How much ammo is enough ammo?

How much ammo should one have on hand at all times?

Read a recent "study" that recommended the following by firearm types.

Rimfire Cartridges - 10,000 minimum.

Shotgun - minimum of two cases per shotgun owned. (5 cases if 3 or fewer owned.)

Pistol - minimum of 2,000 rounds per handgun owned. (5,000 rounds if 3 or fewer handguns owned.)

Rifle - minimum of 500 rounds per hunting caliber. (2,000 rounds if 3 or fewer owned.)

Semi-Auto, high capacity magazine type rifles, (black rifles).
2,000 rounds per rifle owned. (5,000 rounds if 3 or fewer owned.)


Hmmmm?

I need more ammo by those figures

Just one more round...

Was the study funded by an ammo maker?
What possible credible parameters could a study use, to come up with those numbers?

This would be my question as well.. for what purposes would one want to retain and maintain these kind of amounts? Are we talking for WSHTF or TEOTWAWKI kind of eventualities?

I am close, but only because I am a bit excessive!! I never knew there were set numbers or even studies?

Oh well, better to be prepared and never need it! Than to need it and not have it!!

Sounds like survivalist type stuff

There's absolutely nothing wrong with being prepared. Some of us prepare for economic hard times. I have ammo stacked pretty deep as well as reloading components. This ensures that I can enjoy my hobby for a long time without fear of being priced out of doing what I love.

Well, I think I'm pretty well prepared. The last time I inventoried, I had over 30 cans of powder and over 60 boxes of bullets plus a Large ammo box of primers. Probably over 1,500 pieces of brass and enough dies to get confused about what I do have. I only have one rifle (6BR) that I don't have dies for. Bought another 100 bullets last week.

However, only 4 or 5 boxes are loaded for different rifles.

I don't load them because I never know what I'll want to try next.

One case for everything you own and a room full of 22 for when the zombies come

I try to keep 1000 rounds per gun. I never dip into my reserves and only shoot what I purchase for the occasion. I keep everything in 50 or 30 cal ammo cans. There are a few guns that I don't hoard ammo for: revolver, shotguns, hunting rifles.

Just bought another .45 and .308 so I've gotta pick up a bunch of ammo.

Looks like I need to stop on the way home and get more......I usually keep about 1-2K and have about 4 different cal. Most of that is for my ar.

more

Seems a little conservative to me.

all you can afford

That much ammunition is useless if you don't have it load3d in magazines.

I keep enough pistol ammunition to load all my magazines in caliber, and about 100-200 rounds extra at a time in case I want to go to the range.

Black rifle, same story.

Hunting guns I do buy case at a time just to ensure same lot numbers so I don't have to resight, but I aslo shoot about 100rds a year through both my go-to rifles.

I have a little over 40,000 spread between 223,308,243,7mag,9mm and 45.

That's a lot of ammo.

Wife wont let me buy any more powder until I shoot down the pile..

I'm now developing loads for .40 S&W, .308 Win. and 7mm-08 Rem. I have plenty for .38 Special, .357 Mag., 9mm, .45 ACP, .22 Hornet, .223 Rem., .30-30 Win., 7.62X54r, .30-06 Springfield, .303 Brit., and LOTS of 8mm JS Mauser.

I don't have as much rifle ammo as I'd like to have but have a decent amount of pistol ammo. Once I finish tweaking my loads then I'l start to really turn up the ammo count

How is that? So if I have 10000 rounds of .223 and only have 100 AR mags, I have 7000 rounds of useless ammo? Last time I checked, my magazines weren't one time use. If you're in a bug out situation that may apply, but even then...I have all my ammo in cans ready to roll.

Whats your average reload time on a 30rd magazine for your AR ? 10 seconds with stripper clips ? 30 without ?

The reason I laugh at all the ammo stock piles is most people have 100X the ammunition than they do magazines, which is really pointless.

If something was to happen where you needed what you have, do you really want to be a static target locked down to one location ? because if you are you will have to defend what you have, and at some point you will lose when you run out of loaded magazines.

Most trained survival experts all have the same POV the key to survival is being mobile, don't keep more than what I can move out on foot with. Just my 2 Cents. Does not mean I'm right and your wrong, just my answer to the stated question.

This is why you have children.. Their little fingers are perfect for punching ammo in the magazines.. Yall know I am just kidding..

x2 on all you can afford

I never knew I could have too much ammo or too many guns..

open ended question: I load for the fun of it, and my kids, and my son in law,and.. so really do you need more than a mag full NO!! but this is not a need thing, but a want thing. My dad's family was poor, they bought .22 bullets each, did't get a shot you brought them home and hoped for better hunting the next day.
NEED no, WANT yes!

Rule #1 "cardio"
Rule #2 "double tap"

ammo stores for a great deal of time. stock up when it is affordable. As for out in the field, one shot, one kill......

man i feel really under prepared.

i have about 1 box of .270 shells, one and a half boxes of 30-06, about a box of .22-250 shells, two boxes of 20 gauge and about 5 boxes of 12 gauge.

out of 9mm except for the 15 rounds in the clip.

God forbid there ever be a fire at this persons house . . .

I heard 2X your city population in rimfire just in case Zombies actually head your way,,

You never have enougn ammo!

When the ATF comes a knockin', you may have enough!

I remember carrying a couple of bandoliers with about 10 30rd mags each in Nam and it got a little heavy after being on patrol all damn day. Now 40yrs later I don't want to have to bug out of my home so I'll just make my last stand there.......slow944

I normally keep 5 boxes of ammo for each hunting rifle. Rarely do I shoot more than 5 shots a season but with the shortages of a few years ago, I want to make sure I can still make it through the deer season without paying a ransom for a box 7mm mag. I don't keep lots of semi auto rifle ammo around.

The OP has it about right I think. Thats about what I keep and I if I had more spare cash it would be more.

I guess going back to my original post, I like to reload, I like to shoot.. I just can't shoot all I reload.. This was definately a interesting read, thanks for everyones response.

I made a New Years resolution to buy as much ammo as possible between gun purchases. Figure its not gonna get any cheaper and foreign surplus ammo isnt gonna be around forever. Just ordered another 1000 rds of surplus 7.62x39 from Aim.

I am close to those amounts listed. However, I do not think you can have enough ammo. Especially .22 and 12ga.as these will be major barter if anything does happen.....

You can never have enough ammo.

Ha ha ha ......., You got the point. From the list it seems to me that they are ammo seller otherwise they would not have mentioned such list with the quantity.

Well, the way I see it, if TSHTF, then the money as we know it now will be worthless and the things to barter with I think would be ammo/firearms, food/water, 1st.aid stuff and maybe actual gold/silver, in that order. IMO

What if you are like me and don't have a lot of duplicate calibers? I would need another whole house just to keep ammo in.