How much ammo

[sbsg2005]

I don't think I will ever think I have enough. I have seen people with over 30k rounds stocked up and are still buying.

 

[ray d]

Stock up as much of common caliber rounds as possible 22 12 gauge ect.great for barter and bad guys.

 

[churchmouse]

Ok, let's try it this way: I have about 6000 rounds of .22 on hand right now. Do you consider that a lot?

Yes that is a lot. I know folks who have more but they never seem to shoot much so it is easy to keep adding.
Is .22 your main caliber or have you a different battle weapon. I like all my .22
but they lack penetration and raw stopping power. Would I want to be shot with a .22, hell no.

 

[churchmouse]

Im wondering how many firefights one would get into in a general SHTF situation. Id cary 390 rounds on me and would have back up at another location. I also wonder how to transport the stock if i had to relocate. Thats a lot of weight to move, especially if you had to be on foot.

If a person kept their heads down then not many I would think. If you brandish power..ie electricity then you will have visitors. If you stay down and quite I think you could remain anonymous to a point. This would be difficult when foraging.
If I carry heavy with the gear I have the round count is (6) 30 rd. mags for .223
for M-4, (6) 14 rd. mags for .45 ACP Para Ord.
I can reconfigure to add 12 ga. mags for my Siaga.
Relocation would be something to figure out with your situation. We have an older vehicle that would not be as susceptible to EMP and a set of pumps to move fuel from in-ground or other vehicle tanks.

 

[The Keymaster]

There is no such thing as too much. Until you run out of space to store it, you don't have enough.

 

[Icarry2]

Not going to try and tell anyone what to do but... If you store all of your guns and ammo in one place then your seriously limiting your flexibility. Having hidden cashe's with friends and family could be considered by some as a good thing. It may be simply a couple boxes of ammo, food, water, clothes, supplies, a FAK and mayb e a weapon or two.

Just a thought.

 

[churchmouse]

Not going to try and tell anyone what to do but... If you store all of your guns and ammo in one place then your seriously limiting your flexibility. Having hidden cashe's with friends and family could be considered by some as a good thing. It may be simply a couple boxes of ammo, food, water, clothes, supplies, a FAK and mayb e a weapon or two.

Just a thought.

A good thought.

 

[nmcampbe]

I think Icarry2 makes a good point here, the more ammo you acquire, the more you should have cached or spread out. You CAN NOT have enough 22lr on hand, think about how many 22lr rifles are out there, and you can't reload it. 22 ammo will be a very sought out item and great for barter. A lot of stores have had 500+ round bricks for $14-15 here before christmas, stock up!

 

[sloughfoot]

just talked to a friend of mine who had spent some time in the sandbox. he said in general when he jumped out of a plane he had 390 rounds ready to go.

Yes sir. And he was surrounded by all his mates similarly equipped and with a supply train stretching all the way back to the Lake City Army Ammunition Plant.

I watched the movie "the road" on Showtime recently. This SHTF event went on for months or years. He was down to 2 bullets when he started out the trip south. I wonder how many bullets he had when the SHTF event started?

Anybody here, alone or with friends, that thinks they will be blasting away with 500 rounds at a time needs to really think about getting some marksmanship training. And lots of bandaids, cuz somebody will probably be shooting back and you ain't bullet proof.

I have lots of ammo stored away, but I don't have any illusions that I will be using it up in firefights.

 

[churchmouse]

Yes sir. And he was surrounded by all his mates similarly equipped and with a supply train stretching all the way back to the Lake City Army Ammunition Plant.

I watched the movie "the road" on Showtime recently. This SHTF event went on for months or years. He was down to 2 bullets when he started out the trip south. I wonder how many bullets he had when the SHTF event started?

Anybody here, alone or with friends, that thinks they will be blasting away with 500 rounds at a time needs to really think about getting some marksmanship training. And lots of bandaids, cuz somebody will probably be shooting back and you ain't bullet proof.

I have lots of ammo stored away, but I don't have any illusions that I will be using it up in firefights.

I hope that is not how I end up using the ammo I have acquired. I am in hopes it will be readily available until I can no longer see well enough to shoot safely. As I head to retirement (very soon) and discretionary spending is limited I hope the supply on hand will run myself and my family until I see fit to replenish. If the "S" does hit the fan I will be ready for that as well.
We have a one bullet per body rule around here. We strive to be excellent shots. Who knows in a real fire fight

 

[454comp]

a few hundred of each( except for .22 1500-2000) i'll be the only one shooting

 

[churchmouse]

a few hundred of each( except for .22 1500-2000) i'll be the only one shooting

If it comes to "SHTF" I will be feeding at least 3 people the rounds needed. We are all same calibers.
Enough is never enough I guess

 

[Dirc]

A lot of stores have had 500+ round bricks for $14-15 here before christmas, stock up!

