Posted: 3/27/2011 1:39:57 PM EDT
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I know that one can never have too much ammo and that there is no real magical number to shoot for or anything but how much ammo do some of you guys have? I dont have alot per say but every time I look at my stock I am not happy with it at all.
Ruger 10/22 Ruger mk2 Ruger p95 Mp 15 moe 700 .223 1475 .22 750 9mm |
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I guess it depends on how good of a shot you are, and do you intend to go in harms way? In all seriousness, get what you feel comforable with. My general rule of thumb is roughly 500 rounds per pistol and 1000 rounds per rifle. Ask youself, what is the most that you can physically carry at any given time if you were on foot and work from there. Chances are you won't have the support that those in the military will have...that being more guns in the fight, as well as resupply of ammo. That said, have your basic load out for your fighting kit and perhaps at a minimum a few can's for resupply.
In my humble opinion, it's a matter of balance. Make sure you have your other bases covered as well....food, meds, fuels, other supplies, spare parts for your weapons, etc. that you will be more apt to need/use in a SHTF situation. It will not do you much good to have say 10,000 rounds set aside for your weapon...and not have a spare firing pin, etc. should it break. That said, it never hurts to add to your collection where prudent, but be sure to always keep the big picture in mind. |
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Quoted:
I guess it depends on how good of a shot you are, and do you intend to go in harms way? In all seriousness, get what you feel comforable with. My general rule of thumb is roughly 500 rounds per pistol and 1000 rounds per rifle. Ask youself, what is the most that you can physically carry at any given time if you were on foot and work from there. Chances are you won't have the support that those in the military will have...that being more guns in the fight, as well as resupply of ammo. That said, have your basic load out for your fighting kit and perhaps at a minimum a few can's for resupply. In my humble opinion, it's a matter of balance. Make sure you have your other bases covered as well....food, meds, fuels, other supplies, spare parts for your weapons, etc. that you will be more apt to need/use in a SHTF situation. It will not do you much good to have say 10,000 rounds set aside for your weapon...and not have a spare firing pin, etc. should it break. That said, it never hurts to add to your collection where prudent, but be sure to always keep the big picture in mind. I like this answer. I think a lot of the guys here who have pallets of ammo stashed do it because they bought it cheap as much as they do for if SHTF. I personally "feel" comfortable with 2K of .223, 1K of each pistol caliber, and 1K of .22LR. Anything less and I start getting antsy. Here lately, however, I've been doing a lot of shooting and not a lot of stocking up, so some of my stash has ben depleted. 
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| If you can “afford” it, I think it prudent to have enough ammo to get you through a normal year of shooting. If you can “afford” it and come across a smoking deal, I see no problem with purchasing more to help you weather price fluctuations. In the end, it is dependent on each person’s situation and priorities. |
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I have to agree that you need to have balance. Having too much ammo at the expense of food/water/first aid isn't a smart plan, and it basically guarantees you'll be a wolf come SHTF.
I don't shoot much anymore due to family issues/lack of time, but I stocked as much as I could do w/o hurting the other areas. I consider it an investment. What would you be willing to pay for .223 if it were to become illegal to buy in 30 days? Ammo rarely goes down, and keeps for a long time. I go with at least 2k/rifle, with as much more as I can reasonably afford. Figure at least 1k/year maintaining some sort of proficiency. Pistols, at least 500 rds premium JHP ammo, plus as much practice ammo as I can afford. 1-2k/year to maintain proficiency. |
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I shoot about three hundred rounds per week of 45 ACP, I always had a pending order to keep my supply replenished. I finally got into re-loaading my own ammo and it has been a great step for me.
I keep a few thousand cases, bullets, etc. on hand, this way my factory ammo stays intact and I usually load one or two days before a shooting session. The more you shoot, the cheaper it gets. I do agree with keeping at least 1k/rifle, 2k feels better and 3k is peace of mind. I feel I can never have too much of it. |
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If the world as we know it ends, yes, you will need more ammo.
