Carry ammo on hand

[kobes31]

Assuming that you will hopefully never have to use it, how much carry ammo is necessary to have on hand? I have been considering picking up another box or two just to have, but again, this isn't range fodder. I MIGHT OCCASIONALLY put a mag downrange just for function testing, but I have already done so when choosing carry ammo also. Thanks for your responses!

[new_scopeshooter]

I usually keep 2 to 3 boxes handy. Because I carry a 9mm and also have 4 other 9mm's that I don't carry but keep a few mags loaded with the same ammo for home defense

[bossman]

When buying high dollar defensive ammo, which I seldom do, I buy two boxes and run 1 box in my gun to see if it likes it or not. The second box will last about 3 years because I don't want to buy high dollar ammo.

[midlifecrisis]

When trying out new ammo- seldom now because I've narrowed it to Ranger T, God Dots, and HST. I'll buy 5 boxes of it and see how much my sweet n sexy SAS P229 likes it or not. If all 250 rounds go bang with no feeding/ejecting problems I'll consider it good to use in my carry.

Once I have my carry ammo identified I won't shoot much of it because I can't afford to. In fact I still have my same box of fifty rounds halfway used up from when I bought it in March 2012.

[Brian48]

2-3 boxes at the most. This will generally last me for years.

[Kreyzhorse]

I only Have a box or two on hand for my carry ammo.

[kahrguy]

I have roughly 200 rounds of CC ammo for each of several handguns. 4 times that for practice ammo. I have not changed CC ammo brand in 6 years, all with GD bullets in them.

[velillen]

Have close to 150 rounds of 45. But I have two 45s...an xds for carry and a fn fnp45 for home defense. Both get loaded with that ammo.

Then I have two boxes of 9mm for when I feel like carrying my bigger Sig 226.

Don't see much point in having tons of it around. Only have so Mich of the 45 cause it was an awesome deal for 8 boxed of it.

[bikerbill]

I have a lot of 9mm, figure even if I don't shoot it all, it's worth its weight in gold if the country's economics continue as they are and a major recession hits ... usually keep two boxes of my carry ammo for the guns I carry (all in Hornady Critical Defense) and enough range ammo to keep me going this year ... went to Cabela's this morning and was stunned at the gun department ... a line of about 50 people waiting to talk to a salesman, their handgun cases half empty and virtually NO handgun ammo in popular calibers (I got the last two 20-rd boxes of .45acp) ... had plenty of shot shells and a lot of rifle ammo ... I have a Springer XDs on order at an LGS in Austin. They said it would take just a few weeks to fill the order; I'm not holding my breath ...

[The Great Mahoo]

I don't buy a lot of the high-dollar stuff. Maybe a box or two; one gets tested, then I buy another to keep on hand. If that's all I can get and I want to shoot, sometimes I splurge and put the expensive stuff downrange.

I keep tons of regular ammo on hand though. Figured if it ever comes to it, it will still do the job; I wouldn't be too reluctant to carry any of it, as long as I know it functions well. Run of the mill .45 ammo has been getting the job done for a lot longer than the fancy expanding rounds.

[9mm]

I keep 500-800 rounds of prim carry ammo on hand (non shooting ammo) and another 2 boxs (100 rounds of SD- Hollow points on hand) I only keep about 100-250 rounds of 38spl on hand.

[BerdanSS]

Currently have about 500-600 rounds of PD loads for the .45 colt. I try to keep it around that number at all times.

[ClydeFrog]

In general, I'd go & buy a few boxes of carry or duty rounds(if you work in a armed industry that does not issue ammunition). With today's unstable events, I'd buy at least 200-250 rounds.
I'd only carry loads for about 4-6mo then shoot them up/replace them.
Dirt, lint, sweat, grit, etc can cause wear on spare rounds. They may still function, but I'd rather use "factory fresh" loads as much as I can.
I also advise against mixing loads. In a critical incident you don't want recoil, muzzle flash, noise, etc to be different as you fire.
Handgun ammunition will be in short supply or have sky high prices for the next 6-12mo. Plan now if you want to carry concealed or work as a armed professional.

Clyde

[P5 Guy]

A few hundred rounds for each caliber, reloads for practice.
What I'm going to do when that gets used I don't know. My usual SOP had been when I shoot one I buy two of the HD/SD premium stuff.

[sigcurious]

I picked my carry load(HST) in part because its available in standard 50rd/box format at reasonable prices(well it was...hopefully all this craziness ends soon). Currently have 250-300 rounds. At a mag a week to make room for the practice rounds I've got a several months before I need to think about just keeping a spare mag full instead of shooting it off.

[BigJimP]

I have one box ....for each caliber....( 9mm, .40S&W, .45 acp, .357 mag )....and after I initially ran run a box thru each gun that I might carry in that caliber ....I haven't replaced any of the carry ammo in at least 8 yrs....and don't plan on replacing it ...or adding to it....

I have a lot of range ammo on hand...and lots of components for reloading...more range ammo.

[Archie]

I carry a fully loaded pistol and one extra magazine. (Magazines are 12 rounds each.) I keep forty rounds (two boxes of the horribly overpriced 'special' ammo) on hand. I did fire a number of rounds to make sure it feeds and chronograph the ammunition.

I have a pile of practice ammo, loaded to the same weight and velocity as the ammo I carry.

I replace the ammo about once a year. I shoot up the old stuff.

[Big-Blue]

Assuming the OP is asking about how much ammo to carry, and not how much ammo to have in the car or in the house, my assumption is that one clip in the gun and two more clips on my belt will get me and my loved ones out of harm's way. Anything more than than and I'm not fighting defensively.

[iraiam]

by on hand I am going to assume how much of it I have total, between on my person and in storage.

I loaded and almost perfectly duplicated some of the high dollar self defense ammunition, I loaded 1000 rounds of it with all new top shelf components. It would have cost over $1000 to buy this retail, but I essentially loaded it for dimes on the dollar.

I rarely shoot any of it, only when I have carried it around for a considerable length of time and it starts to show it will I shoot it at the range.

[MarkDozier]

My program
Buy 2 or 3 boxes. test 1 full mag. load 3 mags for carry. June and decmber run 1 mag for practise. Next sspring buy 2 more. My defensive is less reiok that oractise so it is easy to shootl