Poll: Preparedness ammunition stockpile philosophy ...

[Member 3687]

Years ago on another forum there was often the for sale ad that read something to the effect of: "bought this gun, need to pay some bills, have to sell it,"

Preparedness ammunition stockpile philosophy is the original question and that is how I answered it but I do have to agree with you that there is other things to consider as well in the beginning. I was one of those young kids that had to sell a few toys in my early years because of poor financial planning and the addition of children in my life. I chalked it up to priorities and responsibility at the time but it was basically poor financial planning.

Know a guy who at the start of the rona plandemic went out and bought 2 AR's and 2 pistols out of fear of social unrest, first guns he ever owned, he bought 1000 rounds of .223, has shot about 30 of them and still barely knows much more about the AR than which end the bullet comes out.

So while ammo stashes are important, if you suck, having all that ammo won't matter so much.

I cannot agree with you more because all the guns and ammo in the world is not worth a dang thing if you have no idea how to use it. A basic Carbine and a pistol 101 class would be a good start with added classes down the road as I do believe in continued training but at the same time if you do not have cheap ammo to shoot then it's hard to take a class or practice.

Around here 9mm was almost the same or twice the price of some of the classes offered in these parts if you could even find ammo. For a while all you could find was 24.95 a box for 20 rds of home defense 9mm so if the class required 250 rounds you were looking at $343 with tax for a $150 class and that's a lot of money for a new shooter.

I even held off doing local Glock matches as I was not sure if I could replace what I shot so I switched to steel case as it was cheaper and I could find it. I also just repeated my Idaho enhanced class and pretty much every one in there was also shooting steel case as it was all they could find for the 100 required rounds. One guy said he paid $35 for a 50 rd box of steel case 9mm because brass was 69 a box at the time.

So having all the other stuff like plate carriers and night vision is nice to have but getting ammo when its cheap and available to me is more important. I am not saying plate carriers and night vision or even red dots for your rifle (unless you have no sites at all) are not nice to have but if you can not even practice with 50 rounds a month even during bad times then will all this other stuff do you any good.

We all look at being prepared differently and set priorities accordingly and that is why I like to read these posts as it makes me think about my priorities and if I am truly looking at everything and many of you bring up things, I may not have thought of.

I have been doing this for a long time and do have most of the toys folks talk about in some form or another but one good gun that you can trust and lots of ammo to practice I believe is still the top priority.

But what do I know as I am just old, fat and ugly!

 

[The Heretic]

Years ago on another forum there was often the for sale ad that read something to the effect of: "bought this gun, need to pay some bills, have to sell it,"

We still see this here. This is how I got half my guns and ammo; from someone who bought something, had an "emergency" and had to sell their preps to pay for it because they did not have the $ in reserve to pay for some unexpected expense.

Stuff happens - I get that. I am paying for my kids new roof $20K. I just had a $1K repair to my car because mice got into it and chewed up the wiring. A LONG time ago (decades) I learned that having $ for these kinds of things happening was where I should always be prepared, because they happen all the time. Last year I was unexpectedly laid off - about a year ahead of when I planned to retire. I have the $ for emergencies, I have the $ for retirement. I have the $ to buy ammo and other preps when a good buying opportunity presents itself.

When an unexpected expense happens, I do not need to sell preps to pay for it - if that happens and you have to sell something to pay for it, you really could not afford that thing, and probably should not have bought it until you could.

So while having ample supplies of ammunition could be important, the holistic approach and being well rounded in being prepared is more important, financial preparedness being the example mentioned.

If someone has 1 good rifle and 1 good pistol and a decent stash of ammo, that in theory should be sufficient from a preparedness standpoint until all the other facets of preparedness are well taken care of. After the basics of life are handled, how someone spends the rest of their money is their call. For some people that might be having 10,000 rounds of ammo and/or 50-100 guns, for other people that might be going on fun trips and taking pictures.

When I started prepping, I was deep in debt - my net worth was in the red, some of that was due to buying preps - then I lost my job and almost went bankrupt. I did not sell my preps when I lost my job, I got a little help from family, found another job, made a concerted effort to reduce expenses and pay off debt. It took a while - over a decade due to losing my job again, but eventually I was debt free. Today I have a mortgage but my net worth and fixed income means I do not have to worry about paying bills for the rest of my life (unless some catastrophic illness hits me, and even then probably not).

I have sufficient ammo and selling it and/or the guns would probably not be something that I ever need to do - I would be better off cashing in a few of my stock market investments, and only then after depleting my cash reserves.

Not gloating/bragging - just saying having no (or little) debt and $ reserves is very important. It makes "emergencies" just inconvenient and its very freeing. It isn't easy, especially if one is living paycheck to paycheck, but it is worth the effort and should be a number one priority - it allows one to be able to get and keep preps. Unemployment can happen to anyone at anytime, as can other "stuff". Be prepared for stuff to happen - especially financially.

