Best ammo to stock up on

I can see the need to have enough ammo for guns for hunting purposes until you build up enough natural resource weaponry like bows and arrows and spears.

But it sounds to me more like people are wanting to stock up to wage some kind of war or something!

I do hope the mindset is correct after the SHTF happens. Otherwise there will be nothing but little wars going on with trigger happy, paranoid gun owners.

Lets hope the common sense mentality doesnt go to the SHTF either.



Cheers!!!!

reply to post by Psyclon9


9mm
.40 S&W
.223 Remington


You will not need anything else.

It all depends on your situation. If your in an area with lots of wildlife (primarily large wildlife), your going to want a weapon with a lot of put down power. A bow is fine against a dear, MAYBE a moose, if your skilled enough, but I would not want to take on a bear or cougar with a bow. A good rifle in the .30 range, a 12-gauge shotgun, maybe some kind of lever action and a good pistol or two should be a basis for a standard armory. That's getting to the limit of what one person can carry, and then you have to remember ammo, food, and other survival gear. Never know when you might have to move.

reply to post by Psyclon9


9MM

Most commonly used and used by Nato troops.

reply to post by DeadFlagBlues


that is the dumbest statement... why would you not want to stock up on 7.62x39 for his AK when it the most reliable weapon to shoot? Also ammo prices are often still had for the same or less than 9mm...

Taking stock of the armory: 1 Henry Lever Action, takes .22LR and short

Given my situation, I only need what I need to use. Others may agree. I may look into a .38 revolver but that is also money that can be spent elsewhere.

I also suspect that there will be plenty of guns and ammo freely available in various calibers from those less prepared and unfortunate.

I am not advocating looting, but scavenging is a part of survival as well.

[edit on 21-2-2009 by Ahabstar]

reply to post by cropmuncher



Can you own slingshots over there? The newer ones are really deadly. I know, it's not the same, but in a guerrilla war, it would be better than nothing.

Originally posted by Possum Roadkill
reply to post by cropmuncher

 

Can you own slingshots over there? The newer ones are really deadly. I know, it's not the same, but in a guerrilla war, it would be better than nothing.

We are still allowed crossbows over here in the uk..they have to be certain spec i believe though.Enough to kill most wild life that lives in the uk anyway.We dont have to worry about bears and cougars sneaking up and eating us

[edit on 21-2-2009 by Solomons]

Dude,
The best I can tell you is pick a few first. Maybe 9mm, 12ga, and either .223 or 7.62x39.
The list that you originally posted, for 1000 rnds each, will cost, by my rough estimates, between $4000-$4500.

That's if you can find it, by the way. Cheaperthandirt.com has apologies for the short supplies, and no battle packs whatsoever. All of the retailers near me have had very low stock on most calibers, with the exception of some 12ga turkey rounds, .40 cal, some 12ga slugs, and a few boxes of high end self defense rounds, like $20/ 5 glasers, or $30 for Sabers. Great rounds, but not to stock up on, economically.

Choose a few to bulk up on, and spend the rest of your $'s on food, water, fire and medical.

reply to post by ladybren

k there is one rule in survival kill or get killed you don't see jungle cats loving the deer and hoping they all can get along with each other its not how the world works sorry i know it sad and wish it could be like that but face it the world isn't nice

I don't know if any of you are keeping up on current events but there is a real shortage of ammo and the popular guns are getting scarce.

You will be lucky to get a good quality rifle or handgun and a modest supply of ammo for it if you are just getting started.

By the way, the 22lr and a good rifle will put lots of small game on the table for a very modest price.

reply to post by Psyclon9


Why would you want to store so many different calibers? Unless you have a gun for each caliber you've listed, then I think your plan is a waste of money. IMHO, I think you'd be better off just storing 1 or 2 types. Perhaps 9mm or 45ACP for handguns. I'm not too familiar with rifles other than the M-16 I had in the military, therefore I probably say .223. This way you'd be able to store more ammo for 1 or 2 different weapons. What good would 10 guns each using different calibers be to you if you had to make a run for it?

NATO ammo
Russian Ammo (same as nato)
Chinese Ammo (same as nato)
7.62 for defense and/or hunting bigger game
9mm for same and if all else fails, or you are not really into it, a semi-auto 22lr and several thousand rounds can be had for under $500.
Jack rabbits and squirrels are edible and tasty when you are starving.
Shotgun ammo---cheapest available if you are in bird country--but don't count on replacing your spent ammo for shotguns if you are getting it from fallen adversaries---totally different from birdshot.
Wolf ammo for the 7.62 is about the cheapest, non-corrosive primer munitions available.
Though not the best, it is the cheapest and available in bulk lots without a bunch of hassles.
Last I checked it was around $140 per 500 taxes included. 30 rnd. clips are a bit pricey---depending on weather you are buying for an SKS or Saga, and a dozen clips is an easy carry.
Self load if you are good at it, and you can extend your supply by at least triple if you can manage to stock up on supplies first. VERY necessary for shotguns---not so much on ammo you can scavenge from fallen adversaries.



Just looking at worst case scenarios.

Originally posted by ladybren
hello....why is so necessary to have guns...in the new level of life starting in 2012 you wont need a rifle..all you have to do is just love ....care for mother earth and all on it...it is so wrong to kill...take executions what message are we sending...if you kill you get killed ...thats just not the way it works..

