The IRONY of ammo stashes.

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In light of current events I do spend less time shooting at the range and more time admiring my ammo stockpile. I bought a lot of ammo when it was pennies per round before the world was in such crisis. I feel vindicated... that I made the right call. I shoot enough to stay sharp, knowing that times could get even worse than they are now.

Dry firing with snap-caps has been a part of my practice for many years, and of course that doesn't have to change. There are a lot of things we can do outside of live range time.

For now, the availability of inexpensive blasting ammo is just a nice memory, but as I've witnessed many times over many decades, it always comes back.
 
I remember in the old days ('60's, 70's, 80's) that if I had one box of ammo for my pistol, I was set. Of course, I only had one pistol at the time. Now I don't feel good unless I have 500-1k rounds of ammo in each cartridge I have guns for. Kind of ridiculous. But I am shooting it up as time marches on.

I also shoot air rifles in my basement. Pellets are (relatively) cheap and you hardly ever have to clean them.
 
The current shortage issues has made me stop shooting on a regular basis. I’m well stocked with ammunition and reloading components but the difficulty in replacing my inventory has made me shoot less.

This is not the only reason my shooting activity has been reduced but a contributer.
 
I buy enough ammo so I’m set for a while and shoot whenever I can. When I start getting low I buy more. Prices are higher than before but so what, so is everything else. Groceries, gas, you name it, it’s higher. So I don’t worry about it, I just enjoy myself and buy more here and there over time.
 
As long as you have a good reserve, it sets you apart as somebody with initiative, who does Not need the Herd to show you how to walk into the river with crocodiles.

The rest takes care of itself.

Some people seem to forget that there can an unforecast ammo panic with no possible warning, linked to an unspeakable tragedy.

The stored ammo is for such events, along with the fact that years ago we knew that one day Russian ammo Imports easily could be banned/gradually dry up (less ammo means raised prices on US-made ammo).

These last two scenarios were usually disregarded by so many people.
They might now have a very long wait to see 2019 ammo prices again.
 
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Know what you mean. Since this recent shortage began I've only shot what I've loaded and will keep doing that as long as I can. The only exception is 22 rimfire, the 22s I'm shooting now we're bought during the last shortage after sandy hook. When resupply is either too expensive or impossible it's hard to come off ammo to poke holes in paper .
 
It’s a real issue for sure. You buy a nice addition of ammo for your stash. Let’s say 150 rounds in a certain caliber. Then you think “Great, I just bought 150 rounds, I can get out there and go shoot 150 rounds and it will be fun.” Then you don’t get to the range for a while for whatever reason, and a month later you look at your stash…. “It’s now a pretty good level. I don’t think I need to hoard any more per se, but I’ll buy another 200 rounds and that will be the ammo I actually take out and shoot.”

And so the cycle continues.

It’s very frustrating to me that the industry is susceptible to these crazy surges in demand every time something happens to get people riled up. I just want to be able to go down to my local gun store and buy 3 boxes of .32acp, .25acp, 7.5x55 Swiss, or 8mm Mauser without breaking the bank, (or a case of 5.56 or 7.62x39) and trust that it’s in stock, because it’s always in stock, because it’s a commodity just like fishing lures or compound bow accessories. I know that’s not reality but a man can dream, right?
 
nick22 said:
I would also add The only time you have too much ammo is if you're unexpectedly in deep water.
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I picked up a saying from a buddy of mine: The only time a man's ever had too much ammo, he was either on fire or trying to swim.

With that said, it's been nice during this latest shortage to not have to hunt down reasonably priced ammo.
 
To me the answer is simple. Buy 100, shoot some portion of it, 50, 80, whatever. If you already have what you consider a comfortable reserve, shoot 100. I’ve done this all my life because when I was young we couldn’t always afford even 1 box of anything. It’s a habit that stuck. I seldom buy ammunition because I reload, but it’s the same with components.
Shooting has become relatively expensive. Don’t fool yourself. It doesn’t matter if you paid 10¢ a round for your reserve. If replacement cost is $1 that’s how much it costs to shoot assuming you want to keep a reserve. If you feel you have a lifetime supply then shoot away and let that meter in your head run at 10¢!
 
