How much ammo is too much ammo? And who gets to say?

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The only time I find a problem with that kinda buying is when people are standing in line to buy some ammo and one guy will buy everything and leave nothing for the other people waiting to make a purchase.

In this recent shortage I have seen it happen with powder and primers, with the too bad for you attitude, YEAH for me and screew you.

But other then that I belive anyone can own as much as they want, who knows maybe the guy bought the 27K rounds over time.
 
How much is too much ammo?

When you have to reinforce the floor in order to store it all, that might be too much, in one spot.

Otherwise, I think ammo is like what pilots think about fuel. You can never have too much, unless you are on fire!

27,00 rounds of .22LR sounds like a fantastic amount of ammo, but it all fits in 6 GI .50 caliber ammo cans (in 50rnd boxes) and doesn't even fully fill the 6th one.

To me, there is a significant difference between someone with money, and no previous firearm hobby buying up ammo as a speculator (hoarder), and those who have acquired what to some seems a huge quantity of ammo as a result of their shooting and reloading hobby.

Also, while not as common as they used to be, there are still people who do not operate on a "just in time" inventory system.

Somehow, it seems these people are being made out to be something abnormal. If your life is such that you have no problems with a small amount and buying more whenever you need or want, fine. Its your business. But please don't mock me for a reserve in times of plenty, and DO NOT whine to me about your situation in times of want.

I used to shoot a bit, haven't done much lately, for various reasons. I do like ammunition. I like loading and reloading ammunition.

I don't compete. And I haven't hunted in years (I'm a bit more mobility challenged than I used to be). But I have a bit of ammo on hand.

Anticipating my children learning to shoot, I bought at least a couple bricks of .22LR a month for over a decade. Kids are grown and gone now, and I still have about 12k of that stuff left. Am I a hoarder?

It don't spoil (or at least not for a LONG time, if done right) and if I don't have to buy any for the rest of my life, how does that hurt anything? Frankly, I'm rather glad I bought what I did when I did.

Also being set up to reload for over 30 different centerfire rounds, including some wildcat calibers, I have a few rounds of ammo here and there....

The sad thing to me is that for as long as I can remember, a rifle was worth several cases of ammunition in a caliber like .308. One case of that ammo today would buy two of those rifles now.

I don't care who you are, that there just ain't right...
 
I don't have 27, 000 rounds of .22lr but I do have close to half of that. I still can't bring myself to shoot any of it, though, until I can walk into any store that sells ammo and buy what I want. I like shooting .22lr more than a lot of other calibers, but I'm in a holding pattern at the moment. Actually, I wish I had 27, 000 rounds of .22lr.
 
I do have about 20,000 rounds of .22, most of it purchased over the years prior to 1995 when I stopped buying it. Many of you say you have enough ammo to last maybe a year. Think about this-- how long ago was it you were able to buy .22 ammo for a reasonable price? Wish you had bought more?

And then there's this-- I own several machine guns, and not infrequently we will take several cases of .45 and .30-06 to the range and leave with large buckets of brass. How much ammo do you think I might shoot in a year? 27,000 rounds isn't really very much ammo in ANY caliber.
 
Folks here in America have forgotten a basic premise.

"What somebody does with their money, time, and avocation, ain't nobody else's business, and if somebody gets to bein' a dang busybody, and has the darn fool idea that what they'sa doin' ain't no good for them, then they need to keep that overlong proboscis inside their own drapes, and just shut the heck up!"

That goes for any busybody fool in the gov'mint, too!

Why?

It's called personal responsibility, and personal freedom.
 
I'm in a position where the ten cases of .22 LR I just recieved from the CMP may be considered hoarding or too much by some, but I look it at and hope that it will be enough until the next time I can place and recieve an order of that quanity again.
 
The Accidental Hoarder

I got into a habit of buying a box of bulk .22 ammo, when it was on the shelf and around $10 for 500 rounds, every time I shopped at the local discount stores. When the wife sent me out to get canning jars, yarn and such, I would grab a box Rem, Win or Fed bulk. Hey, WTH.

I shot a fair amount of .22 LR so I was just stocking up a bit. I stacked it in a cabinet below my shop bench without ever giving much thought to how much I had.

Over the years I accumulated quite a bit. I did a inventory when .22 ammo became rather scarce.

:eek: I discovered over 30,000 rounds of mostly mixed mfg. bulk ammo. In the last two years I have shot and given away to friends and relatives about 10,000 rounds.

So I, without much forethought, have been able to get through the current .22 ammo shortage without effecting my shooting.
 
I was feeling pretty good about the several cases I've got in the closet until I read that.
Click to expand...

If it makes you feel any better, I doubt I get to put a round of that down range, unless I have to put on a demonstration for the staff that the "old man" (25 is entirerly too young to be the old man) knows what he's doing when it comes to riflery.
 
I think I was the person you were referring to,,,

I was talking to one guy that said he has 27000 rounds of 22lr.
Click to expand...

I might have been the person you were referring to,,,
When the ammo crunch hit this past January,,,
I had just over 27,000 rounds laid back.

The reason I have that much was because,,,
Of the ammo shortage when Obama was first elected,,,
I spent that summer rationing out one 550 round bulk pack.

I swore that wouldn't happen again,,,
I spent the next four years building a supply.

I got lucky and was able to buy 4 of those 5,000 round cases from the CMA,,,
Then every time I bought a bulk pack to shoot on a weekend,,,
I bought another one to stash away for later use.

Every time I was in Wal Mart I looked on the shelves,,,
If I had any of my allowance of disposable money left that week,,,
Instead of spending it on beer at my watering hole I bought some ammo.

