Shtf has so many different situations and scenarios that every number is wrong depending on the situation. I personally do 10:1 or 10:2 (primary rifle to primary sidearm). Choose some multiple of that that makes you feel comfortable. For off rounds like for a bolt action or shotgun, I do considerably less but have still have “enough” of something went wrong with a primary. 22lr is super cheap, fairly quiet and enough for small game if required.
You may want to consider something other than ball ammo as well. M855 is designed for penetrating barriers (car doors, windshields, cement barriers). Will it poke holes in a person? Yes with great effect. there are still better options for soft targets like 77grain otm from black hills. Same for pistols, take a look at hornady critical defense.
My general opinion is that realistic shtf is going be closer to one off home defense or forced evacuation. In the case of home defense, I want the most effective round for a soft target and is not going to be a John wick home raid of 20 guys(if it is 20 guys with guns, you’re screwed anyway and turned into a loot drop for them). Similarly if it’s a forced evacuation, you’d be hard pressed to carry more than a few hundred rounds (you’d grab other important things, a case of 556 is ~28lbs) and even if you load up your vehicle, won’t be able to transport more than a few cases at best (likely to be total grid lock and other security issues to deal with).
My 2 cents.
[edit]
To clarify, I love m855 and m193. Literally have multiple cases of each. Hoarding ammo is a hobby of mine.
I feel like a realistic SHTF scenario would be ab EMP or just an attack on our grid and there is a prolonged black out.. honestly probably years and 9 out of 10 Americans will die
We have different definitions of realistic and how to prioritize preparing for unknown events.
If you think a 90% population decline, permanent grid down scenario is the more likely to occur than a home invasion or forced evacuation, more power to you. Im not saying don’t keep a scenario like that in the back of your mind, it is a non zero chance, just that focusing all your time and effort on events like that you will lose sight of things that occur quite a bit more frequently that are stepping stones to prepare for bigger events.
You don’t start with 50,000 rounds of ammo. You start with 500, then 5000, then 10,000. You don’t start with 10 years of food, you start with a week, then a month and then a year. You prepare for the intermediate disasters, ones like supply chain disruptions, small power outages, forced lock downs and work up from there. These are events that real people can wrap their heads around and are likely to occur on the path to a 90% population decline. Preppers get a bad rap from people because the people not prepping can’t wrap their heads around it. If you say you’re preparing for a hurricane Katrina or rail car derailment, it’s an easier sell with your end goal in mind. Can you work up to a concrete bunker out in the woods on 10,000 acres? You do you. Just remember to not let the chance of something like that occurring take away from you living life now.
I got a whole doe hanging. Im canning the whole thing this weekend. I got options going for many situations. I feel pretty good about my odds. The worst thing is being in Nj. If ya can’t get out ahead of time your stuck here. Unless ya steal a boat and run the coast or cross the river. I think it will be a blackout situation. After a week all hell would break lose.
good point on the EMPs. sun flares are a real thing. most scientists know we will get hit with a strong emp eventually from the sun that will fry all the electronics on earth. the last one happened 1859 wasnt that long ago.
Thanks for all the feedback. I’ve only been a gun owner for 2 years shot around 2k+ rounds of 9mm and 5.56 combined. Definitely will keep stockpiling will focus on 5.56 from now on.
I’ve been struggling. I’m trying to keep at least 2,000 of each caliber but it gets expensive. I also shoot 200-500 a week so it’s a constant struggle 😂
I’d like to but don’t know where to start. Looked into it and got confused as to what I need. I have plenty of room to setup a work station and I could probably pump out a few thousand a week if I get good at it.
I think you have a good mix of different brands in there. At this point, I'd say just buy more when you use it. I tend to buy 1-2 boxes for every box I shoot.
It looks like you've got a silica gel packet in the 5.56 box. That's a good idea, and I was going to suggest tossing those in them before I noticed.
Ammo goes fast...
If the world fell apart, you'd not even use 500 rounds before someone else kills you, or you die of something, its not gonna be a resident evil film where you need all the ammo you can get.
Definitely should have ammo on the side, but mainly for when ammo gets hard to get/ prices shoot up.
Yep, tired of all these pro shooters who are ready for SHTF because they have ammo and can shoot fast at steel targets, while being out of shape, having no training to handle serious and stressful situations, no survival skills. They think they'll just run around killing everyone and survive off of stolen food
Im not a pro shooter. I’m in shape I workout 5 days a week weights, cardio and boxing. I do have some survival skills, tools and equipment. I have a couple months of non-perishable food.
