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?
Proverbs 27:12 (NLT) ”A prudent person foresees danger and takes precautions. The simpleton goes blindly on and suffers the consequences.“
“But if any provide not for his own, and specially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel.” 1 Timothy 5:8 (KJV)
In the house of the wise are stores of choice food and oil, but a foolish man devours all he has. Proverbs 21:20
But if the watchman sees the enemy coming and doesn’t sound the alarm to warn the people, he is responsible for their deaths. They will die in their sins, but I will hold the watchman accountable. Ezekiel 33:6
My rule of thumb is 1000 rounds per gun. That’s a basic load that you never go below. Build from there.
To think that you are going through life without any thought of tomorrow is probably disingenuous. I don't know you, but if you have insurance, savings etc. you are giving thought to tomorrow. And as far as "wars and rumors of wars", that has always been and unprepared (and even prepared) people have been died anyway. We are not necessarily thinking "end of times" but possibly making it through a rough patch.
It is your choice you can prep you can scrammble for leavings.
The world is dry tinder just awaiting the right spark.
So listen to what the bible says: A prudent man sees danger and takes refuge, but the simple keep going and suffer for it. NIV Proverbs 22:3
Selco covers this in this article many times people just can not except that a breakdown is occurring even as they watch it happening before their eyes. Why don’t they realize it? It’s caused by a condition called ‘Normalcy Bias’ a mental state people enter when facing a disaster.
It causes people to underestimate both the possibility of a disaster occurring and its possible effects. This often results in situations where people fail to adequately prepare for a disaster, and on a larger scale, the failure of governments to include the populace in its disaster preparations. The assumption that is made in the case of the normalcy bias is that since a disaster never has occurred then it never will occur. It also results in the inability of people to cope with a disaster once it occurs. People with a normalcy bias have difficulties reacting to something they have not experienced before. People also tend to interpret warnings in the most optimistic way possible, seizing on any ambiguities to infer a less serious situation.
A good article on ‘Normalcy Bias’ is on our own ChocChipCookies Blog The Survival Mom:
http://thesurvivalmom.com/2010/12/29/normalcy-bias/
You either prepare and stand on your own beholden to no one or you become dependent on others to provide your basic needs and become their ‘serf’. Me I don’t want to be beholden to anyone for providing what is needed for me and mine. I certainly don’t want to have to kiss some ‘gubberment’ third class bureaucratic to try and coax some help from them, I don’t want some ‘jack booted’ thug herding me in line and telling me where to stand, sit, eat or sleep. And last but not least I don’t want to be shut up in with a bunch of ‘zombies’ and have to worry about not only trying to get basic necessities but having to fight to keep what I manage to get.
Just getting started or an old hand you might find my Preparedness Manual helpful. You can download the manual at:
http://tomeaker.com/kart/Preparedness1j.pdf NOTE! THIS IS A FREE DOWNLOAD. I DO NOT MAKE ONE CENT OFF MY PREPAREDNESS MANUAL!
For those of you who haven’t started already it’s time to prepare almost past time maybe. You needed to be stocking up on food guns, ammo, basic household supplies like soap, papergoods, cleaning supplies, good sturdy clothes including extra socks, underwear and extra shoes and boots, cash (I myself have been putting up change for the past few years both for the metal content and the fact that using change places to make what purchases you can will move you down the the list of possible marks during shtf), tools, things you buy everyday start buying two and put one up.
As the LDS say “When the emergency is upon us the time for preparedness has past.”
Again I like to recomend FReeper’s ChocoChipCookie Blog The Survival Mom (Please Blog Police let this one slide!) Where you can get lots of useful information like:
http://thesurvivalmom.com/2011/11/20/8-morale-boosters-for-any-worst-case-scenario/
http://thesurvivalmom.com/2010/02/02/survival-priorities-the-rule-of-three/
And More
Also there is Ferfal’s Blog a survivor of Argentina’s first collapse:
And there is Selco’s Blog a Bosnian War survivor at:
“There is no greater disaster than to underestimate danger. Underestimation can be fatal.”
Glad you asked, as it made me consider my inventory.
I have enough self defense ammo and weapons and back ups, but, look like my hunting inventory could use a little back up.
Indeed. The authors of “A Failure of Civility” and our own Travis McGee would agree that survival depends on an effective ‘team’ or tribe wherever you end up.
“...there’s about a 50% chance things will go terribly wrong, I’m not ready to commit to prepping.”
Storing water (having a way to sanitize water), food, protection, meds, heat, cooling, etc. is life insurance. Right now, you have no life insurance but believe there is one change in two, you will need it. If you have a family, I wouldn’t put their lives in jeopardy with those kinds of odds. I hope you change your mind before it is too late.
“...consume my life. In that case it’s a direct violation of “take no thought for tomorrow...”
You likely have a job in order to provide the necessities of life. Using the quote above, you are violating that now.
Scripture relating to preparedness:
Ezekiel 38:7 Be thou prepared, and prepare for thyself, thou, and all thy company that are assembled unto thee, and be thou a guard unto them.
Hebrews 11:7 By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith.
Luke 22:36 Then said he unto them, But now, he that hath a purse, let him take it, and likewise his scrip: and he that hath no sword, let him sell his garment, and buy one.
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.
I have molds for casting bullets that I plan on using just for hunting. No thick skinned game here that can’t be killed by a 150-200 grain cast bullet.
“The day may arrive when a pound of tobacco will be worth more than a pound of gold.”
- Pat Frank, “How to Survive the H-Bomb & Why”, 1962.
You are so screwed, but at least you have your ramen.
I work it this way - every so often I do an inventory and if I have a firearm for which I don't have much ammo, I buy ammo, but if I have ammo I don't have a firearm for, Hooyah! I get to buy a new firearm. I turned up some M1 carbine ammo a couple of months ago that I got God knows where (my late Dad's ammo locker, most likely), and so, well, you know...
Storage is always an issue, but a little ingenuity may help to alleviate it - purchase some doilies and slip-covers and stack the stuff just right and voila! Instant furniture. You'll need a ready-service locker as well, though, because you don't want to be disassembling yer sofa in the middle of the Superbowl party if you need to blast some zombies or some fans of the other team.
I’ve shot 10s of thousans od rounds of Russian ammo including Tula through AKs, ARs, Mini 14 with never a problem. Never seen anyone have a problem with it. Why the bad rap?
You can blame all the new gun purchasers after Sandy Hook & the legislative nightmares in CT & NY.
Though it was impossible to get 22lr bricks, I’m glad gun & ammo sales went through the roof.
Means more people are paying attention.
The steel case ammo seems to have more tendency to get stuck in the chamber. Some claim the Tula is a little under-powered as well. AK 7.62 ammo has a tapered case so is usually less of a problem. You might get more extractor wear with the steel case as well.
Taking no thought, and making it a way of life are two different things. That’s the point I was making.
A barter economy is very temporary and short-lived. Gold has been money for 3000 years.
You should have enough that if you divided it into 100 equal stacks, an individual stack would alarm a journalist.
Dirty powder is the most obvious. It’s no big deal if you are diligent and disciplined in cleaning your firearm.
Jams are arguably more common with the Russian ‘brass’ although that is more subjective.
Thirdly the ‘rap’ includes accelerated wear and tear from the casings and irregular tolerances.
Glad you have had good results. My ‘cheap’ ammo is PMC.
That looks like a good start ;-)
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.