Big thanks, to Vey the founder of Prepperlytics.com for today’s Guest Post Article “How much ammo do I need to stock for SHTF?”
BEANS, BULLETS, AND BANDAIDS
Every prepper knows that storing up ammo is key to getting prepared, but how much do you need? How much is enough?
Our analysis shows that the average prepper needs just 1,500 rounds for a battle rifle and 700 rounds for a pistol. Read the below analysis, and let us know if you agree.
FOCUS ON TWO GUNS
At a minimum, every prepper should own at least two guns; a pistol and a battle rifle. It’s great to have a .22 for target practice and small game, and a shotgun is perfect for bird and deer hunting.
But when it comes to defending a retreat from a group of enemy combatants, everyone in your group should have a battle rifle and pistol on them.
Let’s not get caught up in the debate of which caliber or firearm is best. Our group standard is 9mm for pistol and .223 for the battle rifle, so that’s what I’ll be using for the analysis. Your group standard may be different. Just adjust the analysis to fit your firearm and magazine selection.
HOW MUCH AMMO CAN YOU CARRY?
If you know that you’re going to head into a sustained battle, you’ll probably take an assault pack loaded with as ammo as you can carry, but the typical SHTF group is not going to be assaulting an enemy; they’re going to be repelling one.
You’ll probably be on watch, or sleeping when the alert comes through on the radio that an enemy has been sighted.
You’ll instinctively throw on your kit and head out the door as quickly as possible. That means the most ammo you’ll likely go through in a firefight will be no more than your typical loadout.
So we’ll use a daily, post-SHTF loadout as the basis for our calculation.
HOW MUCH AMMO IS ON YOUR KIT?
At a minimum, you’ll want 3 rifle mags on your chest, 1 on your battle belt and 1 in your gun; so 5 rifle mags.
You should also have at least 3 pistol mags on your belt and 1 in your gun. A lot of preppers like to “Double Stack” their mags so that they can carry more, but in my experience, double stacked mags slow down my reloads and make lying prone more challenging.
With this setup, you’re carrying a total of 5 rifle mags and 4 pistol mags.
A popular group standard is 30 round AR mags and 17 round pistol mags, plus 1 in the chamber of each. Add that up and you’re at 151 rounds of .223 and 69 rounds of 9mm available in a given firefight.
HOW MANY FIREFIGHTS CAN YOU SURVIVE?
If you lose your first firefight or get mortally wounded, then you really don’t need more than 151 rounds of .223 and 69 rounds of 9mm, but I’m an optimist. I’d like to think that you can make it through several firefights without a scratch. But how many firefights do you actually expect to have?
If your retreat is hidden well and the perimeter is secure, you shouldn’t have to deal with that many conflicts.
Let’s say that you manage to get into and survive 10 firefights, and with each fight, you completely empty all battle rifle and pistol mags on your person. Given that scenario, you’ll need 15110 and 6910 or 1,510 rounds for the rifle and 690 for the pistol. That’s it. Far less than the 10,000 rounds some YouTube experts claim you need.
WHAT ABOUT OTHER REASONS TO BUY AMMO?
There are plenty of good reasons to buy more ammo than you’ll actually use in SHTF.
Having extra ammo on hand in case others run low.
Stocking up for children who may need to learn how to use a firearm.
Setting aside additional ammo for refugees that your group might take in after the collapse.
Using ammo as a barter item or post-SHTF currency.
Politicians may try to restrict ammo sales, driving up the price.
Frequently training before and after the event.
Hunting and predator elimination.
I’m sure you can think of other reasons why buying more ammo is a good idea, but in a realistic SHTF scenario, 1,500 rounds of .223 and 700 rounds of 9mm should be plenty. If that feels a little short, go ahead and double it to 3,000 rounds of .233 and 1,500 rounds 9mm. At today’s prices that just over $1,000 to safely cover your long-term ammo needs.
If you’ve got the cash, by all means, get more. Just make sure you’ve got your beans and band-aids covered before buying that 10,000th round of ammo. You’d be amazed at how many calories you’ll need to store for SHTF, and ammo is particularly tough on the teeth.
The article above was kindly contributed by Vey from Prepperlytics, and the original title, “How much ammo do I need to stock for SHTF?” can be found on the Prepperlytics.com blog.