Store loaded ammo or components?

[opos]

Saw a post earlier and got me to thinking. Often the question comes up about storing components or loaded ammo...I have my preference but just thought I'd throw it out and see what others feel.

With a "pending" rush and shortage possible in the near future the temptation is to really load up but the what is the best way to proceed from there.

Personally I will not buy, try or shoot anyone elses handloads but my own and I don't furnish my loads to anyone else to shoot, free or for a cost...to me any loaded ammo (other than commercial new ammo) is good for one thing..to tear down and to save what components I can...nothing else.

Powder, primers, bullets and brass all have a specific value that scales up and down with the availability of the items...same with factory loaded ammo for certain calibers.

I keep plenty of brass for both handgun and rifle cartridges...I decap, clean, inspect, count and store these in baggies with a silica pack or two. Primers stay right in the boxes and "flats" they come in and are stored in the house with climate control..powder is stored int he containers in which it arrives and stays sealed...only powder unsealed is powder which is currently "in process". I store powder in a big old wooden dresser and leave the drawyers cracked open just a touch..all climate controlled. Bullets stay in the packages I get them in and are stored in the garage.

I load up a "background" quanity of each caliber (usually a couple of hundred rounds each) for "ready use"....when I load I load only to replace what I shoot out of the background quantity. I also have quite a stock of factory new ammo for all calibers that I've accumulated through "bits and pieces" purchases here and there over the years...they are immediate use items and also have value should I need to get cash.

So there it is...components stay compnents for the most part so they have immediate value should I want to get some cash or do some trading...my loads are stored in reasonable quantities for immediate shooting and replacement...my factory stuff is stored properly for shooting, trading or selling ...no matter what I want to do with it...other cmponents are stored in original containers for use or for sale or trade should the need arise...

Your deal?

[Bill Steele]

Saw a post earlier and got me to thinking. Often the question comes up about storing components or loaded ammo...I have my preference but just thought I'd throw it out and see what others feel.

With a "pending" rush and shortage possible in the near future the temptation is to really load up but the what is the best way to proceed from there.

Personally I will not buy, try or shoot anyone elses handloads but my own and I don't furnish my loads to anyone else to shoot, free or for a cost...to me any loaded ammo (other than commercial new ammo) is good for one thing..to tear down and to save what components I can...nothing else.

Powder, primers, bullets and brass all have a specific value that scales up and down with the availability of the items...same with factory loaded ammo for certain calibers.

I keep plenty of brass for both handgun and rifle cartridges...I decap, clean, inspect, count and store these in baggies with a silica pack or two. Primers stay right in the boxes and "flats" they come in and are stored in the house with climate control..powder is stored int he containers in which it arrives and stays sealed...only powder unsealed is powder which is currently "in process". I store powder in a big old wooden dresser and leave the drawyers cracked open just a touch..all climate controlled. Bullets stay in the packages I get them in and are stored in the garage.

I load up a "background" quanity of each caliber (usually a couple of hundred rounds each) for "ready use"....when I load I load only to replace what I shoot out of the background quantity. I also have quite a stock of factory new ammo for all calibers that I've accumulated through "bits and pieces" purchases here and there over the years...they are immediate use items and also have value should I need to get cash.

So there it is...components stay compnents for the most part so they have immediate value should I want to get some cash or do some trading...my loads are stored in reasonable quantities for immediate shooting and replacement...my factory stuff is stored properly for shooting, trading or selling ...no matter what I want to do with it...other cmponents are stored in original containers for use or for sale or trade should the need arise...

Your deal?

Pretty much the same.

I do load up a pretty big batch of all more normal calibers when I get going as I only have one progressive press, so I want to make time spent changing calibers worthwhile. Sometimes a batch might last a month, sometimes many months. Just depends on what is going on with other things in my life.

Rifle I load one at a time as I don't have any auto loading rifles.

[plinkr]

Makes sense, but remember, the only legal limit (as of now, at least) is the amount of powder you can have (20 lbs).

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G920A using Tapatalk

[trackcage]

I do the same with the exception of super common calibers like 9mm and 45. Instead of a couple hundred, I have about 1500 loaded up, each caliber. When that number dips below 1000, I load up another thousand or so. This insures I always have enough for a long day at the range or if life gets in the way and I don't have time to reload for a while. I would hate to not be able to shoot a weapon because I was slacking on loading ammo for it.