However, lets look at more realistic events. Our world hasn't recently ended. There has been no recent recorded need for 3000 or 4000 rounds of ammo for a particular weapon. On the other hand we have seen various other shtf events. The earthquake in japan. Wildfires in California. Hurricanes on the gulf coast. Tornados in the mid west. Extended power outages due to mid winter blizzards in the NE. You get the idea. In each of these events possession of a weapon for personal security could be quite valuable. Ammo to go with it is obviously of value as well. However, I'd argue that a few hundred rounds would meet 99.5% of needs in the events listed. All too often we have survival forum posters who push for thousands and thousands of rounds of ammo for "end of the world" events but they tend to ignore or downplay more common, lower profile events like the storms and other temporary problems. THe big question is: are you FULLY prepared for one of these storms or other events? Got a REALISTIC couple months of food? How about full meds kits? Three months salary in emergency cash? Full cooking, heating, water filtration, communications systems? If you have all of those covered, by all means go for more ammo. However, if all those mundane items aren't fully stocked, then settle for several hundred rounds and get to work on the mundane. Odds are you'll need more food, water and cash than another 2000 rounds. Fro |
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The best answer I have ever seen came from a member of this forum:
"in a SHTF situation, you need enough ammo to support what you can defend against" Which poses a question, leading you to your own answer. "in a SHTF situation, how many rounds can you defend against before you take out those attacking?" = Skills, risk assessment, stealth, followed by equipment, location and logistics |
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Yep, you need more. Don't gauge your stash based on the guys here. Some of these guys have 50K plus rounds. I would shoot for a couple thousand .22 and depending on how much you shoot your other calibers, maybe 1 or 2 K of each for a "stash" What!!! I had several guns, but had a real bad boating accident and lost all of it...but I would say to have 3-5k for your weapons for starters..and something like a 22 ...I would have atleast 8-10k if it was me. There are some good deals right now...like $299. per thousand of .223....and even less if you order 2 or more cases. |
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For SHTF purposes? You have more than you would ever possibly use and live to tell about it. Unless you are extremely well prepared you have other things you would be better off worrying about rather than more ammo.
Now when it comes to shortages, and rising prices, that is a whole different ball of wax. If you like to shoot and train it's time to stock up. Many of us remember the days of sub $100 cases of ammo, and wonder why didn't we stock up on training, blasting and plinking ammo when the gettin was good. |
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For SHTF purposes? You have more than you would ever possibly use and live to tell about it. Unless you are extremely well prepared you have other things you would be better off worrying about rather than more ammo. Now when it comes to shortages, and rising prices, that is a whole different ball of wax. If you like to shoot and train it's time to stock up. Many of us remember the days of sub $100 cases of ammo, and wonder why didn't we stock up on training, blasting and plinking ammo when the gettin was good. This. I have several hundred pounds of ammunition. I'll probably throttle back when I reach a thousand. While I like to think its'a a hedge against inflation and shortages, when you find yourself in a position where you're buying a separate gun safe just for your ammo, well, then I'm starting to think that the purchase cost of the safe outpaces the inflationary gains on future ammo. |
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I've lost so many guns and cases of ammo in the lake there is a new island out there that they now call gunsbrassandammo.
As far as ammo is concerned 5 digit range is best. It's amazing how fast it goes when you shoot several times a month and don't replenish what you shot. Happened here. One moment I've got 6000 rounds of 45 on the shelf and the next is the " oh"*%#^" I've only got 300 rounds left and there is a match this weekend. |
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I think you are fine. I do not buy into the idea that there will be a need for me to be in some extended firefight where I will be using up thousands of rounds of ammo. If there is that much hot lead flying around, it is not realistic for me to assume that by some miracle I will survive and the attackers will just go away or be dead when it is over.
I don't have an issue with those who have 50,000 rounds, or whatever. I just don't care. It's there money and they can spend it how they like. And as another poster said, it is not likely to get cheaper. I also like the idea of storing a years ammo worth of shooting. I usually buy 22 ammo by the case, because that way I can shoot it up over the shooting season, and it is much cheaper that way. I don't get much rifle or shotgun shooting in these days so I don't have much in the way of rifle or shotgun ammo. I don't have all that much pistol ammo either. |
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Okay, I'll chime in. I don't have all of my food preps, I don't have all of my BOL preps, and I haven't had 3 months salary in cash stashed in.... ever! But I've slowly been putting ammo away over the years (have almost a case of .22lr that I bought when a box of 50 went for 52 cents)
I don't get to the range very often anymore. Fortunately, due to my innate skillz ...  Anyway, I don't see myself in any protracted gunfights, and if I do get into any of them, and do come out of them alive (which, by the way, I plan to do, despite what you doomsayers might think ) I would be scavenging hell out of whatever field of battle happened to find me. Always assuming I was alive and whoever they left behind wasn't.
