My name is Salty, and I am an ammohaulic. I admit it. I have more ammo in storage than I will ever shoot in my lifetime. I’m good with that. My wife, Spice? Not so much. After extensive conversations (many of which involved her dropping “the look” on me) I came up with these 8 ammo storage supply tips.
Time to ‘fess up here on ammo storage supplies
I’m going to be honest here, preppers do not need as much ammo as I have, they really don’t. I’ve found, however, that most preppers I have talked to who are not “gun guys or gals” don’t have nearly as much ammo as I personally would feel comfortable with.
I’m going to offer a rule of thumb for a minimum amount of ammo I would recommend preppers having on hand, but first let me tell you how NOT go gauge how much you should buy and store.
Don’t be me
When you are an ammohaulic, like I am, here’s what you do. You do something like take the bed sheets off to do the laundry, and as you walk towards the hall to load the machine, you see a bare spot along the back wall beside the bed that looks like it would house 3 spam-cans of 7.62×39. Instead of finishing your task, you go onto your favorite ammo website and order the 2700 rounds, then walk back, pick up the sheets and go on to the laundry.
That’s me.
Don’t be me.
But… don’t be somebody who buys/owns guns who doesn’t know how much ammo you have, and don’t scrimp on shooting, because the only way you know how to handle a gun is to SHOOT it from time to time.
So… without further delay…
Here’s a list of recommendations I have to determine a prepper’s proper ammo storage level. These are my MINIMUM recommendations, and while they probably seem extreme to some, others will find them far too conservative. They are based upon types of guns and philosophy of use.
- For your main “self defense” semi-auto rifle/carbine, at least 1,000 rounds per gun that you plan to use if you need to defend yourself/family, with at least 10 magazines. For example, Spice and I would each have 1,000 rounds (2,0000 total) and 10 magazines each (20 total). If we, for example, were using AR-15’s and had a spare AR for each person, we wouldn’t count extra rounds for those, because there are only two of us.
- For your main “close in self defense” semi-auto standard-size pistol (i.e. not AR-15 pistol), 500 SELF DEFENSE rounds (not just full metal jacket) and five magazines. It’s best if families all use the same calibers and interchangeable magazines. For example, we use Glocks, mine is a 17, hers is a 19. Her 19 can take 17 magazines, so all of our spare magazines are either 17 mags or longer so they fit both guns.
- For your main “self defense” shotty, 500 rounds
- For your main “grocery getter” high caliber hunting rifle, 250 rounds of hunting ammunition.
- For your main .22 “grocery getter”, 2000 rounds
Where did I get these amounts from?
I’ve been asked why I think these amounts appropriate, and I will expand on this in the future in another article. However, let me give a quick example:
Taking the semi-auto self defense rifle/carbine for example, 1000 rounds plus the recommended magazines = two things
1) The approximate cost of the firearm that shoots the rounds (therefore when a person buys a gun, mags and ammo, it’s 1/2 cost gun, 1/2 cost supplies) and easy to budget.
2) It’s the amount of ammunition needed to really “break in” the firearm, and should be expended in the first year of ownership to get the gun as reliable as it will be, and also to familiarize the owner with it to the point of comfort.
Furthermore…
As I wrote in this previous story about streamlining your ammo, I limit my firearms to certain calibers only so that I can make the most efficient use of my ammo.
I think it’s extremely important to know exactly how much ammo you have, what type and what caliber. If you are an ammohaulic, like I am, that may require computer help. Personally, I use an app on my iPhone called Inventory and it uses barcodes to help track ammo coming and going. I love it.
This brings me to my next set of points:
- Know how much ammo you have for each gun, don’t just guess
- Put your ammo in weather proof boxes, and label everything carefully
- When you shoot a box of ammo, replace it immediately. if you are still building your ammo supply, then shoot one, buy two. Build gradually over time.
I have my reasons for having the ammo I have (I believe in having tangible, long term physical assets as a part of my overall wealth) but I have to admit part of why I have collected as much as I have is simply because I like it.
One more thing to make SURE I point out. Keep it 100 percent LEGAL! Know the laws in your state, county and municipality, and of course all federal laws as well. Keep it legal!
Don’t be caught out in the cold having guns without ammo, but on the other hand… Don’t be me. Set goals, have a plan, stick to it and replace ammo as you shoot it.
