How much is a LOT of stockpiled ammo?

[KCB]

I was just wondering how many rounds the average joe has on hand, and how much the crazy "waiting for the S#$% to go down" guy has. Also what are the legalities for stockpiling ammo? I know they are going to be different from state to state.

[dwatts47]

Also what are the legalities for stockpiling ammo

I don't think there are any (but I don't live in communist new york or CA either)

I say, you can never have enough. A gun is just a cool looking paper weight without ammo so, why put a limit on how much to get?

[davlandrum]

the crazy "waiting for the S#$% to go down" guy

stockpiles ammo.


I "ahem" just like to have enough on in case I go to the range today, tomorrow, the day after that....

Seriously, rough estimate, maybe 1,000 rounds more or less (total from various caliber, both rifle and pistol), NOT counting .22 (It would not be fair to include .22)

[MD_Willington]

Not sure but some guys on the other boards were getting 10K & 20K lots of 5.45x39....

[toybox99615]

Part of the question is why you might be stocking up. There a lot of folks who believe the need 10K rounds in-case the country goes nuts. That their own beliefs which we wont deal with right now. Other stockpile lots of rounds on the belief they will save money over some period of time. Depending upon how much they buy and how long before they use it they might save money. But with the simplest value of their money earning 4% a year they might loose money over seven to eight years. Then there are those who stockpile under the idea the ammo will become unavailable in the future. Possibly some merit to that one. And last there are those who think if they buy enough today they can selll it at a profit tomorrow. A somewhat risky investment but one that may workout. Although betting on the ammo market is probably not the best investment as ammo is not a liquid asset (one you can readily sell.)


So the bottom line is probably more in line with what you personally believe your needs are more than anything else. In my case becasue I live on an island where obtaining ammo or reloading components depends on the local gun shop I stockpile becasue of the availability issue. I just had a three month wait when the local store changed owners and they had no large pistol primers in stock.

[Tamara]

I've never lived anyplace that has any regulations on how much ammo you can have.

How much I keep on hand varies based on how many guns I have in that particular caliber and how often I shoot them.

I keep a lot of 5.56 (1,500-2,500 rounds) on hand because I'm an adult American.

I have several firearms in calibers like .30-'06, 8x57JS, 7.62x54R, .45ACP, .38 Special, and .44 Special, and so I try and keep 500-1,000 on hand in those calibers.

I shoot .22 a lot, despite having only a couple of rimfire firearms, and so I keep a couple thousand rounds of that on hand as well. I'll almost never set foot in a gun store without buying a 50 round box of .22LR; it makes sure that they associate the sight of my smiling face with a jingling noise from the cash register and keeps them favorably disposed towards me.

Other stuff, like exotic or obsolete military calibers, commercial rifle rounds like .405 Winchester, I keep only a couple of boxes on hand. Some chamberings, like .577-450 M-H and 11mm Mauser, I may have as few as ten rounds. (I hate having a gun in the house for which I have no ammunition. Right now that only applies to 11mm Gras, although I'm not sure either of the two rounds of .41 Swiss rimfire I have are still any good...)

Basically, I buy the stuff whenever I can, because it rarely gets any cheaper, and it doesn't go bad if stored properly.

[PointOneSeven]

60-100 rounds would be a good starting place for hell breaking loose. I personally believe if you need more than that, ammo count is the least of your worries.

[dwatts47]

60-100 rounds would be a good starting place for hell breaking loose. I personally believe if you need more than that, ammo count is the least of your worries.

true.. and in the event of say, nuclear fall out, a million rounds wouldn't do jack to help you live.

[Jermtheory]

60-100 wont last me an hour at the range.

i have 600-800 rounds of .223 and 5.56....another few hundred rounds of 9mm(the good stuff),a few boxes of 30-30.

thats a fraction of what i'd like to(and plan to) have.

[Tamara]

A more pertinent reason to stockpile ammo is that the prices are going up with no end in sight. As long as the dollar keeps staggering, metals prices are going to continue their inflationary climb.

Like I said, it doesn't go bad. Imagine if you'd been able to buy all the gas and milk you wanted to a year or two ago without worrying about it going bad...

[KCB]

Okay I'll admit it. After next week I will have approx. 30K- 5.45x39, 5K- 7.62x39, 2k-.223, 2k .40 S&W, 5k-.22l.r., and about 800 9mm. There is probably another 500 misc. rounds floating around too. So that makes a grand total of Aprox. 45,500 rounds total in my possetion. I think I need to sell some of my 5.45, I may have too much.

[MosinM38]

welll...... For a long time the general ammo "Stockpile" in this house consisted of 2 cases of .22LR ammo(Around 10K rounds) boughten in bulk on sale. Then around 2-300 rounds of ammo percenterfire rifle caliber, and 4-500 rounds per pistol caliber, enough reloading supply for about 2X that once reloaded.

Now......Well..I am thinking of buying a lot of ammo now...Prices are going to go up...Not for a SHTF situation, but with ammo prices spiraling, might not hurt to get the 1K-2K round cases, if you buy bulk prices still aren't bad, and then when prices go WAAAY to high you got the brass, or just steel cases you don't have to worry about.

And who knows...Might not be bad to have a few dozen thousand (Wrap your tongue around that ) in case some kinda ammo tax happens.

[orionengnr]

And getting into handloading recently, I find that buying components is another way to approach it. Buy 500 chunks of lead one weekend, 1000 primers another..

