The topic of stockpiling ammo came up...

I don't think I "stockpile" anything. I like to have abundant resources available for everything I shoot but "stockpile" suggests something akin to hoarding.

I just counted up off the top of my head and I have 31 metallic cartridge calibers plus 12 gauge shotgun ammo in stock. OK, it was a little startling to realize that.

I have 4,000 rounds of 8x57 on hand because years ago a big seller offered it at near give away prices if you bought in bulk...so I did. It wasn't my intention to acquire that much, it just happened because it was a good deal. I think I have a similar amount of 7x57 as well.

Same thing with 12 gauge shotgun ammo. All my scatterguns are 12s. When I was a teenager a local store had field loads of #6 & #8 Winchesters at 79 cents per box of 25 if you bought a case of 20. I bought several and still have some. When I lived in Ohio in the 1990s I went to a show in Columbus and some dealer was clearing out a huge inventory of buck and slug loads. He had the 5 packs of 2.75" or 3" Magnums by various manufacturers. All were priced at $1. I took all the 3" packs he had in slug and 00 buck and as many of the shorter ones that I could carry. I staggered out to my car under the weight of about 350 boxes. I made a second trip for the few boxes of 25 (same buck and slug loads) he had offered at $4. A better deal but he didn't have as many of them. That's why I seem to have a lot of shotgun ammo on hand. I didn't plan it, it just happened.

I bought 10 boxes of 30-30 ammo about 15 years ago at a Walmart clearance sale. Really, it was tagged at $1.99 a box, would you have left any behind? I loaded everything else in this caliber I currently have available and it's only 700 rounds. OK, 700 rounds of 30-30 does seem a bit excessive when I think about it.

I must confess that I have acquired a bit of 22 Long Rifle ammunition recently. As we all know it has been in short supply the past couple of years. I happen to live right between two Walmart stores so I check with them a couple times a week and pick some up if they have any...which isn't often. But even with this hit and miss purchasing I have accumulated quite a bit. I have given away some bricks to friends and even strangers who needed some.

One time a middle aged man was at the store with his 10 year old granddaughter and he was asking about 22 ammo (store was out). He had given her a 22 rifle for Christmas and now it was March and she still hadn't shot her new gun because they couldn't find ammo. I told him to follow me home and I gave him a couple boxes from my stash.

Given the nature of the world it may not be bad advice to have enough ammo on hand to last you the rest of your life. You never when you suddenly can't get any more.

The old adage of buy cheap and sell high just does not apply to ammo. It is a new era of buy at a sane price and put it up. And yes Saxon, I also have boxes of ammo bought at closeout prices that my grandchildren will shoot long after I am gone. Stockpile seems to be a liberal word for being prepared for when the ammo dries up.
Larry

SaxonPig said:

Given the nature of the world, it may not be bad advice to have enough ammo on hand to last you the rest of your life.

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Of course, that will mean different things to different people.

I don't get down to the range nearly as much as I should or as much as other people do. Despite my current club being a lot closer than my last club, it still takes more time than it should to load up the car and head down there. It's time I simply don't have these days. As a consequence, I'm not consuming ammo at anywhere near the rate I had planned for... so maybe my current stash will last me a lifetime?

For other folks I know, no way is a lifetime stash financially or logistically (or legally here in MA) practical.

I bought a gun that I really didn't want just because it it came with 600+ rounds of 9mm ammo that I can use. The fact that it was a smoking deal didn't hurt, either.

I suppose I ought get a smoothbore flintlock. Then I can pick a toilet spot in the yard and start stock piling nitrates in the soil. Get a load of pea gravel dumped for ammo...knap a few flints...be set for life.

I try to keep up with market prices for what I shoot. When I see something I believe is substantially below that price I buy some regardless of what I already have on hand. Sometimes I accumulate more than I might shoot in a very long time. For example, I don't shoot much 12ga 00 buck, and have years of supply based on my practice habits. But still..... I was walking by the ammo case at Walmart this weekend and they had two Rem Express 00 buck 15 value packs for $5.99 each.