Care to point me to a store in the Indy/Noblesville area that has those deals?

Yes that is a lot. I know folks who have more but they never seem to shoot much so it is easy to keep adding.
Is .22 your main caliber or have you a different battle weapon. I like all my .22
but they lack penetration and raw stopping power. Would I want to be shot with a .22, hell no.

No, I just shoot .22 the most, so I have what I consider to be a reasonable stockpile in that caliber. Also have anywhere between 500-2000 rounds each of a few other "serious" calibers. A few other calibers with less than 500 rounds.

 

[DCM8513]

I like the idea of using/storing .22 ammo because of its price but i dont think id want to defend myself with my .22 rifle. Its dirty and jams all the time not to mention the lack of knockdown power. No, i wouldn't want to be shot by a .22 rifle, but i feal like id have the upper hand shooting back with a gun that has some balls.

 

[djl02]

With the prices of ammo,it wouldnt take long to sink a few thousand dollar in ammo.Cheapest route would be to go with .22 like several have mentioned. Acouple of 50 cal ammo cans will hold over 10k at a price around 300 bucks.
Then I would get a couple thoussand rounds of 5.56 and then get into reloading. Same for 7.62.
Things get bad enough to need that much ammo,will you be able to carry or secure that much?

 

[rugertoter]

As much as you can store, and defend, without it getting damaged by the elements.

 

[GLOCKMAN23C]

Not going to try and tell anyone what to do but... If you store all of your guns and ammo in one place then your seriously limiting your flexibility. Having hidden cashe's with friends and family could be considered by some as a good thing. It may be simply a couple boxes of ammo, food, water, clothes, supplies, a FAK and mayb e a weapon or two.

Just a thought.

Agreed. I've thought about doing just that, but for some reason I keep talking myself out of it.

+1 for pulling my head out of the sand

 

[NathanJefferson]

Lots of great replies so far!

If you were planning for a protracted SHTF I would look at several things in combination.

1. Training - This is probably the biggest use of ammo, especially if TSHTF.
   • How much do you shoot for practice?
   • How much would you train if all the sudden your life depended on it?
   • How much would you LIKE to train if you all the sudden your life depended on it? (meaning if you had unlimited ammo)
   • After looking at the above two points, how many people would you be training with? How many people would you be joining or would be joining you?
   • I've got several 1000's of rounds of .22 stocked up for training.
2. Hunting - This I think would be the second largest use of ammo
   • Do you plan on hunting lots of squirrels and rabits?
   • Deer? Hogs? Etc?
   • I've got the 1000's of .22 mentioned above, a 100 or so good deer slugs, and a few hundred decent shotshells for hunting.
3. Defense - How much do you think you will need to protect you, family, goods, etc.
   • Depends on the number of people you will have firing in defense,
   • What guns you will be using. An AR will easily pump out several hundred rounds in a few minutes while a bolt gun maybe a few dozen.
   • I doubt any aggressor even(especially?) in numbers would be firing thousands of rounds at you. Ammo is heavy. I doubt that if they were stocked well enough to have 1000's of rounds they wouldn't be dumb enough to be using it in a high rate of fire shoot out.
   • How much can you safely store, travel with and realistically need?
4. Barter
   • If the SHTF and it turns into a barter economy I think THE worst thing you can barter with is ammo.
   • If the SHTF I predict GUNS will be plentiful and cheap but ammo will be expensive. This would lead a lot of people to want to trade ammo but you won't think its worth it when Johnny who just traded you <INSERT CRAZY HIGH PRICE> for a box of .22 comes back that night and takes EVERYTHING from you.
   • In normal times I think Guns are a good investment, and ammo an even better one. I know of people who have 100's of thousands of 5.56 and 7.62 stocked up - not for SHTF but because the price has gone up several 100% over the past decade or so and they can sell it for a profit very easily.

 

[J10]

The consensus among me and my friends is at least 10,000 rounds for your primary rifle. Then stepping down some for primary pistol caliber and backup rifle calibers.

 

[J man]

In a zombie situation I would consider everyone that is not in your household has the potential to be a zombie. There are how many billion people in the world? That is how much ammo you will need.