My projected scenario is economic. If the price of ammo goes way up, or my ability to earn income goes way down, I'd like to be able to relax on at least this one front. Call it paranoia. I can scrabble for food, but ammunition gains luxury status pretty quick in hard times. I've got more .22s than anything else, so I get nervous when my stash falls below 2000. My .300 winmag bolt gun? Well, it may eat 100 rounds over the next ten or fifteen years. Maybe not. The fighting guns, now.... It is my sincerest hope that they see range time and nothing else, but the truth is that I've either already got plenty or I won't possibly be able to acquire enough. Murphy rules the battlefield after all. I used to joke that my 1400 rounds of 7.62X39 was more ammo than I'd live to fire if things went south, but I was younger then. If I had 1,000 for each of them at any given time, I'll probably die of old age with 8 or 900 on the shelf. But in that one narrow situation where things go completely to shit and stay there, and barring the urge to go toe to toe with somebody's military, it should see me through to the end before I run completely out. That's my current goal, and with ammo prices being reasonably favorable, a very achievable one, I think. 2000 would be the next benchmark, but only after I saw everything (or mostly everything) else sorted. (BOL, food for everybody and some more people, water, med supplies, you know the drill) |
Well, I have 10's of thousands of rounds in about 6 main cals. but tbh if the shit really hits the fan and I'm on the move with limited space, I have 400 rds of 5.56 TAP T2 and about 250 rds of 9mm Gold Dots that are traveling with me. Everything else will be left behind. If I get to a point where I actually have to fire all 400 rds of TAP then nothing else is going to matter after that.
Don't worry too much about it OP, just have a small stash that you can carry(preferably in a vehicle) and enjoy shooting the rest. |
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My little shooting buddy has never been able to afford extra ammo, just to have on hand, so when his tax returns came back he bought a half case of XM193 and a Winchester Value Pack of .45 Auto. Thats only 600 rounds, but it's a good start, and light enought he could carry it all in an ammo can...
probably have 5K of .223, 2k of 7.62x39 and 1K of 7.62... But I don't have much handgun ammunition, probably 300 quality JHPs for each 9mm, .40 and .45 auto... I feel fairly comfortable with that. |
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I have always bought in bulk whenever I see a great deal as a hedge against inflation. If I get into enough gunfights to go through thousands of rounds, there is a good chance I would not survive all that long. But I do like to save money, and I do like to get in a lot of range time. So playing the bulk purchasing game pays off.
A quick example, recently sold two cans of Radway Green 5.56 on Gun Broker. I paid $69 a can at the time, and made enough to by 3000 rounds of Lake City 5.56 (That's 1500 rounds traded up for 3000 rounds). A week ago I was running some S. African 5.56 through my AR that I bought I don't know how many years ago for under 15 cents a round. It does not go bad, and it does not get any cheaper. That is why I stock up. stasiman |
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My main worry about ammo is that .gov will cut off the supply. Imposing a "lead use fee" for environmental damages or some other BS reason and making it just too expensive for Joe Sixpack to own. Let something like that happen, and then have TSHTF 10 years later, and how much ammo will you have then? Buy it now, it is probably going to get more expensive down the road.
Steve |
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2-3k for your pistol, much more if you have duplicates of the same pistol.
5-10k for your rifle 5k for .22 pistol/rifle 1k for 12ga. shotty That is what I would consider as the minimun. Ammo is not going to get any cheaper. I have shot ammo from WWII that worked just fine. It's not like it will spoil like fruit or canned goods. 
