Posted: 3/20/2013 6:57:33 PM EDT
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How much ammo should someone have on hand?
I know all about the "Buy cheap and stack deep" and assorted other cliches that have a bearing of truth to them But seriously how much is enough? I just checked out may ammo, I have just north of 30,000 rounds, half of it rimfire, and the centerfire majority is surplus, the last 1/6th is reloads for hunting and similar uses so how much is enough? I am about to pick up another 3 cases each of 7.62x39 and 54r to augment, but I am at the point where moving it is a bitch if I ever need to |
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My thought process...
- ammo for shooting practice (for each of many calibers) - ammo for training (for certain calibers more than others) - ammo for SHTF scenario use (for each of many calibers) - ammo for SHTF scenario trade/barter (for each of many calibers) - ammo for my kids! (for each of many calibers) and for any other reason I can think of...as you can see, these reasons mean I need to stack it deep! |
Rimfire is good to have...and is something I am lacking at the moment  For what I have heard is 1,000 rounds of pistol ammo and 2,000 rounds of rifle ammo for a battle situation. Then build from there. If and When SHTF, people can think .22 can be used as a new form of currency. Plus a lot of the firearms nowadays have .22 versions or conversions for them. If you can find surplus ammo cans and store your ammo inside that way you can move small amounts of ammo at a time.
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Unless you shoot a phenomenal amount of ammo consistently, you have enough. Keep an Excel spreadsheet to track what you have and what you shoot. The Kool Kids Klub will tell you that anything under 100,000 rounds is insufficient. Its usually the window-lickers that either love to parody that line - or those crouching in the basement praying for a chance to go full retard. Ignore those whipping out oft-parodied sayings. Know what you need for YOUR needs - and build stocks in a sane way - balanced with other interests and financial priorities. Buy when you see it cheap.... and don't follow the ARFCOM panic sheep (there are MANY) that wait to buy at premium prices. |
Can you afford 50 dollars a check? it will add up. You definitely not throwing away your money, you can ALWAYS sell ammo if you had to. Plus I Don't think the overall avg cost has ever gone down on calibers like .22lr, 12 gauge hunting loads, .223(556), and your various pistol rounds. So keep buying till your man cave is full. 
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Another thing you should look at is are you going to rely on hunting if food (actually when) becomes scarce? What game is in your area?
What types of birds are around? figure 5 shots of shotgun a day to eat at least for a couple years. Big game? A deer can feed a family for a week or two. I would say at least a thousand to two thousand for TSHF ammo. |
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Quoted:
Unless you shoot a phenomenal amount of ammo consistently, you have enough. Keep an Excel spreadsheet to track what you have and what you shoot. The Kool Kids Klub will tell you that anything under 100,000 rounds is insufficient. Its usually the window-lickers that either love to parody that line - or those crouching in the basement praying for a chance to go full retard. Ignore those whipping out oft-parodied sayings. Know what you need for YOUR needs - and build stocks in a sane way - balanced with other interests and financial priorities. Buy when you see it cheap.... and don't follow the ARFCOM panic sheep (there are MANY) that wait to buy at premium prices. I just recently started doing this and it's very helpful. ETA: I use a seperate spreadsheet for each caliber, that way I can track all the different types of ammo in each caliber |