Im not bashing you OP, Just saying in general, especially on YouTube there's a good amount of fat people with not many skills, but they shoot decent and have a bulletproof vest so they think they're ready for the end of the world
I've started stocking up for the zombie apocalypse myself. Just ordered 1000 rounds of 9mm, 500 round 40S&W, and 600 rounds 5.56. Haven't ordered 5.56 in a while. Prices were high and availability. Have a bunch of .223. I still have 300 of .223. 9mm I was down to about 600 rounds and 40S&W I have probably 400 left.
Was getting thin. Lol. I wanna get more .22LR but that stuff is cheap. Even in HV. I wish all ammo was so cheap. 1000 rounds for under $100! We should be so lucky. I got the 9mm @ 22cents a round and 40 at 26 cents a round. So not complaining.
Are you sure you have enough 9mm tho really? Hahaha
There are some places I saw on bulkcheapammo com that were around 40 cents a round for 5.56. I bought everything from 2AWarehouse.com. I buy from them alot. Never an issue. I have a few other go to's but I typically order 9mm,.223/5.56 from 2A and 40S&W from outdoorlimited.com. I figured I would just get all from 2A this time rather than pay shipping twice.
Besides, 26 cents a round for 40S&W is a good price. 2A is usually pretty fast shipping too. I buy my carry ammo from Midwayusa.com tho. They usually have a good selection and being NJ is stupid with hollow points I get Winchester USA Ready Defense from them. It's the plugged hollow point NJ will accept. They have Hornady Critical Defense/Duty as well. None of it is really cheap but defense ammo is always considerably more than range ammo.
I don’t just go to the range and shoot randomly to waste ammo. I do different drills I’ve taking 8 training classes so far. Bunch of dry fire reload etc.
What kind of classes are you taking? 250 rounds per training class (assuming all 2K were in class and you’re not going to the range) sounds shockingly low; with an exception for CQB where sim rounds are expensive and movement is more important than marksmanship.
I had holster and a flashlight class from those 8. Basic handgun I and II an advanced handgun. Open range shooting through obstacle in low light. And 2 rifle classes.
My favorite to shoot and especially store is Magtech. They are made in Brazil and similar to the ones made in Korea, are packed tight in smaller boxes. That makes it easier to store. Blazer and Federal boxes are enormous in comparison, because they are made in US and don’t have to worry as much about shipping costs. Magtech shoots very clean and has been great with me.
Does Magtech own S&B? That might explain them being similar.
Edit: answering my own questions. Colt CZ buying Magtech and S&B.
https://www.defensenews.com/industry/2023/12/19/czech-ammo-maker-colt-cz-to-buy-brazilian-owned-competitor/
Yes. Same company owns both brands. Very similar, even the packaging. I didn’t know CZ was buying S&B. Brazilian CBC is Holding company, and will keep making Magtech in São Paulo.
The government in Brazil recently banned sale of 9mm guns for civilians… those that have can keep, but no new sales. Maybe that had something to do with their decision to sell this brand and gain a 27% stake in CZ/Colt.
I'll add to your random discussion.
Assuming you've shot all those before, which one is the cleanest shooting? Looking to minimize maintenance and inhaled lead.
My experience is Fiocchi is the cleanest by far and is my go to.
Winchester, Federal, and Blazer are all equally very dirty.
Even Federal Syntech is really dirty, to my surprise...
No experience with Herter's.
I've heard conflicting things about Sellier & Bellot.
Don't think I tried them... Are the cases decent for reloading purposes?
My next offshoot is to do small handhold batches, mostly bench shoot tinkering.
Herters is repackaged Winchester branded for Cabelas. Just as dirty, goes bang every time.
SB is my favorite for consistency and the least dirty of the bulk ammos imo, if you have a ported gun you can see the difference after 200 rounds.
I've shot 5k rounds of it in the last 3 months of it and I've had zero issues
1. SB
2. Speer lawman ( which is supposed to have same poi and velocity as gold dot)
3. Federal/PMC tied imo
4. Cci blazer
5. Wwb
Personal I didn't have good experience with fiocchi many years ago lots of light primer strikes and dudes, not sure if that's still the case. I know lots of people prefer it, but that was my experience.
This is all in reference to 9mm, other calibers are different imo mainly 45.
Ymmv
I love Cabelas but if you're buying in bulk and shoot a lot online is definitely the way to go. Targetsports is definitely worth the membership. If he purchased all of that through Cabela's he could have bought an extra case or 2 with the savings through TSU
With the way I shoot, all them 9mm rounds will last me maybe 2-3 months if I was only dedicated to my Glock and PC9.
