I try to buy at least twice what we use. More if it if on sale.
 
It's been my practice for many years to buy twice what I shot on my last range trip, and to pick up a bit of bulk when I'm flush and there's a good price going.

During the Obama panic, I culled my collection to 9mm for my carbine, .45acp for my 1911s, 5.56 for my ARs, and .308 for my BVSS model 10, traded my other weapons and ammo for ammo in my new reduced stockpile.

My .308 total comes to about 2000 rounds, about 800 ready to go, the rest in components. 5.56 is about 5k rounds, mostly commercial, about 2000 Federal Lake City M855, 2000 in Black Hills Blue Box, 1000 handloads, and about 4000 in components.

9mm runs about 3k ready to go, mostly commercial, and about 1000 in components. I've got about 7k .45, and another 2k in components.

When work is busy, and imI well in funds, I buy Ammo and components. When it's slow, and funds are low, I reload.

.308 I almost exclusivly handload. 9mm I almost never handload, as I don't go through as much, and it's usually cheap enough. 5.56 & .45 I probably go half and half.
 
I like to keep a minimum of at least six years of reloading components in reserve at all times. I will stock more as the sales/spare funds allow. Now 25K of .22 ammo and 3K .22 MAG is a minimum as well. I will replenish as it is used and add if I hit a good sale. The things to focus on are the rimfire ammo and the primers. Then as a second priority the propellants, you can sub a lot of OK loads with a small number of types of it if necessary. Finished bullets are good to have but I have molds, gas-check makers and lead enough in my most used calibers that I do not worry there. Don't forget the paper reloading manuals in case they restrict/we loose the data on the net. I am at a place that adding to the stash is not too hard now but for a lot of years I bought a small amount of something every payday. It does add up over the years IMHO.
 
If you can't increase your ammo purchases, you can decrease your shooting activity. If your annual ammo requirement goes down, that's the equivalent of storing more ammo.
 
OARNGESI said:
Every round you shoot squirrel one around over time you’ll be more than stocked
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Same basic plan, here. If you shoot half of what you order, and stash half, you will always have a growing supply. Sometimes you get specific ammo at a local store. But it might be prudent to keep an eye on sites which
ship bulk ammo free, and order when there are sales.
 
My rule is that whenever I'm in Wal-Mart (usually every other week) for supplies, I buy two boxes of ammo. And when I get alerts from my preferred on-line dealer (SG Ammo) about something I like on sale, I order a case of 500 or 1000 rounds. I try to buy twice as much per month as what I shoot.

I'll never be caught short again.
 
I see at my next ammo hoarders anonymous I'll have to tell them that I don't have a problem.. I've met a group that accepts me for who I am and has shown me the way.... it's black Friday and I need to see if any powder is on sale.
 
I keep roughly 5 years worth on hand, I shot regularly through the ammo shortage. Got quite a few nasty comments thrown my way by guys who couldn't just waltz right in and get whatever they wanted. I buy mine by the case and have to pick it up at the UPS distribution center because my last driver went out on medical retirement claiming I was the reason for his bad back. No big deal its 4 blocks from work and I just pick it up when they call. I keep 2 cases of each of the popular calibers on hand at all times, with the exception of .22lr, 9mm, and .223 each getting 5 cases as I tend to shoot these the most.
 
It is interesting to read all of the comments, thanks for taking the time to reply.

cheygriz said:
Before I lost all of my guns and ammo in a boating accident,:D I always tried to keep at least 2 years supply on hand.
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It is really funny, I lost all of my guns and ammo to a boating accident as well. Totally sucks!

I know a lot of people will argue against this, and I get it, but I would prefer to stay legal within the local fire codes, so that limits the amount of components you can have on hand at one time. I don't think there are limits however on completed cartridges, which means that to comply, I will need to buy components and then make ammo. Buy components, and make ammo... etc.

.22 ammo is really cheap right now, and it makes sense to stock up for sure. Sounds like a lot of folks are at that 20K level or more.

