Ammunition "stockpile"

[briz]

I like SubieGuy4's approach.

For storage, I stick to 50 round boxes of JHP. For pistol calibers, I only store 9 and 40 and try to get the WWB JHP for 40, which Walmart sells for about $21. For 9mm, I stick with the BassPro exclusive Winchester SXZ loads. I like the quality of the SXZ's better, but I also like the idea of having two distinctly separate boxes, for easy ID. Must be my OCD. lol

Obviously if you don't care about that sort of thing, just buy anything to start with. Something is always better than nothing.

 

[johnnymac101]

Lots of ammo is good! Lots of ammo in mags is better!

 

[SHOCKNAWE]

I keep more carry rounds in my stash than I do my range ammo, I ussually replace the range stuff after a day of shooting and rotate in the new rounds. Not that Im a believer in a total SHTF/WROL scenario but it amazes me that anyone would suggest keeping the cheapest FMJ ammo in a stockpile for that fairy tail dystopian future where you would really want the best defensive ammo to defend your life with.

 

[Da_lucche]

I keep more carry rounds in my stash than I do my range ammo, I ussually replace the range stuff after a day of shooting and rotate in the new rounds. Not that Im a believer in a total SHTF/WROL scenario but it amazes me that anyone would suggest keeping the cheapest FMJ ammo in a stockpile for that fairy tail dystopian future where you would really want the best defensive ammo to defend your life with.

I'm going to start stocking up on Wolf Gold 223. Very close to 5.56 spec but cheap as hell.

 

[SHOCKNAWE]

I'm going to start stocking up on Wolf Gold 223. Very close to 5.56 spec but cheap as hell.

I was mainly refering to Handgun ammo where alot of that suff fails to feed ect.., crates of "Dirty" AK ammo I can understand, Im not familiar with off brand .223/.556 stuff but if it shoots reliable then no doubt stock up on it.

 

[jron]

$11 perfecta will keep my family safe, thats what i stock up on usually 2-4 boxes a week more concerned with mag reloading lol

I would stay away for major stockpiling that stuff. its ok for cheap range stuff but stuff I got was crap. shot 300 rounds and it was very inconsistent.

 

[jron]

Just remember you need mags as well as ammo!

The GF will get on my case about how much I have/need, ammo in the safe is as good as money in the bank in my book. But Im running out of room

 

[enbloc]

.

 

[familyman15]

I would stay away for major stockpiling that stuff. its ok for cheap range stuff but stuff I got was crap. shot 300 rounds and it was very inconsistent.

Ive never had a problem with it but it must be inconsistant as far as charge goes one box im dead nuts the next day im about an inch low left.. Been buying win jhp since

 

[whacko]

/edit to add more information for the reading impaired

I have a lopsided ammount of "cheap shit" VS defensive ammo with cheap shit taking up most of my storage space. Should I be picking up more defensive ammo or is cheap good enough?

/end edit

For reasons I can't determine yet, I've been instinctively grabbing two boxes of range ammo for every box I use. I've also picked up a few boxes each of defensive rounds from several manufactures of varying load (testing them in two to three mag runs prior to purchase, of course).

Given the defensive ammo is quite a bit more expensive, I wonder how many of you are picking these up beyond 200 or so rounds. In a SHTF case, is range ammo "good enough" or are you also stocking up on $1+ per round ammo?

I'm currently only shooting in 9m. I have ~200 or so total defensive rounds and have 2x Mag (+1) for day to day carry. Should I be grabbing more of the "good stuff"?

OP.....my opinion and my opinion only.......if you are stockpiling ammo for potential wrol shtf? 9mm......really? Unless you own a 9mm carbine rifle you are absolutely stockpiling the wrong ammo. Stock up on your main battle rifle or shotgun first. You think you are going to survive wrol with a semi auto pistol? Are you going to sit in your house with your 9mm pistol on your hip and 2000 rounds of 9mm in a box beside you and survive? Get an ak.....or an ar.......and stock up on that. In wrol......the rifle keeps em off your propertly......the shotgun keeps em out of your house........the pistol keeps em off of you. Time comes you need that pistol you better be fighting your way back to the rifle you never should have put down in the first place. Personally I'm good with 200 rounds of fmj pistol ammo for my stockpile. My rifle and shotgun ammo on the other hand.......I got "quite a bit".