I too am an ammoholic lol. I do a lot of shooting to keep my skills up especially because it’s a suspendable offense for the work I do to fail your quarterly qualifications. So I shoot often and I recommend everyone that has a weapon to do so as well.
My one observation would be this. In the event of a large scale event and this have gone to hell. Ammo will definitely become a hot barter item. Would you advise folks that aren’t ammoholics like us to have a barter pile of standard ammo as well? If so how much? Have a great day and good luck to us all.
I’ve seen a lot of debate on prepping forums about the idea of guns and ammo as barter items. Some people think they would be outstanding choices, while others think a person would be crazy to barter off something that could then be used to kill them.
I’m more in the first school, thinking that having ammo to barter is a good thing. Guns? Not so much (due to the expense involved, and the fact that you really are trading them something to kill you with and take your stuff. Most people will not shoot themselves dry, so I think ammo is a smaller risk of that.
BTW the idea of ammo shortages is why we limit the calibers of our guns to just a few (i.e. all semi-auto handguns we own for prepping are 9mm, for example) so we can stack the ammo deep without a lot of duplication.
I certainly have ammo to barter if the SHTF (or even right now, if I see some firearm that I want and the other person wants ammo), but I don’t keep it in a separate stack or pile…
Having extra to barter? Good, but only if that extra fits guns you own… I wouldn’t buy, say, .40 S&W just for barter unless you own a gun that shoots it.
Look, I know Salty is a collector. We’ve collections of several kinds of things, some entirely unrelated to prepping, and I’m ok with that. Not my groove but it makes him happy, so fine. It was the inventory thing that got our attention. When we saw the total, I was giving him the “Really???” look, and he was like *blink* *blink Blink*. “Maybe we should go to just replacing what we shoot.” Yah Salty, it’s That Time…
“If we, for example, were using AR-15’s and had a spare AR for each person, we wouldn’t count extra rounds for those, because there are only two of us.”
Salty, Salty, Salty…we need to talk…
What ever number you settle on for rounds for say, your ar-15…you need that many for each and every ar-15 you have. Spares are also for friends and family to use..they’ll need ammo too, or else they are dead weight.
(the guns AND the family)
If you can afford “spare guns” you can afford the extra ammo that goes with them…just sayin’.
While I totally agree that *I* would have a *LOT* more than 1,000 spare rounds and 10 mags EVERY gun I own (spare or no) to be used in a self-defense role, this article is about where a good MINIMUM recommendation is.
We’ve got people out there having heart attacks and saying “this guy is NUTS for having 1,000 rounds of ammo and 10 magazines, that’s INSANE, one would NEVER use that much ammo in a lifetime…
Look at it this way, a very popular debt counselor (you’ve heard him on the radio) recommends everybody have a $1,000 emergency fund before starting debt reduction, and then a full 6 months expenses emergency fund once the debt is under control. My article here is the $1,000 emergency fund, not what I think the most reasonable and wise top end minimum is.
Additionally, my spares are MY spares. I have “pass out” guns for those that need them, but they are not $2000 per rig rifle/optics/ammo/magazine setups. I don’t have that kind of money. They get HiPoints & Mosins, because that’s what I can afford. MY spares are for ME and HER, because frankly I can’t afford to have an entire rack full of Tavor X95’s sitting in a safe, just in case.
Just a note about how much ammo to have laid up.
I read of a family who was attacked in South Africa in the mid-1970’s by insurrectionists. after the battle (part of one day and that night), they went out and collected empty cases. Over 2,000 rounds were expended. Not sure 2,000 round between a husband/wife team is enough for the long haul.
Just a thought
Unless I am swimming, or on fire, I do not have “enough ammo”.
The gunpowder within a cartridge case can stick to itself after being undisturbed for a long time. The powder may not burn properly resulting in a “squib” or burn through the brass case of the cartridge, damaging the weapon or injuring the shooter.
Rotate your ammunition supply using the “First in-First out” rule but also insure the powder is loose within the case by tapping the case on the side with a pencil as it is rolled through your fingers or across a table top (No metallic tools like screwdrivers or knives which may damage it). Inspect for corrosion, dents, loose projectiles and missing primers. Give them a good shake and return them to the cartridge box.