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Storing Up On Ammo. How Much Is Enough??

6K views 45 replies 35 participants last post by  Ddoc529 
#1 · (Edited)
My customer sounded as though he had just won the lottery; any lottery! Patting his newly purchase 300 round box of CCI 22s he exclaimed, "I've been storing it up, just in case." "You've got a good supply," I asked? " With a Chesire Cat smile he replied, "Yep! I got me 5 bricks of this stuff!"

I didn't know whether to "lol" or commend him as the new first place "Prepper" in town. I didn't laugh.

As I dipped into my "healthy surplus" today in order to replenish my MTM Zombie Ammo Can for tomorrow morning's trip to the range :D I began thinking about how much is enough? 1,000 rounds of AR 15 (including 10 20 round boxes of the dreaded 62grain Green Tip)? 2,000 rounds of 9mm (including hollow points)? While I doubt even the DHS can answer that, I was curious and thought I'd pose the question here.

I try (mind you try) to replace all I shoot. Truth be told, lately it's been taking an awful toll on my checking account.

I thought it a worthwhile question for those among us who shoot regularly in light of the times (i.e. ISIS-Idiots Scumbags repeat, the rise of Martial Law conspiracy theories, and your average run of the mill home invaders, crooks and slime buckets).

Replace what you shoot? 2 for every 1? 1 a week of your main caliber?

What say you?
 
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#4 ·
There is never enough. 3-5k of most calibers on hand and I keep 1k of each hidden away from the main stash with my "to go" supplies.
 
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#5 ·
Never enough. I buy when I have cash in the wallet, when I run across a good deal, and to replenish what I shoot.
I'd rather have it stored dry and pass it on to my kids, then get caught flat footed.
 
#6 ·
Depends if you are going to stay where you are or move out. Depends if you are going by foot, vehicle, or boat. Thousands of rounds are not going to do you much good if you have to carry it on foot.

I would say "whatever floats your boat" but in my case it will be no more that what won't sink your boat. Also, for what is necessary I choose to stock up on only two calibers.
 
#7 ·
Good and helpful replies brethren!
 
#8 ·
I...

...I...

...I don't know.

There're boxes and cases all over the apartment.

I really don't know anymore :eek:
 
#10 ·
if any of the the major or minor California faults get to moving, what good is my ammo in a house that just slid 300 feet down the hill i live on.
time to get safely creative as to where to keep it.
thanks for the thought provoking post
 
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#11 ·
I'm not sure but it is an ever increasing number, I wouldn't want my wife to figure out just how much I have so that will remain top secret:lol:
Just as important is what and how it is stored. The majority of my weapons are in popular military calibers. I like to stockpile military ammo in original storage containers. They have spent a bunch of money figuring out how to get the most storage time and have better than a century of experience doing it.
 
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#12 ·
I am probably in the 3-5k area for my main pistol and rifle calibers. With the ability to reload about half that amount. I have about 15-20k in .22LR and will likely double that amount once that market returns to normal. I never would have foreseen a shortage lasting this long. I also plan on doubling the powder, primers and bullets I have on hand.
 
#14 ·
On storing ammo:

Lots of cardboard boxes in a large plastic tote including lots of MtM cases for rifle and pistol caliber ammo.

Dozens of small silica packs to help stay off moisture.

Dittoes on "hoarded" 22lr rounds.
 
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#16 ·
I'm newer to the whole gun scene and recently took the plunge buying my first 1,000 of 9mm. Before that it was just enough for the next range visit. Now you guys have me feeling like I need more... I guess I'll have to keep building it up slowly... and somewhere my wife cant find it.
 
#20 ·
Find a good online source and buy by the case. You save money in the long run. Normally, I'd buy enough to support 1.5 years of shooting, the 1/2 years worth to act as a safety pad. Because next year is a presidential election year, I've stocked up a little bit more. I got caught in the ammo/firearms panic during BHO's first presidential campaign. I shudder to think of the possible panic in late 2015 through 2016 when Hillary's campaign really kicks into high gear.
 
#17 ·
I mostly shoot 9mm and 5.56/.223. I currently have 4K rounds of 9mm and 3,500 rounds of 5.56. For the other calibers I shoot, less than 500 rounds for each.

Regarding .22lr, I slowly stocked up before the .22lr shortage. When bulk bricks could be had at Wal-mart for $18, I'd buy one to shoot and one to stash away. I think I have about 5,000 rounds left. I'd have more, but each of the past two years I've donated 2K rounds to the Boy Scouts so the little guys can earn their badges. Each kid gets to shoot 10 rounds, 200 kids learn to shoot. That's more than worth it to me to diminish my stash of .22lr.
 
#18 ·
Unfortunately (or fortunately!), I do not foresee that the price of ammo is going up. Therefore, whatever ammo you have stashed away is dead money. If you have any credit card debt or school loan debt, it just doesn't make sense to stash away ammo - better to pay down your debt, and that will allow you to buy more ammo in the future.
That being said, if your financial house is in order, then you can buy to your heart's content. I've been targeting a year's worth of ammo. So if I generally go through 300 rounds/week in various calibers, I want around 15k stashed away in proportion to my usage. I've gotten to a year's supply on some calibers (9mm, 223), so I try to buy as much as I use, so I've always got one year - but I will store the newly bought ammo and use the older ammo first. In addition, now that ammo is more plentiful, I've been trying to stick with only a few brands (Federal/American Eagle, Winchester), and burn through all of the hodge podge ammo first. One of the reasons for this is that I want to start reloading (just as a hobby, not for money) and I want to make high quality reloads to minimize the chances of damage to my guns. So I plan to reload in batches of identical casings, and even track how many times each casing has been reloaded. This would be made much easier if I only use one brand of ammo in each range session, so I don't have to sort through casings. Maybe a bit overkill? Probably, but that's just my personality, I guess.
 