But.....to answer your original question about expensive hollow points vs fmj.........in a wrol I ain't worried about over penetration......fmj makes holes in *******s just fine......at 1/3 the cost.

But.....your plan in buying 2 and shooting 1.......that is how I got my stockpile. It works. I just recommend you stockpile ammo for your mbr..........if you don't have a mbr......stop buying silly 9mm and put that money toward an mbr (main battle rifle).

 

[In God We Trust]

Mainly stock up on rifle ammo as you should primarily be using that in SHTF situation. If you a handgun, I would focus on 5 magazines, a good system for carrying them on your belt and enough good defensive ammo to fill the 5 mags.

Nothing wrong with storing more, but if you plan on using a handgun and not a long gun for your primary weapon, you have already put yourself at a severe disatvantage

 

[whacko]

Mainly stock up on rifle ammo as you should primarily be using that in SHTF situation. If you a handgun, I would focus on 5 magazines, a good system for carrying them on your belt and enough good defensive ammo to fill the 5 mags.

Nothing wrong with storing more, but if you plan on using a handgun and not a long gun for your primary weapon, you have already put yourself at a severe disatvantage

X2.....as I already stated. I have discussed this with waaaaay too many new shooters.........they seem to think that little 9mm semi auto is their "survive wrol tool". Its just a "nine"......IMO the weakest possible self defense gun available.

OP........get a rifle......an ak.....an ar.......if funds are short find a beat up old nasty looking Chinese sks for $300. Nobody gives a shit what it looks like in wrol.........except the shit heads on the business end when you present it..........and an sks is actually a formidable gun. 20 boxes of 9mm equates to a "beater" sks.......I'll take the sks and start buying ammo for that.

 

[fortitude42]

OP.....my opinion and my opinion only.......if you are stockpiling ammo for potential wrol shtf? 9mm......really? Unless you own a 9mm carbine rifle you are absolutely stockpiling the wrong ammo. Stock up on your main battle rifle or shotgun first. You think you are going to survive wrol with a semi auto pistol? Are you going to sit in your house with your 9mm pistol on your hip and 2000 rounds of 9mm in a box beside you and survive? Get an ak.....or an ar.......and stock up on that.

If you plan on staying in your house and never leaving then sure. A concealed pistol will go a lot farther in a semi populated area (once mobile) then a slung rifle with a bullseye painted on it. I'm not really into this WROL type of stuff but I believe my best bet would be to stockpile all assets available. Food, water, money, silver/gold, rifle and pistol ammo with the appropriate magazines. There is no one scenario that will be THE end result.

If people dump all their money into ammo food and other supplies, they may not even make it to WROL after SHTF. Diversifying assets has the least risk and allows for more damage control when/if the unknown happens.

 

[Stevireno]

Your never going to have to much 9mm. In a shtf scenario, 9mm will make great currency! It's my gold that I can shoot.

Sent from my ASUS_Z00AD using Tapatalk

 

[whacko]

If you plan on staying in your house and never leaving then sure. A concealed pistol will go a lot farther in a semi populated area (once mobile) then a slung rifle with a bullseye painted on it. I'm not really into this WROL type of stuff but I believe my best bet would be to stockpile all assets available. Food, water, money, silver/gold, rifle and pistol ammo with the appropriate magazines. There is no one scenario that will be THE end result.

If people dump all their money into ammo food and other supplies, they may not even make it to WROL after SHTF. Diversifying assets has the least risk and allows for more damage control when/if the unknown happens.

I think you missed my point. Stockpiling 1000 rounds of 9mm ammo at $15 a box.....vs.......spending $300 on a 7.62x39 beater sks and then having the ability to stock up 1000 rounds for that at $15 a box? I like my chances with an sks with 1000 rounds and a pistol with 3 spare mags thanks you!

- - - Updated - - -

Your never going to have to much 9mm. In a shtf scenario, 9mm will make great currency! It's my gold that I can shoot.

Sent from my ASUS_Z00AD using Tapatalk

If you already have your own main battle rifle and 1000+ rounds for it you have a good point. but spending money on 9mm ammo stockpiles and not owning a reliable mbr is not a good plan in my opinion.

