Growing up we trained with a single shot 22 rifle and a S&W revolver (the remjet one with the 22lr chamber inserts), we shot carefully.
How much ammo do you feel like you need?
- Thread starter CBB1
- Start date
- Replies 134
- Views 6,700
"What is a realistic number that you would feel comfortable with for each caliber/gauge you own?"
if i was comfortable with retail availability at a comfortable price: 1K.
if i was comfortable with retail availability at a comfortable price: 1K.
Thanks guys, I understand the reluctance to share personal numbers and I appreciate the feedback. I started this post as a way to figure out my comfort level through the advice of others. I have no interest in what you personally have, I am only interested in your opinions on why you have what you have. I hope one day we can all look back and laugh about how badly we overreacted to this market.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Somewhere between a box and a warehouse full of pallets.
I'm buying very little ammo right now. (Was looking for some 6.5 cm but found enough to tide us over.) Why? Prices appear to be at the top of "historic" curves. Not a prudent time to be a buyer. However, should the cycle swing again, like it has many times over the last couple of decades, I'll probably buy a few cases of this or that. But not until either the price changes or I get to a point where I'm not comfortable with the amount I currently have. How much is that? That's different for every one of us. You must choose that for you.
Oh, and welcome to the forum.
Last edited:
I personally feel that any honest, law abiding citizen, should only need around 1 box of ammunition for their home defense gun. If they are an avid hunter, perhaps a box of shotgun shells or a box of deer hunting bullets. I think way too many people get wrapped up in having tons and tons of ammo, and it’s actually quite concerning to me. Most of them don’t even ever intend on using it, unless it’s to hunt some imaginary boogeyman that may be coming for them at some point. Or it’s the folks that take The Walking Dead way too seriously.
If we all just bought what we were going to use at the exact time we intended on using it, then there wouldn’t be an ammo shortage and there wouldn’t be as many crazies out there with these big bullet collections that are just a danger to us all.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
If we all just bought what we were going to use at the exact time we intended on using it, then there wouldn’t be an ammo shortage and there wouldn’t be as many crazies out there with these big bullet collections that are just a danger to us all.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Chriselalto
Well-Known Member
I kicked myself last year. I had a shopping cart ready online with about 5k rounds of all my calibers. Maybe $800 total. And i was waiting for my bonus to hit my account. Well, when it finally hit my account, I hit refresh on the webpage and like a fart in the wind, it was either gone or the price was just stupid.
not again......when(if) i see those prices again.
not again......when(if) i see those prices again.
Jeppo
Bold inspired solutions for America 😂
Staff member
2A Bourbon Hound 2024
2A Bourbon Hound OG
Benefactor
Life Member
Supporting Member
Multi-Factor Enabled
**steps up on a soapbox**
It depends on how much you shoot... What i see now is old farts and wealthy guys buying all the ammo. Probably less than 10% of each of those groups will ever shoot more than 10% of their stock pile. Then you have guys like me who have money to spend and normally shoot A LOT and we are just waiting it out. I know many people where i train who are just shooting a little bit. I am actually thinking of buying ...**cough** air soft guns as training simulators. But the good ones are pricey... It hurts me physically to think of buying a 500+ dollar air soft AR15 sim but i may have too..
I used to buy 2k 9mm every month or two, now i buy 500 every month or two. Also, if you are stock piling for the end of the world, what makes you think you are going to use all that ammo? People have some real grandiose ideas of what would happen if it all kicks off. Also, why do you stock pile sh$t target ammo for end of the world? 9mm ball ammo sucks at people stopping. Why don't you stock pile +P+ JHP? or 177 grain HPBT 5.56. Leave the damn target ammo to the guys who actually practice. If your poor and that is all you can afford that's one thing, but if you have money and you buy 20K rounds of wolf steel case (you will never shoot) to stock pile for the end of the world - you are part of the problem.
You need to have at least 1k rounds of top shelf ammo for your fighting guns. Maybe another 2-5K training rounds per caliber, this is assuming you shoot your stuff. BUT if you shot less than 500 rounds in the last 10 years why do you need 10K rounds now? Shooting is a perishable skill and you need training to go along with it. If there was an apocalypse most of these suburb hoarders are stock piling ammo for the goons. You ain't gonna last. Everyone seems to think they are a one man army.