#36 · (Edited)
wait till next year. If Hillary is elected, I imagine there will be a rush on guns and ammo again.

now, as far as what I try to keep on hand. I like 5-7kish of 5.56, 3-4k of 9mm, bout 2k of 308, and 4-5 hundred of 38 special, 380, 45acp, 10mm and 12 gauge.
 
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#19 ·
If you still have a room in your house where you can see the entire ceiling, you don't have enough. :lol:
 
#23 ·
I know I have several thousand rounds of each caliber I shoot and enough reloading supplies for at least a couple thousand more. You can never have too much unless you have no place to store it. Ammo is money. Right now prices are decent. Not as good as pre Obama. If we have another water shed trajedy the liberals will start going after guns and ammo again. They always do. The market will destabilize and prices will sky rocket again. Buy cheap stack it deep. All during the last two big scares and rushes on ammo I was not worried since I had a good supply. I went to the range when I wanted and shot all I wanted to. I knew I had enough to last until the rush was over I even sold a few thousand rounds at my original cost to close friends so they had enough. Now is the time to buy. History repeats itself.
 
#25 ·
All during the last two big scares and rushes on ammo I was not worried since I had a good supply. I went to the range when I wanted and shot all I wanted to. I knew I had enough to last until the rush was over I even sold a few thousand rounds at my original cost to close friends so they had enough. Now is the time to buy. History repeats itself.
Good man to prepare and to share!
 
#24 ·
I burn 100 rounds of centerfire and 200-300 rounds of .22 at the range each week. I like to think I have 1k for each centerfire caliber, and 4K of .22. I infringe on those numbers, and I start looking/buying.

Important qualification - I am a stage 4 cancer guy, and in a couple of years I'll be giving ammo out in the Halloween bags. I'm already forbidden .45 and 12ga. by the docs, and am regrouping around 9mm and .38. Shotguns got sold, 45s mostly gone, but until they are, I'll still shoot them.
 
#31 ·
I burn 100 rounds of centerfire and 200-300 rounds of .22 at the range each week. I like to think I have 1k for each centerfire caliber, and 4K of .22. I infringe on those numbers, and I start looking/buying.

Important qualification - I am a stage 4 cancer guy, and in a couple of years I'll be giving ammo out in the Halloween bags. I'm already forbidden .45 and 12ga. by the docs, and am regrouping around 9mm and .38. Shotguns got sold, 45s mostly gone, but until they are, I'll still shoot them.
Sorry to hear about that, CCC.
Here's a stupid question I suppose, but why is 22lr so hard to come by, and/or why is it being bought up so much. Like I said, probably a stupid question, but......
 
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#26 ·
Easy for me as all my pistols are 9mm and I buy 200 rounds every payday unless I see a sell then I buy as much is allowed. I do know the wood shelf in my walk in closet broke one night a scared the heck out of me until it dawned on me what it was and then I started laughing and went back to sleep.
 
#27 ·
Best stash I have is .22LR with <110Krds
<10000 of 5.56
7-8Krds of 9mm & .45
1K rds of 20ga slugs
1300 rd of 20ga #4 buckshot
400rd of 12ga slugs
800rd of 12ga 00 buckshot




.
 
#28 ·
Best stash I have is .22LR with <110Krds. . .
I have about six months of 22LR, shooting 200 rounds per week. 110K would take me to the graveyard shift.

I set up a couple of spreadsheets to keep track of how much I shoot and how much I have on hand. It also lets me know my average cost per round.

My fundamental allocation for distributing my resources is one-third to guns, one-third to ammo, and one-third for the rest of it.
 
#29 · (Edited)
Aslan posed an interesting question. At one time I believed that 1,000 rounds per caliber was optimum. When that goal was achieved I revised the amount to 1,000 per gun. That achieved, I have revised that number once again. I'm at the point now that my goal is to have 1,000 rounds per gun stored at my boys home. Yes, my boys have benifed from my lack of storage space for additional guns. When oh when will the madness stop!
 
#30 · (Edited)
I keep around 5K of handgun ammo loaded up and a similar amount of shotgun and a little less for rifle.

I do, however, keep a large amount of components in stock for handgun, shotgun and rifle.

I keep enough components to hold me for a minimum of 7 years of shooting, and Mrs. Flash and I shoot at least twice a week.

Fortunately for me, Mrs. Flash is an even bigger prepper than I am. She just picked up another 4 pound jug of Hi Skor 800X last Saturday at our local gun store for $79.95 - $4.00 military discount.

For those who aren't familiar with 800X, you can reload all handgun cartridges plus 12 gauge, 16 Gauge, 20 Gauge and 28 Gauge with 800X and these are just the calibers/gauges I'm personally familiar with. It's a very versatile powder that can be problematic with some powder measures, but not necessarily with all of them. I don't have problems with it with my gear.

But I digress. Getting back to the original topic, the only way you can have too much ammo is if you're drowning or on fire.
 
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