Monday, March 19, 2012

How much?

Good point. 

What is the rule of thumb these days?  For how much ammo to keep on hand.  I haven't kept too close a tab on mine, as I reached a critical mass, in my mind.

The old rule is/was... Have 100 rounds for each gun you shoot available, and 1000 in the primary shooting pieces.

In a bad situation you'll go through 1000 for your rifle and pistol, but if times are that bad you'd have to CARRY everything you own.  I'd hate to carry 2000 rounds of 7.62...

Anyhoo.  I have like 200 for each usable gun set by.  Or more.  Over 1000 for the M1A.  Well over.  That's the big one, ammo wise.

At any rate, it's been a while since I made an ammo purchase.  I need to get off my tail and do the hollow point test for my Commander.  See if HP .45 makes it jam.  Just to know.  Pricy, tho.

11 comments:

JB Miller said...

I need to get .45 because I have been shooting A LOT of it lately. I will inventory and post about it.

Anonymous said...

How much? There is only one answer: "More."

Paladin said...

After the ammo shortage caught me flat footed, and things eased up to where you could actually find the stuff, I went on the "shoot one but two" program. Its become a habit that I keep up today. As far as having too much to physically carry - cacheing is a good option if you plan ahead. Either cache a large surplus ahead of time or have the ability to do so relatively easily.

ZerCool said...

Anon speaks truth. It doesn't go bad (well, not quickly), and prices sure aren't coming down.

Bubblehead Les. said...

Well, this can be a bit confusing.

First, I like to have a Commonality of Calibers. That would be, say all my Pistols are in (mm, All my Rifles in 7.62 Nato, etc.

But since I have a Mish-Mash, here's what I'm doing. First, I have a Carry Load. That's means for my Semi- Pistol, one in the Gun, plus 2 reloads. For my Revolvers, Gun loaded, 2 Speedloaders. For my Detachable Magazine Rifles, I like one Full Mag in the Weapon, Chamber Empty, Safety ON (Condition 3), plus a Spare mag or 2 in a Stock Pouch. So my M1 Carbines have a 30 rounder in the Weapon, plus 2 15 rounders on the Stock, for a total of 60 available just by picking up the Weapon.

Now, for my Bolt guns, which are Mauser, I'm working up a Stock Pouch that'll give me 25 rounds on Stripper Clips for each Rifle. And for those who use Shotguns, theres always the Side Saddle.

Now, for all the Detachable Mag Long Guns, there are Shoulder Pouches out there that can hold a bunch of Detachable Magazines that you just grab with your Rifle and toss over your Shoulder.

But for Total Ammo Storage, unless you have a Single Gun in an Odd Caliber,(like my .38 S+W or my Baby Browning in .25 ACP) I'd say a 1,000 Rounds per Weapon is aGood Start. And if they take Detachable Mags, like a Ruger 10/22, I'd have at least a half a dozen Mags loaded, stored in Ammo Cans, with a Mag Loader in each Can. These are NOT "Grab and Go" Supplies. Think of a Soldier coming back to Base after a Hard day of Fighting Terrorists, who can Just replace his Emptys with Fresh Mags, then refill the Emptys.

Yes, there are other fine Weapons that have their Own Issyes, like Grands and Lever Guns and Bolt Actions that don't take Stripper Clips, but this is getting long. So 1,000 rounds or so per Weapon is a good Start, just have them some of them PrePackaged. Hope this Helps.

Bubblehead Les. said...

And pay no attention to my Mizzpellin" issues. Long Night last nite.

Old NFO said...

Pricey yes, worth knowing YES! Nuff said...

45er said...

I don't know. I can't seem to keep it on hand in those quantities. I've finally figured out how much I need to buy of each just to keep some on hand. I've started keeping better quality stuff as the "stored" ammo and buying cheaper stuff to shoot. I buy 9mm and .223 by the case to train with, but never can keep more than a case around.

Murphy's Law said...

Reload, reload, reload!

Aaron said...

As the saying goes: Plenty+More=Enough.

I'd figure 1000 rounds reserve for each primary rifle or pistol in excess of your training regimen is a decent start.

Second and third line rifles and pistols can have less and oddballs fewer still.

This reminds me that I need to get out and more more ammo...darn it.

Anonymous said...

.45 JHP is cheap now. Go to http://slickguns.com and you'll find Federal and Privi for about 35 cents/rd. http://sgammo.com
JHP is not for 1911's. Get an XD tactical-
9JHP is very cheap right now at Reliant ammo.
I also got a case of .308 very cheap from Privi/Slickguns/Target Sports.