How much is enough - Ammo

[EXIT WOUND]

That's a decent start, brother. Keep building.

Damn! Time to get to work on my stash. I guess Divorce isn't to bad of an option....

 

[jcbvh]

For SHTF/CW you cant have enough. 20- 100k rounds each caliber.

In these scenarios you better be arming your neighbors otherwise you will become the target.

If you dont think about the doomsday scenarios then 1000 rounds per caliber.

 

[Sundazes]

Damn! I thought I was flexing pretty good here. Time to step my game up.

You are playing with the big dogs now. Try and keep up.
Most I have seen in one pile was just shy of 1m rounds.

Ok so it was a retailer. But it was still a sight to behold.

 

[U.S.SFC_RET]

I can be happy with what I have now. Some people will never have enough ammunition.

 

[Squaregrouper]

You are playing with the big dogs now. Try and keep up.
Most I have seen in one pile was just shy of 1m rounds.

Ok so it was a retailer. But it was still a sight to behold.

I helped a dealer move his supply from one storage unit to another. That was the most ammo I have ever seen.

 

[Blacksmith101]

I had a pretty good supply until I took my grandson to the range, he spent all day reducing my stash (he especially liked my .45-70's....ouch). The memories - Priceless!

 

[El_flasko]

I can be happy with what I have now. Some people will never have enough ammunition.

I concur. I have plenty in my mind for plinking and most other potential scenarios. I still add as deals arise for those cals I shoot most, but I’m in a good place. Luckily I stocked up on clay busting shells and my few main range cals before the last big price jump. haven’t shot any NSCA in quite some time for multiple reasons, so that slowed my practice rounds a good bit too, sadly. if I take both of my sons to Oxford with me, the fun and memories far outweigh burning through flats of shells.

 

[wreckdiver]

I don’t think there is such a thing as “too much ammo”. That’s like too much money or too much sex. Not a real problem.

 

[Crazytrain]

How much do you shoot?

I figure I shoot maybe 200 rounds a month on average, 9mm and .22. Some months nothing. Others I go to the range once or twice a week.

I figure that two years worth would be a minimum. That will get between election cycles. Although, you never know when the rules are going to so drastically change that resupply is impractical for a much longer time, or forever. But, I figure, go with two years.

So...for practice...200 x 24 = 4800. Let's round it up to 5000 rounds. That is quite a lot of 9mm (although I'm sure many here would scoff at such a piddly stash), and more than I have; but if I add in bulk .22 I think I'm in the neighborhood.

For defense handgun ammo, I'm thinking a box of fifty high quality per handgun (and PCC) would be comfortable for me. I sincerely hope my life doesn't take such a turn were I'd actually need more than that. That would suck. And not be conducive to a long, healthy life. I think 50 would fill the mags and allow shooting a mag of the good stuff once a year or so.

I don't hunt; but if I did I think I'd be looking at enough to double what I'd expect to shoot in a two year time.

Given recent global events (the Israel/Hamas conflict for those revisiting this thread a few years from now), I thought I'd beat this dead horse some more. I'm bored. I do number things. I'll probably bore everyone else. But this is the way I think things through..

I still average 200 rounds/month (some months more, some not at all), but now I'm adding 5.56 to the mix. I now think that I need three years minimum supply, for practice...

So, my current thinking...
For PRACTICAL use...
.556 - your standard combat load of seven 30 rounds magazines or 210 of whatever is the best stuff I can justifiably afford. I'm middle aged, over weight, and half lame. If I need to burn through that much ammo I'm likely not walking away. If I must meet a violent end, though, bury me in spent brass.

9mm - still sticking with a box of 50 of the good stuff for each weapon I'd consider combat capable. I'm unlikely to go full John Wick at any point, so that should be way, way more than PLENTY of the good stuff that will even allow occasional functional checks. Four handguns, one PCC = 250. I'm way, way above this for the premium stuff (I jumped on a deal some years ago and have a very good supply of Gold Dots and HSTs).

.22 - N/A for me.