I also keep an eye out for what is difficult to find and will buy it regardless of what I already have on hand. Just last week I spotted a pound of Bullseye at Sportsman's Warehouse. I had not seen any in months. I think it was $23 which I considered high.

What I miss most is "stockpiling" rimfire ammo by the case.

These habits result in accumulating quite a bit and avoiding Forum threads complaining about not having what I want.

I don't stockpile ammo. I just don't have the time to shoot what I buy. Inevitably it builds up

You can have too many guns, but you can never have too much ammo. Ammo/components are the most vulnerable commodity these days. I stopped adding to my collection of guns a few years ago and started focusing on ammo and I'm glad I did. When the stores were cleaned out of AR's and pistols in the last panic it didn't bother me a bit. When the ammo and components were cleaned out it curtailed my shooting. I wasn't prepared for that. I'm still building my stock slowly. I buy powder in 8 lb jugs and primers 5K at a time.

Three years ago if you told me I would be doing that I would have said you were crazy.

At 50, and having been actively shooting for about 44 of those years, here are a few things I have learned:

1) When surplus ammo gets dumped on the market at really low prices - buy all you can if it's something you need or think you will need in the future. Once the source dries up, the supply fall off and prices rise - a lot. At one point in time you could get a 1280 round case (two tins) of 7.62x39 for about $70. Now, you'll pay around $300 for the same case.

2) If it comes in a sealed can from former Soviet block countries it will last pretty much forever. They used corrosive priming in part because the priming compound is quite stable and not prone to degrading in storage.

3) Civilian ammo for the less common calibers is made in periodic production runs. For example Remington made a run of .280 Remington a year or so ago, and it showed up on shelves at fairly low prices. Now prices are higher and they'll get higher still as it gets to be less common prior to the next production run.

As a more extreme example, .375 Win has not been made since before the last ammo shortage started and it's still unclear when Winchester (or anyone else) will make more. So if you didn't stock up on it then, you're gonna keep being out of it for quite awhile longer.

7.62x28R Nagant is currently being made by PPU and it's selling at a very good price, mostly to feed the batch of 1895 Nagants that were surplus over the last several years. But it probably won't last forever and prices will start to climb as it gets scarce, so stock up now for both loaded ammo and reloadble brass.

4) With shortages affecting local availability, on-line purchasing becomes more important. Shipping and hazmat fees for 1000 rounds or 2000 rounds are not significantly higher than for 50 rounds or 100 rounds and your cost per round goes down substantially with larger orders. Buy accordingly.

5) When prices are high, there is no sense buying more than you'll need over the next few months. People who missed stocking up with a series of reasonable purchases when it was available just aggravate the shortage when they try to buy up everything regardless of the outrageous prices. That kind of poorly thought out pay what ever the seller asks buying strategy just prolongs shortages and encourages scalpers.

First, I see nothing wrong with the term "stockpiling". "Hoarding" is the liberal term for stockpiling. It makes it sound bad, like my having X-amount of THIS is preventing others from having any of THIS (it matters not one little bit what THIS is).

I do it with everything - not just ammo. For example - I like Chef Boyardee spaghetti. Go ahead - yuch, yuch, yuch - get it out of your system. Not a big fan of their other foods, but I like their spaghetti. MSRP is about a buck and a half. Most weeks, one or the other of the two stores I shop at will have it 10 for 10. Occasionally Publix with have it on a BOGO. That makes it 75 cents. I take every can on the shelf. Why not? I'm going to eat it. It's not like I'm depriving anyone of getting any. There is Chef Boyardee in every grocery store in town. There will even be more spaghetti in this store, tomorrow. But if I only buy two or four cans, then next week I'll have to pay full price for it. Better to get it now when it's cheap.

