# AMMO How much is enough?



## Maxxdad (Feb 5, 2014)

Been wrestling with this question for some time.

Today I redid my running inventory. Split of 30% of what I had for my main firearms and wrapped it up to be stored at a secondary location.

So the question remains. How much is enough.

My personal scenario:

I'm planning on defending in place. I'm the last house up the mountain. The road literally ends in my back yard, The local mutual aid society has already decided where to set up a road block and that's 3/4 of a mile down the mountain from me. There will be a minimum of 7 adults and one child here in the house. Food, water and power are handled. I have 4 5.56 AR's one SKS one long range bolt gun and a host of hunting style lever actions/bolt guns. 22's of several stripes. 45 and 9mm pistols.

I figure on the little end the minimum should be 300 rounds per auto rifle. 150 rounds per bolt and lever gun. 250 rounds per combat pistol.
Is this a reasonable stash or am I way short?

Hopefully the only shots fired will be at deer, turkey and rabbits.


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## jro1 (Mar 3, 2014)

Enough ammo, that if you do go out, you will be lying in a bed of brass!


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## Oddcaliber (Feb 17, 2014)

At least one more box than the others.


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## Moonshinedave (Mar 28, 2013)

Sounds as if you'll be sitting in pretty good shape to defend. How much is enough? I don't know, not sure anyone does.


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## SDF880 (Mar 28, 2013)

I have at a minimum baseline figure 1000 rounds for each firearm I have. Some of the ammo I have is for barter and I keep it separate but
can easily bring it into play at anytime. I have a gut feeling that we are all going to wake up soon to breaking news of some sort and there will be run
on ammo just like after CT but this time it may not come back. I have enough and it's not enough so I keep buying it!


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## bad (Feb 22, 2014)

If you are trying to carry the ammo weight adds up. Being able to shoot it quickly is important if you at home. Have you considered having a semi auto with numerous loaded 30 round mags.


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## Slippy (Nov 14, 2013)

To quote Billy Idol, "MORE, MORE, MORE"!


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## paraquack (Mar 1, 2013)

One more round than you need! After the 2009 ammo dilemma, I bought a fair amount and basically stockpiled a lot of it. Just before the end of 2012, my wife apparently started getting nervous with all the hype being given the Mayan calender thing, etc. I guess in a way, so did I. So anyway, sometime in November 2012, she asks me, "How much ammo we got? Thinking I had overdone it, I hesitated for a moment before telling her the truth. Surprisingly she then said, "Are you sure it's enough?" Fortunately with my Christmas bonus, etc., I added a bunch more just after the first of the year.


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## Charles Martel (Mar 10, 2014)

You should probably have a minimum 1,000 rounds per firearm, but, I wouldn't feel comfortable until I had about 3 times that many.


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## shotlady (Aug 30, 2012)

never too much.. never put all yer eggs in one basket. geocache. if we go 2 or three yrs. your group didn't prep enough you have enough to share with the group to ensure safety. then you can barter for labor, items or sell become a business person. theres never enough. unless theres a fire! then you have too much.


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## Slippy (Nov 14, 2013)

What do you call 3000 rounds of ammo per weapon?

A good start...


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## Montana Rancher (Mar 4, 2013)

This really isn't rocket science

IF you have a fire fight and win, you also gain the guns and ammo the losers possessed

If you lose, then it really doesn't matter.

So my input is to WIN 

You need enough rounds to win the first couple of firefights and then as the spoils you sweep up accumulate, it really doesn't matter.

This is especially true if you are a 1 shot 1 kill type of person

Last year I took down each of my elk with 2 rounds, not the best I've ever done but If I can take down a 400lb elk with 2 shots, you do the math on how many it takes to take down a 200lb human

1000 rounds per gun is feeking awesome, but IMO 1-2 rounds well placed will cover your bases

Then you scoop up all the weapons and ammo the losers had and... repeat that.

If you don't win then it is a mute point


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## shotlady (Aug 30, 2012)

yer my kinda peeps slippy!


that's right Montana rancher! train train train!


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## Silverback (Jan 20, 2014)

Can I side with Montana and Slippy? I want a good supply, and a good shot.


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## Montana Rancher (Mar 4, 2013)

Slippy said:


> What do you call 3000 rounds of ammo per weapon?
> 
> A good start...


Unless you can shoot straight and take names I call it a good waste of ammo.


