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Survival Prepping - How Much Ammo is Enough?
AShooting Journal ^ | 10/20/2015 | asj

Posted on 10/20/2015 8:03:36 AM PDT by w1n1

Is 1,000 Rounds Enough or 10,000 Rounds?

It’s a very common question posed by survivalists, preppers, and others preparing for the potential likelihood of a SHTF event. Among all the lists of plans for your survival, things to gather, store, gear to buy, and skills to acquire are the huge concerns of security, self and family protection, guarding your property, and just maybe staying alive.

Survivalists and preppers are gun people. They believe in acquiring a variety of firearms for defensive purposes as well as offensive tactics if things take a turn for the absolute worst. For these purposes a host of weaponry may be stocked and used regularly in preparation for whatever might come down the pike.

The big question often posed by survivalists and preppers is exactly how much ammunition to keep on hand. There are many factors to take under serious consideration as you build up your prepping strategies.

First, how many firearms do you have that you will have to feed? Most will have multiples of handguns, rifles of various kinds, and likely several shotguns, too. These are a lot of guns to stock ammo for, so choose wisely, and above all try to consolidate where possible.

Read the rest of the story here, so how much ammo are you all stocking for when the SHTF?


TOPICS: Outdoors; Society
KEYWORDS: banglist; itsneverenough; neverenough; shtf; survival
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To: marktwain

I can understand the hesitance to accept a gold coin. There are so many fakes, or gold plated coins, that it would really be taking a chance to accept one as payment if you didn’t have the equipment for testing it for actual gold content.


81 posted on 10/20/2015 5:47:23 PM PDT by Roos_Girl (The world is full of educated derelicts. - Calvin Coolidge)
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To: Gamecock

The smart prepper keeps some at home (for bugging in) and has a means of moving as much equipment as possible (part of the bugout plan), and the really fortunate preppers have a remote location (bugout location) where they store half of their supplies or more. The bugout plan with a bugout location is that all members of the party, given certain criteria, get to the bugout location.

By the way, this doesn’t apply only to guns and ammo but to all supplies (food, water, medicine and medical supplies, hygiene supplies, electronics, communications, etc.).


82 posted on 10/20/2015 6:16:24 PM PDT by Ghost of Philip Marlowe (Carter...Reagan...Bush...Clinton....Bush....Carter....BUSH? / CLINTON? STOP THE INSANITY!)
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To: w1n1
How much is enough?

I have enough. I'll leave that undefined for now.

jy8z III will have enough.
83 posted on 10/20/2015 6:23:11 PM PDT by jy8z (When push comes disguised as nudge, I do not budge.)
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To: Ghost of Philip Marlowe

Kind of what I thought.

Thanks.


84 posted on 10/20/2015 6:24:04 PM PDT by Gamecock (Preach the gospel daily, use words if necessary is like saying Feed the hungry use food if necessary)
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To: Don Corleone; All

damn straight.


85 posted on 10/20/2015 6:51:30 PM PDT by Shadowstrike (Be polite, Be professional, but have a plan to kill everyone you meet.)
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To: marktwain
I looked into growing tobacco, even so far as tracking down seeds for my hardiness region. The difficulty with tobacco is curing it not growing it. There was a group here on FR around 2008 that was sharing info on building curing boxes, mostly to avoid taxes. Don't know how they wound up.

Another seed that most people don't think about are Poppies. They are alleged to grow exceedingly well in California. You can find them on ebay. Search for papaver somniferum persian white seeds. Then get the book "Opium for the Masses" by Jim Hogshire on Amazon. That's about as far as I would take it for now is seeds and books.

86 posted on 10/20/2015 10:57:38 PM PDT by atomic_dog
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To: Blueflag

Thank you for reminding me of the Jesus Pin.

Ordering one now.

How long does a pin last, anyway? Mine has tiny pits on the end but works fine.


87 posted on 10/21/2015 8:25:55 AM PDT by T-Bone Texan (The economic collapse is imminent. Buy staple food and OTC meds now, before prices skyrocket.)
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To: elcid1970

Speaking of nicotine, I wonder how this vaping craze will affect the bartering realities of post-SHTF.

The batteries are either rechargeable AA or 18650, and it is possible to stockpile the “juice” and other related paraphernalia.

I envision selling individual hits of nicotine to desperate people.

Post-SHTF, nicotine will be comfort food.


88 posted on 10/21/2015 8:33:21 AM PDT by T-Bone Texan (The economic collapse is imminent. Buy staple food and OTC meds now, before prices skyrocket.)
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To: atomic_dog

Thanks for the informative coffee post.

Last night we toasted some pumpkin seeds in the oven on a cookie sheet.

Can I do that with green coffee beans?


89 posted on 10/21/2015 8:42:17 AM PDT by T-Bone Texan (The economic collapse is imminent. Buy staple food and OTC meds now, before prices skyrocket.)
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To: smokingfrog
Especially if you plan on shooting that Tula ammo in anything except an AK.

