Not too many mention that buying ammunition is a hedge not only against low availability but as a hedge against inflation. Since I've been into firearms, a few decades, ammo has never reduced in cost, it has only constantly risen,
with some corrections during the rebound after shortages. A good portion of my stash was purchased in 2012-2015 and I don't anticipate we will ever see those prices again. So every time I shoot a box of ammo now that I bought
then, I reflect back on .22 per round .223, .16 per round 9mm, .02 per round .22 and I even have some .45 ACP I got for .17 per round just a few short year ago and realize that we won't likely ever experience that again.
What has also changed in this shortage are the costs of reloading components. The last two shortages, we had restricted availability of primers and powder but never with a huge price increase we have seen of both this time around.
Sure, primers won't always be .10-.14 ea. like they are now, but I doubt if they'll ever be .02 ea. again. So besides serving as a hedge against tyranny for when despots strangle civilian ammo availability, it seems to me that
building your ammo supply is smart financially and from a supply chain standpoint.
I can't fathom gun owners who only have a box or two of ammo for each gun. That leaves no ammo to practice with when the next shortage occurs and once you've shot that up, if there is no ammo available for you, your gun is a paperweight. Ammo, in America, in 2022 and going forward, shouldn't ever be thought of as a cheap, renewable supply to be replaced only when used. Recent history has shown us that forces will continually conspire to reduce or cut off ammo supply from consumers often. You don't have to go nuts and stockpile metric tons of ammo. Just buy a few extra boxes each time you buy and put it off to the side, to be saved and built.
Same as a 401k or an IRA, doing it over a long period of time will yield good returns. I used to say, learn how to reload, but since the pandemic, reloading is only for the stubborn and those who
are disciplined in stockpiling components. I've been seeing 9mm brass cased ammo lately as low as .30 per round. When people are paying .10 per bullet and primer, about .02-.04 worth of powder per round , plus scrounging brass and all
of the time and labor, reloading, at least for that common caliber doesn't begin to make sense. Of course for rifle or less common pistol calibers, if you have components, reloading makes financial sense.
So the question, "How much ammo do I need" has a LOT of different factors in it.