ammo

[kcdevildog]

Devildog, may have to talk with you and see about possibly having you make some purchases for me of .22LR and shipping them. They are near enough to extinct around here. Were they the big boxes of 333 or 555 rounds or smaller?

If I remember correctly they were boxes if 250 and smaller bricks. May have been some larger boxes. I don't own a .22 yet so didn't buy any. Jus noticed em when I was getting some .40.

 

[Overlord]

Personally, due to the large availability of 22LR locally, I would stock up on this first when I get a good 22LR Rifle. Other calibers are limited in supply

 

[tntboy13]

Actually at dicks today, there was a pretty good stock of the calibers they carry. I havent kept an eye out for 22 after i bought 2 of the 525 bricks last year on black friday....

 

[Tyler]

Anyways, to OP, it depends on a few things, bugging in or out, how many people and how long you are prepping for. My condition is going to be very different that yours. I'm bugging out and you might not be. You may defend a family of 4 and I may defend 2 people. So the ammo amount will differ, but like a few other have said, strandize your calibers and get a realistic amount of ammo (take into account target practice)

 

[Gazrok]

Depends on if bugging in or out. If bugging out, ammo can get pretty heavy. 2 extra clips worth for handguns and 20 rounds for rifles, 10 rounds for shotguns should be fine to get you where you are going.
If bugging in, as another said, as much as you can...while you still can. The current ammo shortage is crazy...but will be over eventually. When it is, there will be some crazy sales as they all compete. If you can get 5000 rounds of each type you have, I'd definitely do so (or as much as you can afford). Remember, you'll need some to MAINTAIN your skills, even if the SHTF never happens.

 

[GatherYeAcorns]

A thousand rounds for each weapon at minimum.

 

[DrHenley]

5000 is a good number, depending on the caliber, for bugging in or for stocking your BOL. It is a bit much for hauling around when bugging out even for a BOV. For a BOV, you might want 500-1000 rounds.

For bugging out on foot or bicycle, you will want to carry a LOT of .22 ammo, several hundred (if you can find it ) and a moderate amount of centerfire. Conserve the centerfire for dire situations requiring it. I have a Browning Buckmark 22 pistol (accurate and dependable) with three mags and 200 extra rounds in my BOB, and a 45 caliber 1911 compact for concealed carry (licensed of course). I generally carry two spare mags, but in a bug out I'll load my cargo pockets with mags for the 45. I'm divided on whether to carry a rifle. The big problem I see is that you can't very well conceal it on foot or on a bicycle, so you are advertising to the world that you are armed. That might be good, might be bad... Maybe for a BOV, but on foot I think I will just go with the 45, and keep it concealed until needed.

For bugging in and stocking a BOL, you of course want a rifle and a good stock of rifle ammo. Normally I have no use for a pea shooter (223) and prefer something with more knock-down power and range, but for SHTF the ability to carry lots of ammo in a small amount of space gives it an advantage over, say, a 308 or 30-06.

 

[Gazrok]

Note, I'd recommend buying a lot of ammo using only cash, as who knows what kind of red flag it may raise, or attention it may get you if done through an account.

 

[Tyler]

True on buying ammo with cash. Personally I'm shooting (lol) to have 2500 rounds for my main gun, 1000 rounds for my secondary, 1000 rounds for my pistol, 1000 extra shotgun shells and 10,000 .22lr rounds. It seems a bit high, and it is, but keep in mind I'm talking end of governments

 

[ChancesR]

I read about this a while back but for those who want to slim down the types or make a gun more versatile there is this
Calibers of ammo that the X Caliber allows a singe-shot shotgun to fire are .22lr, 38 special, .357, 9mm, 45 acp, 45 lc, .410 shotgun, 12 ga. shotgun, .223, 7.62×39 and 308.
http://www.gearupcenter.com/products/x-caliber-shotgun-gauge-adapter-system.html
I want my self but later when I have the gun first
there was a story about it on the Blaze and adds on BlazeTV

 

[eireguy]

Those are cool adapters but i've read a couple of articles doubting accuracy over LONG distances because they arent really traveling down a barrel just through the shotguns tube.having said that i am ordering @ least one of them

 

[eireguy]

Pathfinders 8" rifled version[not as cheap tho]

 

[DrHenley]

Here is a Wikipedia article about chamber adapters, also known as "chamber inserts", "caliber conversion tubes", "chamber conversion sleeves", "caliber conversion adapters", "subgauge inserts", "subgauge tubes", "gauge reducers", etc. etc. etc.:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caliber_conversion_sleeve

They've been around a long time. If you look in the right places you can find them for under $20. That X Caliber system is pretty pricey.

