Stocking up on ammo?

[Deja vu]

How many rounds do you keep at home for each gun?

For me its pretty easy every gun I own is 22lr, 357 magnum, 45-70 or 12 ga. But I know most gun owners have many different guns in many different calibers. Do you try to stock up on each round you shoot? To me that seem very expensive.

I even got to the point where I now load 000 buck shot instead of 00 buck in 12ga because I can share the pellets with the 357 magnum if I have to. A very light load of trailboss and a 000 buckshot BB make for a nice easy shooting round that is very quiet and still small game capable in a 357 magnum rifle or handgun.

It also allows for carry of a long gun and a side arm that share the same ammo. The 357 magnum lends its self to this very well as does the 22lr. I also can do it with the 45-70 and will soon be able to with 12ga once my tax stamp comes back.

Sorry for rambling on. Any way do most people stock up on all the ammo they can shoot or do you stock up on only a few rounds and then only have a small amount in the other calibers they shoot?

[JohnKSa]

My goal is to have enough on hand to make it through a panic/shortage without having to scrounge or stand in line to buy ammo at 2x to 3x what it is worth. Most of all, I don't want to have to alter my shooting schedule to accommodate the nuttiness of others.

That means I have a good deal of ammo on hand for the calibers I shoot a lot and not much for the ones that don't make it to the range frequently.

[JWT]

I keep a very ample supply of the rounds I shoot most often and a lesser amount on the ones I shoot less frequently. Have a pretty full ammo cabinet. Don't want to get in another situation of being unable to get ammo when I want to shoot. Did not enjoy the heavy price gouging or standing in line to buy one or two 'rationed' boxes of ammo.

[Jim567]

A thousand rounds per caliber in reserve.
Why?
I don't know. Maybe cause I can.

[P5 Guy]

I learned to reload. I just stocked up on components.

[jaughtman]

Guns that I shoot a lot and/or are defensive guns (those tend to be the same for me) I stock up a fair amount - 100's of rounds at least - 9mm, .308, 12 gauge being the best examples. Guns that I shoot a few times per year at game and a few times to site in - I keep a couple of boxes unless there is a great sale on them - 45/70, 243, 30/30 being good examples.

J

[psalm7]

I try to keep 1000 for each weapon also around 3000 .22lr . I also keep quite abit of reloading suplies . For years I would buy 1 box to shoot and 1 box to store now I buy sevral box's to store each pay day and shoot some when I have time .

[skizzums]

I try to keep enough primers and powder to last me a year at any given time. that's around 10k primers and around 10#s of powder. not a huge investment and makes me feel good. I usually always have more than that in powder since I do several cartridges that are all different, but primers seem to get neglected sometimes. I have enough lead for my lifetime if I had to crunch. that doesn't include the ammo I have loaded up already. I have a TON of 9mm and .223 loaded, lots of military pulls that I will likely never use anymore.

if I didn't reload/cast. I guess I would want to keep a rotation of a couple thousand for each caliber

[Arizona Fusilier]

My minimum "comfort level", which I am pretty successful at maintaining:

1000 rds per defensive rifle calber
500 rds per defensive pistol caliber
200 rds per hunting/working rifle caliber
100 rds per hunting/working pistol (revolver) caliber
200 rds per defensive shotgun gauge (.12 only actually)
1000 rds per hunting/working shotgun gauge (.12 only for me)

As a general rule, I actually have twice those quantities on hand.

[stolivar]

1000 rounds on rifle
500 rounds on pistols
15000 rounds of 22




steve

[Mobuck]

If you know exactly how much ammo you have--you don't have ENOUGH!!!!!!

[Gunfixr]

^^ nice ^^
I used to.think I knew, but I keep finding ammo around the house.
No cabinet, I haven't seen one large enough or strong enough.
But, I have less than some, more than others.

[MarkDozier]

what he said'

[Deja vu]

My dad always said you need

2000 rounds for the defencive pistol of your choice
2000 rounds for the rifle of your choice
2000 rounds of the shotgun of your choice (mix of defence and hunting loads)
10000 Round of the the rimfire of your choice to practice and hunt with.

then 2-3 boxes of ammo for every other gun you own.

[Heavy Metal 1]

A former soldier I know said, in his opinion, you don't need to keep thousands of rounds on hand because if the social order breaks down to the point where there is a civil war type action there will be many rounds to pick up off the dead. In his own experience he said when he was a merc he operated this way and was able to travel light and fast. I think for most of us we just feel more comfortable with a substantial supply to get us through the next panic.

[madmo44mag]

For my milsurp guns and I bought surplus ammo when it was cheap and stacked it deep.
Since I reload any spare cash is converted into loading supplies and then loaded ammo.
How much do I have?
I have no idea

[45Gunner]

As the training officer for my Gun Club, I am on the range several times a week and then I shoot on my own at a private club I belong to. I train with a .45 ACP and keep a .357 magnum as a backup. As such, I shoot nearly 1000 rounds of .45 ACP each week so each month I buy 5000 rounds to keep ahead of the game. I wait for the spectacular deals and then jump on them. I may not buy for several weeks waiting for the right deal and then I load up. Every once in a while I may have to shoot down my inventory because I just don't have the room in my house to keep all the ammo I wish I could keep.

For my other calibers, I try to keep a minimum of 1000 rounds of each caliber in round nose and another 1000 rounds in hollow point. I rarely shoot 9mm, .38 special, or even .22LR so those inventories are somewhere around 1000 rounds.

[crazy charlie]

To answer your opening question.
None.
Big Brother might be listening in.

[skizzums]

A former soldier I know said, in his opinion, you don't need to keep thousands of rounds on hand because if the social order breaks down to the point where there is a civil war type action there will be many rounds to pick up off the dead.

not going to argue with any of that craziness, but I am less worried about societal breakdown as I am just another ammo panic. I would like to be able to just go out and shoot my guns without scavenging the carcasses.....

guns bans will come before a civil war

[aherrera773]

I have hiding places all over and I still don't feel like I have enough. If a day goes by that I don't reload I feel like I somehow missed out on opportunity. I don't know when ill have enough. I do feel that you should have more battle rifle ammo than pistol ammo. My 2 cents worth anyway.

[2ndsojourn]

If all my guns were lost in a boating accident or a fire, what do I need ammo for?

[giaquir]

I had to buy a 30 x 60 steel shed with a
climatic control system to house 2/3
of the ammo I keep on hand.

[45Gunner]

Everyone purchases, stores, and hoards ammo for as many reasons as there are gun owners. Some keep none on hand and buy as they go while others may just keep a box or two of defensive ammo stored in a nightstand or where ever. I have a reason to keep my ammo stores and for what ever purpose, it is my reason.

And for those that want to know that reason, talk to a war time grunt and ask them what their biggest fear was in a fire fight other than getting shot and/or killed.

[Kosh75287]

200 rounds per firearm, unless it's one I use all the time, then 500. The only exception is my Garand and a .22LR, and I dropped the ball on those.

+1 concerning .45 Gunner's post I'm not a wartime grunt, but I read him 5x5.

[boondocker385]

Lol...not enough