How much is too much?

[LL617]

Well, can anyone tell me "how much is too much?"

I don't want to be storing thousands and thousands of rounds in my house; I'd worry that I'd blow us up! However, I have been asking, since I took my first CWP class, how much ammo should a person keep in their home?

I wasn't thinking so much about problems with the government causing panic buying [hmm, did our leaders buy stock in an ammo company]; I was more concerned about the aftermath of a major natural disaster like Katrina, Sandy, earthquake, etc, or the coming invasion by zombie squirrels.

I still haven't gotten an answer, not even a good guess. But if you could buy unlimited amounts at reasonable prices, how much would you store up of .22LR or other ammos?

[I have .22LR on the mind because I want to go target shooting instead of going to work....]

[pharmer]

A case of 5500 (10 Wally boxes) of .22's. A case of 1K 9mm ball+ 100 rds SD ammo. The same for any other caliber you use "intensively." 1K .308 and 1K of .223 for your rifles. If you have other calibers start stacking that as you can get it. 1K 12 ga, 800 "target rds+ 200 "serious" cartridges. Yep, that's it. For a minimum. Joe

[tbury]

It depends on your rate of use. When I go to the range with a couple of .22 lr pistols 50 to 100 rds go easily which means a 500 rd brick will last 5-10 trips to the range. So how many trips a month do you make. The way ammo prices have gone the last 5 years, I wish I had kept my supply of .22lr at 5000rds of target ammo. On the other side I have boxes of 22lr HP from the 70s when I used it for ground hog and squirrel hunting that I just will not use to punch paper with.

Pistol ammo for revolvers 250 rounds (5 boxes) would be enough as long as you do not shoot competitively. For semi-auto pistols I would tend toward 500 to 1000 rds unless I had one gun that I shot all the time such as 9mm or .40.

Since I am a reloader I tend to think in terms of powder, primers, and bullets. The last time the great primer drought broke from the first Obama election I picked up 5000 primers small and large piston and small rifle and have enough bullets and powder to keep me going.

As far as storage goes I keep ammo in surplus military ammo boxes away from sources of heat. If the house catches fire enough to cook off your ammo it is probably a total loss anyway.

[MichiganScott]

Originally Posted by pharmer

A case of 5500 (10 Wally boxes) of .22's. A case of 1K 9mm ball+ 100 rds SD ammo. The same for any other caliber you use "intensively." 1K .308 and 1K of .223 for your rifles. If you have other calibers start stacking that as you can get it. 1K 12 ga, 800 "target rds+ 200 "serious" cartridges. Yep, that's it. For a minimum. Joe

I've got to disagree. These quantities don't even qualify as a "good start", unless Joe's talking per gun. I've got seven .22's and each has it's own preferred ammo. That doesn't even consider the 9mm handguns.

Oh, and my wife shoots, probably more than I do.

Stocking up on ammunition and components is like putting money in the bank. The price is not going down.

[kwselke]

How much ammo is dependent on how much you shoot.

I do not think it is outrageous to have a year or two supply of ammo on hand.

At one point in my life a year's supply would have been about 10,000 rounds. Currently my use is probably 500 rounds a year.

Considering that I have guns in .22 RF, .25 ACP, .32 ACP, .38 Special, 9x19MM, .40 S&W, .45 ACP, .357 Mag, .44 Mag, .223, 7.62x39MM, .22-250, .454 Casull, .308 Win, 20 Gauge, and 12 Gauge; I take into consideration how much ammo I need for each gun, and how much I can reload in a pinch.

If you feel a need to have enough ammo on hand that it might cause a tragic boating accident, go for it. All you need is what you are comfortable having on hand.

[jpwhel]

I try to keep a base level of 1,000 rounds per caliber (22 mag., 25 ACP, 32 S&W, 38 spl, .357 mag, .380, 9mm, 9mm mak, 45 ACP) and 5,000 rounds of 22lr. If I'm shooting a lot, I'll have a little more. For shotguns, a couple flats per gauge.

[Northdallas7]

Originally Posted by jpwhel

I try to keep a base level of 1,000 rounds per caliber (22 mag., 25 ACP, 32 S&W, 38 spl, .357 mag, .380, 9mm, 9mm mak, 45 ACP) and 5,000 rounds of 22lr. If I'm shooting a lot, I'll have a little more. For shotguns, a couple flats per gauge.

Base level of a 1000 rounds per caliber. I like that.

[rburg]

What you've just seen is an illustration of the idea there is no one correct answer. What is correct or a good number for you may not be for me. Even our sources of income can vary so widely that your question just doesn't apply. Its nothing against you, its just that for a person asking that question I assume you're young and still working.

There were some rules of life I picked up along the way. One was that when you retire, your house and cars should be paid for. You should have common hand tools. And you should have the guns and ammo you would think you'd need for the future. Of course I failed in all those rules, but I don't care and I'm happy.

