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Posted: 3/3/2009 7:06:45 AM EDT
| I own a .40 XDM and will be getting an AR in the next month or so. The AR will be chambered in 5.56. I have been reading alot of posts of people saying that buy all the ammo and 30 round mags you can. For a normal person(I mean by normal is shooting up to 300 rounds per month) how much of a stock pile of rifle and hand gun ammo should I keep. What mix of ammo type should I keep. And is there anything else I should be thinking about. Oh btw I will not do any reloading...too much work. |
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I own a .40 XDM and will be getting an AR in the next month or so. The AR will be chambered in 5.56. I have been reading alot of posts of people saying that buy all the ammo and 30 round mags you can. For a normal person(I mean by normal is shooting up to 300 rounds per month) how much of a stock pile of rifle and hand gun ammo should I keep. What mix of ammo type should I keep. And is there anything else I should be thinking about. Oh btw I will not do any reloading...too much work. You should try to get over 2000 rounds of 5.56. Then, but it as you use it. Rotate out old stock, and save the newer stuff when feasible. 500rds M855 500rds M193 200rds Hornady TAP (or other ballistic ammo) 800rds Anything else you want (can duplicate the other 3 ammo options above) |
I am fairly new to the personal AR world also (not to the AR) and have stockpiled enough ammo for a two year usage and 20 30 round magazines. That is what I have determined would meet my current needs. I have Wolf type ammo for practice and some good stuff I keep for possible serious use. 
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Depends on your goals.
If you are talking about worst case scenario ammo where range time becomes irrelevant because zombies, commies, hippies, or brownshirts attack...I dunno maybe 1k to 2k rounds? That amount of ammo would probably outlast you in a post apocalyptic fire fight anyways. If you are talking about a hedge against prices going up, then that really depends on your budget. Ammo may get more expensive or it may get less expensive depending on whether you think political considerations hold more weight over materials economics. At the end of the day though, .223 ammo will probably be readily available for a long time in the future at SOME price. It's unlikely that you will see a situation where it is impossible to get ammo at any price so you can go to the range, so what you are really talking about is buying ammo as a pricing hedge. The conventional wisdom is that ammo will keep getting more expensive because that is what it has always done recently. My personal insight is that there is a very good chance ammo prices will crash once the rush dies down due to the massively reduced cost of critical raw materials like brass, lead and copper in the past year due to the economic collapse. It wouldn't suprise me in the least to see 1000 round cases of quality brass going for $200 shipped in the next 24 months. There is always the political "X" factor but if we are just talking about cost of raw materials and an expectation of reduced non-panic demand at some point in the future then I think my assumptions have some validity. My personal opinion would be to get what you figure that you NEED right now regardless and then buy range ammo as needed or take advantage of good deals as the come your way. I wouldn't pay a premium for non-essential stock. |
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Depends on your goals. If you are talking about worst case scenario ammo where range time becomes irrelevant because zombies, commies, hippies, or brownshirts attack...I dunno maybe 1k to 2k rounds? That amount of ammo would probably outlast you in a post apocalyptic fire fight anyways. If you are talking about a hedge against prices going up, then that really depends on your budget. Ammo may get more expensive or it may get less expensive depending on whether you think political considerations hold more weight over materials economics. At the end of the day though, .223 ammo will probably be readily available for a long time in the future at SOME price. It's unlikely that you will see a situation where it is impossible to get ammo at any price so you can go to the range, so what you are really talking about is buying ammo as a pricing hedge. The conventional wisdom is that ammo will keep getting more expensive because that is what it has always done recently. My personal insight is that there is a very good chance ammo prices will crash once the rush dies down due to the massively reduced cost of critical raw materials like brass, lead and copper in the past year due to the economic collapse. It wouldn't suprise me in the least to see 1000 round cases of quality brass going for $200 shipped in the next 24 months. There is always the political "X" factor but if we are just talking about cost of raw materials and an expectation of reduced non-panic demand at some point in the future then I think my assumptions have some validity. My personal opinion would be to get what you figure that you NEED right now regardless and then buy range ammo as needed or take advantage of good deals as the come your way. I wouldn't pay a premium for non-essential stock. (My sentiments exactly. 50 TO 75 THOUSAND ROUNDS IS EXCESSIVE and creates the very shortages that we are complaining about. Also it shorts everybody else that by principle or economics does not want to go into poverty to supply their hobby, and beleive me, if your not in the 'Stan or Iraq you really don't have any great need of a massive stockpile.) [/quote] |
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For a "normal person"?
