Seriously, If in fact we are all prepared or semi prepared to defend our states and cities from enemies foriegn or domestic. How much ammo should one person have on hand. Just enough to defend my home? How long could I plan on staying alive with no formal training? How many rounds would I really need or need to make available to others? Currently I don't have much inventory on hand. I do however have ammo for every firearm I own. I would like to hear what you Joe citizen, LEO, Military, Firearms professionals think.

All you want and can store is the obvious answer!


Really, you can't have too much ammo.  But you CAN have too little.

I want at least a thousand rounds on hand for EACH caliber I shoot.  I wouldn't object to five thousand or even several times that.

If the S truly looked like it was going to hit the fan and "The Postman" looked like a reasonable prediction of the future (or worse yet, "Mad Max") then I'd quietly start buying every case of ammo I could find and also all the suitable reloading supplies I could get as well.

I don't think having a supply of 50,000 rounds would make me invincible, but it WOULD be handy to have if only to provide my most trusted friends and relatives with some if they needed it.  

As for how much is enough in actual battle conditions,  ask yourself how good a shot you are as compared to your ability to disappear.  If you stand out like a neon sign in the desert at night, you won't need more than two shots before you're a statistic.    But if you can camo out with the best of them and are a kick-ass shot, you can probably make good use of all the ammo you can easily transport, which should be between 300 and a thousand rounds, at a guess.

Personally, I keep at least 20 30 round USGI mags loaded at all times.  Not for SHTF preparedness, but just because when I go to the range I prefer to grab a loaded mag instead of fiddle with reloading an empty one.

CJ

When the SHTF the guy on the block with the most guns and ammo will be referred to as Colonel.

Oh , let me see ...
I guess I have 10K available in 223 with another 4000 rounds to be reloaded into good brass. This includes new '02 manufacture LC ammo and several thousand handloads with SS 109 and speciality rounds such as Nosler Partitions ,TAP ,WW Power Points etc.
Then there is all my 270, 308 and 300 WM ammo I have loaded up totaling around 1500 rounds.
Is this enough??

I will probably add another AR to the arsenal next year. I would like to have at least 4 in inventory. Different configurations no doubt. Should the SHTF I could arm family and if it doesn't when I'm to old to think about SHingTF I can give one to each of my boys and keep one for myself. Better than golf clubs! Almost.

Chips, Why not get some formal training?

It's not too expensive, and its fuggin' fun!

I've taken Patrol Rifle Concepts from Glendale Community College,
and Rifle Home Defense from Pro-Active

All my courses were taught by LEO's!

Can't have too much ammo, but if you are in a shit-hole like Tempe, you'll need to bug-out (or face riots), and then you only need as much ammo as you can carry.  

Having a few bandoleers in your safe will help you get started.

If you are LDS I guess you could goto the local armory church.  

tfod, in tempe we only need to worry about the gays and liberal college students!  And they're not armed!

MarkM,

Who was your instructor for patrol rifle concepts? I graduated from Glendale with an AA in Administration of Justice in '91. I've taken a few classes from Jerry McCown since then and been through the Masters 250 pistol class at Gunsite.

Quoted: tfod, in tempe we only need to worry about the gays and liberal college students!  And they're not armed!

Okay, change of plans.  For SHTF I will have a .22 revolver and a case of beer.  

I use to think that any more than what you can carry and will shoot in a year at the range is enough. Which by the way is really alot if you shoot often.  Now I believe buy on sale and keep buying.  I have a couple mortor round boxes for storage of misc and stack my ammo cans by my safe.

How much is really limited to how much your wife will let you store before she threatens you with divorce.  I'd say that amount is about right.

Quoted: MarkM, Who was your instructor for patrol rifle concepts? I graduated from Glendale with an AA in Administration of Justice in '91. I've taken a few classes from Jerry McCown since then and been through the Masters 250 pistol class at Gunsite.

There was a guest instructor the semester I took it.  His Name was Donny Newhouse from Tucson PD.  Good Guy!

Quoted: ... How long could I plan on staying alive with no formal training? How many rounds would I really need or need to make available to others? ...

... Enough to make your way with the family over to your big brothers compound! He usually has enough on hand to keep barrels warm for long durations