 

[RX-79G]

Gun owners have kvetched for years about antis taxing ammo, and then we hoard it driving up the prices artificially and effectively taxing ourselves out of the ability to continue to shoot.

Hoarders: I hate you.

 

[The Heretic]

Gun owners have kvetched for years about antis taxing ammo, and then we hoard it driving up the prices artificially and effectively taxing ourselves out of the ability to continue to shoot.

Hoarders: I hate you.

Panic buyers who didn't see the writing on the wall: I have no sympathy for you. We warned you for years. Also, I really don't care whether you hate me or not.

 

[RX-79G]

Panic buyers who didn't see the writing on the wall: I have no sympathy for you. We warned you for years. Also, I really don't care whether you hate me or not.

Warned us about what? We have been panic buying ammo for decades without any ammo bans. We banned it ourselves with our foolish, selfish behavior.

I don't even consider .22 LR purchases anymore. Its cheaper for me to reload 9mm

 

[Certaindeaf]

One could argue one round is "enough".
The instructions included with the Liberator dropped behind enemy lines showed how to get more.
Make every shot count.

 

[Certaindeaf]

Warned us about what? We have been panic buying ammo for decades without any ammo bans. We banned it ourselves with our foolish, selfish behavior.

I don't even consider .22 LR purchases anymore. Its cheaper for me to reload 9mm

Yep. I've hardly ever shot .22.
Started casting for the 9mm when I was 16. Currently loading with my Tulammo $17/1000 primers so it's about $2/100.

 

[Ura-Ki]

Stacked it high and deep when we could mostly to have when times are thin so we can still practice/train! As far as preps and SHTF, it's not a real biggy, bandoleer of .30/06, 11 mags of 7.62x51, 11 mags of 5.56, 5 mags of 10mm. And a brick of .22 with another half brick of .22 subs for the AR conversion! Wife packs 8 mags of 5.56, 5 mags of 9mm and a couple pouches of .30/06 and 7.62x51!
The Newfies can each pack around 40 pounds of stuff in their doggie back packs, so we usually toss a couple hundred rounds of ammo in each pack, the Malinoise can pack around 15 pounds so we usually load him up with a couple pistol mags and call it good!
Any stash left behind is fair game, though it's likely going to be hard to get at!

 

[CountryGent]

Follow up question due to curiosity: for those that are (more or less) in the "Enormous stores of ammo are essential. Stack it high and deep! Can't have too much!" camp, for what purposes or emergency scenarios do you see expending tens of thousands of rounds of ammunition? Thanks.

 

[Ura-Ki]

Follow up question due to curiosity: for those that are (more or less) in the "Enormous stores of ammo are essential. Stack it high and deep! Can't have too much!" camp, for what purposes or emergency scenarios do you see expending tens of thousands of rounds of ammunition? Thanks.

For us we don't! What we have is only to keep us in the green for practice/training, shooting skill is perishable, so we gotta stay proficient for as long as we can, so, with out interruptions, we got it stacked high and deep!

 

[RX-79G]

For us we don't! What we have is only to keep us in the green for practice/training, shooting skill is perishable, so we gotta stay proficient for as long as we can, so, with out interruptions, we got it stacked high and deep!

For the purposes of practice, you are driving up your own and everyone else's prices and causing shortages?


It doesn't make sense to stockpile for the future - if ammo is banned, the shooting of it will be, too. And it doesn't make sense to stockpile against an emergency. Even 500 rounds would kill a lifetime of deer.

 

[Ura-Ki]

For the purposes of practice, you are driving up your own and everyone else's prices and causing shortages?


It doesn't make sense to stockpile for the future - if ammo is banned, the shooting of it will be, too. And it doesn't make sense to stockpile against an emergency. Even 500 rounds would kill a lifetime of deer.

My purchases have no effect on any pricing, I don't buy it when it's inflated or hard to find ( Like right now) I buy it when it's normal price, and stock what I shoot for how ever long these shortages last, usually 3 to 5 years worth! If it's banned, it's going to get used!

 

[Camelfilter]

Gun owners have kvetched for years about antis taxing ammo, and then we hoard it driving up the prices artificially and effectively taxing ourselves out of the ability to continue to shoot.

Hoarders: I hate you.

Folks whom have stocked up wisely have zero bearing on inventory today.

Factually, are actually beneficial to folks whom HAVE TO BUY TODAY, because we do not. Zero competition for such.

It's new shooters, and shooters whom IGNORED the previous blights. Mind, there are few whom COULDN'T stock up (for whatever reasons), however they still NEW such as now WOULD occur.

 

[3MTA3]

I've consolidated ammunition to mostly military cartridges:
5.56 NATO
308 Winchester/7.62
9mm Parabellum
.22LR
12 gauge

I have at least one semiautomatic rifles and or pistols for each. In addition I have avery accurate bolt action in 22LR. The only exception is that I don't have a semi automatic shotgun, preferring a pump action.