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## Maxxdad (Feb 5, 2014)

Well more is nice I suppose. Have plenty of mags, even broke down some time ago and started replacing the springs and followers. I recently picked up several spools of wire and have enough 24in. re bar to close off three sides of the place at the 50 yard line with stumble foot. I'd rather spend the cash on a gasifyer system, but maybe some more ammo instead.

Thx


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## Slippy (Nov 14, 2013)

shotlady said:


> yer my kinda peeps slippy!
> 
> that's right Montana rancher! train train train!


Why Thank You Ms Shotlady, You're A-OK in my book too!


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## dsdmmat (Nov 9, 2012)

My thoughs are minimum stockage levels of 2000 rounds per gun. Then you have to add the ammo you are going to shoot at the range. 

Notice I said "per gun" not "per caliber." This allows you to pass a firearm to one of your loved ones with enough ammo to hold them for a while and not deplete your defensive capabilities.


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## Slippy (Nov 14, 2013)

Montana Rancher said:


> Unless you can shoot straight and take names I call it a good waste of ammo.


We are on the same page my good friend from Montana. If and when the entitled government tit suckers make it to Slippy Lane with ill intentions, the good inhabitants of Slippy Lodge have the ways and means to accurately make USE of forementioned ammo, that I can assure you!

(That is...If I hadn't lost all those fine weapons and ammo in the tragic boat accident. Rats!)


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## dsdmmat (Nov 9, 2012)

shotlady said:


> never too much.. never put all yer eggs in one basket. geocache. if we go 2 or three yrs. your group didn't prep enough you have enough to share with the group to ensure safety. then you can barter for labor, items or sell become a business person. theres never enough. unless theres a fire! then you have too much.


 There is only two times you can have too much ammo if you are on fire or in a sinking boat.


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## Silverback (Jan 20, 2014)

I should probably answer this right, I have 5 AR's each has a 6 30 RD Mag moll-e in my safe and one 30 Rd to be at the ready. So 210 RD's ready to strap up per gun x 5 is 1050. I keep those loaded but grab extra when I can and just stack it beyond that. At this point I lost count and do not care to try.

I have about 300 Shells for my 870. I never shoot the thing, I find shotguns boring its mostly for home defense at this point.

22 I use to load up but now days I have about 500Rds, I never plan on doing anything but small game hunting if I need to beyond plinking so that should be fine. If walmart ever stocks up again I will get more. 

I only carry a 45 sidearm at this point and run thru target ammo pretty fast with it. So I would say on hand I have about 500 rds but that goes up and down rather fast.

As people have said more is better but Montana has a point, keep your practice up as when you need to place that shot, make sure you can deliver it. 1 well places shot is better than 2 near misses. Continual practice helps there.

Monkeybutt and I have a game we play together at the range, battleship. So far it's tied but that girl is getting good! Dimes at 100 Yards (4-16x), no I do not hit every shot and neither does she (It's a dam dime!) but we have a pretty good ratio. I can tell you one thing... If I pissed her off. I sure hope her AR is no where close as I do not want her shooting at me.


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## Rigged for Quiet (Mar 3, 2013)

Every time I think I'm at a good stopping point something tickles my Spidey senses and, well, ya.


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## SARGE7402 (Nov 18, 2012)

Stop and think. If you shot just 5 rounds in practice per person each week at the end of the year you'd have gone thru almost 2,000 rounds for your seven folks.


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## The Resister (Jul 24, 2013)

All we can discuss here is what is a good MINIMUM. You cannot have enough. In a SHTF scenario OR when ammo is banned, what you have is what you have. The average AR barrel will not wear out for about 8000 rounds. Buy ammo. If nothing else, buy at least 1500 rounds for each weapon AND then buy the bullets and primers along with powder for reloading. Save your brass and the investment will be like money in the bank.


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## Notsoyoung (Dec 2, 2013)

I really don't have a good reason for it, but I keep a MINIMUM of 750 rounds of my Main defense firearms (AR, SKS), 300 rds of long range rifles (.308, 30-06, 7.62 x 54mm), 300 rds of pistol ammo, and 1,000 rds of .22 LR or .22 mag.


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## Tennessee (Feb 1, 2014)

I agree with Montana Rancher you have to hit what you shoot at and you can reap the benefits. But his Elk wasn’t shooting back! In a fire fight you seldom see one shot one kill. Look at the military rounds per kill ratio. In a SHTF event ammo is used for more things than just protection, you need ammo for hunting and it can also be used for bartering. IMO put back as much ammo as you can afford without sacrificing your other needs.


