Stocking up on ammo: Defensive or Range?

What type(s) of ammo do you stockpile? Why?

  • Primarily hunting ammo

    Votes: 1 0.7%

  • Primarily self defense ammo

    Votes: 19 12.4%

  • Primarily plinking/range ammo

    Votes: 82 53.6%

  • A pretty even mix of two or more types

    Votes: 51 33.3%
  • Total voters
    153
P

Playboypenguin

Moderator
Heidi-ho y'all.

I have recently had the urge to spend a little money (that is all iI have at the moment) on my firearms hobby. I had been spending all my money on catching my self up with my technologies hobbies. A new flat screen TV, iPhone, Blu-ray player, etc. Getting a little behind in that field can cost you.

I decided that I cannot find a gun that interests me right now (well, at least not one I can afford) so I would stock up on a few hundred bucks worth of ammo. I went last night to pick some up but my dealer and Sportsman's Warehouse were both wiped out. I was only able to spend about $100 total and walked away with just a couple 20 round boxes of 10mm Hornady 180gr JHP/XTP, a couple 20 round boxes of .357sig Gold Dot 125gr GDHP, and a 50 round box of .45colt Blazer 200gr JHP. A pretty weak haul.

I do have some Double Tap ammo on order but that could take months.

When I got home I started thinking that I bought all "defensive" level ammo (that was all they had) and no real target ammo. That made me start to wonder...

what type of ammo most of you guys stock up on and why? Do you primarily stockpile ammo for hunting, self defense, or plinking?
 
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I stock up primarily to offset costs. Whenever there's a sale that makes it worth while, I'll buy in bulk. This is usually with target ammo.

I'm not so concerned with self-defense ammo. A couple of boxes will last me years.
 
I stock up on my range/practice ammo, I've still got enough SD ammo to last about 10 years as I don't shoot much of that.
 
I burn up lots of ammo....

...therefore, I buy lots of cheap bulk stuff, or range ammo I guess. If I had more money I would buy more def. ammo, but it would cost a fortune to shoot till you were tired of shooting that stuff.
 
I mostly stock up on practice ammo. Buying 1000 rounds of TAP ammo ain't in my budget. I figure that if things got REALLY bad, practice ammo works for defense too if thats all you have. Ball ammo may not be great but it beats nothing at all:)
 
PBP,

Been there, done that.

Here's how I look at it. 98.5% of my shooting is done at targets. Maybe 1.4% is done hunting with a .1% chance of using my gun in a SD situation. It doesn't make a lot of sense to stock up on thousands of rounds of premium ammo.

Even if we talk about the dreaded "major disaster" scenarios it still holds pretty much true. Though you might want more hunting ammo.

I look at it this way... For SD, if I have a box of 20 super-duper JHP's, I can load up to 5-6 rounds at the top of each magazine and fill the rest with FMJ. In a gunfight the average shots fired is less than 5. If we progress beyond that many shots, I've not hit my opponent so all those extra $$ are wasted. He won't be able to tell I'm shooting plain FMJ instead of premium ammo (nor will he care).

In wheelguns, the speedloaders can have less expensive JSP/JHP or LSWC. If we're into reloading during a gunfight, I'll be happy to get a hit, even with FMJ.

Similar ideas apply to rifles. When hunting use JHP/JSP and FMJ if you need to defend yourself. Reserve the scarce premium stuff for hunting or where it's needed.

Some of the revolver FMJ stuff is about like shooting wadcutters though. I tend to buy the slightly better +P generic stuff when I can afford to.

Your mileage may vary. Void where prohibited by law. JHP ammo not available everywhere. Not intended as legal advice. Check your owners manual first.
 
I burn through alot of plinking ammo that's why I purchase the most of that. Alot of FMJ that is. I do have about 500 rounds for my 9mm in JHP and about 200 45 acp in JHP. Both calibers have over 1k in range ammo. I rotate SD ammo every six months unless some water hits the gun or something.

Why have 1k in SD ammo when you only go through maybe 100 rounds a year of it max. I go through 3k of plinking ammo a year so. So thats why I stock the plinking ammo.
 
My "stockpile" is pretty slim. Only about 1700 rounds of .40 (all I shoot), and mostly FMJ stuff.

1000 rounds of it I've set back in my "SHTF/end of the world stash". In a pinch, I'm pretty confident that FMJ will still kill things. ;)
 
Target ammo is a clear winner. I might have 200-300 rounds of defensive ammo in several calibers.

I stocked up on factory .22's, 30,000 rounds, when the price was cheap a couple of years ago. It has now doubled in price so the buy has paid off in spades.

The rest is reloading supplies. I've done the same there also, buying in bulk a few years ago. I've got primers priced at $18 per thousand, now about $29 or so. Same with bullets. I would buy more powder and primers, but if the house ever caught on fire the fireman would run when all this stuff started popping off.

Heck, I bought a pallet of lead shot about 12 years ago and still have about 35 25 lb bags left.

If there's one thing constant in this world it is inflation..........................ck
 
I was only able to spend about $10 total and walked away with just a couple 20 round boxes of 10mm Hornady 180gr JHP/XTP, a couple 20 round boxes of .357sig Gold Dot 125gr GDHP, and a 50 round box of .45colt Blazer 200gr JHP. A pretty weak haul.
Click to expand...

all of that for $10?
and you're complaining?


wow
 
LOL.

I just spent over $20 for 20 rounds of 380 defensive ammo.:eek:

And my old Mauser might not even eat it.

Eh,trying something new,you know.
 
I reload all of my ammo and it is good for range/plinking/self defense.
I would not wish to be shot with anything that comes out the barrel of my handguns!
 
It depends on which firearm I'm buying ammo for, and what time of year it is. For my pistols, I try to always have a few hundred rounds of range ammo available in each caliber, and at least 2 boxes of whatever self defense ammo I'm using. I can't hunt with my handguns so that's not an issue. Out in the woods and on the farm I just carry FMJ or LRN ammo, the only thing the premium defense loads are for is 2 legged problems.

For my rifle (yep just one) stockpiling ammo is simple since it's a .22lr. I just try to make sure I always have at least one of the 500 round boxes available.

For my shotguns the ammo really covers the spread. Everything from light clay target loads to magnum buckshot and slugs and everything in between. To me there are no "self defense" shotgun loads in most stores........the ammo is designed to hunt with, it just happens to also work for self defense. In the summer I buy a lot more of the target loads for clay shooting. Before fall arrives I make sure I stock up on hunting ammo, just in case anyone else I know needs some and the stores are out (not uncommon).
 
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