I make my own trail-mix, and one of the ingredients is M&Ms. I don't care what color they are. So when the after-Christmas sale, or after-Valentines sale, or after-Easter sale is on, and the red-and-green, the pink-and-white or the pastel-blue-and-green ones are on sale for half price, I buy every bag I can get. I'm gonna use 'em. They taste the same.

I, also, have mass quantities of 8mm. Some years back there was a sale. Case lots, with the price coming out to a dime a round. I actually bought the ammo for the clips it was on. K98 stripper clips were a buck each, when you could find them. This way they were fifty cents each, and I could throw the ammo away. I didn't, of course.

They had a Sports Authority open up in town. GRAND OPENING SALE. PMC 9mm ball was four dollars a box. Limit four boxes. After four, you had to pay regular price -five dollars a box. Best price I'd seen anywhere around was 7 bucks a box. I told the man I'd take it all. There was about 14 boxes on the shelf. I said, "No, ALL. Ain't you got any in the back?" I walked out of there with five cases. Plus the fourteen boxes.

When you find it cheap, and you will use it, buy as much as you can afford. Don't matter whether it is beans, bullets or toilet paper.

Ain't a damn thing wrong with stockpiling.

Couple of years ago my truck broke. I told my mechanic there was "no hurry". I meant I didn't need it back THAT DAY. But he took my at my word, and it was two weeks before it came home. Ah well. Small miscommunication. I'm retired, so did not have to really go anywhere, but it would have been bad if, like so many people, I needed to go to the grocery store every day to have something to eat. But there was plenty of food in the house. Why? Because I stockpile.

I don't know if I stockpile, hoard, or am just using common sense. A few years ago I decided to spend $X.X per month on ammunition. I set that amount aside and spend it each month (assuming there is no shortage). I have plenty of ammunition in each caliber I shoot, even though I have started to try to shoot more each month.

My calculus is that when the next shortage comes, I'll be able to shoot without running out of ammunition. I might, but probably won't, sell some of it off at that time, but I think that's counter productive.

Like the OP, I find it hard to resist a bargain on ammo. I have plenty of 9mm, but I plan to buy some ZQ! from Walmart now that they are rolling back the price in preparation for dropping the line.

As someone said in another thread, no one ever said to themselves "I wonder if I have too much ammunition?"

I like the way you think. I also scan one of the local shooters forums in my area and see who is selling what. Recently I bought some .45 ACP at a very good price because the seller disposed of his 45 pistols and wanted to make room for different calibers. Another guy was moving and didn't want the hassle of trying to get someone to move his ammo to another state. Then there is tax time, when people have to sell off stuff to pay their taxes. Even in the worst shortages there are deals to be had if you are patient and not in desperate need.


I also wish we had Sports Authority up here in the northeast. I've been in a few down south and love drooling over the gun selection.

Alpo said:

They had a Sports Authority open up in town. GRAND OPENING SALE. PMC 9mm ball was four dollars a box. Limit four boxes. After four, you had to pay regular price -five dollars a box. Best price I'd seen anywhere around was 7 bucks a box. I told the man I'd take it all. There was about 14 boxes on the shelf. I said, "No, ALL. Ain't you got any in the back?" I walked out of there with five cases. Plus the fourteen boxes.

When you find it cheap, and you will use it, buy as much as you can afford. Don't matter whether it is beans, bullets or toilet paper.

Ain't a damn thing wrong with stockpiling.

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I've still got some old .30-30 Silvertips from the 70's, and Black Talon .357 and .44 mag.

I like to have what I feel is a decent supply of ammo along with some reloading components so I guess one could call that "stockpiling". Some might call it hording but whatever.
I buy 22 lr when I can and have around 5000 rounds on hand at any time. I do sell some when a friend or someone at the range is in need but at or even below cost. I refuse to be one of those guys who thinks he needs to make insane profits.
If it keeps someone shooting and enjoying the sport, good enough for me!

