Amount Of Ammo You Consider Adequate?

[BlueOvalFitter]

With the current prices of ammo being outrageous right now, how much do you think is not enough, and too much (If there CAN be too much)?
I have only added a few boxes here and there lately, but I think I have enough to hold me over until the prices start going down again.
Like I always say,
"How many is too many guns?"
"How much is too much ammo?"

 

[wpod]

I buy ammo when it is discounted and I reload. I haven't bought Ammo for decades. I presently have enough material to reload 30,000 cartridges.

 

[JohnnyJohnson]

With the current prices of ammo being outrageous right now, how much do you think is not enough, and too much (If there CAN be too much)?
I have only added a few boxes here and there lately, but I think I have enough to hold me over until the prices start going down again.
Like I always say,
"How many is too many guns?"
"How much is too much ammo?"

I have started wondering at about 5K rounds a gun.

I reload and I cast for all my pistols.

 

[ZeeOSix]

"How much is too much ammo?"

... When the 2nd floor room floor caves in. Or when you still have ammo left over when you die.

 

[BlueOvalFitter]

"How much is too much ammo?"

... When the 2nd floor room floor caves in. Or when you still have ammo left over when you die.

I prefer the aforementioned over the latter.

 

[BlueOvalFitter]

I have started wondering at about 5K rounds a gun.

I reload and I cast for all my pistols.

I'm very close to double digits in .223 and about 4.5K for my revolvers and pistols.
I have a 550-B loader still NIB. I think l'm going to get it out and put it to work. If all of a sudden y'all start seeing me ask BOO KOO questions about loading, please give me any advice you can.
Thanks!

 

[SZR48207]

Oddly enough, the calibers to shoot right now are the rarer and generally more expensive ones. Nobody is stockpiling 280 Remington or 257 Weatherby Magnum.

9mm and .223 are pretty much impossible to buy at "sane" prices right now and should be considered as good as gold.

 

[Sierra048]

This situation has kept me from going to the range. I've got an adequate supply but don't want to deplete any more of it until I'm sure I can replace it.

 

[hatt]

How much ammo you should have on hand is determined by how much you shoot. You don't need 5K rounds if you shoot a box every 3 years. If you shoot 500+ rounds a month then 5K isn't much. There's also no per gun rule. Guns/calibers that don't get shot as much don't need a bunch of ammo.

 

[hatt]

This situation has kept me from going to the range. I've got an adequate supply but don't want to deplete any more of it until I'm sure I can replace it.

Times like these are when you should stay sharp. You don't really have to have a ton of ammo to train. Dry firing uses no ammo.

 

[CarbonSteel]

Stored properly ammunition will last a lifetime. I am still shooting .30 M1 Carbine ammo from WWII that goes bang every time.

I tend to stock so much per firearm (just makes it easy to inventory) and there is no upper limit, but the lower is typically:

2K per pistol
1K per semi-auto rifle
500 per bolt action rifle
100 per shotgun

I am able to reload for every firearm I own (and even some I don't), so that is where the stock is focused versus factory loaded ammunition.

 

[ABN_CBT_ENGR]

I feel the 5k+ for standard or tactical calibers ( plus shotguns) adequate for contingency

 

[wpod]

I'm very close to double digits in .223 and about 4.5K for my revolvers and pistols.
I have a 550-B loader still NIB. I think l'm going to get it out and put it to work. If all of a sudden y'all start seeing me ask BOO KOO questions about loading, please give me any advice you can.
Thanks!

I bought my 550 dillon in 1991 and sent it in for a rebuild in 2014. It came back 100% rebuilt and upgraded with all the latest parts, it is not as fast as a 650 or the 1050 but I really like it. The learning curve is short and quickly mastered.

 

[Al]

How much ammo you should have on hand is determined by how much you shoot. You don't need 5K rounds if you shoot a box every 3 years. If you shoot 500+ rounds a month then 5K isn't much. There's also no per gun rule. Guns/calibers that don't get shot as much don't need a bunch of ammo.

This. I don't think you will see abundant ammo till next year if then bc of the guys that think they need just enough so the floor does not collapse. Sad. Its the toilet paper syndrome.

 

[ABN_CBT_ENGR]

Its the toilet paper syndrome.

Current events do not shore up that observation

 

[Astro14]

It’s difficult to discuss this topic without sliding over into political commentary. Some current events are intrinsically political, so please, state your numbers, and only mention your rationale for this number if you can discuss macro trends, and not particular events.

 

[ABN_CBT_ENGR]

acknowledged

 

[Astro14]

For me, an adequate amount is enough to shoot recreationally for a couple of years, plus a reserve for carry/contingency.

Ammo doesn’t go bad, so keeping it on a shelf is a question of space, budget, and perhaps, indulgence of a significant other.

Buying and stockpiling ammo when it’s cheap, as it was from about 2014-2019 is a form of dollar cost averaging to keep the price of my hobby reasonable.

 

[Ws6]

With the current prices of ammo being outrageous right now, how much do you think is not enough, and too much (If there CAN be too much)?
I have only added a few boxes here and there lately, but I think I have enough to hold me over until the prices start going down again.
Like I always say,
"How many is too many guns?"
"How much is too much ammo?"

500 rounds of high quality ammunition on hand, plus however much training ammo you want. By high quality, I mean stuff like gold-dot, bonded bear claw, TSX, etc.

I can imagine no scenario in which I would out-live 500 rounds on-meat. You don't put that kind of ammo on paper except to zero and function test.

 

[jstert]

i bring a declared ruger sr22 and naa bugout 22lr with me when traveling by air. i choose rimfire precisely because i can fit more ammo in my lockbox. 300 rounds is my minimum, more if i can plink at my destination. i want both handguns to be 22lr because i can carry more ammo, the naa is an always-ccw and i’m consistently defense-accurate with the reliable sr22.

at home i keep a steady several thousand rounds of various rimfire and 500-800 rounds of various centerfire/shotgun calibers/gauges. i am mostly a rimfire shooter. the centerfire ammo is 95% plain jane fmj ball, habit picked up from the army eons ago, plus no feeding issues. i carry fmj ball because i practice with fmj ball plus, given my travels, i k.i.s.s. when transiting those jurisdictions frowning on “exotic” defensive offerings.