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One of the biggest nationwide SHTF events was Obongo coming into office. It spooked a large segment of our population; even the Fudd Libtard’s. There was a big shortage of ammo and a big price jump. However, I don’t think Gander ever ran out. I still like a ‘how much ammo’ thread. My pre-Obongo, Bush Years comfort-level stock was zero at:
1000 223 500 45acp 100 38 spl 50 OO 12 ga 2 ¾” & 3” 300 8’s & 9’s 12 ga 25 slug 75 4’s & 5’s 2 ¾” & 3” for peasant’s & turkey’s 2000 22LR When I started really prepping in 2004, I didn’t have but about 100 rds total of 22’s and 38’s. Since then, I buy some and shoot some. I like to shoot and want to without taking a loan or going to the store every time. In late 2008 and most of 2009, I still shot a lot of 22’s, a few 45’s a few 38’s and fewer still, 223’s. 2010, I put back a lot of expensive ammo. |
| Start reloading that will take care of your 9mm and 223. Since I started a year ago I now have more quality ammo OTM, JSP, PP for my AR for about as much as I would pay for FMJ factory rounds. For your pistol 9mm cases are cheap so is are the bullets. I rolled 1,000 165gr 40 S&W JHP for less then $200 . |
My inlaws all which icludes 7 men and 8 women, all adult. Has at least one if not two 30'06/308 rifles for most everyone. Plus there are at least 4 AR's in that group beside mine. I would be very surprised if they have more than 200 round among them.
So I stock it as a hedge against inflation and other unknowns. 
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Everyone's situation is different as to what they can reasonably afford to stock and/or shoot. This is my benchmark that I go by. I do not let my ammo to go below these levels. If I don't have any more ammo than these numbers then I don't shoot.
5.56 - 1,000 .45ACP - 500 .38/.357 - 100 12 ga 00 buck - 250 12 ga slug - 100 .22lr - 3,000 .458 SOCOM - hunting only |
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i have come up with a specific number of premium quality rounds for each caliber that i stock and i dont touch those.
for instance: this is approximate 5.56 Nato 1000 rounds .223 500 rounds .40 200 rounds .38 200 rounds .22 1000 rounds 30-30 200 rounds 7.62 500 rounds 12 ga 500 rounds different types. my wife and i shoot several weekends a month. i buy ammo when i see a good deal, and we shoot that. if i run down, i either buy more or i dont shoot. the above numbers dont change that way i will always have a supply if things go bad. |
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I just read the ammo price increase letters from hornady, winchester and federal. based of those letters it looks like rimfire is going to be hit the hardest on price increases. I would stockpile that first.
everyones needs are different. I personally have switched to alot of handgun and rimfire shooting. 22lr can be shot "to scale" and almost mimic the trajectory of .308 while maintaing the same sight picture and holdovers. there's a post on snipershide with the conversion/scale. the best part is you still train the important fundamentals like breathing control, trigger control, and trajectory. I personally have 15-20k 22lr 3k 9mm practice ammo 1200 9mm defense ammo 300 .308 ammo and enough componets(less brass) to load another 1500. 350 bird shot 12gauge 250 12 gauge 00 buck 100 12 gauge slugs 40 brenneke short magnum 12gauge and enough componets to load 2-3k .223 (except powder) and I don't even own a .223 rifle anymore. keeping it around JUST IN CASE. I would love to triple the 9mm, have a couple thousand more 12 gauge birdshot, and have enough .308 brass to load the componets I have. and i'm just your average joe with 2 kids and one on the way. i've had to seriously consolidate calibers/guns since obama has been in office. |
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ok..... DO I HAVE ENOUGH/ DECENT AMOUNT OF AMMO??????
heres what i have on hand, pretty close as i did a inventory not long ago. .22 , ......................approx 10,000 rounds .380......................10 rounds, yes, 10 rounds, ( its hard to find !)plus i just bought the lcp a few months ago. 9mm, ....................approx 1500 rounds 357 mag................approx 200 rounds 40 s&w.................approx 1500 rounds 45 acp...................approx 1000 rounds 44 mag..................approx 500 rounds 5.56mm..................approx 4000 rounds .243.......................approx 100 rounds .308.......................approx 1500 rounds 12 guage buck.....approx 500 rounds 12 guage slug......approx 100 rounds. thats what i have..... i need moar  if i had basically double this amount, id feel pretty good.
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I have a different take on this than most people.
If the shit does hit the fan nation wide, it could be that way for decades or more with no available ammo to purchase either because of tyranny or supply problems. I want enough ammo to last me the rest of my life for whatever I need it for and enough to give my kids for their entire lives. It's not a small order, but it's more than 500 rounds, that is for sure. |
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You can't have too much ammo in general, but specifically... you can certainly spend money on ammo that you should have spent on something else.
