How much ammo do you carry during the average hunt?

Just curious as to how much ammo others carry with them on the average hunt, excluding what you might keep in your truck or back at camp. All of my hunting is done in East Texas where I normally carry just three rounds since I'm not expecting to need any more than that. However, I can see where those who hunt close to the border, as well as those on extend "back country" hunts would feel the need to carry a lot more.

Also, have you ever ran into a hunting situation where you wished you had brought more ammo?

TIA

If rifle holds 3, if 5 then 5.

I haven’t needed more than one in a long time and I don’t remember needing more than the rifle holds. However, it’s cheap insurance so I carry 5 in the rifle and the 10 my pouch holds on my belt.

2-5. Some of them stay loaded for the season. Whenever I get to the stand I’ll put one in the chamber.

3 in the mag and 15 in backpack if I have a bolt gun, if it’s an AR I carry 20-30.

I load the gun with 4 and carry no extras.

I have an ammo holder in my hunting pack. I usually have two rifles in camp, so it’s nine of one caliber and nine of the second caliber.

I carry twice what it holds.

Three in the gun and one in my pocket.

I've been known to throw a couple of extras in my pocket as well if I can remember hearing coyotes that seemed close during a previous hunt. Just a little peace of mind rather than an expectation of truly needing them.

For deer whatever is in my folding carrier, maybe 12 rounds. For hogs, a mag and maybe a spare.

5 round mag plus a few extras in case I see hogs or coyotes. If I fire a round I load another always 4 in the mag one in the chamber.

3 when using my bolt action, if using my AR I load the 10 round mag full

3 or 4 in the rifle. 10 in an Uncle Mike's carrier on my belt. There is always an extra box in the truck.

If I'm carrying either of my Weatherby's I usually have between 8-11 on my; 3 in the rifle and the balance in the shell holder on the stock. My Rugers usually only carry 3-4 in the gun and around the same in the back pack.


I've had several instances out hunting where i emptied the gun at animals....over the summer i shot 4 pigs in about 30 seconds and was out.



I have made it a habit to carry extra cartridges because you never know what will happen, but don't normally tote around a full box.

My Ruger American takes AR mags. Came with 10 rnd mag.

Keep the top 3-4 Federal fusion and the rest varmint rnds.

When I see hogs, coyotes ect I usually will take out the deer ammo and use the varmint bullets.

They have been a times when I was glad i had the extra ammo.

In my old M70 I just kept 5 rounds in it

8-10 on the bolt gun. I've had evenings where the pigs showed up early and the coyotes came late and I wished I'd packed more.

Whatever fits in the magazine. Unless it’s a muzzle loader, then I bring two extra loads. But I’ve never done a big hunt for several days, just public land close to home. Half day if that, maybe all day on occasion. Just too busy.

If I had a weekend getaway I would bring at least a box of cartridges, in case the scope gets bumped too hard so I can get back on target and have ammo left to hunt.

This is insane of me

3 rounds, that’s it

I keep more in the truck a mile away

It’s just been my good luck thing for a few decades

This is for deer hunting only

Not taking about pigs, ducks, etc.

Whatever is left in the box in my bag. If under 5 rounds I refill the box in my bag.

I usually have 3 in the mag, and a handful (3-4) in the butt stock pouch.
Only once have I ever run into a situation where I could have used more than 2 bullets.
I dropped a coyote at 480 yards (bolt gun) and his buddy ran to the left. I fired my last of only two rounds at the second coyote (on the run) and blew the ground up below him. I had lead him perfectly, but failed to adjust elevation correctly. I sure wished I had more than two bullets that day.

I carry 20 rounds. What the rifle holds, 6-7 in zippered stock pack the remainder in a 20 round ammo pouch in the back pack.

4 in mag and 3 to 5 in my coat pocket!!!!

Haven't needed more than one over the recent past but I have had an occasion where a critter refused to give up and I needed more than I care to mention.