V
It depends on how much you shoot... What i see now is old farts and wealthy guys buying all the ammo. Probably less than 10% of each of those groups will ever shoot more than 10% of their stock pile. Then you have guys like me who have money to spend and normally shoot A LOT and we are just waiting it out. I know many people where i train who are just shooting a little bit. I am actually thinking of buying ...**cough** air soft guns as training simulators. But the good ones are pricey... It hurts me physically to think of buying a 500+ dollar air soft AR15 sim but i may have too..
I used to buy 2k 9mm every month or two, now i buy 500 every month or two. Also, if you are stock piling for the end of the world, what makes you think you are going to use all that ammo? People have some real grandiose ideas of what would happen if it all kicks off. Also, why do you stock pile sh$t target ammo for end of the world? 9mm ball ammo sucks at people stopping. Why don't you stock pile +P+ JHP? or 177 grain HPBT 5.56. Leave the damn target ammo to the guys who actually practice. If your poor and that is all you can afford that's one thing, but if you have money and you buy 20K rounds of wolf steel case (you will never shoot) to stock pile for the end of the world - you are part of the problem.
You need to have at least 1k rounds of top shelf ammo for your fighting guns. Maybe another 2-5K training rounds per caliber, this is assuming you shoot your stuff. BUT if you shot less than 500 rounds in the last 10 years why do you need 10K rounds now? Shooting is a perishable skill and you need training to go along with it. If there was an apocalypse most of these suburb hoarders are stock piling ammo for the goons. You ain't gonna last. Everyone seems to think they are a one man army.
V
At my age I probably have enough ammo to see me through the rest of my shooting life. I bought it when it was abnormally cheap because I knew it was going back up again eventually. The problem becomes storage and degradation of the ammo from experiencing cold and heat cycles over a number of years. I don't have an ammo igloo to store it in like the military does.
I'm concerned about the future if imported ammo, especially that coming out of the former Soviet Bloc. One might notice that all that formerly cheap 7.62x39 and 5.45x39 cases are marked "Made in Russia." I have quite a few guns that I need that ammo for and the future imports of it could be effected by the current political situation.
I'm not paying $500 a case for Wolf 7.62, but I did pay $275-$325 for several 1000 rounds cases before prices on it got really stupid (as opposed to just stupid). That is still way more than it cost this time last year. I didn't have enough to be comfortable though given how much I like to shoot the combloc calibers.
When I started shooting gas was $1.09/gallon and a brick of .22 LR was between $8-$10. Now gas is $2.14/gallon (what I filled up for last night) and .22 LR is $50 a brick if it can be found. So, gas is roughly 2x as expensive while .22 is 5x as expensive. Fun times.
I'm not paying $500 a case for Wolf 7.62, but I did pay $275-$325 for several 1000 rounds cases before prices on it got really stupid (as opposed to just stupid). That is still way more than it cost this time last year. I didn't have enough to be comfortable though given how much I like to shoot the combloc calibers.
When I started shooting gas was $1.09/gallon and a brick of .22 LR was between $8-$10. Now gas is $2.14/gallon (what I filled up for last night) and .22 LR is $50 a brick if it can be found. So, gas is roughly 2x as expensive while .22 is 5x as expensive. Fun times.
Dale Gribble
Can't starve us out; Can't make us run
Charter Member
Supporting Member
Multi-Factor Enabled
It’s money well spent.
I have an A/S Glock 19 that is the same size/weight and functions like the one I carry. Ain’t too many days I don’t practice with it and the time I have put it has made a significant difference at the range.
I’m a firm believer in dry-fire drills, but the airsoft route fills a “spot” that you can’t obtain with straight dry-fire practice. Everything with the airsoft pistol is the same as the “real deal” right up to the point where you have pressed the trigger. The draw, mechanics, sight picture...hell...even the trigger/trigger reset is very similar to my carry weapon. The big difference is recoil, noise, follow-up shots...other than that, everything is exactly the same.
Give it a shot...I think you’ll be glad you did.
Last edited:
Timfoilhat
Time is my accomplice
2A Bourbon Hound 2024
2A Bourbon Hound OG
Benefactor
Life Member
Multi-Factor Enabled
No worries. Joe promised to fix that low low gas price and get it in line.
I feel you should send me some bullets. All of your bullets. I feel this way, therefore it is valid. And since me feelings are valid and hold sway over your reality, then you should give in to them. Therefore send them on. I feels it after all.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
RedneckFur
Smith & Wesson is a religion of peace.
For the time being, I have enough. I've cut back on my shooting. I also reload.
I've got enough to last years of hunting, if I get back into that. Should things go pear shaped, I've got enough to last through any nasty encounter I have a chance of surviving.
I have enough that I can spend a mag or two now and then at the range getting in some practice.