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## tango (Apr 12, 2013)

You can never have too much.
How much is enough?
That is up to you.


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## Maine-Marine (Mar 7, 2014)

300 rounds is not enough... you can shoot 300 rounds in minutes in an emergency.


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## Moonshinedave (Mar 28, 2013)

Remember the movie Unforgiven? Remember when the one armed deputy was loading his two guns to go fight?, the other deputy asks something like: " My goodness (I can't remember the one arm deputy's name), you have two guns and only one arm!" The one arm deputy replies, "if I get killed, I don't want it to be for my lack of being able to shoot back". That's how I have always thought of it, I don't want to be killed because I have simply ran out of ammo.


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## dannydefense (Oct 9, 2013)

You know, I've never thought about this question before....


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## Maine-Marine (Mar 7, 2014)

Some times you may need to shot just to keep the other peoples heads down long enough to reposition...in that case WELL AIMed is not a major consideration and you will use up ammo.


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## Mike45 (Dec 29, 2013)

Id say as much as you can reasonably carry if you need to. I had 1900 rounds of .45 ammo at one time, that weighed about 80lbs-how far do you think you’d carry that? The average barrel life for a rifle is around 5000 rounds (or so I have read), some really well built pistols is double that. BUT, you can’t carry that much with you unless you are in a vehicle. I do know one thing, the fewer rounds you have with you, the less likely you are to waste shots .


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## Notsoyoung (Dec 2, 2013)

Allot depends what weapon you are talking about. My main defense weapon that I would use if the SHTF will be my AR, which I would carry with me just about everywhere I go, so I would need more ammo for it then I would for one of my pistols, which would be primarily for backup or if my AR was on the sling on my back because I was using both hands and I needed to get to a firearm very quickly. As I said in my post, I have a MINIMUM for each firearm. I have never reached the maximum number of rounds since there is still plenty of empty space in my house where I could store ammo.


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## Chipper (Dec 22, 2012)

You said you have 4 556's. I would say 10000 rounds for all four. Plus reloading supplies to reload it all at least once. 1000 rounds and reloading supplies per pistol. Don't forget mags. Once SHTF do you really want to be sitting there with only 300 rounds?

Sure maybe you can pick up some ammo or guns from prey. Do you want to count on that and base your survival on that?? Get what you can afford now. Some moron will shoot up another school or something. Then watch the price skyrocket and supply disappear once gun control comes up again. Happened twice already, I'm sure it will NEVER happen again.


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## paraquack (Mar 1, 2013)

You are preaching to the choir, Chipper.


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## Smitty901 (Nov 16, 2012)

IF you have to ask or even think you may not have enough ,you need more.


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## Maxxdad (Feb 5, 2014)

LOL
Yes Smitty I'm getting that feeling.

OK team thanks for the input. FOR SALE ONE SLIGHTLY USED KIDNEY. Will trade for SS109.

I do have a couple battle packs of 7.62 Nato that I do not really need. This stuff is HOT. I think it was most likely debelted MG ammo. Maybe I'll take that down to the next show and see about trading it for 5.56.


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## Pir8fan (Nov 16, 2012)

If you know how many guns you have, you don't have enough. Same goes for ammo.


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## wesley762 (Oct 23, 2012)

This pretty much says it all......


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## Just Sayin' (Dec 5, 2013)

Just in case you missed the drift of the thread....

You probably don't have enough!


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## coldbluesteel (Dec 23, 2013)

Enough ammo? Isn't that an oxymoron?


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## Smitty901 (Nov 16, 2012)

When you stumble on a couple crates with 1260 rounds in them and are not sure where they came from your getting close


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## Eaglewarrior (Jul 5, 2014)

I'm sitting pretty good with my guns and ammo. 



5.56x45 - 4500 rounds

7.5x55 - 1100 rounds

.30-30 - 750 rounds

8mm - 1450 rounds

7.62x54r - 1300 rounds

.17HMR - 650 rounds

9mm - 2300 rounds

.45ACP- 2900 rounds


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## HuntingHawk (Dec 16, 2012)

I think you should consider atleast one main battle rifle for distance & hard hitting. Either a M1 Garand or M14/M1A.


