[Kymudder08]

How much is actually “enough”?
I’ve seen the 1000rd per rifle, a rifle and sidearm per person, etc.

Do you base it off the type of disaster you’re preparing for?

What calibers do you choose? I only have 22, 9, 556, and 270, though I don’t stock near as much for my 270 as its really just for hunting and not spray and pray lol. Should I add another caliber? I have thought about adding a 308 precision rifle, but to build what I want is pretty expensive for me to be satisfied and not regret it. Not to mention precision ammo is expensive compared to 55gr fmj.

What type of bullet would you want your stocked ammo to have? Fmj, soft point, hollow point, etc

 

[charliemeyer007]

I reload everything but 22 rimfire. I have lots of ammo and I shoot a lot. I worry first about hitting the target, then I worry about how hard I hit it. Choice of bullet mostly depends on the target.

I think you should add a shotgun - much easier to catch flying or running game with one. I like 12 gauge and only reload 2 3/4 shells 1 1/4 oz 3 3/4 DE with Lyman cast sabot slugs, OO and #4 buckshot plus 2, 4, 6, 7.5 in bird shot.

 

[Chuckleberry]

`

If someone gave me 1 Million rounds of ammo for every caliber I own, I'd still buy ammo when I found deals & would keep reloading to keep the brass piles low. So I might not be the best person to ask.

.

 

[Herkemer]

I have EOTW enough...which is not that much, considering and compared to a couple three folks around here lol


Then I have " I'm the only dude with ammo" after the most recent scare bs.

It would seem like a shizzpile of ammo, to me anyway///but the smallest range day equals hundreds of rounds.....not so much then.

Random guess
\
10k .223
5k .40
a lot of .22
1k plus of whatever.....357///308 ect

Again.....this is so I do not have to buy ammo when I want to shoot. (Did that for 35 years, finally learned my lesson)

PAW (lol) is loaded mags in ammo cans for anything going out the door with me..

 

[swamppapa]

The only time you have too much ammo is when you’re trying to swim.

 

[Good beer]

How much is actually “enough”?
I’ve seen the 1000rd per rifle, a rifle and sidearm per person, etc.

Do you base it off the type of disaster you’re preparing for?

What calibers do you choose? I only have 22, 9, 556, and 270, though I don’t stock near as much for my 270 as its really just for hunting and not spray and pray lol. Should I add another caliber? I have thought about adding a 308 precision rifle, but to build what I want is pretty expensive for me to be satisfied and not regret it. Not to mention precision ammo is expensive compared to 55gr fmj.

What type of bullet would you want your stocked ammo to have? Fmj, soft point, hollow point, etc

Cheapest reliable ammo.

 

[Hick Industries]

How much is actually “enough”?
I’ve seen the 1000rd per rifle, a rifle and sidearm per person, etc.

Do you base it off the type of disaster you’re preparing for?

What calibers do you choose? I only have 22, 9, 556, and 270, though I don’t stock near as much for my 270 as its really just for hunting and not spray and pray lol. Should I add another caliber? I have thought about adding a 308 precision rifle, but to build what I want is pretty expensive for me to be satisfied and not regret it. Not to mention precision ammo is expensive compared to 55gr fmj.

What type of bullet would you want your stocked ammo to have? Fmj, soft point, hollow point, etc

200 rounds of 270 win should last a lifetime of hunting.
A 5,000 rd case of 22LR should be enough.
I believe most folks burn up 9mm and 5.56 ammo practicing and playing games, but after a crisis this is not sustainable.
I believe whats coming is not going to look much like a civil war with two sides and real uniforms. More like nation wide riot.
A person would be lucky to fire 200 rds of either before getting killed.

 

[Eagle Scout Survivor]

You really don't need the 308 if you are buying guns from a prepping only viewpoint from what you said about your collection. However if you are going for a new gun would be cool to have a 308 is a nice choice that is practical.


I do agree 1 pistol and 1 rifle per person is a good baseline.


