How Much Ammo on Hand?

[pockets]

I don't understand the need for thousands of rounds of ammo.

Well.....Some of us own more than one firearm, shoot more than once a year, and realize ammo is never going down in price.
50k seems like a lot, but it's really not all that much when spread over nine cartridge types for 100+ firearms.
1000+ is the maximum on the poll?? Heck, that is only 2 bricks of .22LR. That's only one good day at the range.
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[Ian]

Ammo almost never gets cheaper, it stores forever, and your guns are useless without it. That's why I have a lot. And if you have a machine gun(s), you'll go through it FAST.

I recently picked up 3000 rounds of 7.62 Tokarev and 3,000 of 9mm Largo. I don't have guns in either of those calibers yet, but the ammo was cheap and it'll only go up. I with I'd put my retirement account contributions into surplus ammo over the past 10 years. Things like South African .308 and Romanian 8mm have roughly tripled in price, and things like Greek .303 simply aren't around anymore.

 

[M2 Carbine]

How Much Ammo on Hand?

I honestly don't know but if I get down to about 3,000 rounds per caliber I consider I'm out of ammo.

I don't understand the need for thousands of rounds of ammo.

It's better than money in the bank.
Because I buy in bulk when I find sales on ammo and reloading components, I'm shooting center-fire reloads for about $4.00 a box, Factory Win 9mm for $4.48 a box, 7.62x39 for under $70.00 a case, etc, etc.
What is ammo costing you?

A thousand rounds may sound like a lot but it's only about 5 trips to the range.
I recently bought a Ruger LC9 and put over a thousand rounds through it in just eight days. The stuff goes fast if you are a regular shooter.

 

[303tom]

Including all of my double & triple F, bullets & balls for my BP ! A Bunch !

 

[22-rimfire]

I keep a few thousand 22LR around along with a few boxes of each other caliber I shoot, at least.

 

[HOOfan_1]

50k seems like a lot, but it's really not all that much when spread over nine cartridge types .

Yeah but the poll question was "for each caliber"


if you have 50K each for 9 calibers, that would be 450,000 rounds. You would need an entire room of your house to store it.

 

[ForumSurfer]

I don't understand the need for thousands of rounds of ammo. I have no objections to it just don't understand. I'm a Nam era combat veteran and expect to be very dead before I expend a thousand rounds in a confrontational situation. Who or what are you going to use that many rounds on and survive? How are you going to transport them and to where? Sorry but the logistics just don't add up. Just my 2 cents not intending to offend anyone. Frank

Some of us just shoot more than others. I don't have 50,000...but I do hve 1000's. I I stopped buying, I would run out. It's a hobby.

Now if I would bite the bullet and get a progressive press, I would end up with 50K and I would be shooting more...assuming I could find time to learn reloading and run the press.

if you have 50K each for 9 calibers, that would be 450,000 rounds. You would need an entire room of your house to store it.

Once you get to a certain point, you put range fodder in ammo boxes loosely. They take up much less space. Sadly, I have only had that problem once in my life and I currently have no trouble storing it all in retail boxes.

Now shotgun shells...they take up a bunch of room. I have several hundred rounds of bird shot and the pile looks impressive, but it could easily be depleted in a couple of weekends skeet shooting with the family.

 

[moonman16]

Big Brother's watching you.

 

[Jonah71]

I stockpiled for over 2 years and have shot it all up in just over 2 months. I can't afford to go out and buy a lot of ammo and shoot as often as I like. So I'm just gonna keep and extra 50 rounds or so for each weapon and "buy as I shoot" until winter. Then I will restock. I'll have to buy a huge amount of 9mm., and about half as many .40 cal., .45acp and even less .38 spec. and a few boxes of .357 mag (don't shoot it often). I'll go through what I bought last week in no time. Thankfully 22LR is cheap. I'll be shooting that S&W target pistol a lot. If I could just leave the 9mm. CZ's at home my checking account would be healthier. They're just way too fun to shoot.

 

[JohnM]

You would need an entire room of your house to store it.

You don't?

 

[Old krow]

I don't understand the need for thousands of rounds of ammo.

For someone that shoots competitively, or shoots a lot, bulk ammo creates a hedge against sporadic ammo increases.

It's considerably more cost effective to buy the components in bulk in you reload.

It depends on how much you shoot. For some, 10k is a year's worth of ammo. The costs differences between buying reloading components in bulk vs. not buying in bulk can be pretty significant over time. Imagine the disparity between factory ammo and bulk reloading components.

 

[BSA1]

Or have lots of shelves. Just a couple of mine;

http://pic100.picturetrail.com/VOL763/13286435/23880618/398297682.jpg

 

[Murphy4570]

I have around 2,000 rounds of 7.62x54R, because sgammo sells it by the crate for a very good price. I see no need to accumulate more, since I use a couple Mosins to utilize that ammo. Slow firing gun = slow ammo usage.

I also have about 1,500 rounds of .45 ACP. I use that stuff much faster when I'm at the range.

Other stuff I have little of. I have ZERO 30-06 right now, shot my only 80 rounds of it a few weeks back. I do have over 5,000 rounds of .22 LR, and ~300 rounds of 12 gauge.

 

[willisevrywhr]

For a SHTF scenario....If you can't run with it on you its too much!!

 

[ny32182]

For those of you buying 10k+ in loaded factory centerfire ammo and sitting on it, you probably could have bought a nice progressive press and loaded 10k for the same price, and then be saving money from there on out.

