Arg! How much ammo is enough?

[erratikmind]

I've never been in a situation like ab962 before.
How much is enough?

Is this like asking a crack addict how much crack?
Is this like asking a politician how much money is enough?
Is this like a kid in a candy store with a fist full of cash?

For myself, I established a minimum reserve amount of ammo per caliber. Then I determined what I would actually shoot in a years time. That was what I did for the previous years.

For 2011, I have added a bit to the reserve amount and I have allowed for 2 years worth of ammo for shooting, with the exception of .22lr. My rimfire inventory was given special consideration. I purchased at lease 1 case every month back in 2010.

[BillCA]

I've never been in a situation like ab962 before.
How much is enough?

Is this like asking a crack addict how much crack?
Is this like asking a politician how much money is enough?
Is this like a kid in a candy store with a fist full of cash?

How much do you shoot?
Do you shoot just for grins and giggles? Or do you shoot to earnestly practice? Do you need full-strength ammo for practice?

I figured that I needed approximately 1,000 per gun to feel "comfortable". That means for some calibers - .45, .38, 9mm, .223 - I'd need several thousand rounds. That's the "base line" stockpile. Some calibers I can stock less of because they are less likely to be heavily used - .44 Mag, .32 Long, .380 ACP, etc. A few hundred of each (250-500) suffices.

Last time I inventoried, "The pile" was 28k rounds, much of that FMJ for practice and SHTF. Hunting/defense ammo is stored separately from FMJ.

YMMV.

[Saigon1965]

Not doing bad there Bill -

Last time I inventoried, "The pile" was 28k rounds, much of that FMJ for practice and SHTF. Hunting/defense ammo is stored separately from FMJ.

YMMV.

[EWILKE]

I don't know

BUT I am like a Fat kid in a ice cream parlor. until jan 20th or so.

[Cali-Shooter]

Never. You can never have enough ammo. It is like chasing a glass ceiling elevator that only goes up all the way out to space.

[calnurse]

MORE!!! MORE!!!!! MOREEEEE!!!!!!! You can go into debt and it is still not enough! You can sell your car and it is never enough!!!!! Cash in your life insurance to get ammo and it is still not enough!! (I'm kidding of course)

[todd2968]

When you look around and all you see is ammo, and you have to move ammo cans just to get in and out of most of your doors, then you still don't have enough.

[IntoForever]

This ^^^^^. I have heard once it becomes a fire hazard is a good stopping point but hey I say you can never have to much.

Since the spam cans don't burn: The house is a fire hazard so I line all the walls with spam cans to minimize the fire risk!

[Bend]

[robcoe]

is your floor creaking from the weight of the ammo? if not, not enough.

[Theriverjustknows]

I don't know how many Zombies there will be so how could I possibly know how much ammo I will need. Best thing to do is to acquire as much ammo as possible. I mean how much would it suck if you're half buried in spent casings from fending off a zombie apocalypse when you get down to the last zombie, you run empty and get chomped all because you didn't want to buy one more box of ammunition.

[voiceofreason]

For buying to stock up due to legislation, I decided for myself:

How much I shoot of each caliber the last 3 years averaged x 3. That would be a very rough estimate of how I decided for myself. My starting point.

I then focused on the 2 rifle and 2 handgun calibers I shoot the most often and got far more of those (about 5x average), and added very little to the other calibers.

So I should be covered for 4 years of less shooting, 3 years of average shooting, or 2 years of lots of shooting. Or a really great year of a lot of training (some classes average 600-800 rounds per day!).

I did the math according to my previous averages regardless of the financial cost. I figure if 962 stays for a year or 2, I'll be covered for a while. I believe that not spending the money now will possibly prove very, very costly later.

If it doesn't stick, you'll have ammo for a few years (only gets more expensive anyway) that costed you more upfront (opportunity cost/interest on credit card). You still have the ammo regardless.

If it does stick, you are stuck with whatever your local vendors are stocking at the prices they ask for.

I know I'll be out of state at least twice a year, but that doesn't mean that I can fill up my car with ammo for every trip either (co-workers/family/time constraints/etc). Would love to bring ammo back from out of state regularly and share the wealth with friends (at whatever cost I got it for- but expecting dinner for getting it and transporting it back).

I would definitely keep fiscal responsibility in mind. No more than 20% of your largest line of credit at the most. If you can't afford to buy it, shoot less or work more.

(Flame away if you wish, but CA is in the toilet because the politicians in Sac can't seem to balance a budget. Our national debt isn't exactly shrinking right now. Some people would be wise to learn from our politicians what NOT to do.)

You decide what works for you based on your financial situation and expected needs.

[gravedigger]

When people ask me how much ammo I have, I usually respond, "Oh ... I don't know exactly ... I think ... about four ... hundred ..."

They usually interrupt. "BULLETS?"

I reply, "Pounds."

[NoJoke]

Cash in your life insurance to get ammo and it is still not enough!!

So, you cash in your paper backed life insurance for lead backed life insurance?
Seems legitimate to me!

[Milsurps]

is your floor creaking from the weight of the ammo? if not, not enough.

I like this.
Those of us with a raised foundation dwelling are at a disadvantage to those with slab foundations.