For PRACTICE, three years, 200 rounds/month = 7200 rounds total.
.556 - Realistically, twice a year, so 400/year...let's bump it a little to 500, or 1500 total for practice.
9mm - Probably 100 per range visit, once a month=3600. Round up a bit, say 4000?
.22 - Cheap play to keep skills up and have a little fun. 1700 here would get me to the 7200 total I desire. Let's say a minimum of 2000, though. I think I have a lot more.

SO...TOTALS...
So, for me, 4250 rounds of 9mm (I think I'm a little shy on practice ammo, but not too much...just tried to buy some online and I'm having trouble getting through...should have done it yesterday before panic buying kicked in EDIT: ammo sellers websites where getting slammed and were non-responsive, but if you work nights like me you can get on in the wee hours to get an order in...DONE! Ammoman seems to have pretty good prices.)
Round up to 2000 rounds of .556 (I'm doing better than this in 55 and 62gr.)
And I'll round up to a more impressive 5000 of .22. (Time to do an inventory...I have NO idea how much I have, but probably more than this)

So, mostly there for a three year supply for my sadly not too frequent outings. Ideally I'd like to scale up to a four or five year supply. Well, ideally I'd like to have enough to get me through the next twenty years or so, but there are practical limitations and a spousal unit that I don't have the energy to fight with on this.

I have my eye on a couple 1911s. If I buy one or both I'm going to find my supply inadequate again.

 

[Boondock Saint]

No one needs 30 rounds to shoot a deer!

 

[Biggfoot44]

I don’t think there is such a thing as “too much ammo”. That’s like too much money or too much sex. Not a real problem.

Only when you are swimming .

 

[Blacksmith101]

You might want to add a second case of .22. You will probably be hunting a lot more small game if things go south and it makes good barter stock.

 

[Harrys]

No one needs 30 rounds to shoot a deer!

Only if you are a bad shot. Then again if you are hunting 2 legged dear then you may need a lot more.

 

[Crazytrain]

No one needs 30 rounds to shoot a deer!

Unless it's a well armed, well trained deer.

 

[Sirex]

Just ordered another 250 rd case of 12G buckshot. Working on some 5.56, 7.62x39, 7.62x51, and 54r next.

 

[lazarus]

Given recent global events (the Israel/Hamas conflict for those revisiting this thread a few years from now), I thought I'd beat this dead horse some more. I'm bored. I do number things. I'll probably bore everyone else. But this is the way I think things through..

I still average 200 rounds/month (some months more, some not at all), but now I'm adding 5.56 to the mix. I now think that I need three years minimum supply, for practice...

So, my current thinking...
For PRACTICAL use...
.556 - your standard combat load of seven 30 rounds magazines or 210 of whatever is the best stuff I can justifiably afford. I'm middle aged, over weight, and half lame. If I need to burn through that much ammo I'm likely not walking away. If I must meet a violent end, though, bury me in spent brass.

9mm - still sticking with a box of 50 of the good stuff for each weapon I'd consider combat capable. I'm unlikely to go full John Wick at any point, so that should be way, way more than PLENTY of the good stuff that will even allow occasional functional checks. Four handguns, one PCC = 250. I'm way, way above this for the premium stuff (I jumped on a deal some years ago and have a very good supply of Gold Dots and HSTs).

.22 - N/A for me.

For PRACTICE, three years, 200 rounds/month = 7200 rounds total.
.556 - Realistically, twice a year, so 400/year...let's bump it a little to 500, or 1500 total for practice.
9mm - Probably 100 per range visit, once a month=3600. Round up a bit, say 4000?
.22 - Cheap play to keep skills up and have a little fun. 1700 here would get me to the 7200 total I desire. Let's say a minimum of 2000, though. I think I have a lot more.

