Most Common Ammo Types

[Name Taken]

So unless everyone plans on daily hunting for food and we aren't predicting the situation will go on for years vs months, then a couple hundred rounds set aside in each caliber owned should be fine for emergencies.

I agree.

It's hard to pick "that's enough" type of number. In a true crappy situation is 500 rifle rounds going to be enough? Depends on how long the situation lasts...but if you have 500 I'm sure 1000 would be better.

The other issue is cleaning the firearms. Having enough mags ready and also if you are not "bugging in" it's an issue of loading and transporting all that weight.

Truth be told...in the last 100 years or so we havent been hit with a large scale reason to truly be worried. Even in local riots you'd only need 100 or so rounds at the most.

 

[Sirex]

I bought a tin or two of 7.62x54r for my Mosins, and some cases of 7.62x39, as well as several boxes of cheap .22LR. I try to have at least some kind of self defense round in each caliber, even .22lr. In .22 I have Yellowjackets, and buying some 60gr Aquila soon. better than nothing, but for the defense the .22 would be my last resort gun, so I'd at least want a little something with it. Other than that the x54r and x39 is easy to stock up on and would last a long time, now switching over from 20G to 12G shells. I imagine 12 would be easier to find in the event of an emergency. I'm not relying on our government or NATO to resupply me ammo though, so not much in NATO specs for me. Just the cheap stuff.

 

[LongTom]

The other issue is cleaning the firearms. Having enough mags ready and also if you are not "bugging in" it's an issue of loading and transporting all that weight.

Weight was a tremendous factor in my decision making as well when I picked 5.56 over the much heavier 7.62x39. As I've said before, 7.62x39 is a top class round but it's bulky. 300 rounds of 7.62 is 12 lbs vs a little over 8 lbs for the 5.56. The rifles tend to be lighter too. That translates to a massive weight savings if you're hoofing it, which I've done plenty of... Similarly, you can't carry very many shotgun shells at all either. Overpacking can be the death of a hiker.

I decided that I could save the weight and carry what really matters - water and food. I'm still struggling to get my rucksack down to the weight I want it at.

Which brings me to a thought... I sure have been wishing there was a nice national park around here

 

[Name Taken]

I figured at most I have a 5 mile hike to our "safe" spot. So it's a matter of loading up a car with some stuff and rolling out quickly. If I had to go on foot I'd be leaving A LOT of my stuff at home.


As far as the NATO aspect. It's not a matter of what's going to be "given" out by the military. The fact is that there are armory's throughout the state as well as local militia's (even if frowned upon by the goverment) that usually all supply the same ammo calibers. Finding ammo for a AR or M1A is likely to be easier then a strange off caliber that cheap to stock pile ammo.

Handguns rounds I think is preference. You can easily carry several hundred handgun rounds of whatever you want. For a real SHTF rifle keep it as near military as you can. Plus parts in theory will be easier to find.

Of course these are just my thoughts.

 

[zombiehunter]

OP: that is one helluva first impression you've made sir and I am giving you an honorary kharma in.

As for the topic at hand:
You'd need to chat up the ruskies for numbers on the x39. It would have to beat everything except. 223 from my experience. In all reality for shtf kind of thinking I have probably 10k rounds of 22 and anoher 5-7k of centerfire in popular calibers.

I'm pretty sure in reality I could probably get by with a 10/22 and two bricks of ammo. Of course I'd take an ammo can full of heirloom seeds over the majority of my ammo stash if we returned to the dark ages.

 

[Old Salty Dog]

Good post. Good thread.

 

[Biggfoot44]

Interesting. But in a way kind of apples vs watermellon comparispon. The data is for US made ammo in "normal" commercial distribution. However the question is about what ammo is easiest to get in ( supply euphanism for extreme situation) . Not nesacerily same thing.

The usual suspects of .223 , .30-30, 30-06 , 9mm , .45acp, etc sell lots of ammo is typical year because the are LOTs of guns in those cals out there. But that also means that whenever there is a bump in demand, or a glitch in supply that there will be the maxium number of other gunowners racing you to the store to clean out the shelves.

There really is no substute for laying in at least a moderate supply in advance. How much is moderate to you ? YMMV. For those interested in huge stockpile of milsurp ammo , I have said a cpl times to work backwards. Locate what is currently available for reasonable $ , get a lifetime supply for three figures , and then get rifle to go with it of your preference. If it become disposable after your 5 or 10k rounds are gone , it was still overall good investment.

FWIW #1 for scenarios with at least equal consideration given to living off the land/ wilderness survival rather than singlehandedly fighting off a Spetnaz squad, the go to weapon is a .22 rimfire rifle. Shotguns will be specialized novelties.

FWIW #2 If counting on buying off the shelf in situation of high demand, you might have better odds with cals in "second tier" of popularity. Popular enough that most gunstores will stock some, but not so popular as to sell out in the first day. Say .357Sig or 10mm vs 9mm or .45acp , .300 WinMag vs .308 or .30-30 , or 20ga vs 12ga , .32acp or even .25acp vs .380acp .

 

[Tactics]

So...buy cheap and stack deep? That's what I'm hearing.

A great rule to live by!

Great post, thanks for doing some research and sharing with the group!