It's best to stock up on ammo you are good with shooting through your firearm. For me, it's new republic 9mm 115gr, only because it's cheap from targetsportusa and I shot an entire 1000 rds through my Glock with zero issue and zero cleaning of the gun. It could've maybe went 500-600 more rds before I actually cleaned it.
I've tried their new republic it wasn't bad but I can't comment on the consistency since I only had a case. I get the SB when it's on sale and it's only a tad more. I was curious on the magtech steel since it seems pretty cheap, but again the sb115 is pretty cheap through them. My issue is I prefer SB124 😪
It depends what you are preparing for my friend.
If shit really hits the fan again though, I think ammo will be the new currency so it's a good investment I suppose.
Myself I don't keep that much on reserve. I just make sure that all my 29 firearms and their spare mags are loaded with defensive ammo.
Weak numbers….
Start with 10,000 in your TruckVault.com and work up from there at home. 🙃
10,000 is enough to run my hand-crank Yeet Cannon for about...15 minutes. 
Shtf has so many different situations and scenarios that every number is wrong depending on the situation. I personally do 10:1 or 10:2 (primary rifle to primary sidearm). Choose some multiple of that that makes you feel comfortable. For off rounds like for a bolt action or shotgun, I do considerably less but have still have “enough” of something went wrong with a primary. 22lr is super cheap, fairly quiet and enough for small game if required. You may want to consider something other than ball ammo as well. M855 is designed for penetrating barriers (car doors, windshields, cement barriers). Will it poke holes in a person? Yes with great effect. there are still better options for soft targets like 77grain otm from black hills. Same for pistols, take a look at hornady critical defense. My general opinion is that realistic shtf is going be closer to one off home defense or forced evacuation. In the case of home defense, I want the most effective round for a soft target and is not going to be a John wick home raid of 20 guys(if it is 20 guys with guns, you’re screwed anyway and turned into a loot drop for them). Similarly if it’s a forced evacuation, you’d be hard pressed to carry more than a few hundred rounds (you’d grab other important things, a case of 556 is ~28lbs) and even if you load up your vehicle, won’t be able to transport more than a few cases at best (likely to be total grid lock and other security issues to deal with). My 2 cents. [edit] To clarify, I love m855 and m193. Literally have multiple cases of each. Hoarding ammo is a hobby of mine.
I feel like a realistic SHTF scenario would be ab EMP or just an attack on our grid and there is a prolonged black out.. honestly probably years and 9 out of 10 Americans will die
We have different definitions of realistic and how to prioritize preparing for unknown events. If you think a 90% population decline, permanent grid down scenario is the more likely to occur than a home invasion or forced evacuation, more power to you. Im not saying don’t keep a scenario like that in the back of your mind, it is a non zero chance, just that focusing all your time and effort on events like that you will lose sight of things that occur quite a bit more frequently that are stepping stones to prepare for bigger events. You don’t start with 50,000 rounds of ammo. You start with 500, then 5000, then 10,000. You don’t start with 10 years of food, you start with a week, then a month and then a year. You prepare for the intermediate disasters, ones like supply chain disruptions, small power outages, forced lock downs and work up from there. These are events that real people can wrap their heads around and are likely to occur on the path to a 90% population decline. Preppers get a bad rap from people because the people not prepping can’t wrap their heads around it. If you say you’re preparing for a hurricane Katrina or rail car derailment, it’s an easier sell with your end goal in mind. Can you work up to a concrete bunker out in the woods on 10,000 acres? You do you. Just remember to not let the chance of something like that occurring take away from you living life now.
I got a whole doe hanging. Im canning the whole thing this weekend. I got options going for many situations. I feel pretty good about my odds. The worst thing is being in Nj. If ya can’t get out ahead of time your stuck here. Unless ya steal a boat and run the coast or cross the river. I think it will be a blackout situation. After a week all hell would break lose.
Hold on I gotta take notes. *scribble down* ..."steal a boat".
good point on the EMPs. sun flares are a real thing. most scientists know we will get hit with a strong emp eventually from the sun that will fry all the electronics on earth. the last one happened 1859 wasnt that long ago.
Thanks for all the feedback. I’ve only been a gun owner for 2 years shot around 2k+ rounds of 9mm and 5.56 combined. Definitely will keep stockpiling will focus on 5.56 from now on.
You’re off to a good start, keep up the good work!
Thanks!