I stock all FMJ because that is usually the cheapest. Only exception is some hunting rounds and a couple hundred rounds of 9mm I use for my conceal carry. I suscribe to the idea quantity has its own quality.

Don't forget to stock those magazines, slings, holsters, and magazine pouches.

 

[Lt. Drake]

IMMV, but the way we roll is that each person has a "System" comprised of one AR15, with 12 magazines for the rifle; One Glock 17/19 with 12-15 mags, and one Remington 870 tactical. I would tack on the need for a good .22lr for small game hunting, and this makes a well-balanced arsenal for SHTF.

As for ammo, count on expending at least 90rds (three mags) per firefight. This is US Army estimates. How long do you expect SHTF to last? If you consider you may end up in 10 firefights, that's 900 rounds per person. I personally wouldn't feel comfortable with anything LESS than 5000 rounds per person, and there's some good folks on here who consider 5000 rounds chicken scratch.

 

[justin22885]

pick a semi automatic rifle caliber, a handgun, stockpile at least 5k rounds of each, add 10k rounds of 22lr on that

 

[6.8SPC]

Do you base it off the type of disaster you’re preparing for?

What calibers do you choose?

Yes......I base it off the type disaster I prepare for.......375 H&H (One cartridge is generally enough. But two or three cartridges is sometimes needed, especially at night)......:thumb::thumb:

 

[Kymudder08]

Mags are pretty well covered. Little over 100 ar and 15-20 glock mags for 19/17. Had more glock mags, but Sold the pistols and swapped over to m&p, then ended up trading an old hunting bow for a gently used 19 lol. Only have about 6-10 mags for the m&ps tho. Rifle ammo is over 5k, but pistol is only about 2-3k. I used to reload, but ammo got so cheap and my time got scarce from work and baby that now I only have components to load for my .270 (which is a significant cost savings).

.22lr was hardest for me to stock bc having a suppressor for my pistol and rifle makes me picky on ammo.

I do have a 12ga Remington tactical that sits in the closet, but it’s not my go to unless somebody breaks in

 

[Nomad 2nd]

How long should a rope be and how big around?


That said I believe it is unlikely you will fire over 1,000 rounds in Personal /non military combat and live to tell about it.

...I have a little more than that.

 

[ajole]

All I know is, it doesn’t eat, it appreciates better value than my savings account, and when I’m gone I won’t give a crap how much is left over, but I’ll sure be unhappy if I run out before my trigger finger stops working.

 

[TENNGRIZZ]

NEVER , EVER , Pray and Spray , BRASS and make every shot count every single time , JMHO and S/FI!

 

[Eutychus]

9mm for sidearms. 5.56 for the carbine. And as much 12 gauge as one has room to store.

If necessary I can hunt with the carbine or the shotgun. Recalling that in a survival situation one is hunting for food and not a trophy to mount on a wall, a head shot with the carbine will bag a deer.

How many rounds? I want to say "as many as one can afford to stash away" but the practicality of that is debatable due to the unknowns. Will I be standing my ground trying to defend my home, or on the move carrying what I can?

My recollection from the USMC is that I was typically packing around 75 lbs of gear, including ammo. Water is heavy; don't leave home without some. At the end of the day one has to decide for him or her self what is desirable.

 

[Eutychus]

200 rounds of 270 win should last a lifetime of hunting.
A 5,000 rd case of 22LR should be enough.
I believe most folks burn up 9mm and 5.56 ammo practicing and playing games, but after a crisis this is not sustainable.
I believe whats coming is not going to look much like a civil war with two sides and real uniforms. More like nation wide riot.
A person would be lucky to fire 200 rds of either before getting killed.

I agree with this. It will not be anything like the movies.

 

[ManyFeathers]

All I can say is

If you gotta ask.....


