By John Bibby
An associate of mine was bemoaning a recent uptick in ammunition prices. This person claims to be an ardent 2A proponent and has recently transitioned from one career path to another. The career decision has greatly improved his joy index, but his checking account has not quite recovered. Those things take time, as does amassing a proper ammunition reserve.
As an outgrowth of the conversation, he mentioned his ability to shoot is going to be greatly decreased. With a puzzled look, I asked why. His response was, “The 50-100 rounds I keep on hand is not going to be as convenient or inexpensive to replace.”
To put it mildly, I was shocked and horrified by that statement. After an awkwardly long pause, I replied. “You aren’t doing it right. The minimum standard is 1000 rounds per caliber you own, except .22LR and that is 5000 rounds. Shotgun is a different thing, but still… 100 rounds, TOTAL?” There was another awkward pause.
He replied, “You really have 1000 rounds for every caliber you own?”
“No, for 6.5 PRC that’s an entire barrel life, but I do have 200 rounds of that. For my non-exotic, frequently shot calibers, absolutely.”
Doing some mental math:
9mm
200+ rounds of Federal HST 124 gr
200+ rounds of Federal Micro HST 150 gr
2500+ rounds of Blazer Brass FMJ
1600+ of 115 gr reloaded FMJ
800+ or 115 gr lead reloads
Components to reload another 3000 FMJ rounds – 3 Gun burns ammo
5.56
2500+ rounds PMC X-tac 55 gr FMJ
500+ rounds PMC 62 gr green tips
300+ rounds Berger 77 gr OTM precision reloads
1000+ rounds 75 gr HPBT match reloads
Components for another 1000+ precision loads
Components to make another 3800 FMJ rounds – 3 Gun burns ammo
.270 Win
Almost zero factory ammo
100+ precision reloads – Hornady 140 gr SST
250+ precision reloads -Hornady 130 gr SST, deer hunting
200+ precision reloads – Hornady 130 gr Interbond, hog hunting
Components to make another 500 rounds of the 130 gr SST
Components to make another 1000 rounds of 150 gr spire point
6.5 PRC
200 precision reloads with Hornady 147 gr ELD Match
Components to make another 500 rounds in the 140 -150 gr range
.22LR I don’t even want to begin to count. But let’s say I have five 500 bricks of CCI 40 gr standard velocity sitting on top of the ammo crate labeled .22LR
I have a few other calibers that are not shot often, so they fall below the 1000-round minimum (.30-30, .300 Blackout, .40 S&W, .380 ACP).
I have a couple of wildcat calibers that also fall below the 1000-round minimum, but they are reload only and I have components for at least a couple of hundred rounds each.
The point is my associate is doing it completely wrong. Whether you are buying by the case (the only way to buy factory ammo) or buying components; if you are only buying for current needs, that’s a huge mistake.
Take the prepper approach. When you buy a box for shooting, add a box of projectiles for saving. Next time buy a pound of powder. Next time buy a brick of primers. Do this with every paycheck and your ability to shoot and your reserve ammo stash will grow immensely. Before you say you don’t have the money, is your budget so tight as to not be able to afford the equivalent of two boxes of 9mm ammo each month?
The concept works best when you get into a routine, just like your retirement investments. Set aside the money with every paycheck and soon you will mentally budget around that $25-50 “hole” in the budget. My technique used to be to save the money until I had enough for a case. Then, I bought online for even greater savings.
That changed when I started reloading. I still buy by the case. Now, it’s just projectiles, multiple pounds of powder, bags of brass and bricks of primers, with an occasional case of factory offerings too.