 

[Stevireno]

I think you missed my point. Stockpiling 1000 rounds of 9mm ammo at $15 a box.....vs.......spending $300 on a 7.62x39 beater sks and then having the ability to stock up 1000 rounds for that at $15 a box? I like my chances with an sks with 1000 rounds and a pistol with 3 spare mags thanks you!

- - - Updated - - -



If you already have your own main battle rifle and 1000+ rounds your point is valid. but spending money on 9mm ammo stockpiles and not owning a reliable mbr is not a good plan in my opinion.

Agreed, 5.56 & 54r for me, then 12 gauge, then 9, then 22 to give to the neighbors when I trade them my 22 rifle for something of value.[emoji3]

Sent from my ASUS_Z00AD using Tapatalk

 

[jibbr71]

No matter what you do, none of it will matter if you can't shoot for shit, or clear a malfunction on the fly, or transfer from your primary to pistol efficiently. So go shoot, a lot, in weird positions, induce malfunctions, and make mag changes quick. Then stockpile ammo. Worst case, if you have these skills, you can "procure" what you need.

 

[SHOCKNAWE]

I think you missed my point. Stockpiling 1000 rounds of 9mm ammo at $15 a box.....vs.......spending $300 on a 7.62x39 beater sks and then having the ability to stock up 1000 rounds for that at $15 a box? I like my chances with an sks with 1000 rounds and a pistol with 3 spare mags thanks you!

- - - Updated - - -



If you already have your own main battle rifle and 1000+ rounds for it you have a good point. but spending money on 9mm ammo stockpiles and not owning a reliable mbr is not a good plan in my opinion.

Agreed with both posts, I'm actually thinking of getting rid of my shotgun, I have multiple rifles that could serve as a MBR in 2 different calibre's, in a crazy situation I wouldn't ever grab my shotgun, it would be a rifle with a 30 round mag, I can't see a situation where a shotgun would serve better than a high powered rifle with 30 rounds. My point is it is just another ammo to have that I could do without. I own .45 and .9 handguns and stocking 4 types of ammo is better than 5, a shotgun to me is not fun to shoot forget about training with. Just my opinion of course

 

[Andreas]

a shotgun to me is not fun to shoot forget about training with.

Really? Who doesn't love a shotgun? I mean, you don't need to train with full power loads you'd use for self defense.... THAT would suck to do all day.... But shotguns are just plain fun! Train with light loads.

 

[whacko]

Agreed with both posts, I'm actually thinking of getting rid of my shotgun, I have multiple rifles that could serve as a MBR in 2 different calibre's, in a crazy situation I wouldn't ever grab my shotgun, it would be a rifle with a 30 round mag, I can't see a situation where a shotgun would serve better than a high powered rifle with 30 rounds. My point is it is just another ammo to have that I could do without. I own .45 and .9 handguns and stocking 4 types of ammo is better than 5, a shotgun to me is not fun to shoot forget about training with. Just my opinion of course

I think you are discounting that a shotgun is the swiss army knife of fire arms.....so in a survival situation it is a hell of a good tool. What other fire arm can take deer, birds, squirrels, rabbits, and two legged **** sticks simply by changing what you put in the mag tube? Having a pump action 12 gauge shotgun (used cost about $150) with an assortment of buckshot, birdshot, and slugs is a hell of an advantage if the shtf. In my opinion any good "prepper" needs a 12 g pump with a couple hundred rounds of each type of ammo to feed it. Slugs, buck, and birdshot can be had for less than 60 cents a round......and they pack a ****ing whallop and can bring home dinner!!!

 

[SHOCKNAWE]

Well I am probably not thinking of the full potential of a shotgun I guess, my real life thought process is that I will more than likely not be out in the bush trying to pot an animal to survive, I'm not a prepper nor am I that guy that will ever bug out and hump multiple firearms into my gear load, it's not a realistic situation in my opinion but that's just me. I'm not suggesting anyone follow my lead here, I'm just in the know of what I enjoy shooting and have a hard enough time getting range time enough with my guns as it is, so the shotty might get some range time once a year. I do stockpile my ammo and for me it's a organizing thing. The fact that I would probably only get a hundred or so for it will be the deciding factor that I will hang on to it anyways but won't keep more than about 50 rounds mix of birdshot and slug. Well rant over carry on

 

[Andreas]

More than likely none of us will have to be surviving off our firearms. I just think shotguns are fun. We can all make up a world in our head where we're the hero of an apocalyptic universe.... and while that is fun, the odds of that happening are about as good as hitting the lottery. Shoot what you like and like what you shoot. That said, get some overgrown squash that nobody wants this fall, and bring them to the range with the shotty.... hitting a pumpkin nobody wants with a shotgun is fun everyone should have.