Ammo to me is like gasoline; there is no way I could possibly buy enough to last me any significant amount of time at once, so I pretty much buy it as a go along. I buy hazmat components for pistol in amounts that will allow me to load 10-15k at a time, and bullets in smaller quantities, 2-4k at a time.

Finally, it is costing you the amount of money to shoot that the ammo is worth at the moment you shoot it. If you bought the ammo for X amount 10 years ago and today it costs twice as much, it is still costing you the current value today to shoot it, because that is what it is worth.

 

[Mike1234567]

For most I keep 500-1000 but I have >1000 for 3 or 4 calibers.

 

[ForumSurfer]

For a SHTF scenario....If you can't run with it on you its too much!!

I agree. I keep it piled up so I can continue shooting when I'm financially challenged. Not to mention that a girlfriend, an 8 year old and a 12 year old who all enjoy shooting can really burn through some ammo!

For those of you buying 10k+ in loaded factory centerfire ammo and sitting on it, you probably could have bought a nice progressive press and loaded 10k for the same price, and then be saving money from there on out.

I'd say that the amount would be lower. I'm at a point where I can no longer afford to keep shooting at my current rate. My range fodder stockpiles are shrinking faster than they are being replenished...even when I replenish them with the cheapest, dirtiest, steel cased stuff I can find. I'm going to need to take time away from shooting to start reloading or just shoot less (heresy!)

 

[Jonah71]

I've seen the price on ammo increase enough over the past 3-4 yrs that it makes perfect sense for me to stockpile. I thought I had more than enough until recently. If you're firing several hundred rounds a week, it doesn't make sense not to take advantage of "sale" prices when you see them. If you're even slightly addicted to shooting, it doesn't take long to go through a couple of thousand rounds. Now, with some ammo, I'm paying as much as 30%+ more than I did just 3 yrs ago. I need to seriously consider reloading. Kinda like the concept of replanting trees as you harvest. I seem to have forgotten that.

 

[22-rimfire]

I try to not make blanket statements when it is per caliber. I have guns with no ammo on hand and others with a lot. So, do you go with the lowest inventory caliber or highest caliber for your poll?

 

[jleyring]

As much as possible. For semi autos i like to have 500 or more at a time. My hunting rifles around 100 though. Dont shoot them enough to need much more.

 

[Gottahaveone]

I don't understand the need for thousands of rounds of ammo. I have no objections to it just don't understand. I'm a Nam era combat veteran and expect to be very dead before I expend a thousand rounds in a confrontational situation.

I'm sorry, I must have missed the part of the poll that said this was ammo for a confrontational situation. I thought he was asking how much you keep on hand. I *like* shooting .45acp. It wasn't but a short while back when you couldn't beg, borrow, or steal .45's from any store in my local area. I had enough on hand that I didn't feel the crunch. 380 was the same way a year or so ago. Two of my buddies each bought an LCP and then couldn't find a single round to feed them. It was nice to be able to "loan" them a couple of boxes.

I guess my point is that having 25-30k on hand doesn't necessarily mean you have it for the zombie apocalypse.....

 

[ny32182]

As far as the space concern I don't think it is really that bad; one of the shops here has 500k rounds in the back in a variety of calibers, and it doesn't really take up *that* much room... it is all against one wall of an admittedly decent sized storage room, but I could fit that much along the wall in my garage if it came down to it. I'm not sure how much the weight of that much ammo might be a concern if it is sitting anywhere but a concrete slab.

 

[beatledog7]

People invest in gold, T-Bills, stocks, etc. None of these will matter, not even gold, if we ever reach the much discussed SHTF or WROL scenario.

Picture that world. Four people meet at a crossroads. One has a wheelbarrow of cash. The second has a bag of gold. The third has a wagon full of food and water. The fourth has guns and plenty of ammo. If survival really is the critical issue, our fourth guy leaves the crossroads with a wagon load of food and water, a bag of gold, a wheelbarrow full of fire starter, guns, and plenty of ammo.

 

[Zach S]

A lot by some's standards, a good start boy others, and to a few, not much as all.

For example: I have around 50 AR15 magazines, all loaded. So, figure forty 30 rounders and ten 20 rounders, and I have 1320 rounds in magazines...

I keep enough ammo on hand to refill each magazine at least once. .22lr doesn't get counted in with inventory, but I have plenty.

I don't understand the need for thousands of rounds of ammo.

I used to buy in bulk because it was cheaper, and I was a high-volume shooter, compared to most of the gun owners I know. For those wondering, it was at least 200 or 300 rounds a weekend, more than that wasn't uncommon. I didn't buy ammo when I needed it, I bought it when I didn't spend the money on guns.

After I got married, time at the range, and disposable income, went down considerably. But I was able to keep shooting because I had thousands of rounds on hand.

 

[svaz]

In terms of stockpiling ammo, IMHO, it's just a practical exercise. As several ppl have mentioned, ammo prices keep going up and ammo rarely ever "goes bad." So, why not buy up as much as possible while possible?

During the 2008-2010 run on ammo I decided that having a few hundred rounds of each caliber I had was difficult to track and, in some case, really expensive. So, I standardized on four calibers and now have the option of buying in bulk which is cheaper and ensures I'll never have a bunch of useless ammo should I decide to sell or trade off a certain gun (because I'll have several more in that caliber).

As for how much do I have? Not enough to suit me.

Oh, and BTW, when one gets into competitive shooting sports, the round count can climb dramatically - just like road warriors have "insane" gas or airfare bills, so competitors can have substantial ammo stores.