[Houndog]

Always interesting to see how much ammo people have stockpiled. I probably have 2000 rounds of .223. About 1500 rounds of 7.76x39. About 1000 rounds of .308. Maybe 2000 rounds of 9mm. 2000 rounds of .22. Couple of hundred rounds of .50 bmg. 500 rounds of 7.5. And then lesser amount of a few obscure calibers.

Funny thing is compared to some of the people I shoot with I feel like my stockpile is totally inadequate.

[Johnc]

A more pertinent reason to stockpile ammo is that the prices are going up with no end in sight

No joke! Imagine if you had bought at a good price, say seven or eight years ago. Stockpiled galore. You could have your retirement sitting in your garage! Look at what has happened to 5.56.

[hoytinak]

Always interesting to see how much ammo people have stockpiled. I probably have 2000 rounds of .223. About 1500 rounds of 7.76x39. About 1000 rounds of .308. Maybe 2000 rounds of 9mm. 2000 rounds of .22. Couple of hundred rounds of .50 bmg. 500 rounds of 7.5. And then lesser amount of a few obscure calibers.

Funny thing is compared to some of the people I shoot with I feel like my stockpile is totally inadequate.

I've got about the same as you but I've got around 12,000 .22lr on hand at the moment......and yeah my buddies are always ahead of me.

[rem870hunter]

you can never have enough ammo is what i think. alot of ammo to me would be enough to fill a 2 car garage. i would'nt think that someone is crazy for having 1,000 rounds of ammo per firearm. but having enough mags and clips for atleast half of it should it be needed would be good too. last i checked i have 600 rounds of .22 long rifle. 20 something powder and bullet for my muzzleloader (need to get more) . and about 100 buckshot and 50 slugs. fine lead and steel shot probably over 200 rounds. i need to get some kind of lockable steel cabinet to store it all in. i keep some buck and slugs in my cabinet for quick grab and load if i had a hd shtf scenario. the muzzleloader would be a little slow to load if i needed something fast.

[guntotin_fool]

It all depends on who's doing the describing.

TV news thinks anything over a hundred is newsworthy, even when its just a brick of .22 ammo.

Ask my wife and its anything more than what fits in my little nook,


Ask me and its hard to think of an answer I can live with.

[shinnery jim]

I am a long way from haveing enough, I might have 3000 rounds in all the calabers of gus that I have. I too dont like to have a gun that I dont have ammo for. I want more .... much much much ,more. I am not worried about the **** or anything else, just like to shoot my guns and shoot them alot.

[warrior poet]

I live in the barracks... I can't keep any ammo b/c of the barracks regulations. Nor can I keep my weapons. They are secured off-base with my ammo. I'm troubled by the logic that lets me use 40mm HEDP 'on the job' but won't let me have a .22 in my HOME. Then again, no ever said the DoD made sense.

[hoytinak]

I live in the barracks... I can't keep any ammo b/c of the barracks regulations. Nor can I keep my weapons. They are secured off-base with my ammo. I'm troubled by the logic that lets me use 40mm HEDP 'on the job' but won't let me have a .22 in my HOME. Then again, no ever said the DoD made sense.

I'm in the same boat here at Ft. Bragg, but I keep my firearms and ammo off-base at a buddies house. Not for long though, as I sign out on terminal leave tomorrow!

[toybox99615]

well generaly the go up. But some times you do get a deal. when a local shop changed owners they depleated their ammo inventory during the transition. I did manage to buy a number of boxes for half the current price.

[Sgt.Fathead]

hoytinak, congrats on the terminal leave!

Our motto is, "Buy Cheap, Stack Deep!" and for the past two years or so, every time the wife or I expend a box of ammo, we replace it twofold. By this exponential restocking plan, we've managed to load up on .38 Special, .357 Magnum, .40 S&W, .22 Longs, .45 ACP and assorted 12, 20 and 16 gauge shot shells. We probably have more .38 Special and 12 gauge than anything.

We've also just started loading up on .223/5.56mm as our AR will be here the end of March. We're not bracing for the end of the world, just the steady and unrelenting increase of ammo prices.

[Curtis(USAF)]

Off the top of my head, literally.

In my ammo can, and in my magazines, I have

100 rounds of 5.56 Nato M855
125 rounds of 9mm Makarov ( 100 FMJ, 25 JHP)
500-1000 rounds of 22LR
100-200 rounds of 9mm luger (50 rounds of JHP, the rest FMJ)
500-1000 rounds of 45ACP. (40 rounds JHP, The rest FMJ)

I have

3 AR magazines,
2 Makarov magazines.
1 Keltec 9mm magazine (gun is currently at the factory getting serviced)
3 1911 magazines.
1 22LR conversion kit magazine.


I consider this wholly unacceptable.

I want a total of:

100 rounds of 45 JHP
1000 rounds of 45 FMJ
100 rounds of 9mm makarov JHP
500 rounds of 9mm makarov FMJ
1000 rounds of 9mm luger
2000 rounds of 22LR
1000 rounds of 5.56 NATO

6 M1911 magazines (1 in gun, 2 for loaded with JHP, 3 for target practice)
7 AR magazines, (1 gun, 6 in 2 ammo pouches)
2 keltec concealed carry magazines
3 Berretta 15 round mags for shooting P-11 at the range.
3 makarov magazines .
3 22LR kimber magazines.

As far as legality goes, there shouldn't be an issue. That being said, common sense still rules. Secure your ammo from moisture, fire, and Theft.

[thallub]

"A lot of ammo"-defined:



More than my 8'x10' underground ammo magazine can hold.