That said, to the original point of the thread, stock ammo for your MBR, stock for your shotgun, and as a tertiary measure, keep some handgun rounds in decent number if you still have cash left.

 

[flippinfleck]

I had kind of forgotten about this one, thanks to everyone for keeping it going!! Lots of good stuff here!

Point taken about the usage of pistols as a long term protection plan. I am expecting to obtain the proper storage for long guns in the next month or two and will start looking for a few "MBR's" after that. My OP wasn't directed only towards 9m, that's just what I currently own.

I am also working to expand my other storage to things beyond firearms which would include food, medicine, water, and "day to day" stuffs to help avoid the need to rely on others if things go beyond a couple of months.

But yeah, this shit is expensive. I think I'll just stock up on TP and shelter in place while I wait for the cavalry /s

 

[Varmint]

No matter what you do, none of it will matter if you can't shoot for shit, or clear a malfunction on the fly, or transfer from your primary to pistol efficiently. So go shoot, a lot, in weird positions, induce malfunctions, and make mag changes quick. Then stockpile ammo. Worst case, if you have these skills, you can "procure" what you need.

+1 after getting my first rifle, I went to two Sig rifle classes - they do lots and lots of repetition of clearing malfunctions, mag changes etc.

And the class instilled in me that I don't ever want to have a pistol when the other guy has a rifle. (not at 50 yards anyway)

 

[Varmint]

I had kind of forgotten about this one, thanks to everyone for keeping it going!! Lots of good stuff here!

Point taken about the usage of pistols as a long term protection plan. I am expecting to obtain the proper storage for long guns in the next month or two and will start looking for a few "MBR's" after that. My OP wasn't directed only towards 9m, that's just what I currently own.

I am also working to expand my other storage to things beyond firearms which would include food, medicine, water, and "day to day" stuffs to help avoid the need to rely on others if things go beyond a couple of months.

But yeah, this shit is expensive. I think I'll just stock up on TP and shelter in place while I wait for the cavalry /s

Don't get a few MBRs, just get one, even a cheap one, get a rifle bag, magazines, cleaning stuff, sling, maybe a chest rig, then go take some classes. yeah, this shit is really expensive, I had no idea. If you're close to Sig, just take a class, they'll loan you everything you need.

 

[P-14]

You need to see the checklists here.

The Bosnian account says that they stockpiled 2K rounds per firearm - rifles and pistols. OP: Time for you to reconsider adding just 200 rounds....

 

[PaulR]

I agree on the 9mm as currency thing.

In my tiny world of experience, and from what I've been told: Ammo is ammo, is good enough....except for 22lr. I have thousands of rounds of Remington FMJ 9mm and 380, and I've gone through thousands of rounds with very little failures, same with WWB. I say horde the range ammo, and store very little self defense ammo.

22lr seems to be a different story. Rem golden bullets and American Eagle 22 often won't even shoot in my 22 guns, where CCI works flawlessly.

Am I far off on this?

 

[Varmint]

You need to see the checklists here.

The Bosnian account says that they stockpiled 2K rounds per firearm - rifles and pistols. OP: Time for you to reconsider adding just 200 rounds....

Reading those lists there's lots and lots of things to stock up on before going beyond 200 rounds of 9mm.

 

[whacko]

I agree on the 9mm as currency thing.

In my tiny world of experience, and from what I've been told: Ammo is ammo, is good enough....except for 22lr. I have thousands of rounds of Remington FMJ 9mm and 380, and I've gone through thousands of rounds with very little failures, same with WWB. I say horde the range ammo, and store very little self defense ammo.

22lr seems to be a different story. Rem golden bullets and American Eagle 22 often won't even shoot in my 22 guns, where CCI works flawlessly.

Am I far off on this?

As far as 22 lr goes you are not off at all. I have wwb and golden bullets that i cant even load into my revolver! The manufacturing standards accross the 22lr world is not consistant.