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Old October 19, 2008, 10:55 PM   #1
cchardwick
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How much ammo do you have?

I just ordered a case of 1000 rounds of .223. I almost feel like I may have enough if you know what hits the fan. I could fill my 100 round drum 10 times with that much ammo. How much ammo do you have, and do you feel like you have too much or not enough?

1000 rounds with semi-auto will go a long way, not so far with full auto though. I just have semi-autos but of course my two Bushmasters are 'bump fire only' to be legal full autos LOL.

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Old October 20, 2008, 12:25 AM   #2
Firepower!
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I dont have an exac t count since I only focused on minimum quantity that remains untouched, so here is for a few calibers:

5.56 100,000+
7.62x39 150,000+
7.62x51 50,000+
9mm 100,000+
And list goes on.

I think I dont have enough since I live in a 'war zone'
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Old October 20, 2008, 12:57 AM   #3
fbrown333@suddenlink
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ammo

never enough ammo to satisfy me
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Old October 20, 2008, 09:50 AM   #4
cchardwick
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Quote:
5.56 100,000+
7.62x39 150,000+
7.62x51 50,000+
9mm 100,000+
And list goes on.
WOW, That's a ton of ammo! How much did all that cost you and where did you get it? I would think that would be over $100,000 in ammo. I bet it took awhile to build up that much. BTW, where do you live?
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Old October 20, 2008, 10:10 AM   #5
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I've heard it said of driving speed, that: anyone going slower than you is road-hog and anyone going faster is a maniac.
I suspect the same may be applied to ammunition quantities: anyone having less than you is unprepared and someone with more is a warmonger.
Cchardwick, let's just say: I've got more than 10 times what you have on hand, but less than one tenth of Firepower!'s supply.
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Old October 20, 2008, 11:05 AM   #6
johnwilliamson062
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I think firepower is serving in the military. Those are all USGI rounds.
I have a couple thousand 22lr. Everything else is pretty much around 500.
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Old October 20, 2008, 11:13 AM   #7
cchardwick
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So with all that ammo, how many guns and magazines do you have? I'd like to see a photo of what all that ammo looks like, it probably fills a whole walk in closet.
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Old October 20, 2008, 12:38 PM   #8
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I believe Firepower! lives in Pakistan. Much closer to trouble than we do. Although I think you would regret counting 1,000 rounds as adequate if things really went south. Then again, if any situation arises where you need more than a few shots, I'm not sure any amount would protect you indefinitely.

Sure as heck wish I had that cache. Ammo and ice cream, please deposit here, or at least write me into your will.

Why is this under the NFA forum? I understand the connection between burning more cartridges in select-fire weapons, but I'd hate to obfuscate the issue and have people think that owning ammunition is not in some way subject to the heightened strictness of NFA devices.
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Old October 20, 2008, 01:00 PM   #9
NWPilgrim
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As far as how much is enough you have to ask, "Enough for what?"

For a couple of encounters with robbers/house breakers you don't need much. A box of ammo is probably good.

Enough to carry you through an L.A. riot? Then maybe a couple of hundred rounds would be more comforting.

For frequent training and practice? You need to buy in bulk and likely need a few thousand of whatever you are practicing with.

As a hedge against inflation and possible ammo taxes or disruption to supplies? Or if you live in a combat zone? Then you can't really have too much. Buy as much as you can afford without hurtung the family budget.

Personally I like to have at least 1,000 loaded rounds ready for my primary firearms, with reloading components on hand to make up another couple thousand. As a minimum. In practice I typically have 2,000 - 4,000 of main cartridges on hand with a about the same amount waiting on the shelves as components.

Main cartridges: .40SW, 9mm, .308, .30-06, .223, 7.62x39. About half those amounts for .45ACP and .30 Carbine. And only a few hundred for .30-30, .380/Mak, .38/.357, .44 mag, .303, and 6.5x55.
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Old October 20, 2008, 02:37 PM   #10
cchardwick
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I started this post here because I think only people with full autos can give us an idea of the maximum number of rounds people feel they need. I think a full auto M16 shoots around 700-900 rounds per minute. 1000 rounds goes really fast at that rate, something the semi auto folks can't get a grasp of. That's only about 1.5 minutes of full auto to use up my 1000 round stash. Now that I consider these numbers myself, I think I need to buy more ammo.



I was really thinking something like the movie Red Dawn: Terrorists are somehow elected into government and the government collapses, terrorists living in this country rise up and try to kill everyone who don't worship their god, or a plague sweeps the country and turns everyone into blood thirsty zombies LOL.



I actually feel like I'm in one of the safest places in the world up here in the middle of nowhere in the mountains of Colorado (besides the lions, bears, and wolves). I would think that people living in the cities would be at the greatest risk. Down in Denver you can't even own a black rifle, not even a semi auto.