Seems like 1000 rounds of good ammo (XM193/Q3131) and 10 good mags held in reserve would suffice. A .22 rimfire upper would let you stock pile tens of thousands of rounds of .22 to plink with fairly cheaply if ammo becomes too expesive or otherwise unobtainable. In these uncertain times I sometimes see myself buying ammo now for unborn grandchildren. 
Emory |
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One of the features built into modern half ton pick up trucks is an ammo stash evaluation device. They are camouflaged as leaf springs on the rear axles. Here is how they work. Once you have amassed enough center fire rifle ammo in one caliber to cause these leaf springs to flatten out, then you have enough of that caliber.
When you can flatten them with center fir pistol ammo in one caliber, then you have enough of that caliber. |
| So in short...everyone has their own understanding of "Too much". Some of you have never heard of "Too much". I think that more is better and that will be my goal. As far as reloading goes my grandfather did all kinds of reloading. We even had a 12g cannon(looks like a very small civil war cannon) that he reloaded shells for but never used any shot just filled the shell with powder. Just put your foot on the back of the cannon and pull the string..very loud. Reloading makes me nervous. thanks for the input. |
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This. I buy it when I can. Good deals, I always snag. I've got over 165 mags for my AR's, and well over 50k rounds. I don't think there is such a thing as "too much"
I think i just shot a load..i mean..uh,...thats cool!  Go visit the ammo whore thread. Lots of photos. And I'm a little cheese on the whore meeter. I'm well beaten by a couple of other members on here. 
And OP, it really is up to you and what you want to do. Everyone has a different feeling towards it. Just pick something and be comfortable with it. Getting a .22 conversion will help you alot as well, save some money that way. |
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I have three ammo cans of .223 packed on stripper clips, in bandoliers. That's 2520 rounds.
That is the "don't touch" ammo, to be broken out only in dire emergency. Then I usually have somewhere between 500 -750 rounds at any given time that is avaiable for shooting. Anything that comes out of that, has to be replaced. I agree with many here. I 'm not a professional soldier. 3K rounds will probably outlive me in a doomsday scenario. |
87 rounds seems a little low  . I think I will use the ammo mix that someone posted early on in the thread and go from there. Then there is the problem of getting a 5.56 and uppers or complete rifles for a 6.8 and a 7.62 and a 5.7 and having the same amount of ammo for all of them  . I think I am going to be an addict here real soon.
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| Though I have nowhere near 50-75k of rounds, I'll be there in a few years. I'm spending pretty much all disposable income on ammo. Why? Because I should have done the same goddamn thing 7 years ago when it was a third of the price. And I think in another 7 years it will be even more expensive. Do I need 3500 round of 308? Probably not. But it's better to have and not need than need and not have. |
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Some people will tell you that you have too much ammo if you run out of places to put it. They're just not creative enough in their storage methods, or they're unwilling to go buy a bigger house so they have more room to store ammo. These people don't get it, and probably never will.
Some people will tell you that you have too much ammo if the floor collapses from the ammo piled on top of it. These people also don't get it. If the floor collapses out from under your ammo, your floor was poorly engineered and simply wasn't strong enough. There is no such thing as too much ammo. But seriously, if you're thinking of shooting 300 rounds per month, find out what you're going to shoot and buy it up 1000 rounds at a time. You'll be buying more ammo every 3 - 4 months, that way, but you won't ever really be at risk of having this mythical "too much" you speak of. |
| How much is enough! Well I can say this much I have been buying ammo for over 3 years now and it hasn't gone down any! I remember when going into Wal-mart and buying 40 round boxes of .223 for like $7.00. Now it's alot more just for 20 rounds. Even 7.62 X 39 for AK's I can remember them being 1000 rounds for $100.00. I suggest like others say buy as much as you can afford and if you go shooting often you might want to invest in a Spikes dedicated upper .22lr where you can shoot all day for under $15.00. |
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Oh btw I will not do any reloading...too much work. Zero sympathy for you, then. Don't listen to Tromatic - most of us like people like you. I'll police your brass. +1 Leave all your brass on the ground. Seriously though- Buy a press and start cranking. A hobby does not = work. |
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I was told " if you can count it you don't have enough" so I'm not sure how much more it takes to have too much from there. So if someone is illiterate they'll be able to carry their entire ammo supply?!?!  I'm not a math major but need at least a rickshaw and that'd be for only one caliber. 
