How much ammo is enough?

O

olyinaz

New member
How much ammo do you keep on hand? I find that if I drop below 500 rounds (per caliber) on hand I get uncomfortable and this last six months has done nothing but confirm my belief that it's best to keep some on hand, but at what point do we cross the line from prudent planning into the Twilight Zone of weird looks and furtive glances? What's your comfort level?

Thanks,
Oly
 
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I assume you mean 500 rounds in the same caliber for your defensive handgun. Suppose that's enough but it's probably time to get more. I've dropped way low on ammo and need to do something about it. I have four calibers I need to buy for though as I've dropped to about 250 for each.
 
I go to the range at least once a week so I have mostly target ammo and like to keep at least 250 rounds per gun handy. 7.62x39, 7.62x54,.40,22wmr,.223,.45 and now I gotta get some .380:)
 
There's no such thing as "too much ammo"........:D ........better get it while you still can.
 
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Wow, I haven't seen a post like this in at least a couple of weeks!

So what if I said my comfot level is 20,000 rounds of each caliber I shoot, would that make any difference to you? Can you afford to buy that much? Do you have room to store that much? Someone's "comfort level" is very subjective. If you start running low on ammo, just stop shooting until you get more!

There is no way anyone can answer this question, especially with the almost non-existant information you have provided.

Scott
 
Depends on how much you shoot.

I've shot 600 rounds of 9mm in the past two weeks. 500 rounds doesn't sound like nearly enough to me...
 
handguns i keep no less then 1000 rounds each but i stop doing paper work once i drop below 1200 until i pick up atleast a box to replace what im going to shoot. now thats fmjs personal def rounds tend to cost alittle more so i go with on ave 400 of the 9mm and 45acps in holow points. witch i tend to think id use more of then my 380s or 22s or 25s but 22 i have like 15 of this 550 round bricks. rifle round i gauge alittle diff those dont drop below 3000 rounds in 223 7,63x39 and 7.62x54 but those i tend to buy bigger bulk for cheaper and split shippng cost with family and such. well i see it as how good is a gun if u dont have enough ammo to take care of busness. but thats just me
 
I reload and shoot about 200 rds per range session. So I like to have 1,000 - 2,000 loaded rounds per cartridge on hand, plus components for another 2K - 3K on hand.
 
Never is too much ! I use to laugh hearing about people with thousands of rounds, until wife and I started going to the range more often, a few hundred doesn't last long. I was lucky and bought 4 orders from a couple places before everyone went bananas. I can see now on line bulk buys are slowly getting back into stock. And besides you'll never know when you will be called to war.:rolleyes:
 
How much ammo is enough?
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When you are satisfied that what you have on-hand will suffice for almost any emergency short of armageddon.

You have too much ammo if...

- Your foundation is cracking from the weight.
- There's no room for a vehicle in your garage.
- You shape the boxes like furniture and throw old sheets over 'em.
- You have boxes acting as stair steps to reach high kitchen cabinets.
 
I haven't been shooting much at all of late so I'm not stocking a huge amount of ammo. I do try to keep a min amount of at least 100 rounds per cartridge at all times and that includes handguns, shotguns and rifles.
 
I want to have 100 rounds of hollowpoint ammo and 500 rounds of FMJ per gun. If possible I get more.

I am low on .45 acp right now (400FMJ 75 HP), HP 9mm (65) and HP .40 (80).

Problem is all of that stuff is hard to find right now. FMJ .40 and 9mm is around but not the HP's I use. ANd the only .45 FMJ is the "Non toxic" American Eagle. So I'm holding off until I get can the normal ammo, with large pistol primers. (For dad to reload).
 
My _bare minimum_ is enough to load all of the magazines I have for a particular caliber. If going to the range would bring me below that, I don't go to the range (using that caliber, anyways).
 
Thanks for the opinions so far guys! It certainly sounds like I'm not out in left field by any means. And I agree that if one starts going to the range a lot then 500 rounds is actually pretty thin because I'll go through 100-200 rounds, minimum, if I'm going to go to the effort to drive out and set up.

Thanks,
Oly
 
Enough is when I can make my shot shell building touch my ceiling....
5900_225252265172_718030172_7605161_3222966_n.jpg
 
ammo

There is no way anyone can answer this question, especially with the almost non-existant information you have provided.
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What info do you need to answer a question like how much ammo do you keep around?

For me, it depends on the gun. In general, I like a minimum of 200 rounds sitting on the shelf for each gun that I own. (40+ = 8000+). For guns that I shoot a lot, that figure may quadruple.For the 1911, there's usually 600-1000 rounds available. For the .44, at least 800. I like to keep a full case of .22s. 9mm - there's at least 500 (and I don't shoot 9s much). For the .25 and .32 - there's a couple of hundred each.
The same is true for rifles and shotguns. A flat of shotshells each in 12 and 20, 500 rounds each of .223 and .30-06 at least.
In calibers that I shoot less often (.416 Rigby, .375 H&H) I try for 100 rounds.
That's the gist. Reloading makes this easier to do for me.
Pete
 
Man I know the feeling, right now I've got about 200 .223s, 80 7.62x39s, a mess of .22s, 10 12 gauge slugs, 15 00bucks, 30 12 gauge light target and, well thats all.

I feel naked.
 
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