 

[Minuteman]

I appreciate the research too, thx.

As a realist, like most of you, I'm also thinking about cost, popularity and current/future availability. Look at what happened during Katrina, look how several countries had their gun rights taken away. Although I don't think this will affect the vast majority of us, but these may be very important issues for some.

My insignificant opinion...
.22LR most important
5.56 second (NATO standard)
9mm

More important than caliber is being proficient and familiar with many common firearms.
What's that boyscout saying?

 

[28Shooter]

Great thread. We discuss and debate this subject all the time.

 

[jimbobborg]

As far as the NATO aspect. It's not a matter of what's going to be "given" out by the military. The fact is that there are armory's throughout the state as well as local militia's (even if frowned upon by the goverment) that usually all supply the same ammo calibers. Finding ammo for a AR or M1A is likely to be easier then a strange off caliber that cheap to stock pile ammo.

Handguns rounds I think is preference. You can easily carry several hundred handgun rounds of whatever you want. For a real SHTF rifle keep it as near military as you can. Plus parts in theory will be easier to find.

Of course these are just my thoughts.

No one is going to "give" ammo out to anyone unless they're in uniform. You will be on your own, period. As for me, I'm keeping 2000+ of .223 in ammo cans, and I'll be doing the same for the other calibers I'm running.

Here's another thing not mentioned. Magazines. How many of you only have two or three per firearm? All of the magazine fed firearms I've owned for more than three months have at least six, and some I have even more of. Except the 10/22, but I'm still looking for a high-cap mag that works for more than a month, but that's another story.

Jim

 

[Schwabe]

ammo will also become currency, you cannot have too much .22lr.

 

[sandbanger]

which types of ammunition would be readily available in the event of a catastrophic disaster.

At any rate, it's food for thought and I've posted the information given as best I could so take this with a grain of salt. Please don't take it as any more than that.

when shtf i don't see anything being readily available, unless you've been hoarding

 

[sandbanger]

No one is going to "give" ammo out to anyone unless they're in uniform. You will be on your own, period. As for me, I'm keeping 2000+ of .223 in ammo cans, and I'll be doing the same for the other calibers I'm running.

Here's another thing not mentioned. Magazines. How many of you only have two or three per firearm? All of the magazine fed firearms I've owned for more than three months have at least six, and some I have even more of. Except the 10/22, but I'm still looking for a high-cap mag that works for more than a month, but that's another story.

Jim

+10000

keep a functioning combat load, bare min for an m16 i would take is 7x30rds bare minimum. You make an excellent point Jim!

 

[Name Taken]

Give is in a literal sense.

I truly believe depending on what "oh crap" situation that happens that there will likely be a sense of "community". Hence the militia concept/idea. So while I do not expect the Army or Marines to be handing out ammo there are plenty of military storages throughout the state that will likely be accessible at some point.

Nato caliber weapons on very common for several reasons. That my theory behind it atleast. It's very likely that someone else in the neighborhood has a AR or atleast .223 or 9mm which they also might have stacked up on.

I've been tossing in orders for my M1A mag on ammo/parts purchases. My AR magazines are stacked already with some USGI ones as back ups. Sadly buying magazines for a MP is hard and near impossible at this point.

Sorry to derail the thread.

 

[LongTom]

Don't take this the wrong way, guys, but ever since I've moved here I've truly hated this state right to it's rotten core. The corruption, the dirty politics, the pot smoking liberal vibe in government, the F@#$!#G harboring of illegals and free college money they get, and it's down right dirty rotten garbage police state laws and the fact that my right to the preservation of my own life ends at my front door.

This state could be so awesome if they'd just let it... It has everything and we're not allowed to touch any of it - LOL.

Someone here several months ago said moving away from Maryland wasn't wrong or bad because money talks. But I've always been one for the underdog and I'm going to stay and duke it out and give to my gun rights groups and vote. Pay no attention to the fact I'm stuck in an upside down house since the market went down the shit hole.

Sorry for the rant...

 

[Bikebreath]

Hey LongTom, did you notice you didn't piss anyone off in a post that is 2 hours old?

I've lived here my whole life and it's a beautiful place. The one party state is the problem. (I'm sure the Repubs would do it, too, in another direction if they had had all the power).

I wanted to be able to protect myself as I got older and when I realized I wasn't allowed to I became very active in kicking some gov'ment ass. We'd be glad you have your help at MSI...(see sig).

 

[LongTom]

I am already a donator to MSI

Much love and thanks, bro. Go get em and let's help make this a great state.

 

[HappyCamper]

If you already have enough of it, you don't have to worry about finding it.

 

[new_shooter]

Short term SHTF you don't have a chance to get to a store. (Or rather, if you CAN get to the store, it's not SHTF.) What you have when it goes down is all that matters.

Medium term EVERYONE will go to the store, making it a high risk zone. Again, what you have on hand is all that matters.

Long term SHTF scenarios: Stores (again) don't matter, because they've been emptied. What counts is what you can find, scavenge, or what someone, somehow, produces. In all cases, odds are with the popular types. 9mm, 5.56, 22LR. Maybe 45. Less maybe 308. Anything else and you're on your own, or dependent on very local preferences, or pure luck.