I've been able to go to the range as often as I wanted to this year,,,
And I have been able to help some friends get out shooting.

Just this last weekend I was at the range with a friend of mine,,,
We were finally able to get out and try her new Heritage,,,
I gave her the gun and 1,000 rounds because I could.

I'm now down to just below 20,000 rounds of rimfire,,,
I will restock my supplies when it's available again.

I did the same thing for my centerfire guns,,,
I just didn't have the same number of rounds laid back.

I figured I always want to have 2,000 rounds of 9mm and .38 Special,,,
.357 Mag, .44 Special, .44 Mag, and others I keep 500 to 1,000 rounds on hand.

It's not hoarding for SHTF or TEOTWAWKI,,,
It's just maintaining an on-hand stash of expendable supplies.

When I want to go shooting I just get some ammo from my closet,,,
I replace it as soon as I see it available at the stores again,,,
In the USAF we called it maintaining a Bench Stock.

We all knew this would happen again,,,
I just prepared for it is all.

I am an ant,,,
Not a grasshopper. ;)

Aarond

.
 
I was lucky to have a good supply of .22LR on hand when the panic hit, not that I really put a lot of effort into getting it. I would pick it up when bulk packs were on sale at various local farm and home stores now and then. There for a while Remington was selling Golden Retriever coffee mugs with .22LR in bags inside. The wife loved the mugs so we ended up with a bunch of them over time. I shoot very little .22 myself but when nieces and nephews come here I like to have it on hand for them. I was even able to supply a formerly non gun owner friend who had bought a Henry rifle for his boy and could find no 22 ammo. It was a good feeling to help him get his son started out on the right path.

It really is not anyone's business how much ammo someone else wants to keep on hand. But common sense should rule. 22LR does have a shorter shelf life than center fire. Just because a TV shows says having 100,000 of rimfire on hand is a good idea, does not really make it so.
 
I agree with the other posters who say, this is America and you are free to do what you like with your time and money----so long as you aren't hurting anyone else. This is where the problem lies. Sure, no one is going to go on a 20,000+ round shooting spree.

But what if you live in a neighborhood?? House fires unfortunately happen, nobody ever expects it. So I do see a safety issue if your stash is close to others homes, oh and be sure when the fire dept. gets there you tell them about the stash so they can create and maintain a perimeter, whilst your home burns to the ground. That's the only real issue I see.

As for canning urine, if your ammo stash is for a SHTF scenario you probably should be canning urine (boil it down first to concentrate it and save space). Everyone has the few simple things around the house to render urea nitrate. With enough pee, one could blow up just about anything.
 
I like to shoot. I also like the fact that I have enough rounds put away that when I cant purchase any, I still feel able to use what I have without being concerned that I will run out. I do not resell any ammo I purchase. As long as money and space allow, I will purchase ammo when I wish. I do not see this as hoarding, I plan to shoot all of it. I have friends that thought the two bricks of .22 they had was somehow going to last them years :rolleyes: If I have the money and wish to purchase ammo, and that ammo is available at a decent price, I will purchase it. I'm willing to share within reason, you want 20-40 rounds of 7.62x54 for your new Mosin? You need a brick of .22 to shoot with the kids? No problem, if you are a friend, have at em. If you want a spam can of em, not for sale. I bought when they were readily available. Yes, I spent a decent amount of money to have shooting supplies available. I bought when the ammo was easy to find at a good price. I do not feel any remorse for doing so. And I will continue to buy ammo when I find it.
Found a 50 round box of Federal .38 special with two missing for $9 yesterday, deals are out there, just gotta find em.
 
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Just FYI guys, ammo in a house fire should not give any firefighters heartburn. It's not explosive, and even if it's out of ammo cans and loose on the shelf, if it pops the case will just fly a few feet and will not harm anyone wearing turnout equipment. Don't let the remote possibility of a fire keep you from maintaining a stock of ammo.

Propane cylinders, jugs of various chemicals, gas cans, and household cleaners are much more of a problem for firefighters.
 
Boring facts on ammunition in a fire:

http://www.saami.org/specifications...212-facts_about_sporting_ammunition_fires.pdf

Fun video about ammo in a fire:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3SlOXowwC4c

Lots of fun videos of ammo in fires:

https://www.google.com/#q=ammunition+in+a+fire&tbm=vid

Many of them talk about "exploding" ammunition but they are obviously mistaken. You hear pops; you don't see explosions.

Ammunition popping off during a fire is completely safe to anyone in a fire suit and generally safe to anyone at all.
 
Propane cylinders, jugs of various chemicals, gas cans, and household cleaners are much more of a problem for firefighters.
Click to expand...

My neighbor's house burned down a few years back - no one hurt and I, for one, was glad to see them gone, but that's another story.

The part related to the ammo in a fire issue was that the thing that caused the biggest explosion in their house was the water heater. That thing went with a bang that shook my house 150 feet away.

One of the videos I watched from google tonight was a boat fire with ammo on board. The Coast Guard ordered fire fighters to remain 200 yards away because of the ammo yet they allow firefighters to fight fires on boats with gasoline all the time...
 
Getting back to the subject of the thread: Ammunition has become, for the moment at least, a commodity. Commodities vary in price constantly based on the market. This is simply an annoyance of the free market. Corn, soybeans, beef, pork, etc. all do this. If you can buy beef calves at $0.90 per pound and sell them at $1.20 no one would blame you, yet doing the same thing with ammo, people make you out to be the Antichrist...
 
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