I think I have a valid question this time...

[Colinb913]

For those of you that prep (I am not one, but I do see the validity of it)...

I assume you stockpile ammunition in addition to other supplies. So, do you buy the WWB Value Pack wadcutters, or do you buy the $50 Federal HSTs?

Sorry, that was too specific, do you all buy the cheap, but reliable plinking ammo, or do you stick to the high grade stuff?

I could see where there is strength in numbers, but in a SHTF scenario, I think you would want the reliable expansion, because you wouldn't be shooting "just for fun".

Am I right or wrong here? Sorry guys, no bacon in this poll, I am really curious.

 

[.452browning]

It varies for me. In my rifles I just stick to FMJ. I have some PSP and what not but not a lot. Shotgun I have a HUGE variety of shot size.

More specifically handgun. About 10-15% of my supply is HP ammo. In a SHTF scenario my rifle is the go to weapon. If I have to resort to a handgun and use 150-200rds of HP's and I am still alive it's a miracle.

 

[Trigger Time]

This is a great discussion you started and one that i learned a lesson from the hard way a few months ago.
I wont get specific about quantity but for my pistol ammo i had put away "X" amount of the best self defense ammo that my pistol model liked the best. (Sealed in Mylar and 5 gallon buckets with rubber gaskets). I put it away to forget about it and hope i never needed it. And ammo is like money in the bank only worth more than paper and ink. I never planned on shooting it.
So fast foreword a couple years and when the recent ammo crisis hit and i wanted to shoot after feeling better after health issues, i couldn't because i had only 100 rounds of ball ammo for the range. Which is nothing.
so I ended up buying some at outrageously high prices and traded for some more. So I paid for my lack of fore sight. Now that prices have went down i won't make the same mistake again.
but for shtf i prefer the best.

for rifle and shotgun i had range ammo the same as my saved ammo so it wasnt an issue.

 

[Stschil]

I started laying in a good supply of .22LR about 3 years ago. I would buy 2 to 4 bulk boxes a week more because it can't be reloaded and I use it to practice. I looked for sales on reg handgun and rifle ammo as well, but focused more on stocking up in powders, brass, and projectiles. Consequently, I have not been forces to pay the outlandish prices that many are complaining about now.

 

[shibumiseeker]

I reload. I stock components, not factory ammo. Other than the above mentioned .22lr, of which I have lots of bulk packs and a fair amount of quality hunting/sd.

It really depends on what you are prepping for. It's very unlikely anyone will survive multiple gun battles so from that standpoint having tons of premium ammo is not a good strategy. But if you are prepping for general shortages then bulk ammo and some premium ammo make good sense.

 

[spectre327]

I stock on the cheapest my gun will function with flawlessly. A good rule is to always have a minimum of 500 ends available and an additional x amount that you can safely carry in a bug out situation for as long as possible.

 

[j4jenk]

I go by the store what you use rule. This leaves me with a nice mix of ball, cast lead plinkers, and JHPs for various hand gun calibers.

For rifle calibers there's not as much variation. I just go with what works best for each one.

Shotguns, a little of everything.

My ammo strategy is a little different than other things. Food, water, medical, fuel, and other "prepper" type items are stored in quantities designed to keep us going for X amount of time until normal supply lines reopen. Ammo is stored with the idea that the EPA could ban lead bullets or some politician could get a major sin tax attached to each round tomorrow.

 

[pinshooter45]

I stockpile whenever stuff goes on sale!

 

[spectre327]

I stockpile whenever stuff goes on sale!

+1

if you have what you can afford, it is better than not having anything or getting spoiled by expensive specialized ammo

 

[SSGSAD]

I reload, so that is my "plinking" stash..... Except for my "Match" ammo. I then stock X number of "tried and true" rounds, for all my needs.....

 

[docapos]

I always keep in mind that the military can't even use Hollow point ammo and they are doing pretty good.

 

[Tlam13]

I stockpile whenever stuff goes on sale!

Yep, me too. And reload. Can never have too much ammo. Shoot more, practice more, survive longer

 

[darinb]

Lately I get what I can get and practice immediate actin drills,lol.

 

[Giddaltti]

I buy my ammo each time we shop for groceries. A mix of defense and target, as stated the military does not use hollow points. I'm making the switch over to reloading and have been buying components for my first winter run. I own 1 single shot shot gun perhaps I should get another just not my thing. but I can always trade for one I do however buy ammo for it. I also know lots of folks have them so I tend to stick with higher caliber firearms. I just realized as my kids have gotten older they can shoot higher caliber rifles. I/we visit the range once a month.

 

[Bennettjh]

I stock both, mainly FMJ though since it's cheaper and works better than JHP in some firearms.

 

[CathyInBlue]

This kind of question is directly analogous to "stocks or bonds"? Whether you're the bullish stock trader or the bearish bond holder, the idea is to grow your money based on what is happening in the world of finance. In the case of the question of what ammo should you stockpile, it comes down to the same attitudes about where the financial world is going, but adds aspects of the world as a whole. The economy might be fine, but suddenly, there's upheaval in the political realm unrelated to finances which leads to massive impact on the ammo markets.

If you expect the world to keep spinning on its axis just fine, you prolly have enough money flow to afford to stock pile lots of nothing but the good stuff. If you are hit hard and suffering and don't expect that situation to correct itself any time soon, you prolly will just barely be able to lay aside a little bit of the recreational plinking type ammo. Everything else lays on the continuum between those end points. The more money to make the more ammo you lay up as a whole and the higher the qualities that ammo holds. Capital One asks, "What's in your wallet?" Rosalind Capital asks, "What's in your safe?" I ask, "What's in your magazines?" In terms of preparing for the future vs living in the now, those questions are all identical.

 

[Tactical Dave]

Plinking rounds worked great before hollow points were invented... The military does not even use hollow points and we see how they do... I keep a little bit of both.

 

[udchemist]

i stockpile wwb - but my gun feeds everything

 

[dontcha]

If you have need of more tha a couple of mags full of pistol ammo, you won't make it. :-) Not much more than that with the rife, or you'll need a ton of luck. 223 ball ammo is no joke as a manstopper, but i prefer the 60 gr Nosler Parition sp's, for deep penetration with expansion. I've got 60 rds of it for the trip to the caches, 100 more at the cache circle, and also a couple hundred rds of ball. The main thing is the 500 rds of 60 gr Aquila subsonics for the .22lr conversion unit for the AR. Between the availabilty of .22lr and 223, found beside dead bodies, I'll be fine.

if you simply know to not try to go far, get underground and stay there, except at night, for short forays, for a year, the fighting, fires and diseases will almost all just pass you by. You guys can keep all this firefight stuff, especially with pistols (vs the longarms that everyone else will be using!) I don't want any.

 

[erice1984]

plinking ammo, for sure. If it gets that bad, I will be scavenging.