In an article titled simply “How Much Ammo?” Divemedic offers his opinion on how much ammunition you should be stockpiling against the day that it may no longer be available. I generally support his conclusions.
Some people seem to think this is a silly question; that there’ll always be ammunition available in stores, and from US manufacturers. That’s a dangerous assumption. There have been innumerable threats made to shut down online ammunition vendors, and some states no longer allow it (or surround it with so many restrictions and conditions that it’s burdensome and time-consuming to meet them all). There’s also the ATF’s ongoing crusade to shut down as many firearms dealers as possible, based on paper problems rather than actual crimes (which they get to define as such). Finally, every shooting increases pressure on supermarkets such as Walmart to stop selling ammunition at all, removing a major source of supply from the market. As such pressures ratchet up, the day may come that ammunition becomes vastly more expensive than it is now, with a much reduced selection and severe restrictions on how much you can buy. It’s to safeguard against that potential problem that we should maintain a useful reserve of ammunition for ourselves.
I emphasize the utility of .22 Long Rifle ammo and weapons. You can get .22LR adapters to fit AR-15 rifles and others, and there are many .22LR handguns that handle in ways very similar to defensive handguns. Furthermore, .22LR is relatively cheap compared to centerfire ammunition. If you accept that a minimum (I emphasize, minimum) annual training requirement is 500 rounds (which is nowhere near enough to maintain full competency with rifle and handgun), then I think putting aside ten years’ worth of .22LR is not a bad idea. Personally, I plan on at least 1,000 rounds per year, and want more than a decades’ worth of ammo on hand to support that. YMMV, of course. That can substitute for quite a lot of centerfire ammo, but not all. After all, the recoil, report, etc. of full-house rounds is much greater than rimfire, and one has to become (and stay) accustomed to that. I’d say that for every 10 rounds of rimfire ammo we fire, we should be shooting one round of centerfire ammo. Again, YMMV.
There’s also the unpleasant thought that if a state of emergency is declared, the authorities may try to confiscate guns and ammunition from civilians. We all know what happened in New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina, and “woke” states in particular probably won’t hesitate to do the same thing given any excuse that comes to hand. I therefore suggest that one should conceal at least part of one’s stash in a safer place, where it’s less likely to be found and more secure against confiscation. How you do that is your business. I think off-site storage is probably a good starting point – and I don’t mean a storage unit, because those are most likely to be targeted by both looters and law enforcement during a crisis when they’re looking for stuff. The same goes for storing stuff with friends – their homes are just as likely to be searched as yours is. Use your imagination. Think outside the box – and stash enough ammo and firearms that if all the rest of yours are no longer available, you’ll still be able to defend yourself and your loved ones.
(I’m not encouraging you to break any laws that may forbid such steps, of course. I’m not going to condone criminal conspiracy. Perish the thought!)
Peter