In general, I agree that components should stay that way and only be loaded for ready use. Much more valuable that way and stay fresh longer

[John Joseph]

For target work, I'll exhaust my supply of loaded ammo, process the brass and reload the lot, near exhausting my supply of components.
Repeat annually.
The new State dictates are going to change that, so I'm finding this thread very interesting.
Thanks!

[Kokopelli]

Store loaded ammo or components?

I store powder, primers, cup and core projectiles and save my brass. Loaded factory ammo is plentiful so, I'm shooting that. But the day will come when loaded ammo and any lead will be difficult to obtain. That is when I will will be reloading from my stash of components.

It's a lot of work for me to reload on my humble single stage press. I prefer to save time by shooting factory loaded ammunition for now. But, I'm prepared to hand load as well as cast my own projectiles if and when the zombie apocalypse hits the propeller.

[AGGRO]

I load multiple calibers to the point of charging. How does any new law sound when giving primed cases to a buddy?

[Michael in California]

Storage limit applies to bulk powder. No that in cartridges, so one might consider loading extra rifle rounds if they cared to be completely legal, yet have lots of powder. Of course, who is going to know or care. I don't. Heck, load up a howitzer round as storage.

Regarding how much completed ammo I keep? I like to load in quantity. I run down to a couple of hundred rounds and then load a thousand. Obviously, don't do that if you are still working on your favorite load.

I"m just about ready to do a 9mm run. I'll wait another month so the shed is a bit cooler.

I'm thinking of changing my .45 load, so I'll maybe make 50 or so this weekend to shoot Tuesday. If successful, I'll load a bunch. I might be low on bullets, so I'll inventory. My .45 load seems light. Almost like I can watch the slide function. I know its on the light side and I have lots of margin to go, so I'll up it a bit. Its only 4.0 grains of titegroup. I'll load up some 4.2 and 4.4 grain loads.

[rg1]

Difficult question!! I have no answer. I have problems with this situation. If I have lots of brass I have to load it. If I have lots of bullets and no cases I order more cases and again have to reload them creating the very same situation. It will cause you to stockpile more loaded ammunition than needed ever for the rest of your shooting career. However, if mass hoards of neer-do-wells invade your community, it is possible, then you can't throw jugs of powder or boxes of bullets at them with any success. And if you have to leave your residence, you can't carry a ton of reloaded ammunition. Probably 300-400 rounds maximum if you have to rush out. Plus if your community organizes many of them will not be prepared and would need ammo? Won't do you any good to have plenty of powder, stacks of bullets and primers, and buckets of brass if your world turns to madness. This puzzle will cause one to load much more ammo than needed. Adding to the fact that new Government leaders could make it impossible or expensive to get more components? Martial Law declared by a corrupt government and all gun stores closed, or another LA riot and the first thing ordered is all gun stores closed? You have to satisfy your conscience and use your views of the future. May not be convenient to be reloading when the Alamo is under attack. Not an answer but there is no answer for this problem. Estimated 50,000 rounds fired in Vietnam for one dead enemy. In Iraq and Afghanistan estimated 250,000 rounds fired for 1 dead enemy. However, in the U.S. don't think you'd make it long enough to shoot many thousands of rounds. Target shooting load what you need for a couple years and stockpile components as you won't be shooting at paper targets if the worse is happening. Friend says his brother and I were "ammunition deprived as children" and he's right. Makes me enjoy reloading slightly more than shooting. Loving the hobby of reloading can cause an over supply of components and loaded ammunition too.

[hambam105]

I asked about 30 fellow shooters the same question about 2 years ago. After 6 months of getting their opinions here is the consensus:

Hands down...store quality ammunition. Reason:

You may not have enough time to assemble your ammo. And what happens if you get separated from all the tools you need to reload.

Needing ammo is one thing. Spending time in the reloading room while listening to Hickok45 or the SF giants is totally another.

[liber]

I asked about 30 fellow shooters the same question about 2 years ago. After 6 months of getting their opinions here is the consensus:

Hands down...store quality ammunition. Reason:

You may not have enough time to assemble your ammo. And what happens if you get separated from all the tools you need to reload.

Needing ammo is one thing. Spending time in the reloading room while listening to Hickok45 or the SF giants is totally another.

Yes, and to add to the above...you can store as much ammo as you like, legally, but you can only store 20 lbs. of powder in most situations without getting a special storage container.

[hambam105]

~Twenty-five grains to load a .223, then just ~six grains to load a 9mm or 45 or 38 Special. Something to consider.