I've had no problems with steel-cased Russian ammo in three M1 Garands. I don't generally run it through my match rifle, but I'm real, real picky about the ammo I run through it, and don't run *just any* brass-cased surplus GI or commercial ammo through it, either.

Yeah, I've got spare extractors and the combo tools with which to put 'em in. And having been a company-level armorer in the M1 Garand/M1 carbine/M14/M16 days, I know how to keep 'em going, too.

90 posted on 10/21/2015 9:31:02 AM PDT by archy
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To: M Kehoe
I’m sure someone said that you never have enough ammo.

My grandfather said that you didn'r really need more shootin' irons than you could swim the nearest river with.

However, he did not follow his own advice. And he didn't mention anything about how much ammo.

91 posted on 10/21/2015 10:14:25 AM PDT by archy
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To: central_va
Perhaps this is enough. Need some spare barrels....

The tac tray for the coaxial [coax] machinegun mounted on the inside left wall of our M48A5 tanks held 6000 rounds. We often carried enough spare boxes of ammo on the floor in ammo cans [200 rounds each, or if we had enough time to break it down and refill the cans the way we liked, 250 rounds each] to refill that, and outside the tank on the external bustle rack, about half that much again [in a USAF mini-gun ammo can for 3000 rounds] plus extra .50 ammo, and an extra can or two [1000 rounds] of .45 for our pair of M3A1 .45 *greasegun* submachineguns and our half-dozen or so .45 pistols. All told, it added up to a load of around 15,000 rounds for the one coax machinegun. One morning we had fired off that much ammo before noonish lunchtime. It was, as we said in the business, a busy day at the office.

The guy behind the log does NOT have enough ammo. Or spare barrels.

92 posted on 10/21/2015 10:24:29 AM PDT by archy
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To: FreedomPoster
C. 1999, I remember getting NATO spec Austrian Hirtenberger 7.62x51 in a wooden crate similar to that at the lower right, for $175. 5 nice 200 round battle packs inside.

Circa 1965, I recall getting FN *Oxyless* [non-corrosive] 9mm parabellum for $4.00 per hundred. The early FN primers were not long-lived, and with a few exceptions, tey were insensitive to anything less than an open-bolt submachinegun, the exception being a second or third hit from the double-action trigger/hammer of a Walther P.38 autopistol. From every box of a hundred, I'd have between a dozen to 25 rounds of duds.

No matter. I got a bullet puller, primed empty brass commercial cases, dumped the FN powder in the case [which was okay] and seated the pulled bullets. They worked fine. Once I ran out of factory jacketed bullets, I began using 130-grain lead bullets for the .38 special; that too worked fine. Rifles was another story, but at the time I was running through maybe 5000-10,000 rounds per week.

Of course, WWII surplus 7,92mm was going for $5.00 a thousand, but you had to strip it out of the machinegun links it was packaged in. I built a neat little machine to do just that; still have it.

Then there was that 37mm antitank gun....

93 posted on 10/21/2015 10:33:35 AM PDT by archy
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To: archy

Ammo Chick asks, "Did one of you boys say you were low on ammo?"

94 posted on 10/21/2015 10:36:35 AM PDT by central_va (I won't be reconstructed and I do not give a damn.)
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To: AngelesCrestHighway
Whatever amount lets you sleep at night...Just fill the bunker!

Yeah, but you could at least stack it a little neater.


95 posted on 10/21/2015 10:40:05 AM PDT by archy
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To: Drew68; Squantos
In a true SHTF situation, guns and ammo will be lying all over the streets.

True. However, if you should happen to notice a fire, you might not want to use your truck loaded with gas and ammo to drive over it to try and put it out.

The link takes you both to the clever comments, one pic of the brurning vehicle, and a link to the original Kansas City Star story. Kids, don't try this at home.

96 posted on 10/21/2015 10:57:52 AM PDT by archy
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To: archy
Good afternoon. I hope you are doing well.

My grandfather said that you didn'r really need more shootin' irons than you could swim the nearest river with.

I agree. One rifle, and one sidearm. I definitely can't swim a river with an 81mm mortar tube.

However, he did not follow his own advice. And he didn't mention anything about how much ammo.

He didn't drown, did he???

55.56mm

97 posted on 10/21/2015 11:12:39 AM PDT by M Kehoe
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To: M Kehoe
The cat did it.

5.56mm

98 posted on 10/21/2015 11:14:07 AM PDT by M Kehoe
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To: central_va
Well, that's real nice.

5.56mm

99 posted on 10/21/2015 11:15:51 AM PDT by M Kehoe
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To: M Kehoe
However, he did not follow his own advice. And he didn't mention anything about how much ammo.

He didn't drown, did he???

Nope, and that's not generally much of a consideration in New Mexico where he came of age, nor in Wyoming, where he later homesteaded.

He was, however, a Navy man during WWI. THat may have been an influence.

100 posted on 10/21/2015 11:33:44 AM PDT by archy
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