P.S. Just sold some CCI standard velocity to a coworker so his son could shoot in a competition. Got $25 for 400 rounds, which is right at what I paid for it. My Beretta Neos didn't like it.

define "stockpiling"

By progressive definition I'm a threat to national security

By gun forum standards I'm a mere puppy.

This applies to just about any commodity, not just anmo.

One man's stockpile (the haves) is another man's (have nots) horde.

Besides, who cares what other people think. You have it and they don't.

SaxonPig said:

One time a middle aged man was at the store with his 10 year old granddaughter and he was asking about 22 ammo (store was out). He had given her a 22 rifle for Christmas and now it was March and she still hadn't shot her new gun because they couldn't find ammo. I told him to follow me home and I gave him a couple boxes from my stash.

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If I were there with you now I would give you a standing ovation for this. This world surely needs more selflessness, and your demonstration of it is heartening indeed.

Andy

The past 7 years have taught us some valuable lessons. Factory ammo, powder, primers, bullets, none to be had for months at a time, then when a limited supply came in the scalpers jumped on everything.

I own and shoot about 20 different center-fire calibers. Any time I add a new caliber I order reloading dies and bullet molds. I still have about 400 lbs. of wheel weights and nearly 200 lbs. of new linotype metal, so I can make a lot of bullets when I have to. Primers come in cartons of 5,000 and that is how I buy them (they can sit in a climate controlled environment for many years without any harm). When I get down to a few pounds remaining of any of the powders I use I start looking for more (in the original containers it can still be good years later as long as it is not exposed to bad storage conditions). I don't remember ever getting rid of fired cases (in fact, I have thousands for calibers I no longer own or use).

We became spoiled between the late 1980's and about 2005 or so. Ammo was readily available and prices were usually very good (compared to more recent times). Rather than spend the time reloading most pistol calibers I shipped my brass away to a company that reloaded it for me, and prices were great. Rather than spending hours casting bullets, sizing and lubricating them, I bought thousands from commercial casters at dirt cheap prices. Then along came 2008 and the entire marketplace changed, with perpetual shortages and prices jumping through the roof.

.22LR went from $12 or $14 per brick to as much as $60 per. Common handgun calibers (9X19, .38 Special, .40 S&W, .45 ACP) went from $6 to $12 per box to $30 or $40, when you could even find it. Primers that used to cost $12 per thousand went up to $50 or more.

Things have started to improve a bit. I recently found 2,000 rounds of Federal .45 ACP 230-grain ball ammo for a bit over $500 delivered, so I bought it. Been seeing .22LR more frequently and prices around $20 per brick, so I have picked up several.

I guess that makes me a hoarder now. Lord help me if the media ever finds out that I have thousands of rounds of ammo on hand! I can just see the headlines and hear the talking heads on TV ranting about "arsenals" and "stockpiles".

All I really want to do is keep up my regular practice, maybe put a critter or two into the pot from time to time, or watch my grandkids have some fun with the .22's. So I will stock up when I can.

In the unlikely circumstance that I was arrested and all of my guns and ammunition seized, the media would describe it as an "armory", "huge cache", or "enough to equip an army (British ca 1943). A local law enforcement official would anonymously quoted as saying they were investigating to see if I had militia connections.

Still and all, I know people who have 20 times as much in the way of firearms and ammo. A late friend of mine built a vault in his basement he had such a large collection of M1 Garands. I always admired him for that.

kozmic said:

define "stockpiling"

By progressive definition I'm a threat to national security

By gun forum standards I'm a mere puppy.

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For the last 5 - 6 years, my theory was buy two rounds for everyone fired. Along with factory ammo and the gentleman who was kind enough to reload for me this was easy.

Sadly my reloading FRIEND passed away not long ago, so I'm down to buying factory ammo, again. I'm finding it harder to find decent 38 special range ammo. Georgia Arms, my normal source has just about all of their 38 special ammo listed as out of stock.

I think S.P. is correct, perhaps it's time to stockpile a sane amount of ammo whenever possible.