[opos]

When I posted this I should have further qualified some things...first off I'm an old guy...79 pretty soon so "a lifetime supply" of anything has to be discounted....hell I don't even buy green bananas any more...so a lifetime supply of stuff for me is quite a bit different than for a guy 20 years old.

I don't think (personal and not to start an argument) that there will be a sudden and acute gun and ammo availability crisis that will be worse than the past couple...I do think there will be a severe tightening in places like California with things like are just passed and Newsom's initiatiave. I'm sure there will be shortages, hoarding (already starting I'll bet), gouging or "opportunistic" selling which I don't disagree with, etc.

Probably be a gazillion new guns sold as last time and every new gun owner trying to get that 5 boxes of ammo to put in the drawer with the new Bersa.

I appreciate the couple of comments pointing out the 20# "limit" on stored powder...I've never seen any "law" ...just a recommendation...but many folks probably go with the appropriate storage magazine / box and perhaps store more than the 20#...A high volume shooter would probably not flinch at 50# of powder and 10,000 primers in inventory.

I doubt that I'll ever miss a meal because I have either ammo or components but I'd like to stay flexible...if I do need to clear out the safe and storage containers because of any reason...more age, illness, etc...I'd rather have something that has value to lots of folks rather than a bunch of nice and well done handloads that nobody wants except for tearing down. Also I really like to try different things and would hate to have a couple thousand of something loaded up and then find a load that actually works better....I've loaded long enough and am consistant enough that most of my loads are based on the more readily available components so if I load up a fair amount of those they will probably get shot and fit the bill.

If it all goes upside down and we end up with war in the streets I'm heading for the Marina...stealing a large ocean going trawler (got one spotted and I've run it before when I ran boats)..it's got a water maker and usually sits with 2000 gallons of diesel in the tanks...I figure I can make it South a long ways before getting noticed...hope the guy in Arizona that owns it doesn't care. That's my "prepping".

[Bill Steele]

When I posted this I should have further qualified some things...first off I'm an old guy...79 pretty soon so "a lifetime supply" of anything has to be discounted....hell I don't even buy green bananas any more...so a lifetime supply of stuff for me is quite a bit different than for a guy 20 years old.

I don't think (personal and not to start an argument) that there will be a sudden and acute gun and ammo availability crisis that will be worse than the past couple...I do think there will be a severe tightening in places like California with things like are just passed and Newsom's initiatiave. I'm sure there will be shortages, hoarding (already starting I'll bet), gouging or "opportunistic" selling which I don't disagree with, etc.

Probably be a gazillion new guns sold as last time and every new gun owner trying to get that 5 boxes of ammo to put in the drawer with the new Bersa.

I appreciate the couple of comments pointing out the 20# "limit" on stored powder...I've never seen any "law" ...just a recommendation...but many folks probably go with the appropriate storage magazine / box and perhaps store more than the 20#...A high volume shooter would probably not flinch at 50# of powder and 10,000 primers in inventory.

I doubt that I'll ever miss a meal because I have either ammo or components but I'd like to stay flexible...if I do need to clear out the safe and storage containers because of any reason...more age, illness, etc...I'd rather have something that has value to lots of folks rather than a bunch of nice and well done handloads that nobody wants except for tearing down. Also I really like to try different things and would hate to have a couple thousand of something loaded up and then find a load that actually works better....I've loaded long enough and am consistant enough that most of my loads are based on the more readily available components so if I load up a fair amount of those they will probably get shot and fit the bill.

If it all goes upside down and we end up with war in the streets I'm heading for the Marina...stealing a large ocean going trawler (got one spotted and I've run it before when I ran boats)..it's got a water maker and usually sits with 2000 gallons of diesel in the tanks...I figure I can make it South a long ways before getting noticed...hope the guy in Arizona that owns it doesn't care. That's my "prepping".

Sounds like as good a plan as mine.

Heck, I just found out I live in the American Redoubt and that we are largely uneducated xenophobic white people who will shoot anyone of color on sight. We have a fair amount of land and house to keep up and while behind you in years, aren't getting any younger, so I sure hope my landscape guy and our housekeeping help don't hear about that xenophobe thing...

[hambam105]

If I can't take it with me I ain't going. Just dismantle the reloading bench and throw it in the meatwagon. Then stack all the good stuff on top of the grave site instead of the pictures & flowers. And for sheet sake use real ammo and not blanks for the send-off salute. And remember that is a big, "if".