I keep as much as I can on hand. How much depends on how fast I can crank it out. And boy, I don't envy you poor bastards with like 14 calibers.... I got 9mm/5.56/12ga/.22 and that's it. |
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I've lost so many guns and cases of ammo in the lake there is a new island out there that they now call gunsbrassandammo. As far as ammo is concerned 5 digit range is best. It's amazing how fast it goes when you shoot several times a month and don't replenish what you shot. Happened here. One moment I've got 6000 rounds of 45 on the shelf and the next is the " oh"*%#^" I've only got 300 rounds left and there is a match this weekend. True, most shooting schools/classes you would use 1000 rounds for the weekend of .223 and 300-500 for a pistol. Many instructors cut down on the rounds down range when ammo went off the shelves a couple of years ago, now most use half of what they use to, you just get more drills and dry fire time...but it goes quickly when you go to a couple 2-10 schools...lol. |
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I belive here in this forum its more about surviving and not being the agressor. a balance of ammo and everything else is most definate the plan for me. I hope never to have to defend myself and family. I mean we can have 1000s of rounds of ammo but when rounds are inbound can we survive 1000s of them being shot at us. probably not . I think alot of people think that if they have alot of ammo that they will be protected when or if shtf happens and they have to defend themselves.. lots of ammo wont protect you it will help you survive but too much will be too cumborsome,
I personally have about 2k of each of 223,9mm and 40 and 500 308s I reload so when i shoot some I reload some . If we end up by some terrrible fate loosing the ability to buy ammo I am still ok stock up with components to build about 50k in ammo But thback to the question Its a balance act. if your on the move just enough to move with if your stationary then alot more just my .02 and its early in the morning |
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And boy, I don't envy you poor bastards with like 14 calibers.... I got 9mm/5.56/12ga/.22 and that's it. agreed!! I was one of those poor bastards. had 17hmr, 22lr, .380, 9mm, 7.62x25, 45acp, 38/357, 5.56, .243, 25wssm, 7.62x39, .308, 300win mag, 12gauge. got too expensive, had over 20 different powders(30+lbs of powder is kinda worrysome), bullets in all kinds of weights/styles in all calibers, and I had/wanted at least 1000 rounds per caliber. was too much to keep up with and worry about. let alone organize. dumped more than half and consoloidated to 22lr, 9mm, .308, 12 gauge. wouldn't mind a .223 wildcat (300 black, 7.62x40) and maybe get another 38/357 lever gun and 38 snubby for the mrs. but other than that i'm happy with the 4 calibers and 6 guns I have. vs 30+guns and 14 calibers. guess I miss a few but oh well life happens. |
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I have multiple calibers and may well get more. Oh well. I like gunz. Does that mean I have to stack two grand rounds for each? Not so much. I see lots of guys yammering about selling off all of their "extraneous" weapons to concentrate on 9 or .40 or .223. Let me ask a question. If you have seven different calibers, including your "go-to" calibers, how much does it cost you in cash dollars to not stack ammo into four or five figures for those extra rifles/pistols/shotguns? I did the math in my own head and the cost of not buying ammo is negligible at best. Okay, I can maybe see having so many different guns that I need a new safe to hold them all, but that would take effect even if all of the guns were the same caliber. I stock 4 calibers deep and 1 middlin' deep. The rest, I'm happy with 50-100, and if they turn into wall hangers some day because nobody has ammo for them, kay sarah sarah! If the S don't HTF, and I can occasionally shoot that old .44-40 or .38-40, good times and I'm happy to have them. I'm just sayin'... |
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I've got ammo that I don't even have a firearm to shoot it with. But that's because when I've had to or choose to sell guns I always kept the ammo. I've got 500 rounds of .45 Colt reloads on their last time around for the brass. Someday I'm going to use that to justify getting a Ruger 4" Redhawk.
GL |
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Quoted: You can't have too much ammo in general, but specifically... you can certainly spend money on ammo that you should have spent on something else. I keep as much as I can on hand. How much depends on how fast I can crank it out. And boy, I don't envy you poor bastards with like 14 calibers.... I got 9mm/5.56/12ga/.22 and that's it. I agree with this. I reduced my calibers and loaded up on ammo for the rest. Those are my same calibers except that I have .40s instead of 9mm. But that is just my preference there. |
| I consider 500 rounds per handgun and 1000 rounds per rifle as having zero ammunition. That would be the absolute minimum amount I would have put away for long term never touch unless SHTF storage. Same with magazines- 10 extra per gun that never ever get used. |