A good friend once told that on his very first deer hunt, his dad gave him one round and left him sitting on a stump. Told him one bullet should be all he needed. I can't remember if told me that ended up being true.

Could be wrong but I suspect it's something (being left with one round when first learning to hunt) that's happened to a lot of guys who are 50 and older.

Okay, I also hunt East Texas.. I used to carry 4 in my Rem 700 thinking I'd never need more than that. Then I was hunting one morning and shot a hog and another one ran down the creek bank. Knowing he would eventually cross the pasture behind me I ran around and caught him running across the pasture. I hit him on my 3rd shot and dropped him. He was kicking and squeeling like pigs do but I didn't have another round, AND I forgot my big knife I usually carry. So I booked it to camp to get more shells. By the time I got back he was up and gone. Had to chase him back through the creek and finally caught up with him to finish him off almost in the exact place I shot the first one...... SO, now I always carry 2 extra shells in my pocket.

All my bolt guns have 5 round detachable mags, so I take two mags, 10 rounds. If I'm carrying my AR I usually have two 20 round mags, so 40 rounds.

Usually have three in the magazine of my bolt gun with five in the butt cuff. If I’m hunting with my 6.8 SPC it’s a 20 round mag in the gun and another stays in my pack.

3 in the rifle remainder of 20 round box in my bag usually at least 15-20

Deer hunting, 3 in the rifle, 1 if my Encore. Have ammo wallet/carriers in my pack that hold 8-10rnds, so the balance of ammo in there would be the sum of what I carry.

Pig Hunting, usually a full 10rnd mag, and another in the pack.

Always seems to be my luck… if I carry more than the gun will hold, I don’t see anything!!

Using a bolt action, I carry a full magazine, plus a few in my pocket. I'll carry an AR often when I expect pigs, and I'll load a full 10 or 20 rd magazine in that case. I snuck up on a sounder of pigs all spread out feeding on acorns. I was bow hunting and started picking them off. My 6 arrow quiver ran out, and I started picking up bloody arrows and slinging them again. That was a blast. Back when I used to only carry a full magazine, I ran into some pigs with a Rem 788. Those 3 rounds went quickly. That's when I started carrying extra rounds in my pocket.

20 rounds

Usually one box of ammo in my backpack. So somewhere between 10-20 rounds.

If carrying a rifle, usually 10-20 rounds. If carrying a shotgun, 4 rounds of buckshot or slugs (3 inch or 3.5 inch so one less round) in the shotgun and an extra four in case fugitives from Jurassic Park show up while I am in the stand.

5 total with the gun and a few in one of the Ammo Wallet slim plastic boxes
in my pocket and set it on the ground when I get to my spot.
Or one of the Uncle Mike's nylon ammo cases if I have one for the
particular firearm. Usually 10 or 12 total for a rifle depending on where
I'm at. That's subject to change if we start seeing more bears

Depends on what I’m hunting. I’ve had bad days teal and dove hunting when I couldn’t get it done with what I brought but I try not to let that happen anymore. Picking up decoys and having them landing all over you kinda sucks.

Five arrows is all my quiver holds.

6 rounds

Deer hunting...3

For deer hunting I put 3 in the rifle and the rest of the box I keep in my hunting bag.

Pig hunting is a different story. I use an AR-15 in 6.8 and take 6 15 round loaded magazines. Plus 6 20rd boxes for a total of 210 rds.

5 rounds in the rifle and 5 rounds in a pouch in my daypack. If I cant close the deal with 10 shots then I dont belong in the field

My CTR in .308 has a 10 rnd mag, full, that's plenty. My T3X in 6.5 Creedmoor has a 5 rnd mag, I usually have 2-3 in my chest pocket.

Speaking of the T3x, the five rnd mag is a factory mag you can order, doesn't protrude much at all from the well. Nice addition.

Deer hunting, usually 3-4 with no spares. I think I've gone through 4 one time in 40+ years, and those were spent on coyotes. If hog hunting, usually a full 10 rd mag is plenty in the brushy areas where I hunt. After a shot or two, they are pretty much scattered into the brush.