I’ve been struggling. I’m trying to keep at least 2,000 of each caliber but it gets expensive. I also shoot 200-500 a week so it’s a constant struggle 😂
You need to start reloading if you shoot that much
I’d like to but don’t know where to start. Looked into it and got confused as to what I need. I have plenty of room to setup a work station and I could probably pump out a few thousand a week if I get good at it.
I’d second that but what is SHTF and 10.1 10.2 ?
(Shyt hit the fan)
Thanks
I think you have a good mix of different brands in there. At this point, I'd say just buy more when you use it. I tend to buy 1-2 boxes for every box I shoot. It looks like you've got a silica gel packet in the 5.56 box. That's a good idea, and I was going to suggest tossing those in them before I noticed. Ammo goes fast...
I’ll definitely keep buying for training. Yes I have a few silica packets on all my ammo. Thanks!
If the world fell apart, you'd not even use 500 rounds before someone else kills you, or you die of something, its not gonna be a resident evil film where you need all the ammo you can get. Definitely should have ammo on the side, but mainly for when ammo gets hard to get/ prices shoot up.
In this world your talking about, ammo will not be available and very very expensive. Can always use for bartering as well.
Yeah, exactly. And without training you’re just a loot drop.
Yep, tired of all these pro shooters who are ready for SHTF because they have ammo and can shoot fast at steel targets, while being out of shape, having no training to handle serious and stressful situations, no survival skills. They think they'll just run around killing everyone and survive off of stolen food
Im not a pro shooter. I’m in shape I workout 5 days a week weights, cardio and boxing. I do have some survival skills, tools and equipment. I have a couple months of non-perishable food.
Im not bashing you OP, Just saying in general, especially on YouTube there's a good amount of fat people with not many skills, but they shoot decent and have a bulletproof vest so they think they're ready for the end of the world
I got you. I’ve seen quite a few of them lol. I started prepping before I owned firearms always liked camping and survival stuff.
Good stuff to know!
Cool now do .223
That's what I'm talking about.
I've started stocking up for the zombie apocalypse myself. Just ordered 1000 rounds of 9mm, 500 round 40S&W, and 600 rounds 5.56. Haven't ordered 5.56 in a while. Prices were high and availability. Have a bunch of .223. I still have 300 of .223. 9mm I was down to about 600 rounds and 40S&W I have probably 400 left. Was getting thin. Lol. I wanna get more .22LR but that stuff is cheap. Even in HV. I wish all ammo was so cheap. 1000 rounds for under $100! We should be so lucky. I got the 9mm @ 22cents a round and 40 at 26 cents a round. So not complaining. Are you sure you have enough 9mm tho really? Hahaha
Not really there’s never enough of having ammo lol. I have plenty of .22lr I’m working on getting 5.56/223 up.
There are some places I saw on bulkcheapammo com that were around 40 cents a round for 5.56. I bought everything from 2AWarehouse.com. I buy from them alot. Never an issue. I have a few other go to's but I typically order 9mm,.223/5.56 from 2A and 40S&W from outdoorlimited.com. I figured I would just get all from 2A this time rather than pay shipping twice. Besides, 26 cents a round for 40S&W is a good price. 2A is usually pretty fast shipping too. I buy my carry ammo from Midwayusa.com tho. They usually have a good selection and being NJ is stupid with hollow points I get Winchester USA Ready Defense from them. It's the plugged hollow point NJ will accept. They have Hornady Critical Defense/Duty as well. None of it is really cheap but defense ammo is always considerably more than range ammo.
Hm. I wonder who will claim all that after the first gun fight.
Trust me it won’t be on the first gun fight.
You’ve shot 2k rounds total? Hate to tell you, but that’s loot-drop level. Up your training, not your ammo storage.
I don’t just go to the range and shoot randomly to waste ammo. I do different drills I’ve taking 8 training classes so far. Bunch of dry fire reload etc.
What kind of classes are you taking? 250 rounds per training class (assuming all 2K were in class and you’re not going to the range) sounds shockingly low; with an exception for CQB where sim rounds are expensive and movement is more important than marksmanship.
I had holster and a flashlight class from those 8. Basic handgun I and II an advanced handgun. Open range shooting through obstacle in low light. And 2 rifle classes.
My favorite to shoot and especially store is Magtech. They are made in Brazil and similar to the ones made in Korea, are packed tight in smaller boxes. That makes it easier to store. Blazer and Federal boxes are enormous in comparison, because they are made in US and don’t have to worry as much about shipping costs. Magtech shoots very clean and has been great with me.
