What do you consider a fully stocked ammo supply?

G

groverdill

New member
I thought my wife and I were doing OK as far as keeping a decent supply of ammo on hand. But it occurred to me that most of it, probably 90% or more, is target ammo. I know in an emergency, any ammo is better than no ammo, but I wonder if I should have a larger stockpile of self defense rounds. By emergency, I mean something like what happened recently in Ferguson, MO, or any riot/breakdown of society. As I said, if I have to defend my family or property, the target rounds would probably suffice. Right? :confused: So let me ask you this. How do you divide up your ammo supply? 50/50 in target/defense? 75/25? 90/10? Target's cheaper so that's why I was stocking up on it, but is that perhaps not the smart thing to do? I'm not trying to overthink it, just looking for advice/opinions. Thanks.

Mike
 
Probably the better question would be.....how much ammo do you need for a "Ferguson, MO, or any riot/breakdown of society" scenario.

Perhaps a 75/25% split?.......75% target, 25% combat ammo. I have no idea what the correct response should be.
 
I can't imagine what my role would be in such a situation that would require me to have more than a couple of boxes of hollow points.
 
In the example you use, I would employ my AR-15 as primary. Most of my target rounds are basically the same as the ones used in combat. I also have a goodly supply of frangible and soft point rounds.

For pistol needs, I would rely on .45 and .40 loads. Even the FMJ rounds have quite a kick.
 
What you are comfortable with . I keep around five thousand rounds factory plus enough reloading supplys to load several thousand more . Most hollow points or performance ammo some FMJ'S . For those that do not feel the need to keep plenty of supplies thats your choice .
 
Psalm7 spaeketh:
What you are comfortable with . I keep around five thousand rounds factory plus enough reloading supplys to load several thousand more . Most hollow points or performance ammo some FMJ'S . For those that do not feel the need to keep plenty of supplies thats your choice .
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Ditto comfortable. And I'd rather have 2 FMJ than 1 HP, as a well place FMJ is effective, (particularly if it's a heavy, like a .50 BMG :) . The mix isn't that important to me as some. As for quantity, it's what the perceived threat is and where.
 
For handgun, my primary platform is the 1911 in .45 ACP. For that, I'm probably 2:1, range ammo vs. self-defense ammo.

For other handgun calibers (What! There are others?), I don't shoot them nearly as much so I'm much heavier toward self-defense. 9mm I'm probably 50/50, .380 ACP probably 80% self-defense. In .45 Colt, the LSWC works well both as a target bullet and as a self-defense bullet.

Shift over to long guns, and for the AR-15 I'm probably 90% standard 55-grain mil-surp M193. I keep a few boxes of 62-grain M855 because of the penetrator tip, and I keep a couple of magazines loaded with that just in case I need something that hits with a bit more authority.

For the M1 Garand and 8mm Mauser, my complete stock is mil-surp. Nothing fancy, but it was good enough for both sides through a couple of significant wars ...
 
In a riot situation, overpenetration could be a good thing.....

As always, I keep a 80:20 ratio practice to SD ammo.
 
armed rioters?

what if the rioters are armed with the same type of firepower as the non rioters?

an angry mob might try and over run your neighborhood armed with AR15's, AK's AK74's, SKS, etc.

it would turn into a fire fight civil war situation, it wont be so easy if the bad guys have the same type of weapons, it would be like a war.
 
Groverdill noted
By emergency, I mean something like what happened recently in Ferguson, MO, or any riot/breakdown of society.
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On re-looking at your post and considering where I live and the number of (alleged) lack of guns in the neighborhood and (virtual California-like) Texas city I live in, I expect very few, if any, well armed and trained looters and assailants, I'm not worried. They are more likely to be the casualties.
 
I normally don't keep more than a couple magazine's worth of self-defense ammo, and some target ammo on hand.

However, if you are stocking with a riot/SHTF situation in mind.....why would you be stocking target ammo at all? You're not going to be going target shooting during that kind of time. You might want some ammo that's good for hunting, in case food becomes a problem. And you'd want a lot of self-defense ammo.

Five thousand rounds? That should last you several days of intense combat, and that would be if you were using suppressive fire. Since you're probably only going to be shooting to defend your home and family, you shouldn't need that much. 200-300 rounds should see you through any temporary breakdown of order.
 
i like to keep about 2 thousand rounds for each caliber. I am not worried about the breakdown of society as much as surprise gun legislation panic that will cause supply to disappear again for a year or two. I figure 2k of each will get me through a year, and I have enough primers and powder for probably about 10k more, I will cast my bullets if needed..
 