Four in my Remington 700 magazine, two extras and 6 in my .45 with an extra 6 for it.

My rifle mag holds 3 so I carry an extra mag loaded with 3 and about 4-5 loose loads in my pocket, about 10 rounds total.

2 or 3 in my rifle, another 2 or 3 on my ammo sling on the stock and whatever partial box of ammo I used to sight in any given gun with in my back pack. It’s usually never more than 15 rounds total. I’ve never gone through more than three rounds in a hunt

Usually 3 in the rifle and 3 in pocket. If using an AR I will have 6-10 in the clip. (I always wanted to call it a clip)

I live where I hunt, and my main stand, for any wind, except north is a little less than 1/2 mile from the house, si i just carry 4 cartridges. Have never shot more than 2.

I'm a "Nothing succeeds like excess," (Oscar Wilde) kinda guy. But...not like Oscar Wilde, if you know what I mean.

4 in the rifle. 6 to 10 in the stock pack or backpack, depending on which rifle. Never heard a guide complain about a client carrying too many rounds. 'Have heard them complain about other clients and too few rounds though.

My .270 has a detachable magazine and over the years I have picked up a couple more. They hold 4 IIRC, so I have one in the rifle and one in the truck. So, 8.

Depends on what I'm hunting.

Deer: three in the gun and maybe two in a pocket.
Duck: usually one box with me
Dove: two boxes.

Elk and Mule deer in Colorado or New Mexico 5 in gun and extra 5 in pack, Texas 5 in gun

It depends on which rifle 10 in ammo pouch and full box in backpack. I carry everything to survive a few days if needed. I knew a guy that fell from stand and was stranded for a couple days until he was located. I just try to be prepared.

I hunt East Tx….whatever the rifle holds. Never had the opportunity to shoot more than one animal/sit.

With my AR one ten round mag and with my other rifles whatever they hold.

Exactly 7; always 7, everybody knows you always carry 7, no more no less, it’s in every game book published, this is not debatable. By the way, just a tip for the hard core hunters on here, how you carry the extra shells is important, if you’re walking to you blind, in pitch black, on a dead still morning, don’t put the shells together in the same pocket, they will clink together and Mr. Mossback is going to not recognize that metal sound.

Always a good idea ta carry extra ammo incase of emergency...
Fire 3 rounds every 20min.

One time, down @ the sabine, mother nature called...
Dropped me drawers & proceeded ta squat,
whin i seen movement outa the corner of me eye..
A snake twas under foot..

Ever try runnen with britches down ?
Tripped hit me head on a rock.
Whin i woke up ftom me nap...
Twas twilight thirty, & was disorented...

Fired three sjots in d air, every 20 min..

Ran outa ammo in first hour...
Twas gone missing 3 days...
wish woulda brought along more arrows..
As ya'll know, "guns dont kill"...


A lot depends on what hunting, game limit...
Hog hunten, AR carried 6 round mag, 3 rounds..
Finding hogs twas easy part, most rounds used twas 2.
Work begain getting it out, back pack worked bedt...

Bid ya'll a pleasant evenen...

Generally 5 rounds and it's always been plenty. I've had a few times over the years where I needed 2 rounds....but never needed more....

I m probably an exception to the rule when deer hunting. I carry a loaded magazine in the gun (5), a leather butt pad that holds 5, spare mag in the back pack (3) and a full box or close to it in the back pack as well. I tend to forget things, and I would rather have it and not need it.....If I am just running around on the mule with an AR, its a full mag in the rifle plus a spare.

Extra ammo in case you need to signal for help in an emergency is a good idea. Colt did good on that idea. It’s just way too easy to carry extra.

I carry a whistle in my bag for that very purpose. It produces a very loud and piercing sound that I'm sure fellow hunters and First Responders can hear for some distance in average rural conditions. I've always thought the repeated blasts from a whistle in the otherwise quiet countryside would be sure to attract attention. It would also make it easier for First Responders to locate me after being called to the general area. It only costs a few bucks at my local Academy and includes a liquid-filled compass and thermometer.

