How much ammo is enough ?

and now for the last word
from
Woodpile Report 469 14march 217

Is 1,000 rounds for your battle rifle enough for a Mad Max collapse? Let's do some fifth grade arithmetic. Twenty rounds a week is 1,040 rounds a year. Or say a hundred rounds a month, which is 1,200 rounds a year. About the same. Figure three years and it comes to 3,120 to 3,600 rounds. Call it 3,000 rounds. So, 1,000 rounds seems low. If it's too much you end up with a surplus and bragging rights. If it's not enough you end up dead. Or you may end up dead with a surplus.

Look at it another way, a Mad Max collapse with extra Mad. One firefight a month using 160 rounds each, which is 8 twenty-round magazines, comes to 1,920 rounds per year. Let's be optimistic and assume you can survive thirty six gun battles—thirty five sure, but thirty six? Figuring three years it totals 5,760 rounds. If the premises are reasonable, and who knows if they are, a stash of 3,000 to 6,000 rounds would be about right.
More than you have?
Cheer up, it's a near certainty something other than gunfire will get you anyway.
Next item

 

i also go with the "stealth, concealability, and evasion" school
"Cheer up, it's a near certainty something other than gunfire will get you anyway.
Next item"
yes

 

After years of being and seeing this question asked I have come to the conclusion that there really isn't one answer. The answer depends on many things, all of which have been covered in this string already.
For me anything less than 1,000 rns per wep is laughable-but that's me. Firearms are a big part of my life, so I never have"enough". I cannot give anyone an accurate count of what I have loaded because I gave up trying to keep track a long time ago. I can say that its more than one, but less than 100 fully loaded 1 ton pick up loads the last time I moved. That is loaded ammo, not components
they are different category. That is more than enough, more than I could ever hope to carry or cache and hopefully will be passed on to the kids or may be taken by the zombies, I don't know. But until I assume room temperature I will continue to acquire ammo.

It is, but still cheaper than buying it unless you happen to score a deal of some sort.

Pat's Reloading - Prices

New Military Powders for 50 BMG — Just $4.88 per Pound « Daily Bulletin

50 BMG Ammo Supply - 50 cal Ammunition for the rifle and machinegun"

 

The reason for a significant cache of ammo is to match the potential threat,,IMO
Threats i can think of off the top, are,
Liberals wanting over throw.
Those that did not prep wanting your food,
Raiders taking avantage of the opportunity ,
Opportunists looking to set up their kingdom .
Muslims , killing any thing not Muslim ,

 

You can't be infinitely prepared in anything, but you can be better prepared than others, and when it comes to defense, your enemies. If you are facing organized professionals with a lot of resources you are going to lose no mater how much ammo you have. For the rest, however, you just need to have enough to significantly outnumber them. If they only had a few dozen rounds prior to SHFT they will soon be effectively disarmed unless they can resupply. I think most that will resupply by looting will also waste the majority of it. More is always better, unless you have to move it....

If you have significant reserves you should distribute it so all your eggs are not in one basket. If you are forced out of your home, where will you go to regroup? That's a good place for a cache along with caches near your bugout location if you have one.

Due to the fact that the media did everything it could to brainwash us of a Clinton win, most arms and ammunition manufacturers went LONG on production. With the Clinton loss sales have dropped sharply and there are deals all over the place for both. If you have the cash THIS IS THE TIME TO BUY. The political pendulum will swing the other way in 4 or 8 years. The 2A will come under even worse attack, prices will soar, and you will be kicking yourself that you didn't take advantage.

This window of opportunity will be gone in as little as a few months as manufacturers dump excess inventory. Don't skip your bills, but I would urge everyone to divert any prep money into ammo (and arms/parts) while it's relatively cheap.

 

Been on a reading kick on reduced loads and cast bullets the last few days and need to try some when the snow is gone. A lead cast and lubricated 308 bullet at about 150 grain with around 10 to 12 grains of red dot is said to work in many lever or bolt actions at about the level of the old 30 30 round. In modern rifles it is said to work in at least the 30-06, 308, 303, etc and with 7,000 grains to a lb, one lb of powder is in the 500 to 600 rounds range, I have about 50 lbs of wheel weights tucked away, and a few thousand primers wouldn't cost too much. Similar results are told for red dot in pistol loads at around 5 grains and that is about 1,000 pistol rounds. Don't know if any of them will function in a semi auto, but hope to find out as in theory about 4 molds will supply a lot of different rifles and pistols with at least a low velocity training and hunting round, a Lee hand loader will reload them, and the cases should last thru a lot of reloads as the pressures are low. Might be a way to help an old man survive if TSHTF.. You might accept the ability to reload 15 to 20,000 rounds as a buy in to your group and to be at least think about feeding the old fool and his wife.

 

The only time in your life you find out that you "Have too much ammo!!!" Is when your house is on fire.........

 

The only time you have too much ammo is when you leave your gun safe open and your wife walks by. Or the gun store calls and says your 5000 reds ammo is in and you need to pick it up.

 

Having several cashes of ammo inside and out ,not a bad idea.

 

My numbers, FOR STOCK, are:
500 for EACH Handgun you own.
1000 for EACH long gun you own.
About 5,000 in rimfire .22 for EACH of my rifles and pistol. (you can feed a family with a .22 very easily)

Does not count ammo "on hand" for daily use.

 

155 gr Rebated Boat Tail - Alco Precision BulletsAlco Precision Bullets
And my 7mm 168gr. are just around a .764 BC which is enough to make me weep with joy.
7mm Bullets - Alco Precision BulletsAlco Precision Bullets
Nice bullets but pricy. If I'm going to go long (past 700 yards) it won't be with a .308 battle rifle but something along the lines of .300 WSM or .338 Lapua

 

Remember that a gun's value is based on it's usefulness.
no ammo, no gun.

 

Awww, I dunno. My Colt M1911-A1 would make an awesome bludgeon, given that the thing weighs damned near 2.5 pounds EMPTY (with magazine).

Sorry...carry on.

 

Brings new meaning to, "hitting some one with your purse"

 

How much is enough ammunition? Just a little bit more.

 

I believe I have enough .22 long rifle to keep us in game for the rest of my life and my sons life. Defense is quite ANOTHER STORY. I SIMPLY CANT AFFORD ENOUGH DEFENSE AMMO. I buy it when I can , shotgun, 5.56 and 30-06. Always looking for sales.

 

Get into reloading if you haven't already. Buy components in bulk. It will really stretch your ammo dollars.