how much ammo?

Are you thinking SHTF or quick range trip? If bugout ammo, remember that gets heavy real quick. I'd rather have food & water and a 22 rifle. For a range trip, whatever you shoot in a session.

Now I prefer to prep and load ammo in lots of 1,000 rounds or more just to use up cartons of components and fill up ammo cans. But that's just me.

Very valid question that has been asked countless times here. Do a search for some real good info.

In my experience your question boils down to simply asking yourself how little ammo you don't feel comfortable without. Once you get above the minimum for you, it's all about the fun of reloading and stocking up beyond your minimum comfort level.

Ammo is like guns you can never have too many...nuff said

Figure out what you shoot in a year for the range and maintain that. Maybe go up 50% if it looks like a Democrat is going to win president.

I'm too old to bug out on foot anymore, but I would keep ammo under 10 pounds. I would really figure out all I was carrying and what I could afford to add to that. I'm also going to say pack heavy and be ready to drop what is not needed quickly. Two of the most common reasons to bug out are fires and chemical spills. All you would need for that is your normal carry. A hurricane I can't imagine needing hardly any ammo at all. Being armed is probably enough.

For me, it's not driven by any SHTF considerations.

I have a progressive press. It takes maybe an hour to switch calibers, and then turns out a few hundred rounds an hour. I'm lazy, so if I have enough brass I'll load several hundred rounds at least of one caliber before switching calibers.

If you're shooting matches, a few hundred rounds doesn't last long :-(

I keep a minimum of three years of components on hand. Every year I replenish what I use. I shoot lots of matches and practice a lot though, so the amounts for me are more than most I would imagine.

I want to have enough components on hand to load 2500 rounds of 40 S&W and 2500 rounds of 9mm per year.

For .223, I want enough components to load 3000 rounds/year.

I just need 500 rounds of .308/year.

I continually re-supply ove the course of a year, because its amazing how fast I go through this stuff, lol.

The whole advantage of reloading is to add some more zeros to the quantity you have on hand.

Reloading will not save you money overall. Reloading creates having more ammunition on hand, which creates the need for trips more often to the range to create space on the shelf, which means reloading more ammo to fill the empty spaces on the shelf, which means, well, you get the idea.

I not a "bug out" person. However I like steel surplus ammo cans for storage and range trips. They are convenient to store and to toss in the vehicle when going to the range. If you are a coffee drinking plastic coffee containers nowdays make for a cheap, easy way to store components and ammunition.

I shoot 3-5 days a week. I never have less than 5k pistol rounds loaded. I try to keep supplies on hand for at least 25k.


For the past 25 years, I have always bought at least twice the components I thought I would need for the year when I found a deal.

I am not a bug out guy at all. 1,000 rounds of 9mm would have you dragging the bug-out bag pretty quickly. I think a 50mm can holds 1,800 9mm rounds packed 100 in a plastic baggie but I forgot exactly so I could be way off. I have counted and weighed it. Either way it is HEAVY!

I don't think you can have too much ammo for your primary caliber of sidearm and I base that on actual events, not SHTF. December 2012 comes to mind. Within a couple of weeks of Sandy Hook you couldn't buy squat for ammo at you local stores and online prices went through the roof. .223 was actually selling for $1 a round!!!

I got into reloading because of SH and my inability to find basic 9mm ammo with any regularity. I think I have components for about a two year supply if the entire supply chain dried up tomorrow. I have about a three year supply of factory ammo currently on hand and will continue to buy as long as prices are good.

In one of those "reality" situations I think .22 LR would be the way to go as you can carry scads more ammo, kill just about any food animal alive with proper shot placement, and defend yourself if needed.

ohihunter2014 said:

hey guys,

I'm just getting into reloading and one of the main reasons for it is to save money and get a new hobby.

I'm also sorta getting into the whole bug out bag deal just for kicks and well the way this worlds going ya just never know.

I'm wondering how much handgun and rifle ammo do you usually have on hand? I was thinking maybe throwing 200-300rounds of handgun and maybe 200 of rifle in the bag with ammo cans ready to roll also.

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IMO: 200-300 rounds of handgun and 200 rounds of rifle, for an on-foot bugout bag, is way, way too much weight. For vehicle bugout it's reasonable, even low.



But ammunition/components on hand should be thought of in terms of how long you can continue to train/practice with what you have.

If I bugged out I'd have to leave a crapload of guns and ammo behind. Not going to happen.

Two different questions in the O.P.