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## redhawk (May 7, 2014)

I have always felt that if you don't think that you have enough ammo, then you don't. I still buy ammo if I can find it at a decent price, I will not pay "panic" prices, I refuse to help the gougers!!!!


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## paraquack (Mar 1, 2013)

Any time I got a little extra to spend and if the ammo is available. Never enough, not in this world!!!!


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## dsdmmat (Nov 9, 2012)

If you have to ask you don't have enough...... is that the answer you were looking for?


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## RNprepper (Apr 5, 2014)

I am also stocking up on pellets for our pellet guns. A pellet can take out small game as well as a 22 and why waste the 22 ammo? The pellet guns are also more quiet. My husband and son are incredibly accurate with both a pellet pistol and pellet rifle, having taken out plenty of rabbits, packrats, and mice, all of which are food sources.


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## 9UC (Dec 21, 2012)

Got caught short in '08 when supplies first dried up. At the time I really wasn't into guns other than a 380 I bought for the nightstand and as a carry when we were out in the RV. Decided not to let that happen again. The wife and I live in a small town house and due to limitations on storage space, I've set a reasonable baseline per caliber and I generally stay a little over that figure to allow for practice.


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## ordnance21xx (Jan 29, 2014)

Rule #1 you can never have to much ammo. Take your number and double it, and then double it again and add some more every month. Make sure you rotate it when you go shooting.


MOLON LABE


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## Arizona Infidel (Oct 5, 2013)

Get as much as you can, then get some more.


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## csi-tech (Apr 13, 2013)

I have set my limit at 1000 rounds per weapon (not per caliber) then a couple hundred per weapon in range/practice stock but never dip below that thousand rounds. I think that soon I will buy a PTR 91, 50 of the associated magazines and 1000 .308 rounds for it. It seems to be the best current value in a quality, high caliber, semi-auto rifle. The magazines are almost free.


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## shootbrownelk (Jul 9, 2014)

csi-tech said:


> I have set my limit at 1000 rounds per weapon (not per caliber) then a couple hundred per weapon in range/practice stock but never dip below that thousand rounds. I think that soon I will buy a PTR 91, 50 of the associated magazines and 1000 .308 rounds for it. It seems to be the best current value in a quality, high caliber, semi-auto rifle. The magazines are almost free.


 I believe 1,000 rds. per gun is the low end that one should have in readiness. I go to WallyWorld whenever I can EARLY, and stand around to see what if anything is available. There hasn't been much, the shelves are pretty bare except for shotgun shells. And absolutely NO .22 LR.
Haven't seen .22's for almost a month. And then it was "ThunderDuds". NO .223.5.56, 9mm, .45acp.,30-30, or 30.06. And more importantly, no powder or primers. If supplies are loosening-up, well I'm not seeing it.


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## paraquack (Mar 1, 2013)

Wow, A thousand per firearm. That's only one can of .45s or 9mm. Two cans of 5.56mm or four 7.62mm. Seems a bit low but then again just MO.


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## 9UC (Dec 21, 2012)

I am not now, nor will I ever be more that a light weight Prepper. My age, physical condition and living environment, small home and limited storage, are against it. Thanks to this forum, I have learned a lot and made some changes where in I now have a reasonable short term emergency supply of food, water and supplies. As I mentioned in my above post, I keep 1k plus per caliber and the plus is for practice. Reading through this thread, I keep asking myself, in worst case scenario, and you can't stay put in primary location, how do you truly expect to "bug out" and take 10,00 or more rounds per caliber with you. I just finished remodeling my single-car trailer to make two thirds of its length a usable flat bed trailer and I would be hard pressed to load the volume of supplies I see written about in an efficient and timely manner should one have to leave their home base of operation. I could envision more if I could do as Shotlady mention in her response, have caches in various places, but for most, including me, that would not practical.


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## Slippy (Nov 14, 2013)

9UC said:


> I am not now, nor will I ever be more that a light weight Prepper. My age, physical condition and living environment, small home and limited storage, are against it. Thanks to this forum, I have learned a lot and made some changes where in I now have a reasonable short term emergency supply of food, water and supplies. As I mentioned in my above post, I keep 1k plus per caliber and the plus is for practice. Reading through this thread, I keep asking myself, in worst case scenario, and you can't stay put in primary location, how do you truly expect to "bug out" and take 10,00 or more rounds per caliber with you. I just finished remodeling my single-car trailer to make two thirds of its length a usable flat bed trailer and I would be hard pressed to load the volume of supplies I see written about in an efficient and timely manner should one have to leave their home base of operation. I could envision more if I could do as Shotlady mention in her response, have caches in various places, but for most, including me, that would not practical.