All other calibers I make myself, although I am not shooting much .223 these days, and it just might make sense to buy some that are ready-made since they are so cheap right now as well.

The biggest barrier I have to staying stocked up is that I shoot so danged much. At 15 - 20K a year, it goes fast. Most of this is competition ammo, so for me, that means .40 S&W, and then 9mm and/or .22 for steel (I am transitioning to .22 from 9mm as my second gun). Keeping up with my shooting on my reloading press is a chore, and I do my best to stock up during the winter, but it is never enough!

The bullets are easily the most expensive component, and even though I have been threatening to learn to cast my own for years, it is just a time-suck that I can't afford right now. If I did go that route, it would be for emergency use only, there is no way I could keep up with my current usage levels.

I liked some of the comments that talked about:

  1. Trying to find commonality between calibers on powder type. This makes great sense to me. For example, HP-38 works pretty well for 9mm, 30 spc., .40 S&W *AND* .45 ACP. It is never the *best* choice for my needs, but it does work for everything. This leads me to believe that HP-38/Win 231 are good powders to stock up on for the "just in case" scenario.
  2. Make sure to have some paper loading data books on hand. Brilliant. Never thought of that, but it is a great idea. I have several, but it might be a good idea to update a couple of them to more recent versions.
  3. Learn how to cast your own bullets. This is a great emergency strategy only for me I think. It makes good sense to get a crucible, some molds and some lead to prepare the zombie invasion. This probably means a good paper book to go with it as well.
  4. Budget for sales. This is a great one as well! It seems like whenever the great sales come around, I am never prepared financially to pull the trigger.
  5. Stock up slowly but surely. This one is sort of obvious, but should be included for completeness.
  6. Have a plan. So important!!! Let's not get caught off guard again! They say "if you don't know where you are going, you will never get there", and I think that is so true. I have been trying to make a list of the calibers I shoot, and then how much of each to have on hand either through components or finished cartridges.
  7. Hide your ammo from your kids. LOL! Just kidding!

Good stuff guys!!! It really helps to talk this stuff out and see what others are doing.
 
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Doublehelix said:
I would prefer to stay legal within the local fire codes, so that limits the amount of components you can have on hand at one time.
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The only limitations that I've seen in Fire Codes referring to limits on reloading components refer to the storage of powder.

A common limitation is powder up to 20 pounds being stored inside a residence. They usually go on to describe how to store powder in a detached structure (shed/magazine)
 
Rembrandt said:
Rather than a shortage of ammo in the future, I foresee states and local governments taxing ammo so excessively that it makes sense to stockpile to avoid the tax.
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The new governor-elect, nicknamed "Jabba the Hutt", has already talked about a tax on ammo of $0.01/rd., even on .22LR. Imagine what that will do to those 1,000 + round bulk boxes/buckets prices !!
 
9mmepiphany said:
The only limitations that I've seen in Fire Codes referring to limits on reloading components refer to the storage of powder.

A common limitation is powder up to 20 pounds being stored inside a residence. They usually go on to describe how to store powder in a detached structure (shed/magazine)
Click to expand...

10,000 primers in Indiana (sucks), and 20 lbs stored on a shelf, or between 20-50 lbs stored in an appropriate box.

Indiana State Fire Code:

----------

3306.4.1 Black powder and smokeless propellants. Pro-
pellants for personal use in quantities not exceeding 20
pounds (9 kg) of black powder or 20 pounds (9 kg) of
smokeless powder shall be stored in original containers in
occupancies limited to Group R-3. Smokeless powder in
quantities exceeding 20 pounds (9 kg) but not exceeding 50
pounds (23 kg) kept in a wooden box or cabinet having walls
of at least 1 inch (25 mm) nominal thickness shall be
allowed to be stored in occupancies limited to Group R-3.
Quantities exceeding these amounts shall not be stored in
any Group R occupancy.

3306.4.2 Small arms primers. No more than 10,000 small
arms primers shall be stored in occupancies limited to
Group R-3.
 
Strategy depends on wjat you are doing. Do you want to continue competition, recreational shooting (how often), self defence or survival? How do you determine for how long? Local range used to hold your license in a slot matching your rented firing position. That has changed now, but for the past pres's two terms and their gun control stand, I never went to the range.