I occasionally carry a survival kit with a whistle in it. Dad was a radio operator in WW2. He made sure we knew S.O.S. in Morse code, but how many folks would even know what they're hearing nowadays?

3 or 4 in the rifle mag and another 10 in an ammo sleeve on the stock.
And of course a full clip in my 40 or 45 and another in my bag.

3.

Phone and Inreach.

You should at the very least have location services turned on for your significant other to track.
.
If you are also getting of age life360 is a good option to share with lease mates.

Three-shot distress is highly antiqued. Much better and more accurate options IMO

You don't need data services for your phone GPS, with that said I've been 7 miles deep in to designated wilderness and had phone reception.


If anyone is curious and doesn't under phone location services, pm me I'm more then happy to help.

Rescue beacon or whistle
Distress shots wouldn't work at the places I've hunted.
Nobody would pay any attention.
Too many helluvit shots and magazine dumps going
off at all hours everywhere.

Always leave an itinerary with someone
and probably best to go with someone

If I'm carrying a bolt-action rifle, I will carry full capacity (5 rounds) + a couple of extra rounds in my backpack or pockets. Too many times I've found myself in a spot where I needed a couple more rounds.
If hunting hogs (on the ground), I carry an AR with a 10 round magazine and carry an extra full 10 round magazine. I don't like 20 or 30 round mags for hunting, too heavy and they get in the way.

The recent accidental shooting in East Texas brought to light how even an adult under severe distress can find it difficult to explain to First Responders how to reach them. Providing a loved one or others with detailed instructions that identifies highways and county roads along with other information where you hunt most often will make it much easier for someone to relay to First Responders where they should look for you. In this most recent and very tragic case, it was reported that First Responders were having to ask the hunter over the phone to repeatedly blow his truck horn for them to find him, all the while the victim desperately needing medical attention.

While you may know exactly how to get to the spot where you hunt, do you know the name or number of every road that will direct First Responders to where you might need help? When you desperately need medical attention is not the time to realize you don't have it.

I'm bow hunting up in OK this week, but I brought my rem 788 in .308 to keep at camp. Full magazine, plus 2 extra rounds. Well, one of the LO's cattle died 380 yards from camp. I've spent my lunches shooting coyotes off of the carcass. I'm now out of ammo. Wish I'd have brought more. I've seen as many as 10 coyotes on the carcass at a time.

I fill the magazine on my bolt guns and then fill the cartridge sleeve on the side. After reading some the replies....some of you must be really bad shots.....

That's like 10 shells...

I normally keep five shells In the stock bag. There are times I forgot to refill and only have one or two shells though.

FIFY.

Valid edit!! Lol. My rifle killed two mule deer last week. It has one shell left in holder. I better restock now before I leave today. Please hold

Whatever fits in the mag and then typically more in my bag. The suppressed AR almost always accompanies me and have two 15 round mags with it all times. The Judge stays in the Taco and there is typically a box of double ought buck in its bag.

Couple separate comments about mule deer kills.... Have I missed a thread?

Who said they are all live rounds?

Try to carry a box but only a few times have I needed to break into it. I shot 5 pigs in one sit with my 30.06 and ran out. Could have kept going but still had to deer hunt 3 more days.

Full magazine (3 or 4 rounds depending on which gun) and maybe an ammo pouch with 5 spares. Sometimes I have the extras and sometimes I don't.

For taking Pigs...I pull my Shotgun plug out of my Weatherby 12GA and load 5 rounds of 00 buckshot...and put 5 more in my pocket
.
There are a few times I needed more...but not often.

Heck, don't carry nearly as much anymore. With the going price of popular ammo, I'm afraid I'll get robbed for the resale of loaded rounds!!

I normally take a box of shells squirrel hunting. The limit is ten, but I have a few extra shells for cottontails or doves too. Maybe a turkey. I did stumble onto some turkeys one time but I didn’t have a fall turkey tag. Now I buy a fall turkey tag every year.