9UC,
You make a very good point for those who plan on getting the hell out of dodge. For many of us, me included, my last stand is where I am. They will either find me knee deep in a pile of spent brass dead or laughing my ass off.


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## Notsoyoung (Dec 2, 2013)

I will have enough when I run out of space to store it. If I don't use it, my kids can. By the way, I have spent the past we re-loading .40 cal, .45 acp, and .223 ammo. That's what I do to relax.


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## Maxxdad (Feb 5, 2014)

Update............

Thanks all for the suggestions. I took the criticism to heart and upped my stock to about 500 rounds per battle rifle. Thats 4 ARs and 1 SKS and 1 AK. I have 300 for the bolt gun (308) and between 4 and 500 for each of the combat pistols.
I hope to get to about double that but stopped buying and focused on reloading supplies now that they have started showing up again. I bought a decrimper for the military pockets and put it in my Roto Zip. Damn that works great on those military cases.

Bottom line is that I'm slowly getting there.


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## jimb1972 (Nov 12, 2012)

The nice thing about ammo is it does not take up much space.


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## SquirrelBait (Jun 6, 2014)

Moar!!!


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## Smitty901 (Nov 16, 2012)

Last night it came to me, I have enough ammo. Then I woke up and went to town and picked up some more. Enough ammo is a dream .


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## Alpha-17 (Nov 16, 2012)

My philosophy is that enough is never enough. There are minimum numbers I like to have, but that's about it. I've got enough ammo that buying it for stocking away isn't a priority, but I am socking away some of my 70gr Barnes 5.56 reloads. Quality over quantity now I guess.


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## paraquack (Mar 1, 2013)

Maxxdad said:


> Update............
> 
> Thanks all for the suggestions. I took the criticism to heart and upped my stock to about 500 rounds per battle rifle. Thats 4 ARs and 1 SKS and 1 AK. I have 300 for the bolt gun (308) and between 4 and 500 for each of the combat pistols.
> I hope to get to about double that but stopped buying and focused on reloading supplies now that they have started showing up again. I bought a decrimper for the military pockets and put it in my Roto Zip. Damn that works great on those military cases.
> Bottom line is that I'm slowly getting there.


Not bad, what's your family going to shoot?


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## Reptilicus (Jan 4, 2014)

As Stewie says.....


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## oldgrouch (Jul 11, 2014)

I don't know how much. I have fourteen .50 cans filled with ammo, but I started reloading as a backup. Is it enough?? I started stashing about 5 years ago and pick up more when even possible. Heck, my daughter gave me ammo for Christmas! Just have more than the bad guy.


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## mack0369 (Jul 22, 2014)

For 2 people stored approx: 3000 rds 5.56. 500rds 12 guage. 1000 rounds 9mm, 1000 rounds .45, 1000 rounds .22lr. That's where I am at now. Need to at least double it before I'm comfortable, and get the .22 to 10,000 rounds. Ammo goes very very very quickly in a firefight. I keep calibers the same for multiple firearms so I can interchange mags and rounds. 

My loadout:
AR: 2 mags in a coupler on the rifle, another 6 on the plate carrier.
Pistol: 1 mag in, 1 on leg drop. 2 on vest for each.
Shotgun: 6 rounds on side saddle, 16 on pouch on vest.

Wife is the same as mine minus the shotgun and rounds. My daypack has a 100rd drum (my AR will fire full auto - slidefire setup) and 4 loaded 30rd mags, 3 more pistol mags, and 2 more 16 round shotgun pouches. The 100rd drums are awesome for storing ammo. Beta mags can be left stored indefinitely without damaging them. Even if you think a spring might be getting light, Beta Mag lifetime warranties their stuff and are great to work with. Completely free to service and will swap round placeholders and springs free without any issue.


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## 1skrewsloose (Jun 3, 2013)

Some is good, more is better, and too much is just enough!


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## mack0369 (Jul 22, 2014)

1skrewsloose said:


> Some is good, more is better, and too much is just enough!


Very well put. And when you think you have enough on your person, make sure you can reach in your daypack and pull out a couple hundred more rounds ready to go.


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