I haven't bought any ammo in almost a year. And until prices stabilize some, I probably won't.
I've got enough to last years of hunting, if I get back into that. Should things go pear shaped, I've got enough to last through any nasty encounter I have a chance of surviving.
I have enough that I can spend a mag or two now and then at the range getting in some practice.
I haven't bought any ammo in almost a year. And until prices stabilize some, I probably won't.
On the advice of our current Commander in Chief, I have a double barrel shotgun with 2 shells in a lockbox nearby. If I happen to use those shells I will get 2 more.
I'm comfortable with what I have. I shoot rifles off the bench or prone and a relay is usually 20 rounds. I may do that once a week weather permitting (we're trying to maintain our dirt road that leads to the range). I shoot 6mm, 6.5mm, and now 7mm and I'll rotate the rifles every week. I handload for everything and have enough components for several thousand rounds for each caliber. So, I may shoot 1,000 rounds a year.
I just ordered 300 105 grain 6mm Scenar boolitz to see how they shoot as I've never shot them before and am curious. So nothing has really changed in regard to my shooting hobby.
I just ordered 300 105 grain 6mm Scenar boolitz to see how they shoot as I've never shot them before and am curious. So nothing has really changed in regard to my shooting hobby.
How much do you think is enough there OP?
IUHoosier429
Bull(et) City
Charter Member
Benefactor
Life Member
Supporting Member
Multi-Factor Enabled
👆 give or take a crate or two.
And honestly, no offense to you personally, OP, but all of a sudden I keep seeing FNGs pop up on gun forums all over the internet asking this exact question. It makes me as uneasy as the time I walked in on my parents having sex. I realize there are tons of new shooters and I welcome many of them to our community, but if you're only just now learning about gun forums and know how to create an account, you should have some basic knowledge of how internet searches work. Again, no offense or bullying meant. It's a confusing and concerning time to only now be getting into guns and ammo. I also definitely remember being the FNG trying to figure out how to strike up conversations and dialog. It's not easy. I just keep seeing this same question posted by noobs all over the place over the past few weeks and it just feels ... off.
Don't really target shoot much anymore. Id say I have enough to put up a fight against anybody coming to harm me or my family. If I win, I'll have their guns and ammo on top of what I have. If I lose, I'll be dead and hopefully won't be arming them with too much extra.
Last edited:
Look into airsoft (if you haven't already) lots of people use it to train. You don't want have your skills to diminish. They make some nice gas blowback models of the most popular firearms. At one time I even had a fully tricked out STI clone I used for practice. I taught my son when he was 8 to 10ish how to shoot starting with airsoft. Just a thought....
Last edited:
Long_Hunter
Sufficient Speed, Acceptable Drag
2A Bourbon Hound 2024
2A Bourbon Hound OG
Charter Life Member
Benefactor
Supporting Member
I will not beat this dead horse further.
More than I have currently.
"I currently have more hunting ammo then I will probably ever need for the rest of my life considering my current burn rate."
It sounds as if you already have enough for yourself. You have no idea what the situation will be when your sons are bigger, so I would not worry about it. It is difficult to prepare for the unknown situation in which we find ourselves these days. There are too many what-ifs to be assured of making the best decision.
The ammo makers want to make money and will keep making ammo for public sale unless the commie maggots in Washington make it illegal for private citizens to own or use weapons.
It sounds as if you already have enough for yourself. You have no idea what the situation will be when your sons are bigger, so I would not worry about it. It is difficult to prepare for the unknown situation in which we find ourselves these days. There are too many what-ifs to be assured of making the best decision.
The ammo makers want to make money and will keep making ammo for public sale unless the commie maggots in Washington make it illegal for private citizens to own or use weapons.
Since you asked I'll give you my thoughts as of today. I am pretty comfortable with 200 hunting rounds for the centerfire rifles myself and my boys will hunt with. 1000 rounds of each 20 and 12 game loads and 1000 steel shot. The pistol and personal defense ammo is a little different but I will say at this point I have more than I have shot in my lifetime. That calms the "anything at any price" temptation and I hope allows me the time to make rational purchasing decisions in the future. All that is subject to change at anytime based on my "feelings". Thank you to those that have given thoughtful feedback it has been helpful.
Chriselalto
Well-Known Member
Don't forget, a fire will take out your supply. And if you are ever forced to evacuate for a natural disaster, will you be loading up 10k rounds? Or a couple hundred and your family?
Thank you, I look forward to it where I feel I can provide meaningful input.
8675309