I am sitting on almost 5k 22lr. Never owned one in 17yrs of gun ownership until a few years ago. They sure are fun and cheap to feed. I wont touch my good stuff in my supply (mini mag, SV, SS, etc) but thunderbolts and auto match get used up because I can replace it for cheap when I see it at Wal-Mart. I learned my lesson when I decided I wanted to reload and Obama was elected. If you find a good deal you better grab it because it will be doubled soon. Once I have a supply to last me at least a year or two I quit buying it. I have my 22lr and my girlfriend could sit at the bench for hours and shoot 22lr so I am feeding hers too. Between the two of us we have about 10k rounds of 22lr.

I ran low on high brass 20ga #5-6 shot and had an out of state rabbit hunt to go to. Guess how much I had to pay at Cabelas for shotgun shells? $23 for a box. I was in there yesterday and a month ago 9mm came down to $18-19 a box. Its $26-27 now.
 
Hokkmike said:
Seems the more ammo I am able to stockpile for a certain firearm the less I want to shoot it to preserve what I have.

At a recent gun show in Muncy, PA I was amazed at how much ammo prices have increased, $75 for a box of Winchester 7mm08.

It is almost as if the security and joy of having lots of ammo is surpassing the joy of shooting. Bad in my opinion.
Click to expand...

My answer to this dilemma is to set a number that I want to keep in reserve and maintain it. I'm looking at a move and I'm really starting to question the numbers that I once thought to be reasonable!
 
this question is why I have bricks of .22LR - and got a bunch more this year when it came back to around 10 cents a round. I like target shooting, and outside of having less recoil, it all works the same for pistol and rifle. Good general practice, handling time, same safety rules, same hike out the spot, just not as heavy. We'll shoot a bit of other things to function test or rotate carry ammo, but I've pretty much gone to .22LR for target shooting and will stay there until prices drop off hard and who knows when that will be.
 
I started reloading on 1975. Hunting, several years before that.
I never considered a stash or stockpile, just bought whatever I could, when finding a SALE.
When hunting season came around or was headed to the range, I loaded up and went.

The .22 shortage a few years back, almost seen me run out. (12 grandkids can shoot up a bunch of ammo) I learned my lesson.
When O came along, I actually stocked up.

I have cut back on my shooting. Because, I hurt my back and couldn't work, for almost a year. Spent almost a year caring for Mom, before she passed. Then, got the 'rona and have been knocked down for 6 months. So, my "stash" has been mostly stagnant. Soon to change though.
 
I started dollar cost averaging ammo and components in the late 1990’s. I’ve established a very comfortable volume, but have also had feasts and famines through different eras of economy, political climates, and competition consumption volumes which have kept me actively searching and actively buying and warehousing…

I know, in general, I don’t have enough on hand to last a lifetime of any of my competition components - simply because the usage rate is too high and holding 10+ years worth of inventory on hand to supply competition volume simply wouldn’t be terribly responsible… But if I stopped competing, I could likely keep a satisfactory practice and pleasure shooting volume of most of my cartridges for the rest of my life.

I operate first in, first out, and I buy and use regularly, so most of my stuff never makes it past 5-6 years on hand. Some of my powders might be 10-15yrs old, stuff I shot more in competition then but don’t any more, but largely pretty small volumes left at this point.
 
I remember when I had a goal of 1,000 rounds, loaded in magazines ready to go… if I only had that right now I wouldn’t know what to do… order more ammo I guess.

But to the OP’s point, I shot that gun way more back then. Ammo was also less the half what it is now.

I’m afraid shooting is becoming a rich man’s game.
 
Mullo98 said:
The issue with that is getting the equipment, supplies and room to reload. Then learning how to load properly and safely. That's a ton of upfront cost and effort for some. Who would be better served by just buying a case or so of factory ammo. That's the main reason why I buy factory ammo.
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Poor excuses if you ask me. Unless someone is just all thumbs and failed every math class they took, reloading is a pretty simple process that only requires some devotion to attention and safety.

I've had no real problem sourcing supplies, even through all this. But then I'm willing to try different powders when the need arises. Some are not.
 
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