My strategy includes extra rifles for friends and neighbors in the event that it is needed for mutual protection. I live in a suburban setting so it is unrealistic to have an "every man for himself" strategy for SHTF survival.

My standard is a minimum of 2,500 rounds for each rifle or pistol. My inventory exceeds that in loose ammunition, and have enough ammunition loaded and ready to go that should be adequate to cover all rifles in a prolonged neighborhood defense, Speed loaders are stored with loose ammunition and all are in ammo cans ready to be positioned or moved.

I effed up a bit and only have a couple hundred rounds for the shotgun, mostly loads I was evaluating before stocking up. Next time ammunition goes back to as normal as it's going to get I'll lay back 500-1000 shells.

In addition to that I have reloading components for several thousand rounds of 5.56 and 7.62 that includes both bonded bullets deigned for barrier blind defense and Nosler Partitions.

Basically, I'm covered a bit deeper than I will likely survive in a series of firefights. Anything beyond that would be booty for my murderers. Other preps have to be prioritized as well. You can't eat ammunition or use it to recover from a disease or injury. Balance is the key to preparedness.

Any ammunition I shoot in the mean time means a new purchase of the replacements before I go shooting and I shoot the oldest first.

 

[Knobgoblin]

Folks whom have stocked up wisely have zero bearing on inventory today.

Factually, are actually beneficial to folks whom HAVE TO BUY TODAY, because we do not. Zero competition for such.

It's new shooters, and shooters whom IGNORED the previous blights. Mind, there are few whom COULDN'T stock up (for whatever reasons), however they still NEW such as now WOULD occur.

All very true.

And hatred of hoarders actually should be leveled at FLIPPERS! You know, the ones who go into the store and buy mostly just to resell on the "street ".
I bought and shot back when things were cheap, I buy and shoot at a reduced pace with the current prices.

22lr really doesn't seem bad this time around, so I am not really understanding why so many are laying off.
9mm , well...

 

[RX-79G]

Folks whom have stocked up wisely have zero bearing on inventory today.

Factually, are actually beneficial to folks whom HAVE TO BUY TODAY, because we do not. Zero competition for such.

It's new shooters, and shooters whom IGNORED the previous blights. Mind, there are few whom COULDN'T stock up (for whatever reasons), however they still NEW such as now WOULD occur.

Knew why? Because they should have known they were part of a community of greedy individualists?

The shortages and costs are purely from us. At one point when the shelves were empty and prices going up, Canadians could buy whatever they wanted at the prices we used to.

It doesn't matter how prescient the hoarders might seem - they've made it crappy for everyone else in OUR sport.

 

[Ura-Ki]

Knew why? Because they should have known they were part of a community of greedy individualists?

The shortages and costs are purely from us. At one point when the shelves were empty and prices going up, Canadians could buy whatever they wanted at the prices we used to.

It doesn't matter how prescient the hoarders might seem - they've made it crappy for everyone else in OUR sport.

How so, I'm not tracking your train of thought here, exactly how do "hoarders" effect price and availability when they did their deeds long before the shortages and prices went up!

I got most of my 5.56 back when it was available by the pallet, @.32 cents per round, 10mm auto @.45 cents per, and 7.62x51 around .50 cents per! The spendy one was .30/06 @.85 cents per! Again, all available by the pallet and no limits other then if your 1 ton truck could actually carry it all in one trip!

 

[Camelfilter]

Knew why? Because they should have known they were part of a community of greedy individualists?

The shortages and costs are purely from us. At one point when the shelves were empty and prices going up, Canadians could buy whatever they wanted at the prices we used to.

It doesn't matter how prescient the hoarders might seem - they've made it crappy for everyone else in OUR sport.

History.

Blights have occurred in the past. Blights will occur in the future, after this one ends. Nothing new, and no surprise.

Folks whom have recognized such, and prepared accordingly have ZERO bearing on the current ammunition market. Again, folks whom have prepared accordingly have HELPED the current market by NOT competing in it currently.

 

[The Heretic]

Warned us about what? We have been panic buying ammo for decades without any ammo bans. We banned it ourselves with our foolish, selfish behavior.

I don't even consider .22 LR purchases anymore. Its cheaper for me to reload 9mm

Then you haven't been paying attention to prices. 18 months ago ammo was at very low price point. 9x19 was 17 cents per round, .22 LR was 3-4 cents per round. Can you reload 9mm for 3 cents per round? I doubt it.

And what is the "we" kemosabi? I only buy when prices are low - but I do stock up on ammo and "hoard" it.

 

[RX-79G]

If I'm understanding everyone correctly, no one has bought mass stocks of ammo right before/after an election or that sort of thing that has caused a run on the market driving prices up.

Thank you.