How much (average round count) do you shoot X how often do you shoot per week/month/year X how long you guesstimate your need = whether you will need a 2nd or 3rd mortgage.
 
SilentStalker mentioned .308 ammo prices. Reloading became very tedious, single-stage, and the Enfields are seldom touched anyway.

Ammo prices are the main reason I don't have a PTR-91, FAL, or M-1A etc.
Maybe this is misguided, but my suspicion is that so many of them are always available, mostly for that reason (or ergos, weight etc).
 
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Doublehelix said:
Small arms primers. No more than 10,000 small
arms primers shall be stored in occupancies
Click to expand...
Ooooo, that could be a problem as I never order less than 10k at a time...usually 20k

Edit: I looked up the CA codes...seems pretty reasonable in comparison; I have well underr 200k

Quantities up to 750,000 small arms ammunition primers may be stored in a building if not more than 100,000 are stored in any one pile and piles are at least 15 feet apart

Not more than 200,000 primers shall be stored in one cabinet.
 
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I have always thought that an ammo can of each of my major calibers loaded and a couple thousand rounds in reloading components was plenty. That was before kids. Now I’m relatively sure that a box of each caliber will last me a year or two. That’s gotta change.
 
9mmepiphany said:
Ooooo, that could be a problem as I never order less than 10k at a time...usually 20k

Edit: I looked up the CA codes...seems pretty reasonable in comparison; I have well underr 200k

Quantities up to 750,000 small arms ammunition primers may be stored in a building if not more than 100,000 are stored in any one pile and piles are at least 15 feet apart

Not more than 200,000 primers shall be stored in one cabinet.
Click to expand...

Wow. That is awesome. Are you sure that is not the commercial requirement? That sounds like Indiana's commercial quotas rather than personal quotas.
 
You know if you have family members/friends or a second home you can store the max there as well. Just keep them in a secure storage enclosure to keep things from walking away if that is a concern. I am spread out over three locations that are all maxed out.;) Around here it is your insurance company that will give you grief for having "too much"!
 
I don't have a strategy per se, I simply stock up when I see a good deal on components.

Last summer, I found a guy that selling WC844 for 10/lb which is a great price for powder. Sure 30 years ago you could get it cheaper, but its 2018 now not 1988. I bought 50 lbs of it to take care of my 223 reloading needs for a while. Same goes for primers. I found a source online recently that had surplus OEM russian primers and 5k primers was $100-120 shipped to my door. I stocked up on that as much as I could.

I don't worry about bullets as much because I have molds that cover all of the calibers that I shoot.
 
I've said this before but when I first started buying guns I was all over the map on calibers. I had so much tied up in guns that I couldn't afford any significant amount of ammunition for any of them.

The first big ammo panic taught me a lesson I will never forget and I promised myself that if ammunition ever became readily available I would never get caught short like that again.

I think I said it in my first post but the first thing I did was dump all of my odd ball calibers and invest the money in ammunition and magazines for the 9mm guns I kept.

The second thing we did was quit buying from Walmart. We buy all of our ammunition on line, usually from SGAmmo. We can get Blazer brass for about 4 dollars less a box online than what it costs at Walmart. We also put money aside from each paycheck and when we find a sale we buy. We have a lower limit but no upper limit. If we can afford ammunition we buy.
 
I got caught with my pants down during the first Obama panic which is just when I was getting into shooting more often than hunting and hunting practice. Ive developed a few countermeasures.

I have an unconventional habit that allows me to stockpile a fair amount of stuff for free or for extremely cheap.

I like to buy large lots of reloading components or ammunition or guns on Craigslist, armslist, backpage etc. These purchases can range from big to small. Sometimes maybe it’s only a few pounds of power and some primers for cheap. Sometimes it’s an entire truckload (bed and cab). Basically any time I think I can flip some of it and keep what I want for free or super cheap (say less than 30% retail), I do it.
 
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