You don't have enough

When you get there, you'll know


Up until the next good sale on guns or ammo :

 

[JLW1974]

Think about how much you are going to shoot, the average useable (accurate vs acceptable for the task at hand) barrel life of the firearm you are shooting, your age, the anticipated amount you will be shooting it, cartridge, maintenance, hobbies (3-gun, etc). Don't forget the parts. Optics, Bolts, Bolt Carrier Groups, etc. will also have a [acceptable] useable life.

If its a 223/556, 'accurate' barrel life is around 8-10K rounds, depending on the ammo, frequency of fire in a short time, barrel quality, etc...but for hunting purposes, it could easily be double that number depending on how far you shoot out. If for LRH then 'accurate' barrel life is what you are looking at. Anything less than 100 yards, it will have plenty of life. Not uncommon to pass down rifles from Grandfather to father to son with still acceptable accuracy for hunting purposes.

22lr barrels, can last a LONG time...Not uncommon for 50K plus rounds before it starts showing signs of degradation.

To others point, if you are in a fire-fight, maybe you can walk away from one or two, but if it continues, in preservation of life, you want to G.O.O.D. to a much safer place if at all possible. Statistics are highly against you at that point.

Now if you are considering stocking up for the whole family/friends, in case of a SHTF/Boogaloo scenario, then you can buy as much as you can realistically afford and store... but don't break the bank in doing so by ignoring other responsibilities.

Buy it cheap, stack it deep.

 

[fragout]

How much is actually “enough”?
I’ve seen the 1000rd per rifle, a rifle and sidearm per person, etc.

Do you base it off the type of disaster you’re preparing for?

What calibers do you choose? I only have 22, 9, 556, and 270, though I don’t stock near as much for my 270 as its really just for hunting and not spray and pray lol. Should I add another caliber? I have thought about adding a 308 precision rifle, but to build what I want is pretty expensive for me to be satisfied and not regret it. Not to mention precision ammo is expensive compared to 55gr fmj.

What type of bullet would you want your stocked ammo to have? Fmj, soft point, hollow point, etc

1. How much is enough? That is up to the individual. 1000? 5000?. Whatever number you feel comfortable with. Now take that figure and multiply it by 3.
Regardless of total amount, I would suggest that you do not keep all of it in one place. ( At least 2 other locations, and/ or a cache program)

How much you use up for your " training" is another factor that should be considered.

2. One rifle and sidearm per person in your group is a decent minimum imo.

3. Any disaster where firearms could come in handy. Security is the primary reason, while hunting is a secondary.

I personally don't concern myself with any " firefight survivability" stats. Mindset = whatever needs to be accomplished for my group to survive. If this ends up into an armed confrontation, then so be it. Either way, we will not run out of ammo, as this is by far the largest chunk of the firearms related budget. ( Pallets) .
With that said, the only ammo I would be concerned with would be the amount I have on me at any given time. ( I always hump around more than I believe that I will need NOW. ) Mind/ body is very accustomed to the weight and how it is distributed.

4. What calibers? ( Cartridges) Our primary CF rifle cartridge = 7.62x51mm. 22LR = Primary rimfire. CF Sidearm primarily for current time EDC. May or may not carry it with rifle. ( 2 additional M14 mags may be a better selection than a sidearm / 2 additional sidearm mags. .....but it would depend on specifics......for example) No use for shotguns here other than as fun guns.

Should you add another cartridge? Only for one of 2 reasons: The cartridge you add is to be your go to, or you have your go to cartridge with ammo stocked 3x more than your " comfort zone".

5. Bullet type? 168gr TTSX, 168gr OTM, and R1M1 ball.....among others. ( Pics 1, 2, and 5 below)

Note: I don't carry a golf bag full of long guns around with me. One rifle with anywhere between 140 to 220 rds ( 7 to 11 M14 20rd mags) . 1 mag inserted into rifle, and the rest go into a set up such as the one pictured. ( Sidearm in pic is not part of it.)
Security/ hunting rifle are one and the same. ( Pic 3 below)

Rifle in pic 5 = Another " spare". As with all the ammo, this rifle will not be kept in same location now that it is zeroed using the same ammo kept with it at its " new" location.

11B