How much ammo to keep on hand?

[Droid]

With talk of another ammo shortage come election time, I was wondering how much ammo you guys keep around. Do you stock up on fmj or sd or both? Was the shortage last election sd, fmj, or both? I have a couple hundred fmj sitting around, but I'm not sure if that's enough. How much of sd and fmj ammo do you guys keep around? Thanks!
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[A10]

Kinda like asking how much money you need, doncha' think? As much as you want! Personally, I try to keep a thousand rounds for each of my firearms, plus the means to reload ammunition for each as well. Of course, this means that each time I aquire a new gun I gotta go ammo shopping!

 

[OK Hog Shooter]

Like one of my buddy's says... There's no such thing as too much ammo! I have a monthly AAB... that is, an Ammo Acquisition Budget. ...and now l'm getting into re-loading. Whether or not l ever need it is immaterial to me, IMHO. It's just another excuse to get some more toys!

Blessings,
HG

 

[Armyphotog]

I try to keep two to three hundred rounds on hand for each gun I own, and that's a lot of ammo all together. And for those of you worried about ammo at election time, don't. The only thing that will change might be the price as demand goes up because of all the Chicken Little's out there trying to buy it all up. Supply vs. demand.

 

[tops]

About 10 yrs. ago my neighbor bought a new S&W .38Spec. and a box of shells. The gun has never been fired so I would think a box of shells is enough to last him a lifetime. Larry

 

[old bear]

How much ammo can you afford and safely store? Currently I've got right at 1,800 rounds of assorted 38 special and .357 Magnum ammo set aside.

 

[H Richard]

I believe a minimum of 1,000 rounds per caliber, and more for the ones you use frequently. In .22RF I keep about 5,000. When I moved a few years ago, the movers kept asking what was in all those green army cans that were so heavy, they made many trips up the basement steps with a 2 wheeler stacked full.

 

[novalty]

Short answer...not enough.

 

[Fishslayer]

Forget rounds...
Forget boxes....

Think "crates!"

 

[oldafsp]

Now I have to inventory my ammo again......

 

[KJM]

It HAS started. Online sights are starting to be back-ordered, or out all together.
Prices are creeping also I noticed.

 

[vytoland]

as many rounds as there are stars in the sky.

 

[AR_Black]

ALL OF IT !!!!

 

[max]

Several years ago a forum I hung out at did an informal survey of the members. If I remember correctly the average was 7k rounds and the big boys had 10 times that. Years ago, knowing I would retire at some time and my income go down, I wrote a check to the LGS for $20 or 25 every Saturday and stocked up on primers, powder, bullets and ammo. I still do that to some extent.

 

[redlevel]

20,000 rounds of .22 lr rf.
2500 rounds .22 magnum rf
5000 rounds of .45 acp
5000 rounds of .38 special
5000 rounds of .357 magnum
500 12 gauge birdshot
200 12 gauge slug and buckshot
500 20 gauge birdshot
100 20 gauge slug and buckshot
3000 .45 Colt
10,000 lp primers
10,000 sp primers
10 lbs Unique powder
5 lbs Bullseye powder
50,000 assorted cast bullets

Keep stock rotated of course.

 

[LTC]

This is one of those questions I tend to dislike. Similiar would be, how many guns do you own and where do you keep them? Sorta like, how rich might I be?

Some things are ones own business and I'll leave it at that.

No offense ment to anyone.

LTC

 

[blujax01]

Wait a minute, I'll be right back. Gotta go down in the basement.

THUD, THUd, THud, Thud, thud .....

thud, thuD, thUD, tHUD, THUD.

Huhh-huhh-huhh-huhh, *gasp* - whew! I gotta get in shape.

Hand gun? Roughly 1000 .45 acp, 1000 9 mm in two weights ... Oh Hell I'm down to less than 500 .38 Spl.(gotta crank up the Dillon). a few hundred .357 ... 2000 bullets in various calibers and weights, about 10 lbs of powder and 800 primers.

Thanks for the reminder, it's time to go shopping!

 

[Muddyboot]

I have enough that I don't know how much I have, nor do I wish to count it.

 

[redlevel]

I don't have everything on my list. That is what I would like to have. I don't have that many primers, only about 4K small and 4K large pistol on hand. I can't keep that much .22 lr because I am constantly shooting it. I have about that much (5K) .45acp, but I am constantly replenishing. I started buying in 1992 when Slick Willie got elected. I have bought ammo of some kind every month since then. Sometime, just a box. Every now and then, a 500 round case of .45 ACP. I bought several cases of SKS ammo back when it was $65 a thousand. For years, I used the cash my in-laws gave me at Christmas and birthdays for ammo. If you buy a little more than you shoot every month for 20 years, you soon accumulate a stash.

 

[rburg]

Its a fun question, and it will come back each month between now and November. Each time the posters forgetting we've answered it. Worse, we've been answering it regularly now for a few years.

There is no correct answer to the question, and probably no wrong ones. Only you can answer it for yourself. But what the answer seems to do is wake up those who have a weak mind or low impulse control. Then they say "oh my God, I need more". And they run out to the discount ammo seller, like Walmart, and discover they can't buy some perceived quantity that will make them whole. And it leaves an emptiness. So instead of buying enough, they go home and sulk. Some even log on here and complain that the rest of us are causing an ammo shortage.

Then there are others of us who yawn and take a nap. We actually had plenty before the last ammo shortage. And between then and now we maybe added a few thousand rounds or the components to put them together. Probably both. Its pretty predictable.

The one reality or truth is you can't buy enough to satisfy the emptiness. It takes decades to do that. We do know that if you fire as much as you buy, you won't get ahead. We also know when a few folks decide they need more, it causes a temporarily shortage in a supply chain someplace. WalMart only purchases and stocks the expected volume they'll sell over the next few days. You can buy them out if it pleases you. It will only mean they'll be out of stock until the next delivery day. Do what pleases you.

The time to be buying was about a year ago. If you missed the boat back then, the catchup route is nearly impossible to travel.