How much is enough?

[rtpzwms]

I know that we all have different limits. But I was wondering how much ammo is enough? Example I have three 45acp weapons and I have ammo boxes currently to hold 2300 rounds. I think thats enough for me but what is your limit? I'm sure that some will say 50 and others that think 5k is not enough but I want to hear what everyone thinks.

[Brian Pfleuger]

Right now, I have.... 1 loaded round. 204Ruger.

I don't have an "enough". If I'm going shooting, I load some up. I can load 200 handguns rounds in an hour with my Lee turret, and I can load 20 or 30 rifle rounds in 10 or 15 minutes.

I don't go to the range and blast away 500 rounds of rifle ammo in a couple hours and I typically don't shoot more than 75 or 100 handgun rounds.


(Disclaimer: I do have some factory ammo for my defense guns, but double digit, not hundreds or thousands.)

[Hawg]

I keep a few thousand rounds of .22's on hand but just two or three boxes of loaded centerfire stuff. I have plenty of brass if I need to load more for whatever reason.

[Farmland]

Can there is be too much?

I love to reload even when I don't need the ammunition. It is just fun and relaxing.

I do shot just about everyday and that total is around 100 rounds a day. I think I have a lot but while it is certainly more than some is is far less than others.

223 - 1,500
45 - 6,000
40 - 5,000
9 - 4,000
380 - 4,00
44 mag - 500
357 - 600
38 - 700
45-70 - 400
30-06 - 200
25-06 - 400
35 - 100

I have factory ammunition for each gun though I would have to sit and count it.

I have 5,000 22 rounds for my S&W 15/22

Like I said the people will think this is aggressive but it is far less than when I was shooting competition.

Does Cap and ball count? if so I have 150 roundballs and enough black powder and caps.

[dlb435]

I guess I've got about 4,000 rounds of either loaded ammo or componants to make the rounds. No such thing as too much ammo.

[Jim243]

It changes from day to day, about 22,000 rounds but 5,000 of that is 22 LR. About a year ago it was imposible to find 22 LR and I bought 10 bricks of 22LR.

I load for 12 different calibers so it is not really that much ammo. My rule is 500 rounds for each gun, so with 22 of them thats about 12,000 rounds right there. I do load more 223 and 9mm than any others.

Farmland, only 100 35 remingtons, I like my Marlin 336C better than that. About 300 rounds loaded and another 100 new casses and bullets to be put together yet. I want to try some IMR 3031 that I bought, so far I have only used H4895 in them.

Now empty cases, about 2,000 9 mm, 1,000 40 S&W, 1,400 45 ACP, 500 38 spl, 500 357 mag, 200 243 Win, 300 30-06 Spr., 800 357 Sig (just started on these), 100 35 remington, 250 270 Win, 300 223 Rem and oh about 125 308 and I don't even own a gun in 308 (maybe next year).

As you can tell, I reload more than I shoot so it changes from day to day.

Jim

[Farmland]

It is an older 35 Rem Pump that was mu grandfathers. I don't shoot it all that much and when I want to try something different I take it deer hunting. All of my hunting rifles have a low count because I don't shoot them much, except for the 25-06.

Of course as you can tell I don't shoot the handguns / revolvers that much ether.

Though prices have really dropped on 9mm, I have been able to find boxes for as low as $7.00 and some places are starting to sell 223's for under $5.00.

I saw a special yesterday at Gaunder Mountain on 22's. I'm not sure if it was a in store special but they were priced very nice.

[Jim243]

Damm, you have a Rem 7600 in 35 Rem, put me in your will "Pleaseee". I have a 1974 Rem 7600 in 30-06 CDL that I got from a friend, it is my favorite rifle but I don't shoot it except as a backup for deer. It gets wiped down ever 4 months wether it needs it or not.

I just love the Marlin (my only lever action) so it gets out more often. But I bought my cases for it before the prices went through the roof.

I find myself getting out to shoot so I can reload more, instead of reloading to shoot more. Life is strange but so are reloaders.

Have fun.
Jim

[Farmland]

Yes it is a 35 Rem Gamemaster Model 760 that came out in 1952. It is a nice pump action rifle.