 

[Gazrok]

True on buying ammo with cash. Personally I'm shooting (lol) to have 2500 rounds for my main gun, 1000 rounds for my secondary, 1000 rounds for my pistol, 1000 extra shotgun shells and 10,000 .22lr rounds. It seems a bit high, and it is, but keep in mind I'm talking end of governments

I actually think 1000 would be the minimum. Remember, you're going to need to shoot to maintain your skills too.
Conversely, 10,000 on the .22 may be a little high (maybe 5000?). May want to check your local laws just to be sure you aren't tripping over some obscure code.

 

[Tyler]

I actually think 1000 would be the minimum. Remember, you're going to need to shoot to maintain your skills too.
Conversely, 10,000 on the .22 may be a little high (maybe 5000?). May want to check your local laws just to be sure you aren't tripping over some obscure code.

The reason for the 1000 pistol rounds, shotgun sheels and secondary firearms is because I want to us the .22 for target and to trade. My main gun will most likely be a 12 gauge (dispite the fact that "tactical" rifle makes more sence the guns I can get my hands on make it a bit harder to make a rifle my main gun)

 

[Joshua]

I feel you can never have too much ammo, just look at the ammo shelfs in any store today and what do you see, they are empty, and while they may fill back up soon the prices will never be as low as they were before the ammo buying madness of the fast few months, so if for no other reason to have 5000 rounds of .22lr or #4 12ga or whatever it will only cost more if you need to resupply in the future, and who's to say that you will still be able to buy ammo at all, there are some elected officals out there that are doing everything in their power to take that right away from you as we speak, so buy as much as you can as often as you can. Just say'n....

I agree completely. There is no such thing as to much. The one thing that I do is I buy different manufacturers for the calibers that I need.... so I have an idea of which ones are better then the others..... ive noticed with my 1911 that when I used hollow points, that the first round in the chamber would jam. but when I used regulars they wouldn't jam. Best thing I have for advice is buy different brands and see which ones work the best for you and your gun. Another case in point is I bought some rounds for 22 and one brand didn't work worth a crude in it but a different brand worked very nicely. No jams, no faulty rounds.... Also I still stock up every chance I have to get more ammo as much as possible. Great post WILD MAN

 

[Joshua]

I walked in to Walmart the other day to get my doe tag (which for the first time I didn't get there in time for one) and glanced at the ammo locker, all that was in there? A lonely box of .380 ammo, that's it. I can still remember going not Walmart on the way to camp and buying 1000 rounds of .22lr ammo to put through the pea shooter just messing around.

I don't really stockpile ammo although I might start, but I do have about 100 rounds of .06 and 30.30 ammo laying around and a bunch of various 12 gauge shells.

that reminds me of about a week ago. I called 5 different places for 22LR and not a single place had a box for sale. And the places I called were not just little places, they were places that most everyone in the U.S. would be familiar with. Walmart, Cabela's Scheels, Shiptons Big R, and a different location for Walmart. Had to go to a pawn shop to get a couple hundred rounds. Made me start thinking a bit harder of what I do sense the day before that there were a few rounds for 22LR. Should of bought them the day before when there were a lot of them.

 

[PrepperJohn]

Realistically how much ammo should I have on hand for rifle calibers ? Handgun calibers? And shotguns? Thank you in advance .

I read yesterday on Twitter (via prepperzone.net) that Obama is using the Naval yard shooting tragedy as a means to impose executive orders in order to push through his gun control measures. Therefore, it's porbably best to stock up on as much ammo as you can right now IMHO.

 

[Overlord]

I read yesterday on Twitter (via prepperzone.net) that Obama is using the Naval yard shooting tragedy as a means to impose executive orders in order to push through his gun control measures. Therefore, it's porbably best to stock up on as much ammo as you can right now IMHO.

This gun control thing is getting out of hand

 

[Joshua]

This gun control thing is getting out of hand

Yes it is.