quote:

Originally posted by RHINOWSO:

quote:

Originally posted by YellowJacket:
"enough" for what?

Enough to shoot without a care in the world when another ammunition shortage hits.

Enough to shoot at cheaper prices for the foreseeable future.

Let me ask a different question: What is your weekly ammo budget (actual rounds expended, not dollars), and how long can you maintain that burn rate without buying more ammo?

I've asked myself "Health-wise, how long will I still be able to shoot?" Looking at the average age of elderly shooters at the gun ranges & IDPA matches, and considering my family health history I've settled on 75 years old as the point that I'll probably back off shooting heavy rifles and pistol calibers with any regularity. From that point I'll transition to mostly rimfire. By 80, I'll probably be in a nursing home and not shooting anymore. (These are not goals, just a point of reference to do some "how much is enough" math.)

Based on that assumption, I can currently shoot 51 rounds per week and have nothing remaining when I head off to the nursing home. I don't shoot every weekend, so I'm okay (for now) with that number. Overall, it's not about how much I currently have in storage, but more about how much ammo can I burn per week without buying more. When I retire I want to have everything paid for and paid off, including all the ammunition I ever plan to shoot.

quote:

Originally posted by Tailhook 84:
I've asked myself "Health-wise, how long will I still be able to shoot?" Looking at the average age of elderly shooters at the gun ranges & IDPA matches, and considering my family health history I've settled on 75 years old as the point that I'll probably back off shooting heavy rifles and pistol calibers with any regularity. From that point I'll transition to mostly rimfire. By 80, I'll probably be in a nursing home and not shooting anymore. (These are not goals, just a point of reference to do some "how much is enough" math.)

Based on that assumption, I can currently shoot 51 rounds per week and have nothing remaining when I head off to the nursing home. I don't shoot every weekend, so I'm okay (for now) with that number. Overall, it's not about how much I currently have in storage, but more about how much ammo can I burn per week without buying more. When I retire I want to have everything paid for and paid off, including all the ammunition I ever plan to shoot.

There is substantial wisdom in this post. Bravo.

quote:

Originally posted by fritz:

quote:

Originally posted by Tailhook 84:
I've asked myself "Health-wise, how long will I still be able to shoot?" Looking at the average age of elderly shooters at the gun ranges & IDPA matches, and considering my family health history I've settled on 75 years old as the point that I'll probably back off shooting heavy rifles and pistol calibers with any regularity. From that point I'll transition to mostly rimfire. By 80, I'll probably be in a nursing home and not shooting anymore. (These are not goals, just a point of reference to do some "how much is enough" math.)

Based on that assumption, I can currently shoot 51 rounds per week and have nothing remaining when I head off to the nursing home. I don't shoot every weekend, so I'm okay (for now) with that number. Overall, it's not about how much I currently have in storage, but more about how much ammo can I burn per week without buying more. When I retire I want to have everything paid for and paid off, including all the ammunition I ever plan to shoot.

There is substantial wisdom in this post. Bravo.

+1

I've done similar,

I already have a smallbore setup, high power setup, and bullseye setup,
meaning when and if I retire, I will be able to compete (and may be competitive) in each discipline with out any expenditures except match fees and travel,

I have plenty of 5.56/3006/38spl/45acp to use, and reloading supplies to make lots (and lots) more,

do need to pick up some more 22 eventually, only setting on about 6 bricks and a pile of smaller boxes,


I also have a nice pile of 303 for the enfields set aside, not that I will likely ever shoot that up,
one must be prepared

I'm 61 this year, family history has been 70-75 over the last couple decades ... people are living longer now ... but my health isn't as good as my father or grandfathers (on either side)

So how long I can shoot is a crap shoot.
If I have anything left I hope to have a couple grand-kids that I can hand it down to ... but they better start getting here as I don't have any shooters in the family yet.

If there's no one to hand it down too the wife can sell it with my guns and reloading stuff ... and she not only knows what and how much I spent on stuff, we have some trustworthy friends to help her when I'm gone ... and she's 15 years younger than I, so she'll make good use out of whatever she can get out of stuff.

I don't keep a specific count, but I do try to put extra money towards ammo each month. The stack of ammo cans gets impressive at times, and then classes cut it back down.

quote:

Originally posted by fritz:
IMO competitors should have a minimum of one season of ammo on hand, plus any other consumable components that are expected to be used during the season. Ammo shortages during some administrations make it more prudent to have two years of ammo on hand.

But be wary of.....



I no longer have ammo in my possession.

Agreed. I was caught with insufficient reserves to shoot on a regular basis during the Obama post-Sandyhook panic. I was complacent because prior to that I could just replace whenever I hit 500 rounds or so. Never again. You don’t have too much ammo unless you’ve cracked the concrete slab on which it sits.

What’s funny is I have enough ammo to bring me through the dry spells and I have done similar math although more along the lines of what if I lost my income.

I have always liked airguns but the last .22 shortage really pushed me in that direction vs .22. I have a fair bit of .22LR on hand but honestly I am more apt to grab an air pistol or rifle to scratch my .22 itch range trip or not. That being said I have a TON of pellets of various types squirreled away.

Basically I can do some kind of shooting for a good long long time.

How much ammo do I have?

I really don't know.

But it is mostly stacked in ammo cans in the bedroom. My wife used to ask how much weight the floor would hold, and I would laugh.

I'm not laughing anymore......

I’ve got a few thousand of common calibers and about 8k of 22LR but I add more here and there. The only thing I don’t have hundreds/thousands of is .32, .357, .308, .30-06 and 12 gauge. Just started buying 308 and I’m working on all types for the 12 gauge.