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
Depends on the platform and the caliber:

.45ACP, I reload all my range ammo. So I stockpile components. (need to order some bullets and powder now that I think about it).

.357/.38 I don't shoot as much of so I buy components in lower quantities and I buy the cheap walmart SJHP's for SD. The Remington 125gr. SJHP's shoot well from my guns and I'd hate to stand in front of one.

.380 I keep a box or two on hand of range fodder and SD ammo. I'm not above carrying WWB FMJ in this caliber though. I go back and forth on whether I want expansion or all the penetration I can get in such a light caliber.

12 ga I buy birdshot and buckshot by the case. I buy slugs by the box from the big box stores when they have sales. Hunting/SD dual purpose ammo here and what I shoot the most throughout the year.

.223/5.56 I keep at least a case of XM193 in reserve for worst case stuff. Other than that I use it as range fodder. I buy small quantities of soft point ammo for varminting.

.243/.30-06 I reload for both of these calibers and buy components as I find deals on them. I also still buy some factory ammo for both calibers at times. I like to keep 50-100 rounds of each on hand loaded plus components for 100-200 rounds.


For caselots of ammo online try www.ammunitiontogo.com

I've had good luck with them particularly for my 12 ga stuff.
 
I have enough SD/HD ammo, 40 to 50 rounds per gun, but I have more than a 1000 rounds of target per gun, mostly WWB, for practice. Storage is a big problem. I need a bigger ammo safe, but man, you can buy a lot of guns and ammo for what a decent safe cost.
 
Most of my ammo purchase is range ammo. I do buy some SD ammo now and again, but I don't shoot very much SD ammo, usually just enough to make sure it feeds through my autos.

I usually buy a couple of boxes of hunting ammo a year. Like to practice prior to the season as well as check the zero on my ammo.

I also buy a lot of mil surplus ammo for fun plinking at the range throughout the year.
 
I don't stockpile, but...

The ammo I do keep on hand is 95% range ammo.

I have SD ammo in my HD guns. I shoot a few rounds of that every once in a while. Maybe a box worth a year.

The rest of the ammo that I have on hand, is 50-200 rounds for each caliber, and up to 1000 rounds of 22. It is all hand-loaded target ammo.

Put the "new" (traded) 2X scope on the Redhawk last night, and managed to rip off about a 3", 5-shot group at 25 yds, 2-handed. I find that kind of shooting a lot more gratifying than a lot of self-defense practice that burns through ammo quickly.

We just got a plasma TV too. (wife's idea; I don't watch TV much) I would have bought guns or had my guns worked on.
 
I keep about 500 rounds of Double Tap .40 S&W on hand, everything else is a mixture of other reputable defense ammo (about 600 rounds at this time of various) and about 3K rounds of Winclean (needed for my local indoor range)and about 5K of Winchester White Box or some other brand like Fed AE or Speer.

I'm very low on ammo as I write this and I'd like to stock up, but in this economy it's tough.
 
Sock up based mostly on what is cheapest honestly. Any bullet type - in my opinion - will work for SD in a SHTF situation. For the 12ga, it's cheap dove loads, few bricks of .22 lr cheap plinking stuff, fmj for the .45, fmj or lead nose for the .38, and fjm for all the vary-ing 7.62x___ calibers.
 
I answered both equally although my plinking stockpile is reloading components.Also I'm pretty close to stocked up on SD ammo.next year will probably be way more components than SD ammo.
 
so like range ammo isn't defensive ammo?
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If it comes to the point where you have shot all your SD ammo and all the ammo you have left is FMJ, I would think civil liability for over penetration issues would be the least of your worries. :(
 
If it comes to the point where you have shot all your SD ammo and all the ammo you have left is FMJ, I would think civil liability for over penetration issues would be the least of your worries.
Click to expand...
As hard as it is to believe, I once overheard a salesperson at my dealer correcting a customer who was saying to his buddy that they should pick up some "target ammo" because target ammo was "not powerful enough to seriously injure anyone if they had an accident." I could just imagine these bozos out in the woods shooting at each other on purpose. :rolleyes:
 
Spend Thrift

Think I'll take a pass on this one....then again I was going to discuss the economics of reloading (to supply specific needs, PD and or practice); my neophytic loading/reloading endeavor. Perhaps my ordering of reloading supplies might be considered hedonistic or a conspicuous consumption? Heaven help me if I display my loading room, or my boat(s) in the shed, or the
G35.

I work my @$$ off (bootstrapped) so I will and do spend/donate my $$ as I see fit. As a patriot, it is my role and yes civic duty to assist in single handidly consuming our way into a new economic renaissance. Of course following a 27% savings rate to fund my extensive travel and lavish retirement plans.

PBP I still love your "Elite" 40 and "Aristocrat" .380. :D
 
I have about 500 rounds of .40 FMJ for target, & 100 SD rounds
For my .380 I have 50 SD & 200 FMJ target rounds.

I need to build up my stock a bit.
 
I've been stocking up on hunting ammo. 2275 pellets for my air rifle and 1050ish rds for my ruger 10/22.

When I get a shotgun in a few weeks, I'll probably stock up on a mix of shotgun shells.
 
I primarily stock up on range ammo / but I have a fair amout of defensive ammo too.

On range ammo / I reload everything ( 9mm, .40, .45acp , .38spl, .357 mag, .44 mag ) - so I stock bullets, primers and powder. I reload for shotguns too in 12, 20, 28ga and .410 ( about enough for 25,000 shells ). But that is only a 1 year or maybe 18 month inventory for shotshells.

I usually stock about:

3 - 5 cases of small pistol primers
3 - 5 cases of large pistol primers - so about 25 - 30,000 primers

I always have at least 16 lbs of powder ( two 8 lb kegs )

I stock bullets in case lots ( so 2,000 per case of .45acp / 3,750 per
case for 9mm ) and I have anywhere from 1 - 4 cases per caliber
on hand.

I only keep about 30 - 50 boxes of ammo per caliber loaded at any given time / maybe 4 or 5 cases of shotshells per gague at any given time.
 
I recently had an epiphany...A 1.75L bottle of Stolichnaya costs 35.00 plus tax. A 100 round box of WWB .45 ACP 230gr FMJ at Wally World is 29.97 plus tax, so now every week I dont buy the Vodka (which I have been doing for years) I buy the ammo and keep the 5.00. Makes the wife happy too, she says I dont snore as much.:D
 
Tokarev ammo

I purchased a bunch of 7.62 X25 and a bunch of 9X18 from ammuntiontogo.com in December. Most of the other calibers are easy to get and hard to shut off without some notice. Washington can shut off Russian ammo with just a phone call, so I stocked up.
 
Hard to answer, because I got such a good deal on SD ammo (GDHP Law enforcement by the case's) about a year ago, and it was the same price (Sometimes more, AKA Basspro) as practice ammo is now. So, I'm about 50/50.
 
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