Stocking ammo - how much until you feel prepared?

[Deadbolt]

well my 8mm is covered, if i ever had to use a mg-42, id figure i could keep it running for about 4.5min

thats plenty imho

[Mac]

I don't count. I just top off the ammo cans.

[Vtec44]

500 round firefight? You expecting a well armed platoon to decend on your house?

Supressive fire to keep the zombies pinned down while we call in an air strike.

[delisle]

Well IMHO Not only do I keep a really good stock of ammo but also the capability to reload as much as possible, powder, primers, and bullets.

[luckygunner]

Depends

I imagine you're going to get a lot of "never enough" replies here, which is where I stand.

That would be my response.

I would like to have at least 2,000 rounds of ammo per gun. Any extra you would have would be able to be used as currency if needed. It also depends on how you plan on weathering whatever storm your storing for. If you are stockading yourself in a home; you would be able to have more ammo with you. If your moving much over 2k per would take up a lot of space in a vehicle or trying to carry all of that ammo would be rough.

Happy Shooting,
LuckyGunner

[Crovax]

Hmm, I have about 700 rounds of 9mm and I was going to shoot down to ~400 rounds. I can't see many situations where I'd go through more than that (zombies are an obvious exception).

[Ding126]

I try to have 1k of each caliber..but your gonna shoot a rifle a lot more than a pistol in a SHTF senario..then theres the " how much can you carry " unless your bunkered down where your stash is..what good is 1k rounds of anything??

I just carried 8 cases of 45acp from my truck to the garage....I kept thinking of a boat anchor and how unpractical it would be to have to move this stuff around in an emergency.

[SgtDinosaur]

I try to have 1k of each caliber..but your gonna shoot a rifle a lot more than a pistol in a SHTF senario..then theres the " how much can you carry " unless your bunkered down where your stash is..what good is 1k rounds of anything??

I just carried 8 cases of 45acp from my truck to the garage....I kept thinking of a boat anchor and how unpractical it would be to have to move this stuff around in an emergency.

No kidding. I have 1,000 rounds of .45 in a box in my garage. It's a small box, but it's plenty heavy. I have more .45 in other places, too. I don't keep a lot of every caliber. I have .45, 5.56 and M2 Ball in quantity. A smaller amount of 9mm. Everything else is just a few boxes here and there for self defense.

[berto]

Not until I have all the ammo.

[nick]

If you think this is too much to volunteer I understand and you do not have to reply. But I was wondering how much ammo would you feel you need to have stashed away to feel safe. This is not for target practice, plinking, home defense, or the next desert trip. I mean putting away ammo for anything from Aardvarks to Zombies.

Are your amounts different for rifles, pistols and shotguns? I'm thinking something like this:

Rifles: 1,000 rounds per caliber
Pistols: 500 rounds per caliber
Shotgun: 100 rounds per caliber

How about you? 10,000? 1,000? One magazine and a rosary?

Let me know!

Doesn't take much to be prepared for the proverbial SHTF. Prepared for price hikes and supply problems, now that takes a lot of ammo.

[gn3hz3ku1*]

1k in each caliber is prob more than enough.. Dude we live in the US of A not iraq... let's be realistic..

[Maltese Falcon]

I am getting as much 45 ACP as my checkbook allows before February 2011, already past 3K....I have a bad feeling even if McDonald comes down squarely in favor of the RKBA, the CA pistol ammo BS will not be put down.

Hope for the best, prepare for the worst.

.

[Chief-7700]

More than some less than others. Have the ability to make a whole lot more.

[CSACANNONEER]

"Prepared" for what?

SHTF? I only need enough to get more. For a match, I need enough to shoot the match. To feel comfortable that I have enough before it goes up in price again? Well, I'll never have enough for that.

[Malthusian]

I don't count. I just top off the ammo cans.

I fill an ammo can and weigh it calculate how my bullets of each caliber fit in each can. Count your cans and multiply

BTW ammo cans do really protect your ammo. Had some sitting in a can for 20 years. Minimal tarnish and still shoot great