how many rounds of ammo do you keep on hand?

[duaneparks]

Originally posted by jpolston

I've got only one, it's silver for vampires.

And I thought those were only good for Werewolves... . DOH!



Duane

 

[Dkevdog]

Depends on which freeway I'm planning on taking.

 

[dalton4]

Looks like I'm in the right place to get an answer to an ammo question. Does ammo have a shelf life that should be of concern?



Jerry

 

[Mike Ellis]

I have umpeen thousand on hand, not as many as I used to but then I haven't been able to shoot as much as I used to either. Probably 3/4 reloads, the rest factory ammo that is useful for the brass and bought here and there when on sale.



I reload for just about everything I have, so I have lots of dies and different types of powder and so much related junk the wife despairs whenever I get the hankering to visit the gun store. She just doesn't understand that Mr. Lyman and Mr. Hornady need eat too



People are often surprised at the amount of ammo some of us have on hand, but unless they grew up in the country shooting a lot they are unlikely to have ANY idea how fast a guy can go through a brick of . 22 LR down at the stock tank when the tin cans and turtles need thinning out Not to mention how fast you can go through a thousand rounds of centerfire handgun ammo when practicing on falling plates or such. I guess when the average person has never fired more than a couple dozen rounds in their entire life (if that much. . ) they can't relate to the idea that a guy might ENJOY capping off a couple of thousand in an afternoon.



I've been this way since I was a kid, I used to know exactly how many BB's my allowance would buy and I tried to keep a good stock on hand for those pesky tin cans, barn sparrows, and rats... . And arrows. . boy I wasted a lot of money on arrows growing up... .

 

[Mike Ellis]

A related anecdote: My old brother-in-law, God rest his soul, was a good ol' boy from Hammond Louisiana and loved to hunt and fish but never got into shooting sports the way I did. The first time we went shooting together he took along a rifle and a box of shells, and when we got out to the tank and I started unloading my rifle, handgun, and a big sack of reloads he was real surprised and said "Jeez Mike, you think you brought enough ammo?" :--)



I told him, "Yeah, I should have enough if we're not going to be here more than a couple of hours... . "



When we would go shooting he would rib me, "Boy, you're plumb crazy. You spend $50 for shells for a rifle you don't even have without blinking an eye, and then waste an hour looking for a 5 cent piece of brass..... " Ha ha ha, after a few trips he was almost as bad as me.



Boy I miss him, sure had a lot of fun over the years with my Cajun bud before God took him home. If any of you are from that part of Louisiana you might have met him working in his brother's store years back (it was called Billy Abel's "World of Sports" I believe. . )

 

[Crazy Horse]

All I can say is having to many rounds is like having too much money.

 

[The patriot]

I always tell my wife "I have more than I need, but not as much as I want. "

I've used this with ammo and firearms, but she just dont get it.

Eric

 

[LarryB]

Originally posted by The patriot

I always tell my wife "I have more than I need, but not as much as I want. "

Eric



This works for diesel power too.

 

[JSmith]

NOT ENOUGH:{

 

[Hammer]

A Loaded Question......

OK.....

So I guess I'll have to answer his question with a question,for which gun do you need a count for????... ..... Andy

 

[mdlowry]

Originally posted by The patriot
I always tell my wife "I have more than I need, but not as much as I want. "
I've used this with ammo and firearms, but she just dont get it.
Eric

Just tell her that it's like shoes. She should understand that. Different guns (shoes) are for different occations (hunting, plinking, defense, etc). And you can never have too many.

 

[mdlowry]

Originally posted by dalton4
Looks like I'm in the right place to get an answer to an ammo question. Does ammo have a shelf life that should be of concern?

Jerry

I've heard of people shooting up 30-40 year old military surplus ammo. As long as it's stored ok, shouldn't be a problem.

 

[WadePatton]

No, just keep your powder dry!



Anything made since the passing of corrosive primers- mid fifties I think- should last until the brass corrodes from around it. Which if kept dry and away from corrosives should be a very long time.

Originally posted by dalton4

Looks like I'm in the right place to get an answer to an ammo question. Does ammo have a shelf life that should be of concern?



Jerry

 

[The patriot]

Originally posted by mdlowry

I've heard of people shooting up 30-40 year old military surplus ammo. As long as it's stored ok, shouldn't be a problem.

100 year old ammo aint a problem if it's been stored properly.

You can tell a lot about the ammo by the way it looks.

If it's old & crappy looking (has green on the brass etc. etc. ) it's been stored in high humidity, and possibly high temps. This is no good.

Eric

 

[JConley]

I was at the range yesterday shooting 1994 Miltary M-852 Match. (. 308 with 168gr Sierra BTHP) through the M-25. A guy let me use his chronograph, and after shooting 10 rounds, the max deviation was only 47FPS. (2650FPS average) Age didnt affect this ammo, as I was able to shoot 3 round groups in the same hole at 100 yards. This ammo isnt that old, but still shoots better than a lot of factory ammo that is brand new.