SO...TOTALS...
So, for me, 4250 rounds of 9mm (I think I'm a little shy on practice ammo, but not too much...just tried to buy some online and I'm having trouble getting through...should have done it yesterday before panic buying kicked in EDIT: ammo sellers websites where getting slammed and were non-responsive, but if you work nights like me you can get on in the wee hours to get an order in...DONE! Ammoman seems to have pretty good prices.)
Round up to 2000 rounds of .556 (I'm doing better than this in 55 and 62gr.)
And I'll round up to a more impressive 5000 of .22. (Time to do an inventory...I have NO idea how much I have, but probably more than this)

So, mostly there for a three year supply for my sadly not too frequent outings. Ideally I'd like to scale up to a four or five year supply. Well, ideally I'd like to have enough to get me through the next twenty years or so, but there are practical limitations and a spousal unit that I don't have the energy to fight with on this.

I have my eye on a couple 1911s. If I buy one or both I'm going to find my supply inadequate again.

Turns out it wasn't a global pandemic. Or gun control. Or anything else so prosaic that has made me glad I stacked it higher and deeper, especially on the reloading supplies. It is the financial catastrophe that is a divorce. More likely than not, money is going to be really tight for the next couple or a few years until interest rates come back down to earth. Whatever the heck I buy out of this divorce is likely costing me $700-900 a month extra because of current interest rates. Heck, even just against 5%, it is going to be $600 a month more. Plus child support. Plus our oldest hits college in less than 3 years with 2 more following close behind him.

So yeah, odds are good I am going to be spending almost no money on guns or ammo the next few years. Someday, I'll have total freedom to spend to my hearts content on them (yes!), but that day is not today. Two guns I am kind of hankering to get though after the divorce is a Howa 1500 mini in 300BO and a 1911 (in .45acp of course). We'll see. We might make us sharing the house a longer term thing if it works okay. We are amicable, so it might work for a year or two. If so, I can sock away a lot of money and frankly that Howa is less than $500 and I really want one, and a 1911 is...well a nice one is a lot more than $500, but I deserve it and I want one as a "buying my first house" present to myself. I've owned 3 homes now, but all three were mine and my wife's, not mine. Though technically the first two were in my name only.

Anyway, I don't even have a good count of how much commercial ammo I have. I shoot a heck of a lot less now than I had been a few months ago with the craziness of the divorce. Once that is done, I should have a fair amount more free time. Even if I keep living here (and a perk of continuing to live here after the divorce, at least for awhile, is I have 100% of my time with my kids, rather than only 50%). Anyway, even a busy month for me I wasn't shooting more than about 250 rounds. A typical one was probably more like 150.

Mostly 9mm, 38/357, and 45acp. Plenty of .223/5.56 and other stuff in there. Not counting 22lr, but I actually don't shoot all that much of that. I mean, plenty, but probably only about 40% of my shooting is 22lr between my 10/22 and my buckmark.

I'd guess I am burning around 1000 rounds a year of 22lr and 1200 rounds a year of other calibers right now (excusing the last 3 or 4 months). Based on commercial ammo, I probably have 3 years of ammo at that rate. Add in reloading supplies and it is probably more like 7-10 years worth. At some point I'd like to get to the range and shoot a lot more. Which might happen out of the divorce.

But I don't see myself spending much money on ammo, or even reloading supplies, the next few years. Of course, I'll buy what I need to keep shooting and keep reloading. Worst comes to worst if I start running low, I'll cut back on shooting. Unless things get really desperate, I can always drop $100 on a few bricks of 22lr (unless scarcity and prices go opposite directions) to keep shooting. And that is somewhat likely that I might shift to shooting a lot more 22lr. Which mean also get me to buy a 22lr bolt action rifle to get something nice in the mix with my 10/22 and buckmark. That is more money spent, but a $300-400 bolt action 22lr is less than a case of .223 and I have glass for one already (though if I get that Howa, I'll need to get glass as I only have one spare scope).

 

[Doctor_M]

Sending my prayers for you brother. Things will be better when you come out of the other side of the tunnel. Stay strong and continue to be there for your kids. Let me know if you need ti go out for a beer.

 

[ironpony]

My non-prepper friends are starting to ask me this question/where to get more. I tell them if Korea or Thailand happens it might be too expensive so plan now.

 

[6-Pack]

I’m so confused because there is no such thing as “enough” ammo.

 

[chino101]

'you can never have enough...'