Ammunition: How to Store and How Much?

[AZ Prepper]

I thought a great discussion might be about storing ammunition, both how much and methods of storage. Please share your thoughts and reasons on this...

[wookiee33]

Well, there are 2 reasons for storing ammunition. First, hunting and the ability to obtain fresh meat when and where available. Second, defense. Depending on your individual situation whether rural or urban, and whether surrounded by neighbors or isolated. For hunting generally a larger caliber bolt or lever action rifle is used. Sometimes a shotgun for fowl. The pros of these in a defensive situation is that larger caliber bullets do more damage and generally are more accurate to a longer range. The cons are generally MUCH smaller magazine capacities, slower firing rates and higher cost in ammunition. For self defense any weapon, or thing when it comes down to it will do. For a self defense weapon, generally you want a semi automatic rifle in a military caliber, either 7.62mm or 5.56mm. For hunting purposes I'd recommend 350-500 rounds of ammunition. For defensive ammunition, a minimum of 1,000 rounds per gun. For storage, in cool, dry conditions, I keep mine in plastic storage containers with packs of dessicant to absorb moisture. The discussion of what types of weapons and what calibers are "best" can wait for another discussion thread.

[hcardwell93]

Try to avoid extreme hot or cold conditions where you store your ammo to extend the service life.

There are many brands of ammo that lacquer seal their ammo (usually corrosive steel case surplus) to guard against moisture. This opens up a new can of worms as the lacquer can gum up your action...

After each person figures out which firearms they want we go for 5,000 per person.

[M4wilson]

Personal experience with it?

[hcardwell93]

Me, no. It's one of those age old debates that may or may not happen.

"Great taste vs. Less filling"

[shine]

my family (including extended) has decided to go with the ar 15/ak47 for our standard.

i was gonna mix m193 and some of the wolf/bear/dog/rodent 62 grain HP. for our ARs
would you guys suggest a different ammo (m855 or s109) or something like that?

[hcardwell93]

I shoot anything in 5.56 that makes that neat "boom" sound and hits a 10" rock at 300 yards from my 14.5" bbl.

[BackBlast]

my family (including extended) has decided to go with the ar 15/ak47 for our standard.

i was gonna mix m193 and some of the wolf/bear/dog/rodent 62 grain HP. for our ARs
would you guys suggest a different ammo (m855 or s109) or something like that?

To quote some more experienced than I...

It's the indian, not the arrow...

Well, assuming that the arrow isn't broken and basically works.

I like heavy OTM rounds for their good all around performance. Good ballistic coefficient for range, good fragmentation for maximizing close range damage. Average with barriers and armor. I do store some SS109 as well in case that penatrator might come in handy...

[M4wilson]

I try to get as much quality as I can. M855 is great with a 20 rifle, not so good with an M4 (barrel to short to get decent/enough velocity for the bullet to do what it was designed to do).
Wolf and the other "cheap ammo is ok for training, but I would rather have some real 5.56 (M193, M855/ss109, Mk 262 etc.) as they are "hotter" than the .223. You can shot .223 in a rifle chambered for 5.56mm but not the other way around or you run the risk of over PSI and KB (ka boom) in the weapon.

Bulk buys/group buys are probably the best way to get lots of ammo for not a lot of $$.
If I need to turn cover into concealment I will use my 300WM as the petite 5.56 lacks in that dept.
The 5,000 rounds is a good solid # for each rifle, enough to train with, barter with and defend with. get different bullet types/weights as your budget allows. 2k rnds of "meh" ammo is better than 100rnds of premium $75 a box ammo that you can't afford to shoot/replace or train with. Think of ammo as food storage. Before you shoot some, buy some to replace it, store in a cool dry place and rotate stock as you can afford it.
10,000 rnds of .22LR will set you back @ $400ish, get the 22lr conversion and practice practice practice.

[M4wilson]

I wanted to add to get the best quality you can afford. If all you can do is wolf or the other com block, then by all means get that, but some of us will get the cheapest because we are well cheap and may not understand why a couple of hundred feet per second higher velocity is important when it really matters.
I hope that I didn't com off as an ammo snob.

[fedorthedog]

The one point I haven't seen made is that I try to buy brass cased rounds to allow me to reload after thing go bad. I stock bullets powder and primers to allow me to refresh my ammo supply. I also have lead and gas checks for pistol rounds. As we all know it is diffuclut to find brass cased 762x39.

[TheMadTrucker]

I keep my ammo in ammo cans. There kept in the basement to stay cool. I am going to stop getting ammo when I have 1,500 rounds for every weapon.

[DMGNUT]

I'm well beyond the 1,500 per weapon ratio, but keep right on buying... as more finances become available, due to the regular training which depletes it at a steady pace.

[Crusis]

I doubt that 1,500 rounds is enough for .22LR. Here's why I say that.

I prep as if I will not have access to anything for the rest of my life. I don't want to be a scavenger, or worse, a looter/raider, so I try to ensure I have the critical items stocked up.

I have about 10,000 rounds of .22LR because it's cheaper than dirt compared to other rounds, and because of the following formula.

3 rounds per day. 3 decades to hunt in my life, more would be nice for the kids. But 5 decades is probably the most ammo will be reliable for.

3 rounds x 365 days = 1,095 rounds.
1095 rounds x 10 years = 10,950 rounds. So I have about a decade of ammo at 3 rounds a day, or 3 decades at 1 round.
10,950 x 3 = 32,850 rounds

550 round boxes here locally are about $25. So another 22,000 rounds is $1000. That's not a bad price to pay for a 30 year supply of ammo at 3 rounds per day.

The reason I choose three rounds per day is that I have a family of five, and I believe that is what it will take to put small game on the table often enough to be useful. Just a number I made up really, but the price isn't unreasonable so the number works for me.

I also have 2 break action pellet rifles that I have a large number of pellets for. I'm certainly not above eating pigeon and magpie should the need arise.

[Gearjammer]

Milsurp Ammo cans!! they are water tight and guess what they are made for ammo!! Anywho, i keep the rounds on stripper clips with a guide or two each can for my M1A, M-1 and AR15's.

My garand is a .308 rebarrel i have cans of .308 loaded in 8 rd. Garand clips too. Also my loaded mags are stored in ammo cans for my M1A and AR15's. All rounds wiped down with silicon gun rags before being put in the cans.

[RMTactical]

Yup, milsurp ammo cans for sure. I keep my ammo in the house, away from the elements. Although I know a lot of guys who leave ammo in their garage or shed.