Last edited by cchardwick; October 22, 2008 at 11:08 PM.
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Old October 20, 2008, 11:15 PM   #11
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My approach is a little different, I'm not particularly fond of reloading so I tend to put it off until I have a significant quantities of empties, then I do a mass reloading. Well, it's not so much the loading that's a bother, it's the change-overs that I'm trying to minimize. Consequently, I've accumulated adequate supplies of each of my frequently used loadings to get me from one mass reloading session to the next. I like to justify this practice by thinking I have better uniformity when loading larger quantities. The same logic applies to my infrequent, but mammoth casting sessions.
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Old October 21, 2008, 08:13 AM   #12
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I keep "plenty" on hand to feed my M16 in all calibers it uses. I'd say that I have, by far, the most of .22lr. Maybe like 100k or so...
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Old October 21, 2008, 10:56 AM   #13
Firepower!
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Yes the ammo did cost a lot. Cant tell you off hand how much. Some of it was free from various sources. In any event it took me over 4 years to pile it up. And I was right in doing that since ammo supply in civilian access is drying up. This specially the case Obama made open threats to attack Pakistan over and over again in his speaches.

Folks here are worried and stocking up in case the country is unwillingly plunged in to war.

A year ago, folks here who worked in white color jobs did not aquire guns. Now, there seems to be a rush after they see whats happening in Iraq and Afghanistan, in light of threats from Obama.

Ammo is never enough. If you stop piling up and keep shooting it will run out just like money.
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Old October 21, 2008, 11:28 AM   #14
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i got plenty of ammo to take care of what ever "business" comes my way
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Old October 22, 2008, 07:21 AM   #15
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@Firepower. Free ammo? Are u talking abt from Adam Khel ? I heard they used to sell bullets by kilo? :P I would loved to be introduced to the sources who could give away free ammo
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Old October 22, 2008, 11:09 PM   #16
cchardwick
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I'm sure if you live in a combat zone you get free ammo from your 'daily work', if you know what I mean.

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Old October 23, 2008, 02:09 AM   #17
Firepower!
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Free ammo usually comes to me with gun purchase or through government surplus for certain calibers like 7.62x51 and 9mm.


Dera Adm Khail is closed for foreseable future.
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Old October 28, 2008, 08:53 AM   #18
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FirePower! where and how do you store your ammo. I have some for my hand guns and take extra care to store them in small quantities in airtight cans with bags of silica sand to keep it moisture free. Please post some pics of your ammo.
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Old October 28, 2008, 08:57 AM   #19
cchardwick
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I think ammo storage conditions depends on where you live. Here in Colorado we have a desert like climate with almost no moisture in the air at all. Put a piece of bread on your kitchen countertop. If it dries up as hard as a rock you don't have to worry about moisture. If it gets soggy or stays soft, that's a different story.
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Old October 31, 2008, 01:43 PM   #20
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Never "enough" ammo

I love to shoot but don't care that much for reloading except for doing load development. I shoot probably five to ten times as much .45 ACP ammo as any other caliber - - Both Elder Son and I love .45 handguns, and shoot 'em in matches. I shoot a Thompson in SMG matches. You can empty a lot of brass with that kind of interest.

I tend to put off mass loading until shortly before matches. Just a lazy ole retired dude . . . .

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Old October 31, 2008, 03:22 PM   #21
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My 5.56/.223 surplus is probably my largest, right now right around 12k rounds mostly brass cased ammo. My m16 is hungry. I used to only keep a few thousand on hand, but I shoot so much, I just started buying ammo by the warehouse. Probably 4k of 7.62x39 , 2k of .308 about 800 rounds of .45 acp, couple thousand 9mm, around 500 .22lr and 612 round of .50 bmg after this mornings shoot. Not to mention a few boxes of .40 s&w, .50 ae and .357 sig and magnum. About 50 rounds of .338 lapua and assorted boxes of shotgun shells. I'd hate to be near a fire in my house.
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Old October 31, 2008, 09:19 PM   #22
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After todays buy from academy sports I have 3800 7.62x39, 1400 7.62x54r, 7500 .22LR, 1280 .308/7.62x51, 1250 9mm, 800 6.5x55, 920 7.5x55, 250 #00 buckshot 12ga., 250 slugs 12 ga., 400 other 12 ga. and 900 8mm mauser. There may be a few extra boxes that I have in drawers that I forgot about, but these amounts I have in ammo cans and I know for sure the count is right.
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Old November 1, 2008, 05:46 PM   #23
ltdave
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not nearly as much as you guys...

ive got brass and bullets for about 5K .223 but i shoot high power and not tacticool matches...

ive got about 1,200 rounds of .40 SW because that was my preferred side arm for pistol shooting for a long time but have moved to the 1911 in .45, i just have to work up a good target load...

.30-06 runs around 5,000-6,000 rounds. i used to buy it at my high power matches from a USGI can, taking it home and putting it on the shelf. by the time the season was over and the can was empty, i would get the can, take it home and put it back in the can. i also got a couple of cases from CMP north...

a couple cases (2,200?) of .30 carbine too...
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Old November 1, 2008, 11:50 PM   #24
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Never enough!!!!!!!!
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Old November 5, 2008, 12:10 AM   #25
RWBlue01
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Not enough


Never enough
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