This latest ammo shortage is just 4 years past the last one. More is better than less.

The OP also seems to have an unwarranted fear of ammo. There are some well made videos by the industry showing how stable ammo is. There is no rational reason for fear. The worst risk is a liberal in a fire department who doesn't know his job pulling back because there might be ammo in a home. Most FDs now know there is almost no risk from ammo, but common household chemicals can be dangerous. In fires ammo can go off, but it doesn't propagate from one shell to the next. They just go off when they reach a critical temperature. Then the bullet just sits where it is, its the case that flys. Low mass and not very solid. They travel a few feet and fall harmlessly to the ground. Won't penetrate jeans or a light jacket, much less fire department turnout gear.

Maybe someone here has a link to the SAAMI video. Its worth watching to educate yourself and allay your fears.

[Mule Packer]

Some good info.

I try to look at the situation from a couple of different standpoints. First, if we're just talking about having plenty of ammo on hand in case there's a shortage, then I tend to go with the rule of thumb of having around 1,000 rounds of ammo per firearm (based on which guns are used more frequently).

On the other hand, if we're talking about a "When the Ship Hits the Sand" scenario and I have to leave the ranch and go somewhere, I want to stock up even more on those calibers that will be going with me. For example, I'd probably want to have a lot of .22LR or .22 mag. on hand because I can carry 500 rounds with me without any difficulty. I can't really say that about .300 Win. Mag.

[R. G. Amos]

I am not so sure about 1000 rounds/caliber when you are shooting 454 Cassul and 45 Colt.

[LL617]

Thanks for all the input.

This gives me something to work with...if ammo ever becomes more prevalent and the prices get somewhat normalized.

[brucev]

How much is to much? Well... I don't know. For someone who owns no firearms or who only wants to go shooting maybe once in the proverbial blue moon, then 200-300 rounds of any caliber might be considered a lot of ammunition. For someone who routinely competes at a moderate to high level, 200-300 rounds might simply be the normal amount of ammunition expended in a weekly session at the range.

Ammunition does not blow up or detonate. If there is a fire, loaded ammunition will when it gets hot enough "fire." As the round is not chambered in a firearm, the result will be quite unspectacular with the bullet moving little if at all and the casing moving a slight amount more since it is usually lighter in weight than the projectile. The gas from the propellant is vented as soon as the projectile separates from the case.

With specific reference to your question about CWP, etc., it would be reasonable to keep on hand a quantify of practice ammunition sufficient to meet your needs for practice over say a three to six month period. Given the realities of the current ammunition shortage, maintaining such a supply might be financially ruinous. Few people shoot a lot of high end SD/HD type ammunition except to check a firearm for function, establish zero, etc. If you were to have maybe one or two boxes of your preferred SD/HD ammunition on hand that would likely be sufficient.

In the aftermath of a natural disaster, more rather than less ammunition on hand would be an advantage... especially if your nuts were threatened by zombie squirrels!

If I had unlimited funds with which to buy ammunition, I'd buy .22 LR for the simple reason that it is my most used and most enjoyed caliber. I have a beautiful little S&W 18-3 and a Marvel .22LR Conversion for my 1911's and find the .22 LR to be just about ideal for practice sessions at the range as well as for typical walks in the woods/fields.

[SMSgt]

SAAMI ammo storage reccommendations:

http://www.saami.org/specifications_...ammunition.pdf

[Arik]

There is no exact number, only what you're comfortable with. Could be 4 or 4 million rounds. Some people shoot on a daily basis or are members of clubs that have weekly competitions while others like me dont care for being members and shoot when time and money allows. My view on it is not about being prepared for whats going on today, where weekly shooters complain of lack of ammo. I can just not shoot that week, or shoot something else instead. Nor am I worried about a Chinese invasion, zombies, feds, Katrina, earthquakes or break down of society. I simply dont want to pay more for the same thing later when I can buy it today. A while ago I was in the mindset of "I'll buy it when I need it"....like the day before going to the range. After doing this for a while I realized that Im slowly paying more and more for the same thing. Now I stock up using current pricing (before this craziness hit) so that I dont have to pay more later. I try to buy in bulk when there are deals but otherwise I buy a few boxes at a time.

[max]

I have posted this before, but will do it again for the new folks. Like Mr. Burg, I started buying ammo years ago. I knew 2 things, I would shoot more when I retired and my income would be drastically cut. Every Saturday I wrote a check for $25 to the LGS and would buy primers, bullets, powder or .22LR. If I went to WM for any item, I always bought a bulk pack or 2 or .22. If I saw a sale on 9mm, I bought as much as I could afford. I remember one trip to Academy that resulted in an 8,000 round purchase.