[Ozzieman]

Is there too much? No,
Enough? I think that number depends on the shooter.
For some one that does not shoot much or less than a couple of times a year, a couple of boxes should be enough for each gun.
For myself for all guns that I carry I keep 10 boxes of the ammo that I carry in the gun at all times.
For guns that I shoot a lot, several thousand each but the more important item is since I reload, I keep 10,000 bullets and primers for handguns and 1000 for all rifles which are 30 cal and 22 and 6mm. That’s about a +2 year supply. I would have more but that wifey thing stands in the way.
About two winters ago a store in our town came out with a sale that had 9mm Lugar for $7.00 a box. I went in on a Sunday morning when they opened up and took all the 9mm they had (10 cases if I remember correctly) and 3 cases of 45 ACP for $12.
Friends gave me Heck for buying so much ammo, I really took abuse for this.
Then the ammo craze went through last hear and those same friends were mad at me since I wouldn’t sell them any at $7 dollars a box.
My point to this is now I have less than 3 cases left but I have all those once fired cases that I can reload and a good ¼ are stuffed with lead bullets.
If you shoot much and you see a sale on ammo in this day and political age (a congress that hates guns and gun owners) I don’t think that there is such a thing as too much.

[Sevens]

I can never, ever have too much or even enough of components. But for me, loaded rounds are different.

Enough for me is 400 or 500 rounds in any given caliber. The main problem I run in to when I have more than is that I saw through it like it grows on trees and I don't get my value out of it. I don't make myself a much better shooter, I just make a lot of noise and destroy targets. That's fun, no doubt, and I like to do that, but I also want the "value" out of my ammo, I want to use it to make me a better shooter.

The other reason I don't like to build a heap of anything is that I do like to change loads around, try different bullets or powders, and doing that seems pointless when I already have 1,200 rounds of something similar built previously.

[COSteve]

I think that the definition of 'enough' depends upon how much and how often you shoot currently and what your plans are going forward. In the last 9 years I've reloaded over 135,000 rds so one might say that I shoot a lot.

I reload for my 30 carbine, 38spl, 357mag, 40s&w, 45acp, 10mm, and .223/5.56 in some 19 different configurations. I usually maintain a couple of thousand rounds of each configuration I shoot and I maintain components for many thousand more.

I buy through large group buys with my club every few years where we get good discounts for the huge quantities we buy. For example, we bought some Rainier bullets a few years ago and as a club negotiated the purchase of some 291,000 bullets of various calibers. We picked them up on pallets at the rail yard and broke them down to individual orders later. Great price.

[qualfang]

Enough for 3-4 matches, and 3-4 outings with friends, for a given chambering, figure 500-1000, assuming i may not have enough time to reload for 3-6 months at a time.

[Old Grump]

I ran out of storage space in my ammo locker and use plastic bins on the floor in various corners. if the floor starts to sag I know I may have overdone it. Till then I could use a little more.

Being on disability pay that isn't likely to happen but I can always dream of that day the pull the right numbers in the powerball. Of course then I could afford a cement floor and a bigger locker.

[wncchester]

"How much is enough?"

About 30% more outta do it. Compounded of course.

[Bamashooter]

im a reloader so it varies, but i have ''some'' for each caliber.

[50of4064]

For practice and plinking one can never have enough !
But when the stuff hit's the fan, you have to ask your self how much can I carry, and did I stash enough in the right places to get back to all that "enough"
So how much is enough to get you to where you need to be?

[Uncle Buck]

Enough for me is defined as being too tired to reload anything else tonight.

With farm chores almost caught up and the evenings getting dark around 9 pm, I have enough to keep me busy until 10 pm.

Come winter time and shorter daylight hours, enough will be a different definition.

My brother recently visited and we went through about 3000 rounds of .45 Colt, .38 Special and .357. So this winter I will have to make sure I have enough to get me through the slower reloading summer months.

[ISC]

I figure roughly:

500 rds of each pistol caliber
5000 rds of each semiauto rifle caliber
20,000 rd of .22
250 12 gage.

[Kevin Rohrer]

I have so little loaded I won't embarrass myself by answering.

However, I know a National Match shooter who has 10-12k of 30/06 loaded. That's impressive, but it would be even more impressive if they were all in clips.

[demigod]

87 rounds is all you need!

[azredhawk44]

It's never enough.

But, my "nuts, I need to reload!" threshold is less than 500 rounds for a given caliber.

[Don P]

You can never have enough ammo.
On hand as of today 29,463 rounds. Calibers 22lr, 22 mag, 25, 380, 38 spl, 357 mag, 9 mm, 40 S&W and 45 acp
The bulk of the above is center fire.

[rtpzwms]

OK demigod you've got me! Why 87? one for each gun? expecting 87 person assault on your home?

[chris in va]

find myself getting out to shoot so I can reload more, instead of reloading to shoot more

Yes! I enjoy reloading/casting more than shooting at this point. I found myself ripping off 30-06 in my Garand just so I'd have something to do later that night.