Always carry a box with me plus a loaded rifle...served me well many a time with the hogs coming back after each shot. Have had to reload 2 or 3 times several times over the years. (Coyotes too)

After watching a guy I was hunting with shoot a big aoudad ram 9 times over the course of 2 miles, I started to carry an extra 5-10 over what's in the gun. lol

5 in my Remington 30-06 auto. All I need for game animals is 1 shot. Auodads are a different story. We have seen herds of 30+. If I am hunting an open area it is possible to empty the gun. If I do hunting is done in that area for the day and I am headed to the truck. I carry extras for my 22 mag. I have emptied it on a herd of pigs.

Having been caught short of ammo in bad circumstances before I tend to carry a lot on me no matter what I'm doing. I also hunt in areas where bumping into drug smugglers is a legitimate concern so I carry more than just my hunting rifle.

3 to 5 in the 30-06 with more available.

It depends on if I am in the truck or walking.

i usually load the rifle with whatever it will carry. (usually 4), with more ammo and more rifles for that matter back in camp.

How much ammo I carry depends on how many animals I want to kill. One round, one animal. Two rounds, two animals etc etc.....

With a bolt rifle, I carry it loaded to capacity and a spare box of 20 rounds. For an AR, I carry one fully loaded 20 or 25 round magazine in the rifle and another fully loaded spare.

Fully load whatever bold action I am going to carry and a fully loaded sidearm. If I need more than that it is time for me to quit hunting.

Whatever the rifle I'm carrying will hold in the magazine & another full count load in a looped pouch or similar...depending on where I'm hunting and for what, I also sometimes wear a heavy belt to keep my britches up, along with a pistol holster and my S&W M60 in it loaded with HP's. Used to carry a Lwt Commander in a shoulder rig & spare magazine. Never had to actively defend myself but have had a few "conversations" with people who do not understand what a purple fence post means.

Back when I was selling to the pawn shops around Fair Park who I could not take a check from for their order and paid me in cash, I wore the Commander in the small of my back and the M60 in a leg holster on the inside of my left ankle...Needed both of them a few times to "convince people to go away and leave me alone" when the gym bag I was carrying way too full .... but never had to pull the trigger on anybody anywhere. Talk is cheap...and always the best way out of a confrontation.
Ron

I have always considered it good insurance to have a full reload for all weapons carried by me (and on me), 'cause like the boy scouts motto, I like to be prepared...

Example:

Deer rifle carries 5 rounds, so I will have another 5 round mag at hand for a reload.

Pistol carries 15 rounds, so I will have another 15 round mag at hand for a reload.

Knife #1 is closely backed up at hand by knife #2.

You never know when such precautions will be needed in a timely manner...but having them at hand ensures that I will never have to wish for additional foresight.

For whitetails, I have 4 in the rifle and usually around 10-15 extras. I have shot multiple magazines at hogs and coyotes on more than one occasion.

For backcountry out of state hunts usually around 40 rounds total (rifles can get dropped, abused by airlines, etc. and may need to re-sight in).

Some answers on here are amusing. Lots of big talk and overcompensating going on. Having ammunition available for any number of contingencies that may occur has nothing to do with one’s shooting ability or manhood. Cartridges are small, light, and easy to carry. You run out and your hunt is done. No harm in having plenty.

Or some of us just have a sense of humor and like to cut up once in a while.

I've been known to occasionally wear a bandolier. Only one, of course. I'm not Pancho.



Or...Emiliano.

I ran short once...never again!

Y’all really tote that much ammo?

In most cases just what the magazine holds and maybe a couple extra in my pocket. Hunted 8 days in Oklahoma this year during rifle season, 5 shots total, one coyote, one deer, three hogs.
Flip side to this is most of the time i have two rifles in the blind with me. One for deer/hogs and one for coyotes. No walking for me, my blind sits up on top of a 40ft tall ridge, 4wheeler is 20ft
away in prairie grass.

This ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^