I am doing fine on ammo and components, but would buy more today if I saw a bargain. I have been doing some very PT work for my former employer and have cashed most checks at the LGS. I have a couple of checks here now and will buy as soon as I see something not priced totally out of sight. Last week I passed on 100 packs of Mini-Mags for $8.00. I did buy 500 cast 45rn and 1000 9mm fmj bullets.

If you youngsters pay attention to Mr. Burg and some of us other senior citizens you will be fine in the future.

[67tempest]

Originally Posted by LL617

Well, can anyone tell me "how much is too much?"

There is no such thing as too much ammo.

I don't want to be storing thousands and thousands of rounds in my house; I'd worry that I'd blow us up! However, I have been asking, since I took my first CWP class, how much ammo should a person keep in their home?

I wasn't thinking so much about problems with the government causing panic buying [hmm, did our leaders buy stock in an ammo company]; I was more concerned about the aftermath of a major natural disaster like Katrina, Sandy, earthquake, etc, or the coming invasion by zombie squirrels.

I still haven't gotten an answer, not even a good guess. But if you could buy unlimited amounts at reasonable prices, how much would you store up of .22LR or other ammos?

[I have .22LR on the mind because I want to go target shooting instead of going to work....][/QUOTE]

[redlevel]

For .22lr specifically, 20,000 rounds is a good starting figure if one owns only a half dozen or so .22 firearms. If one shoots a whole lot of .22, then twice that amount would be about right. Maintain that cushion. If you have a 20K stash and you shoot 1K rounds this week, then replace it with 1K fresh ammo. Just to illustrate why this is important, just look around. We can't replace that 1K per week very easily right now, can we? That's the reason for the cushion.

In a worst case scenario--you die with 40K rounds on hand--what's wrong with your heirs benefitting from your diligence?

[pace40]

Originally Posted by LL617

Well, can anyone tell me "how much is too much?"

As in a previous thread about how many guns are too many....I can't seem to wrap my brain around the "too much ammo" concept either.

Now if I could just find where that boat sank......

[BigBill]

Being retired now I want to get back to shooting at least 3 to 4 times a week. As a family when the 3 or 4 of us shoot we shoot 250rds to 500rds of every caliber sometimes. If were putting a new unfired gun thru its paces we push it for 250rds each outing till we hit 500rds then if its flawless we can ccw it.

Ammo storage is very important too. I store my ammo in 50cal sealed ammo cans so its dry. Stocking up on ammo i figure our most popular calibers i would have a few thousand rounds on hand. I did also upgrade my reloading presses to the progressive presses too so its faster to relaod too. We shoot more with less time reloading.

[Murdock]

You don't have to shoot it all. Remember that if a SHTF situation has gone on long enough, there are always those who will be willing to barter stuff for your excess ammo. (Medical supplies, food, fuel, shelter, clean water, protection, etc.)

[OldDominion]

It is a common mis-conception about ammo "exploding" in a fire. As has been already said, it merely goes "poot". However....if the ammo is in a firearm, now you have it chambered. Differant story. In an automatic, if there is one in the chamber, it will fire. If in a revolver, all loaded chambers will fire. I think the old saw about "exploding" ammo is partly from Hollywood, and perhaps from 19th century cartidges loaded with "explosive" black powder. They very well could go bang in a fire. Modern smokeless powder, not so much. OD

[ChinStrap]

I really think it’s subjective. I like to keep 500 rounds of 223/7.72x39 on hand. 1000 of .22lr and 200 or so .45 acp. I like keeping a little more of the rifle ammo on hand because in times of shortages (at least where I live) it’s the first stuff to go MIA. I never really seem to have a problem finding .45 acp, someone always seems to have stock. I don’t shoot a lot, so these #’s work for me.

[kent11202]

Originally Posted by rburg

There is no rational reason for fear.

Most FDs now know there is almost no risk from ammo, but common household chemicals can be dangerous. In fires ammo can go off, but it doesn't propagate from one shell to the next. They just go off when they reach a critical temperature. Then the bullet just sits where it is, its the case that flys. Low mass and not very solid. They travel a few feet and fall harmlessly to the ground. Won't penetrate jeans or a light jacket, much less fire department turnout gear.

That's the way I understand it as well. I checked with my neighbor - a liberal retired firefighter that owns both an AR and a 357 (maybe he's not so liberal? LOL) Anyway, he says the same thing about ammo in a fire and that's good enough for me.

[kent11202]

Originally Posted by OldDominion

It is a common mis-conception about ammo "exploding" in a fire. As has been already said, it merely goes "poot". However....if the ammo is in a firearm, now you have it chambered. Differant story. In an automatic, if there is one in the chamber, it will fire. If in a revolver, all loaded chambers will fire.

Yep, forgot to mention that in my other post - thanks!