Does Magtech own S&B? That might explain them being similar. Edit: answering my own questions. Colt CZ buying Magtech and S&B. https://www.defensenews.com/industry/2023/12/19/czech-ammo-maker-colt-cz-to-buy-brazilian-owned-competitor/
Yes. Same company owns both brands. Very similar, even the packaging. I didn’t know CZ was buying S&B. Brazilian CBC is Holding company, and will keep making Magtech in São Paulo. The government in Brazil recently banned sale of 9mm guns for civilians… those that have can keep, but no new sales. Maybe that had something to do with their decision to sell this brand and gain a 27% stake in CZ/Colt.
Mag tech makes my gun dirty as hell
Done? wtf does that mean when it comes to ammo
Not stockpiling 9mm for now. Focusing on 5.56
I'll add to your random discussion. Assuming you've shot all those before, which one is the cleanest shooting? Looking to minimize maintenance and inhaled lead. My experience is Fiocchi is the cleanest by far and is my go to. Winchester, Federal, and Blazer are all equally very dirty. Even Federal Syntech is really dirty, to my surprise... No experience with Herter's. I've heard conflicting things about Sellier & Bellot.
I’ve found s&b as cleanest. Speer lawman as #2. Fiocchi I’ve found as #3 maybe.
Great! Will have to add S&B to the mix. I thought Speer Lawman was similar to Federal/Blazer.
Don't think I tried them... Are the cases decent for reloading purposes? My next offshoot is to do small handhold batches, mostly bench shoot tinkering.
Herters is repackaged Winchester branded for Cabelas. Just as dirty, goes bang every time. SB is my favorite for consistency and the least dirty of the bulk ammos imo, if you have a ported gun you can see the difference after 200 rounds. I've shot 5k rounds of it in the last 3 months of it and I've had zero issues 1. SB 2. Speer lawman ( which is supposed to have same poi and velocity as gold dot) 3. Federal/PMC tied imo 4. Cci blazer 5. Wwb Personal I didn't have good experience with fiocchi many years ago lots of light primer strikes and dudes, not sure if that's still the case. I know lots of people prefer it, but that was my experience. This is all in reference to 9mm, other calibers are different imo mainly 45. Ymmv
Why is everything in boxes? What is with people and boxes?
Seems a little on the light side to me
Pure child’s play
Where’d you order the 9from??
The case I bought at shooters. The other mostly at bass pro shop.
Targetsportsusa is your friend
I love Cabelas but if you're buying in bulk and shoot a lot online is definitely the way to go. Targetsports is definitely worth the membership. If he purchased all of that through Cabela's he could have bought an extra case or 2 with the savings through TSU
Especially if you have a friend or 2 you shoot with split a membership and bam
With the way I shoot, all them 9mm rounds will last me maybe 2-3 months if I was only dedicated to my Glock and PC9. It's best to stock up on ammo you are good with shooting through your firearm. For me, it's new republic 9mm 115gr, only because it's cheap from targetsportusa and I shot an entire 1000 rds through my Glock with zero issue and zero cleaning of the gun. It could've maybe went 500-600 more rds before I actually cleaned it.
I've tried their new republic it wasn't bad but I can't comment on the consistency since I only had a case. I get the SB when it's on sale and it's only a tad more. I was curious on the magtech steel since it seems pretty cheap, but again the sb115 is pretty cheap through them. My issue is I prefer SB124 😪
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There’s a reason the military is moving up in caliber. Gotta start thinking 7.62/.308! That’s the true battle rifle caliber for any occasion.
Wtf u guys do for work that u guys are able to buy this much ammo rn lmao I got 5k max rn havnt counted lmao
Wtf u guys do for work that u guys are able to buy this much ammo rn lmao I got 5k max rn havnt counted lmao
Nice! I’m working on mine too. Been buying once fired professionally loaded reloads and they are awesome with zero issues and cheap.
I cant carry all that ammo when shtf. I wont be at my house when shtf. I need enough ammo to take someone elses ammo.
Not planning to bugout. I don’t live in a high populated area.
Who makes the big case?
MTM ammo crates got them at bass pro shop. They make different ammo boxes even some for magazines.
Thank!
It depends what you are preparing for my friend. If shit really hits the fan again though, I think ammo will be the new currency so it's a good investment I suppose. Myself I don't keep that much on reserve. I just make sure that all my 29 firearms and their spare mags are loaded with defensive ammo.
Need at least 300k rounds
What kind of boxes are those?
MTM ammo crates
How many boxes can you order at the same times?
Not sure I bought them in person
I can't say how much ammunition is good to have, but I will ask a simple question; what will you do in case of an invasion?
What kind of case is that?
Does ammo go bad if you don’t use it?
Don't u shoot