2023 ... How much Defensive Ammo to keep on hand.?

[FNFAN]

Oh.... yeah, there are glock 19 and Colt 6920 kits sprinkled around the country currently with trusted individuals, all with a combat load x2 of pre filled mags and basic concealed carry gear, Ifak/TQ and basic chest rig. Plus I'm holding some stuff for others as well...

I'm not sure if I'm too paranoid or not paranoid enough anymore honestly....

Nah, paranoid would be burying a couple G19's/ AR's & ammo in gun storage bags inside double walled PVC in a national forest. That would be nuts!

[Totem Polar]

All good points and a different/better way of looking at the question. The advantage of a smaller supply of “party ammo” would be that as you used some up you could replace it with theoretically newer/better ammo over the years.

^^^This is an interesting point. My previous concerns with keeping an abundant supply of “carry ammo” over the decades has left me with not insignificant quantities of stuff like Federal’s iteration of the FBI load, and the same company’s 9BP.

I keep waiting for a good, revolver-friendly class at an *outdoor* range so I can run a K-frame and just shoot up the last of that yesteryear FBI shit. I’ll keep the Remington LSWCHP+P stash though…

[revchuck38]

^^^^From what I’ve read, you could do worse than using the 9BP load. It had a good reputation back in the day.

[Duelist]

^^^This is an interesting point. My previous concerns with keeping an abundant supply of “carry ammo” over the decades has left me with not insignificant quantities of stuff like Federal’s iteration of the FBI load, and the same company’s 9BP.

I keep waiting for a good, revolver-friendly class at an *outdoor* range so I can run a K-frame and just shoot up the last of that yesteryear FBI shit. I’ll keep the Remington LSWCHP+P stash though…

Nothing wrong with 9BP or FBI loads. 9BP should work in any functioning 9mm, and will punch through a large heavy range cow leg bone.

As far as a revolver class: have you heard about the Revolver Round-up that will be held next month at Gunsite? they’ll do it again next year, if you can’t make it this time.

[Kyle Reese]

I've always purchased defensive 9mm ammunition (vetted loads on DocGKR's List) during times of good availability and price. From late November 2016-February 2020, civilian shooters enjoyed widespread availability of both training and duty ammunition, so during that time I purchased both as funds permitted. As a general rule, duty/defensive handgun ammo used in my EDC got shot annually, and if I attended a training course where I expended 1,000 rounds of 9mm FMJ, I'd try to replace with 2,000 (funds permitting).

What do I keep on hand today? Probably 2,000 rounds of 9mm JHP and several thousand more FMJ. Not a clue what I have on hand for 5.56, as I don't carry a carbine CONUS, but I do carry a defensive handgun as often as I can.

[fatdog]

My calculus is not based on any event like civil unrest, or battle of any sort, etc. We moved way out to the country 3 decades ago, nearest softdrink machine is still six miles away. Antifa couldn't find the place if I sent them a map and my neighbors would likely pick them off anyway a mile or two up the road before they got this far.

However I have lived through 3 very bad ammo droughts, one total loss house fire, and 10 years of the Klinton gun and magazine ban.

My ammo calculation is what would I need in terms of following my normal carry ammo rotation and some reasonable level of practice and a match or two per month for a 3 year period. That is what my buffer needs to be.

Standard cap magazines, I need minimum 8 in good condition for every gun (not just every type, double that number if I have two guns which I do for every carry gun). Yes, quite overboard. But most of us who were competitors and shooters when the ban came are now magazine hoarders.

Dispersion, not saying where, others have identified all the various options, but 20% of my magazine and ammo stockpile is dispersed between 2 other reasonably secure locations, that I learned from our house fire. Also one each of a couple of platforms I trust at each location. The correct term is having a disaster recovery plan.

All of my preps described here are not paranoid actions based on things I can imagine. They are all reasonable preps if you can afford them (I can) based on real world shit I have lived through and learned from.

[Suvorov]

But most of us who were competitors and shooters when the ban came are now magazine hoarders.

I resemble that remark!

All good points and I have a similar philosophy (though not as well dispersed). The way I see it, if I am well stocked for training needs then I will be well stocked for “Scenerio X” (although with slightly less optimal ammo).

[BillSWPA]

My calculus is not based on any event like civil unrest, or battle of any sort, etc. We moved way out to the country 3 decades ago, nearest softdrink machine is still six miles away. Antifa couldn't find the place if I sent them a map and my neighbors would likely pick them off anyway a mile or two up the road before they got this far.

However I have lived through 3 very bad ammo droughts, one total loss house fire, and 10 years of the Klinton gun and magazine ban.

My ammo calculation is what would I need in terms of following my normal carry ammo rotation and some reasonable level of practice and a match or two per month for a 3 year period. That is what my buffer needs to be.

Standard cap magazines, I need minimum 8 in good condition for every gun (not just every type, double that number if I have two guns which I do for every carry gun). Yes, quite overboard. But most of us who were competitors and shooters when the ban came are now magazine hoarders.

Dispersion, not saying where, others have identified all the various options, but 20% of my magazine and ammo stockpile is dispersed between 2 other reasonably secure locations, that I learned from our house fire. Also one each of a couple of platforms I trust at each location. The correct term is having a disaster recovery plan.

All of my preps described here are not paranoid actions based on things I can imagine. They are all reasonable preps if you can afford them (I can) based on real world shit I have lived through and learned from.

Good points.

[spence]

I wasn’t super huge on having a significant stock of carry ammo until SG ran a heck of a sale on Ranger bonded 147’s in Dec 2019. I bought a case and figured I’d run it forever. Wound up moving to town and switched to GD 124+p because I’d been previously likely to encounter four legged critters.

However, during 2020, the LGS got a bunch of HST 124+p and the price was good. So I bought some of them, and recently buy a couple boxes pretty much any time I order target loads. This has also led to HST 147’s being in the mix.

I don’t find having 1000+ rounds to be crazy at all. Vetting a new gun or rezeroing due to pulling an optic off can eat a bit fairly quick. I don’t have more than a few hundred rounds of a couple flavors of .223/5.56 defensive loads. 12 ga is the same story. There’s enough Flite Control to manage the needs of the moment. I will grab a case of the Fiocchi OO when I get an extra couple dollars, it patterns next best to FC and the price is right in comparison.

[Chomps]

I wasn’t super huge on having a significant stock of carry ammo until SG ran a heck of a sale on Ranger bonded 147’s in Dec 2019. I bought a case and figured I’d run it forever. Wound up moving to town and switched to GD 124+p because I’d been previously likely to encounter four legged critters.

However, during 2020, the LGS got a bunch of HST 124+p and the price was good. So I bought some of them, and recently buy a couple boxes pretty much any time I order target loads. This has also led to HST 147’s being in the mix.

I don’t find having 1000+ rounds to be crazy at all. Vetting a new gun or rezeroing due to pulling an optic off can eat a bit fairly quick. I don’t have more than a few hundred rounds of a couple flavors of .223/5.56 defensive loads. 12 ga is the same story. There’s enough Flite Control to manage the needs of the moment. I will grab a case of the Fiocchi OO when I get an extra couple dollars, it patterns next best to FC and the price is right in comparison.

Velocity has cases of 124 Federal HST on sale now. ($599, free shipping) Not the lowest Ive seen, but a decent price for factory boxed. 😉😎


I myself have roughly 3400 rounds of Federal HST divided between 124 & 147gr.
Appx another 5-6k of FMJ. So I feel Im Zombie proof atm! 🤣😎😉. (Got screwed out of a 1K of Norma 124 by C-A-L Ranch just today) 🤬🤬🤷*♂️