First off, I am not a "Survivalist", and I have no problem with those who are of such mentality.

I have quite a few rifles, shotguns, pistols and a few revolvers. I reload for all of them except for the rimfires. Therefore, I more or less count my ammo by the number of military ammo cans vs. by the rounds. If need be, I have a rather good supply of makings for more ammo. :)

I pretty much target shoot with what I would use for defensive purposes. The exceptions are the 8 rounds I have in the former State Trooper shotgun I have next to my bed and the other is commercial rounds in some of my carry handguns. The only reason I do this is because I have read there are concerns about the liability of hand loads during a defensive shooting. I don't totally understand the concern since nothing I would use as a handgun even with the most powerful hand loads, hot rounds, would exceed the power of some legal big bore handguns. I do not load hot rounds.

If there is an Armegeddon, I will have ample ammo to keep fighting until I am downed. :(
 
I don't buy into the SHTF crap. Not yet anyway. Nothing happens here and is very isolated. Though I would like to stock up on some more 54R (2 cans) that would last me quite a while (several years) I can reload 7.5 Swiss, just need casings (.284 Win) I have an ammo can 3/4 full of .22LR and a box of .22 shorts. I have the equivalent of about 1 can of surplus 54R, a box of Brown Bear, 10 rounds of winchester, and for 7.5x55 I have 2 clips and a brick of surplus, along with handloads, have a half a can of 12 gauge and some .410. Couldn't hurt to have some more of all. But my light ball 7.62x54R can inflict a lot of damage. Even if no expansion, it tumbles.
 
I carry Hornady something something with fancy polymer something something. It runs a couple dollars a round. I have full mags on hand and maybe a few loose extras rolling around in my trunk or the bottom of my tactical rolling tool/range box. I really can't afford more.

I have leftover target rounds from when I copeted with shotguns, rifles, and pistols. If I needed to I could wax the shotgun target loads(yes, I have wax and other requirements available). "Leftover" in trap would be measured in flats, not shells. That keeps me pretty comfortable.

I had BOATLOADS of 22lr. If it ever shows up on shelves again I will have more.
I will probably try to build up to 20K of 22lr when this shortage cools.

My SHTF scenario is a political situation that results in a run on ammo. I am prepared for most anything else as long as I can find my SAK :)
 
When all the plastic ammo boxes are finally filled...then I will consider myself.....needing more ammo boxes. What is this "enough" you people keep speaking of? :D

Seriously, review the actual expenditure of ammo by civilians during the LA riots, Katrina looting, etc. I don't remember any reports of mass firefights in the streets, although it IS possible some went undetected for all this time after the fact, but I think I can reasonably doubt it. Especially in this era of cell phone cameras and such, someone would capture that somehow.
I'd be willing to bet a good rifle and three-five magazines of ammo would be more than enough...doesn't mean I'm going to LIMIT myself to that stash level, though. After all, my firearms are for enjoyment too, and the more magazines and ammo I have, the more I enjoy my shooting sports!:cool:
 
GM1967 said:
Five thousand rounds? That should last you several days of intense combat, and that would be if you were using suppressive fire. Since you're probably only going to be shooting to defend your home and family, you shouldn't need that much. 200-300 rounds should see you through any temporary breakdown of order.
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I'm going to guess that you have never been in any "intense combat," let alone a prolonged engagement. 5,000 rounds last several days? Not a chance, if it's at all "intense."

5,000 rounds for one day is 208 rounds per hour for 24 hours, or 3-1/2 rounds per minute. In an "intense combat" situation, that's a drop in the bucket.
 
most certainly the OP's question is answered by how much money one has.... certainly target loads do suffice, they are the minimum standard in self defense. Arent military rounds limited to FMJ? My guess is "target rounds" have more kills than any hollowpoint rounds if they were ineffective then the military wouldn't be using them. Would HP rounds be better? Probably, if you can afford it then by all means but in a true survival situation you might not be at home, your cache may have been looted or destroyed.... if I had to beg, borrow, or steal some ammo from unknown source I'd probably prefer FMJ for reliability to the best of my knowledge they are what most gun manufacturers guarantee will work. Survival situations require an unlimited amount of ammo, SD situations require only a handful I wouldn't get wrapped up in stockpiling large quantities of expensive premium SD ammo.
 
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