You Don’t Need 50,000 Rounds—But You Do Need a Plan
We’ve all met that guy—the one with crates of surplus 7.62×39 stacked like Tetris blocks in his garage… but not a single case of water or a week’s worth of food in the pantry.
In the firearms and preparedness communities, there’s a common belief that more is always better. More ammo, more mags, more bulk deals. But is your stash really supporting your goals—or just collecting dust?
Whether you’re a weekend range shooter, a course junkie, or someone prepping for the next disaster scenario, the question comes up again and again:
How much ammo should I stockpile?
This guide breaks it down by use case and caliber—so you’re not just hoarding brass, but building a smart, intentional reserve that supports your training, self-defense, and long-term security.
The 3 Categories of Ammunition You Should Be Tracking
Before you start running the numbers, make sure you understand the why behind your stockpile. Ammo should be organized into three categories:
Range Ammo – The stuff you burn through. Used for training classes, match prep, and range days.
Ready Ammo – Loaded magazines and defensive loads staged in gear, vehicles, or safes. This is your grab-and-go reserve.
SHTF Reserve – Deep storage. This is your long-term hedge against civil unrest, supply chain disruptions, or full-on grid collapse. You don’t touch it unless things truly go sideways.
Many shooters stop at range ammo and assume they’re “stockpiling.” They’re not.
Let’s run through how to structure your supply by caliber. (Please see article for rest of the story)…
My take on this (My Plan) is to have a decent supply of ‘READY AMMO’ (Mag-'d up ammo)
Many years ago I heard and took to heart the art of ‘ROATATION’ (Rotating your Ammo)
*marking ‘Defensive Ammo’ Mags and Mag Maintenance. (Thank you .Enzo-again)
*** For the New Gunner’s: It isn’t just purchasing a Firearm, going to the Range occasionally
that makes you ready for what Life may throw at you and yours. It’s developing a PLAN. A MINDSET.
to handle whatever may come at you.
Fat lot of good all that Ammo is to you if you don’t get proficient with your weapons, Practice clearing a Jam, What 'Accessories work for you (Holsters, lights Red dots etc) and what don’t.
All the toys in the World will NOT help you f you don’t hone your Situational Awareness,
Be safe out there Gunner’s, NO FEAR, Train, Train, Train like your life may depend on it, because someday it just might.
I don’t have 50,000 rounds of .556 or .223. But i do have a close to that for my total count for ammo. That covers several different guns, be it pistols or long. Plus i have ten magazines for each pistol preliaded and ready to go. For my .556 or .223 i have more ready to go then i wouod ever need hopefully. I also have a complete 30 day supply of food and water. Plus i have a water purifier, on top of several casses of bottled water. I have additional medications for 90 days and a medical kit. God forbid anything to happen but if it does i am set to take care of my family. I have go bags already set up if we have to leave. My kids know its time to come home if things even start to look bad. I do not consider that to be paranoid. Its called being prepared. One other thing ive seen families forget to stock up on is fuel. You need different heating sources. Plus you need enough fuel to fill your vehicle two to three times. I have a truck so its easy for me to put alot of things in the bed that we would need if we had to leave.
You can never have enough ammo and you should be practicing at least one time a week. Yes, it can get expensive but it’s worth it in the end. One other thing i forgot to mesntiom is i have a selection of seeds to start growing some food if needed.
I’m always kind of amused by people who say they’re gonna pack up and then travel to their safe place.
If things are that bad, it is not going to be a peaceful evacuation like for a hurricane.
it’s gonna be very disruptive. You may not have a chance of making it out of the big city.
If you can find fuel and food again in two or three weeks, it really wasn’t a situation…
I don’t carry or own firearms and ammo because I have a “need.” I carry/own 1) because I can, and 2) It’s no one else’s business. BTW. If SHTF ammo may be a better barter commodity than food.
Got “plenty” of ammo in each caliber I own. But also have H2O, food and other items to back them up.
I’m also not going anywhere. My home is my refuge. You ain’t invited don’t show up.
If I ever need to truly go post apocalyptic I’ll be carrying a suppressed .22 when I leave my house and 5 bricks of ammo of which 4.5 I’ll cache somewhere. The rest of what I’ll ever need, I can get with that one tool.
So articles like this only help if they make you think about YOUR personal plans and preparedness for likely scenarios you might have to survive. And at the end of the day Ammoland is only trying to sell more ammo…
If Covid taught us ANYTHING it’s that even when segments/areas of society and civility fail (and none of them even completely did), toilet paper is way more important than thousands of rounds of ammo. And quite frankly while I sleep soundly knowing I have enough ammo for anything I might need to realistically handle what really makes me sleep is knowing that I have the skills and knowledge to deal with the potential 1,324,754,897 different SHTF scenarios that don’t involve the “Planet Killer Asteroid” or the “Nuclear Armageddon”.
So to make myself clear, in all reality a mental game of numbers is almost meaningless when you think the way I do. Example, if you have a year’s worth of food… what are you doing on day 366???..
I’d rather have 5 days worth of food and know how to hunt, WHAT to hunt, how to make a fire with materials I find in the desert, and which of my neighbors appears to be the most tender…
So get the numbers of whatever you think you need up to snuff, BUT WAY MORE VALUABLE if you are serious about your life, go take an outdoor survival course that is specific to where you live. Makes no sense to take one on Alaska if I live next door to the Mojave desert no?
Anyway, off the shaky soapbox I go. Just think on this guys and don’t get into the numbers crap…
I don’t have a shipping container full of spare ammo but I do have a garden and I’m surrounded by farms so I won’t starve while shooting at intruders so there’s that…
Met a guy from Wyoming at the LGS a while back. He put it like this, why have 10,000 rounds, if they come for me it’s probably only going to take 1 minute and it will all be over.
I’ve asked this question before, how much ammo can you carry on your back?
While I thought (my thinking anyway)
was ‘Have a PLAN’
That’s what I got from this.
I’ve always said here :’ I’ll rob the dead for my ammo.’
I don’t have 50K in Ammo, nor do I have a years food.
(Lot’s of Btl. Water, some 'Aftermarket Mre’s , Gas, Generator(s). etc.)
If I go full Armagaddon who cares? Amirite?
If required, your neighbors should be the first ones you target. I will be out to support my own family first. Screw the neighbors and all their little Chihuahua dogs. I have cats bigger than their dogs and my cats earn their keep by bringing up all manner of dead animal.
My Great Uncle George.
To answer the question of how much ammo do I have? Well, contrary to popular belief, NOT ENOUGH.
Like Enzo, most of what I have (9mm, .22LR, 12-gauge) is going to be cached somewhere for my own use. I do have other calibers (.223, 5.56, .308, etc…) strictly for bartering purposes. I also have some food packed (honey, peanut butter, sugar, tea, coffee) away for bartering.
I’m finding some of you folk’s kinda disturbing…Practical, Innovative, creative …but still…
(This conversation reminds me of ‘The Walking Dead’ when the BG’s were ‘Chatting’ w/ ‘Bob’
as they were eating his Leg (Left I believe) To be totally honest, he looked TASTY!
Except he was bitten by a ‘Walker’ and that didn’t really sound like
my idea of a Good time… Jus Sayin’