First, there is no such thing as too much ammo. Pay your bills, take care of daily stuff and buy ammo. In general, it will not be cheaper next year than it is this year.

For bug out bags, pack light. You have to carry everything you put in that bag.

I don't have a bug-out bag loaded with ammo (don't really have any place in particular to go to anyways), but always like to keep some ammo and mags ready to go in case of an impromptu range trip. Hate wasting time at the range getting all of my ammo together, loading mags, and just sorting everything out. So for a quick range visit I have an old video camera bag filled with 800 rounds of .22, 100 rounds of 9mm., 100 rounds of .45 ACP, and about 200 to 250 rounds of .223.

Depends, I have more components than I have loaded ammunition because I am always looking for something better and it is easier to load that it is to pull down and start over. Not to mention I might wind up needing that primer, powder or bullet for something else and not be able to buy more (like a few years ago).

I have loaded 200 rounds for a match that morning lots of times though and never leave for a sanctioned match with less than twice the round count in my bag. You won't have me lable you "paranoid" for having a few hundred in your range bag. When I was a kid I never started a walk with less than 50 rounds in my pocket, well not after the first time I ran out 45 min from the house at "the snake pit". A lot easier to carry them back home than go back and get them.

Catch 22:
If you reload, the only risk you run is to load up a lot of ammo and then find a load (or loads) that you much prefer. That can leave you with with a lot of ammo that may not match your shooting skills.

That was my problem.... essentially developing a lot of waste (old loads that have no interest any more).

The ammo "how much is enough?" discussion is common, especially with 22LR. I would think in terms of one year's usage to have on hand if you can. If something happened, you would likely be only shooting at most 25% of your regular shooting amount. I doubt you would go out plinking often and blow away 500 or 1000 rounds in one day. Same goes for center fire if you plink with it. Your opinion may be different.

How much do you shoot? If you only shoot a few times a year, you don't need much IMO. I shoot a lot of ammo every week but only load when I have enough empty brass to make it worthwhile setting up the press (progressive press).

I would think in terms of one year's usage to have on hand if you can.

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Last time I bought .22 it was as much of a particular lot as I could find. Cost $7.98/500 still shoots as accurate is it did back them and over the last few years has turned out to be a fantastic investment.

I still have some primers I bought before Clintons AWB, stored right they don't go bad either.

Well lets see------I try to keep enough components to reload for MY normal usage for at least 4 years stocked ahead. I do not necessarily actually reload it all ASAP. I will keep a minimum of 1.5 range trips loaded ahead. I do prep all my brass ahead so it will be a simple thing to load em up when the time comes though. As others say you might find a different load or need those primers/propellant in a different caliber if supplies become tight. Also things are easier to sell and worth more in their original containers as opposed to loaded reloads. The .22 I will keep a 4-5 years expected use ahead and then severely curtail or even stop using it up when I get below 1/2 that amount. I have found that loading up 38 SPL LSWC now is cheaper than the stupid high prices of .22 ammo of all types.

It is a good hedge against inflation to buy ahead and stack deep when you find a sale however.

So loading it all up to have a mountain of ammo to show off is kind of counterproductive IMHO.

Consider that the standard combat load for an Army infantryman is 7 magazines (210 rds). If they had a pistol, maybe 3 mags for that, and that is for combat.

3 rifle mags and 3 pistol should be plenty for a BOB IMO.

Hi...


How much ammo???

I try to keep a couple magazines+ for my carry guns(factory ammo).

I usually have at least 500 rounds of practice/target/plinking rounds loaded at any point in time for all of the common handgun calibers, plus enough components to load several thousand more of each.
I keep about 100 rounds of full-power handgun ammo per caliber loaded at all times and enough components to load several hundred more.

My son has been buying some handgun ammo on line, especially 9mm practice ammo, as it is cheaper to buy it than to reload it. We probably have 5K cases ready to reload for 9mm.

The only rifle ammo I keep large quantities of on hand is .223 for my son's AR. Most hunting calibers I only keep 2-3 boxes of factory ammo on hand but, do keep large amounts of components ready to reload the brass.
I do keep several thousand rounds of .22LR on hand and always have several hundred, sometimes upwards of a 1000 12ga shells stashed away. We shoot a lot of clay birds, do a fair amount of small game hunting and have about 100 rounds of 00 buckshot on hand for two-legged predators. Not set up to reload shotgun shells yet but, I have thousands of empty cases if I decide to start.
At something close to $50 a case for 12ga target loads, I don't see the economic sense in investing in the equipment to reload shotgun at this point.