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How manly is too manly?
How much horsepower is too much? How cool is too cool? How impressive is too impressive? How smart is too smart? How much ammo is too much ammo? Thanks! You helped me complete my list! 
View ammo as a monetary investment. In a failing economy, ammo will never lose value. |
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I was told " if you can count it you don't have enough" so I'm not sure how much more it takes to have too much from there. So if someone is illiterate they'll be able to carry their entire ammo supply?!?! http:// http://www.ar15.com/images/smilies/icon_smile_wink.gif I'm not a math major but need at least a rickshaw and that'd be for only one caliber. Laugh all you want, but I'm retard strong! |
| Whoa...your answers are honest, thought provoking, and and true to what it is to be an owner of firearms. I am so moved by all the comments I am going to start buying rounds BEFORE I get the weapon. My house is newly built and will not fold under the weight of NOT enough ammo. I now clearly see what has been unclear for so long...I will follow the path of buy more and reload(my better half is going to shit). |
| Jesus. We are our own worse enemy and if you do not know what I am talking about then try to think how all this will play in Peoria when they are arguning why to outlaw the stuff. The truth is it only takes one bullet to come between you and your stash no matter how much you have. |
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Holing up in the basement for home defense with many thousands of rounds in shtf scenario is one thing, but when the fire starts and the fleeing commences how much can you physically carry on your person or persons. Could have a secondary cache, yes, but...
Some in reserve held at a steady amount (500 or 1000 rounds for example) Some for serious practice and sighting in / testing builds, mags etc. Some just for fun (which can also be practice) I try to follow this plan for each weapon and cartridge. ymmv. .22's are great fun plus good practice and obviously our least expensive option short of dry fire practice (with centerfires, not .22's). As was said before, buy as much as resources allow as an investment for the future, but don't neglect food, water and such either. |
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If you're a very active shooter, then there is never enough.
However, there are people who are hording ammo for a SHTF situation without even diagnosing the logistical issue of trying to transport 50,000 rounds of 5.56, not to mention various other calibers, and that's saying you have a vehicle. An average person would die trying to carry more than 1000 rounds of 5.56 on their back, must less other essentials for an extended period of time. I have: 2000 rounds of XM193 750 rounds of M855 500 rounds of Wolf 75 gr 500 each 9mm, 45, 10mm. |
| I feel safe with 800 rounds of M855 in an ammo can ready to move out. I figure, realistically, I will not shoot (or shoot at) something 800 times before I myself am incapacitated in a SHTF scenario. Even the best snipers fielded have no more than a hundred or so confirmed, and maybe 200 unconfirmed. I feel that 800 rounds is SUFFICIENT. However, faced with the option, I always buy more. |
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The other day I participated in a thread in "Zombie Central" (yeah, I know) where we were discussing how and with what we could arm ourselves, if we could have only three firearms and the ammo for them.
My opinion was that I could carry (including the ammo loaded in the guns) 510 rounds of AR ammo, 105 rounds of shotgun ammo, and 42 rounds of revolver ammo. That would be a heavy load, in addition to the weight of the weapons. But I believe that I could pack that and still be mobile on foot. In respect to the AR, which is the subject of this discussion, that breaks down into five loaded 30-round mags, one locked in the AR and four stored in a 4-pocket bandolier with the divider thread stripped out, plus three more 4-pocket bandoliers of ammo to recharge the mags when they are emptied This ammo load would probably outlive me. |
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