How many rounds

How many rounds should I buy for a new gun

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ilbob

ilbob

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So I picked up my new gun today. It is a Smith & Wesson M&P 2.0 in 10 mm from PSA. Came with four magazines and a holster, and a $100 rebate.

It's my first 10 mm so I don't have any ammo for it. I was thinking of ordering 500 or a thousand rounds. I can have it shipped for free for about 40 cents a round these days if I buy 1,000.
 
I would buy only as much as you plan to shoot at the first range session and I would buy a variety, not all of one kind. You might take it to the range and hate it--I've had it happen--not often, but often enough. And I've run into guns with ammo preferences often enough that I don't like to buy a huge amount of ammo if I don't know the gun will like it.

If you like it after the next range session and find that it shoots one of the types of ammo well and reliably, then how much you buy depends on what you plan to do with it.

For range toys, I like to keep around 1,000 rounds on hand.

For carry/self-defense guns, I like to have 100-200 rounds of carry ammo for testing/practice/use and maybe a few hundred more rounds of range ammo for practice.

You didn't ask, but I like to have at least 5 magazines for any gun that takes detachable magazines.
 
Yeah, I'd also pick up at least a couple/three more mags first. If I keep a pistol, I go with a minimum of ten.

For me, if I pick up a new caliber, I'll order a case of 500 (200 hundred to run through it for function testing), then a couple hundred more JHPs in varying brands, bullet weights and profile.

What kind of holster was included?
 
I'm a 10mm fan. I owned a G20 for years and later a G29 before going to a compact Smith like yours. Good advice above. Buy 100 rounds locally just to see how you like it. For a variety of reasons, you may not like the pistol or the cartridge and wouldn't want to be stuck with 1000 rounds of ammo you can't use. Once you determine you like it you can always order in bulk later.

My thoughts on 10mm. For me at least it is a specialty round and pistol that I use for a specific purpose. I don't need to, nor want to put a ton of ammo through mine. 1000 rounds would be more 10mm than I'd shoot in a lifetime so I wouldn't buy that much. But you may be different.

The 10 is my outdoors hiking/camping pistol when in bear country. I usually carry expensive loads made by DoubleTap or Buffalo Bore costing $2 or more every time I pull the trigger.

HEAVY 10MM OUTDOORSMAN (buffalobore.com)

I can't afford 1000 rounds of that and I'm not sure the gun would hold up to 1000 rounds of that ammo. I shoot enough to stay familiar with the pistol and the added recoil. But if I want to start shooting in bulk I have other nearly identical pistols in 22, 9mm, and 45 ACP that I can shoot for a fraction of the cost.

M&P®22 COMPACT | Smith & Wesson (smith-wesson.com)

Same look, feel, trigger and operating system as the 10mm. The pistol cost me $350, and I can buy 500 rounds of 22's less than 20 rounds of Buffalo Bore or Double Tap ammo.
 
JohnKSa makes some good points.

I have a Colt 1911 in 9mm that runs flawlessly on 124 and 147 grain rounds of any configuration. But it hates 115 grain JHP. That’s a good thing to know before buying 500 or 1,000 rounds of 115 grain ammo.

Start with a box of your intended carry ammo. If you and the gun like it, buy a couple more boxes to make sure. Then look for a similar weight and power practice round and do the same. Once you have a winner, then it is time to buy in bulk.
 
If you buy a 1000 rounds even if it isn't the most accurate in your gun it is still useful for practice. I know some of us can go through that many in a month. Also I'd just buy inexpensive ammo first round for the gun. A 1000 rounds through a semi auto handgun doesn't take long to shoot and buying in bulk saves money.
 
For semi-auto, centerfire guns, Try to find the cash for 1,000 rds.: most of it should be kept as reserve ammo.

Without a doubt…there Will be another ammo panic…one day…maybe in two weeks… maybe in three years.

Some are fairly predictable, based on possible election results.
The other type- linked to a terrible tragedy-- can not be anticipated around any specific day, week, month etc.. So many gun owners seem to forget about this grim reality.
 
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If I had zero ammo, I'd buy just enough to figure out if the gun is a keeper. You may decide recoil is unpleasant or it's a poor fit ergonomically and shooting causes discomfort. I don't buy anything that's not absolutely necessary until I know I'm keeping the gun.

Report back on how long it takes to get your S&W rebate if you would. Says 8-12 weeks or something. I got mine 6 days after submitting online.
 
Some very good advice above. Buy what you can afford, try several different brands and weights till you find what the gun likes.

As to how much to buy, the only time you can have to much ammo is when your house is on fire.
 
I think you guys have the right idea in buying an assortment. I will see what I can come up with in the next day or two.

This is the deal I ordered.

https://palmettostatearmory.com/s-w...m-pistol-with-4-mags-holster-black-13731.html

I never heard of comp-tac holsters before. It is a model DCH holster which is supposed to be able to be used either inside the waistband or outside the waistband. The website shows this style of holster comes with both a paddle clip for owb use and something they call an infidel clip for iwb use, but mine only came with the owb attachment. I will email them and ask about this.

https://www.comp-tac.com/dual-concealment-holster-dch
 
I didn't vote because I agree with others who recommend trying different ammo to see which you like. Also determining if the gun is something you want to keep before buying by the case.

I have over 1000 rounds of practice ammo on hand for .45 ACP, .40 S&W, 5.56 plus 100 or so defensive. I should get more 9mm because that's the round I shoot and carry these days.
 
Reading your OP, I was going to agree with the 500 - 1,000 round purchase. However, then I read JohnKSa's first paragraph and realized that is exactly what I do with a new gun, especially in a new caliber. I buy 50 round (or 20 round boxes if that's what they have) boxes in a variety of bullet weights and shapes to see what works best in the gun.

With the kind of luck I normally have, buying 1,000 rounds in single lot, it would be in a brand or bullet shape that either doesn't feed quite right or isn't accurate in my new gun. Once I figure out what works best in the gun, then I buy larger lots of that particular round.
 
ilbob said:
It's my first 10 mm so I don't have any ammo for it. I was thinking of ordering 500 or a thousand rounds. I can have it shipped for free for about 40 cents a round these days if I buy 1,000.
Click to expand...
It depends on the ammo. Is this LAX's house brand? If so, I'd buy a smaller quantity to test first or pass on it completely..
 
I'll concur with the "get an assortment" bunch.
You will want to find the ammo that runs best for you in your pistol.
Once you know what that is, then, go with the best price you can get. Which means haunting ammoseek, Bud's, et al, looking for the best deals and sales.

One advantage 10mm will have is that the demand is not as great as for other ammo, so, various retailers may discount it lest it go "stale" on their shelves. Which will help offset the slightly higher on-the-shelf prices.
 
It depends. Are you going to reload for this? Are you going to carry it for SD?

1) If you aren't going to reload, then I would advise as some of the others did and buy a variety of ammo to see what it likes.

2) If you are going to reload, I would buy a case of 500 or 1000... first, to be able to shoot the gun and become familiar with it. Shooting the factory ammos will be your seed corn for your reloading brass. In these days of tight components, including brass and primers, you get your first 500 or 1000 rounds for 'free' (no effort or components required) and it will leave you with a reasonable stash of the same basic lot of brass. Then you can set out trying different loads to find something it likes.

3) If you are going to carry it for SD or HD purposes... then a variety of different defense ammos is a good idea, find a bullet it likes, and a load that is reliable.
 
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