SHTF stock

[Shadow01]

It`s kinda like, more is better. That silly old quote about less being more was made by someone who was broke. My first consideration would be storage conditions. Can you secure it and keep it cool and dry? If so, LOAD UP. If not, rotate it out every 6 months to a year so you know that it`s always good. But even at that, 2000 rounds per rifle, 800-1000 per handgun, 500 rounds 00 Buckshot for the shotty, and probably 200-400 rounds shot for fetching game.

My current job affords me a near endless supply of desiccant. this discussion will also help me determine increased storage needs. Like I said. I mainly wanted to gauge my efforts to see if I was in left field or in a good place.

 

[cosermann]

Recommendations vary a bit. From a SHTF perspective, 500 rnds per firearm is a common minimum recommendation. As has been mentioned, 1k per firearm is also a common recommendation. "Selco" who lived through the Balkin War prefers 2k per firearm if I recall correctly.

Another way to think of a minimum number is to multiply the number of rounds in your carry loadout for each firearm by the number of years left in your expected life expectancy. Then add to that the number of rounds you use for practice/training each year multiplied by the number of years left in your expected life expectancy. That's an absolute minimum just to rotate your carry ammo each year and practice/train - if you could never buy another round in your life. Add some rounds for hunting and other defensive "use" per year of expected life and you start to get an estimate.

All that with the caveat that a "lifetime supply" could be just that, or it could be a "bad day" depending on individual circumstances.

YMMV.

 

[manifest destiny]

When it comes to ammo, there is no such thing as too much. There is, however, a thing called not enough. If one can afford it, buy as much as possible. If one cannot afford it, buy as much as needed to liberate future gun/ammo procurements.

 

[Leadeye]

As far as defensive shoot outs I think you have to consider firepower superiority against how long before you're a casualty. Pistol ammo for most will be rarely used unless feeding some sort of carbine.

I've about given up on the idea of hunting except very close to home.

 

[teddy12b]

I have a couple of thoughts on this:

1.) How much can you carry as fast as you can run for your life knowing you'd drop anything you're carrying just to make you that much faster so you could escape some thing horrible? Maybe someone out there is Rambo, but for me that's very little.

2.) If you play out the "shoot critters for sustainable food" fantasy and figured between one shot kills, clean misses, and one shot on big game every once in a while I think you could conservatively estimate 1 round fired per day would be a safe estimate. That puts you at 365 rounds in a years time. How many years, do you want to survive shooting critters?

3.) If you're concerned about surviving some holiday firefight scene you saw on TV, how much ammo did they have on them? Truthfully, only a small fraction of all gun owners have ever been in a gun fight and have no idea, so again how much can you carry and run and maneuver with?

4.) How are you stocked up on everything else? 6 months into SHTF and WROL when the deer are gone, half the population is dead, and zombies have flown away back to the moon would you wish you'd have spent a couple more dollars on some mountain house 10# cans of food? Would you regret not having a pile of garden seeds to be able to produce your own food? Do you have enough tylenol, ibuprofen, benadryl to prevent bad medical issues from becoming serious medical issues? Do you have a world band radio that picks up frequencies from foreign countries so you can hear some small part of what's going on in the world? As much as it may not be fun to do it, maybe some of that ammo budget should be spent on some of the things mentioned here so you don't end up bartering off extra ammo for them later.

 

[BigBoxaJunk]

OPSEC

I've got a case of expired canned goods and some 16 gage shotgun shells...

 

[Magyars]

Ammo is a very useful item for barter so there's that.

I'd be very hesitant to barter ammo. Don't want to eat one of my own rounds

 

[Leadeye]

Info from a friend of my son's who grew up in the last unpleasantness in the Balkans was interesting. That combined with insights from the Katrina disaster here in the states has formed the foundation of my SHTF thoughts.

 

[OutdoorDad]

First you have to define SHTF.

This is different for everyone. Civil unrest? End of the world as we know it? Divorce? Loss of the job? Permanent medical disability? Are you going to be mobile? Are you defending a fixed position?

I’m not trying to be cute here. Without knowing the mission parameters, you can’t really know what you need.

Zombies?
20k rnds of .22

 

[OutdoorDad]

I've got a case of expired canned goods and some 16 gage shotgun shells...

Certified SAFE from marauders.

 

[Mij]

OPSEC

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Ummm!!!
Yep.
Self education, read, knowledge is power.

I will suggest getting out of any city or town as many years in advance as possible. 26.945 mhz