In a perfect world you would be right.

Unfortunately, if you read history books, that is not the world we live in.

We all have opinions, and you surely have yours, but the problem
is momentum of opinion.

Right now the momentum among the public, and the powers that be
is a negative trend and so it goes.

It reminds me of a song title "Peace sells, but who is buying ?"

Now to address the topic of what ammo.

Some 7.62 ammo is the same as .308 so just go for the cheaper
surplus military 7.62 that will work in your .308 rifle.

Talk to your local gun store about bulk ammo orders from
overseas vendors.

Word of caution on cheap ammo, some of it is VERY dirty, and
will gum up the works of the gun much faster than cleaner firing ammo.

Ask them about that at the gun store and they will confess to it.

I'd not bother with 20 gauge personally, 12 gauge lighter loads will
do the same thing.

.45 ACP, .22 LR, 12 gauge various types, and long rifle in .308
that will accept the most common 7.62 nato rnd will work fine,
though I went 30-06 for the insane range.

The reason for .45 vs. 9mm is the stopping power, and it is a slower
bullet but with more knock down force.

Survival Blog goes into this and I tend to agree with it as several
of the brighter ppl there hashed this all out years ago.

Keep in mind other ppl will have guns, so I might point you to
Ebay and the Class III body armor to stop magnum rounds.

Class IV if you want to stop 30-06and rnds like it.

Also to keep your ammo in good firing shape for years get a
50 caliber ammo can or SAW can from a military surplus store
with a non-hard rubber seal and store your ammo in it with
some dessicant to keep moisture low.

P.S. don't forget heirloom seeds, and may I recommend the
complete plant protein giant golden amaranth seeds.

Good Luck to you all !



[edit on 22-2-2009 by Ex_MislTech]

Originally posted by Xtrozero
Reloader is the key for a long term serious situation, but I wonder what the shelf life for gunpowder is though? I would also suggest a few bullet molds. Lead would be easy to come by, but bullets would not be.

[edit on 25-1-2009 by Xtrozero]

Shelf life can be raised massively by proper storage.

Good ammo cans with good rubber seals and some dessicent.

The 10 most popular and useful calibers in the United States, in my experience:


.22 Long Rifle

7.62 x 39 mm (AK-47 Ammo)

7.62 x 51 mm (.308 Winchester)

5.56 x 45 mm (.223 Remington. For use in AR-15)

.30-06 (Springfield M1. Some use .308 though)

9mm Luger (9mm Parabellum)

.45 Auto

.40 Smith & Wesson

.38 Special or .357 Magnum (.357 guns can shoot .38 also, but not the other way around)

12-Gauge Shells




[edit on 22-2-2009 by username371]

Originally posted by Dragonlance
reply to post by Psyclon9

 

Why would you want to store so many different calibers? Unless you have a gun for each caliber you've listed, then I think your plan is a waste of money. IMHO, I think you'd be better off just storing 1 or 2 types. Perhaps 9mm or 45ACP for handguns. I'm not too familiar with rifles other than the M-16 I had in the military, therefore I probably say .223. This way you'd be able to store more ammo for 1 or 2 different weapons. What good would 10 guns each using different calibers be to you if you had to make a run for it?

I think you have a point but you are still talking 1 rifle, 1 pistol, 1 shotgun, and .22, so that is 4 different ammo, You just might have 2 different pistols, and 2 different rifles so that would be 6 different kinds of ammo. Well you might also add in different kinds of shotgun rounds too with all 12 gauge.

We talking alot of ammo here if done right.

Personally I like the bushmaster but I'm also looking at buying maybe 5 of the cheaper Russian type guns, so that is 2 types for me.

[edit on 23-2-2009 by Xtrozero]

reply to post by Xtrozero


Yeah, I understand your point also. I was mostly talking about cases of "bugging out", seeing as how many ppl in the survival forum seem to be thinking about doing that in a worst case senario. Therefore my fewer guns idea.

I myself have 2. A Glock 21 and a Taurus 24/7 OSS in .40SW. I used to have a Beretta M9 that I used on the job (Level 3 Guard Card), but i got rid of it because that weapon sucked. I'd love to have other weapons such as a rifle and a shotgun, but I can't afford them right now.

Don't forget about pellet guns. My friend has a Hunter Extreme from Gamo. 1600fps with PBA ammo and 1250 fps with regular lead pellets. you could carry thousands of rounds of either for small game. Other than that I would go with 12 ga.

To answer the OPs question on the most bang for your buck with the listed calibers, here are some suggested brands and some reasonings for the calibers that I have used, and used numerous brands on:

7.62x39 - Brown Bear SP - Brown Bear is a good non-corrosive brand and I have switched all of my 7.62x39 over to it. It is much cleaner than Wolf Ammo (have to scrub my rifle for twice as long after shooting Wolf), and is the same in price. Don't get Silver or Golden bear, they are the exact same as Brown Bear but with extra cost for the casing finish. I've fed all 3 through my rifle and there is no difference. I even stacked a mag with alternating rounds and I could not see nor feel the differance. I suggest soft points because it is a good mix of penetration and expansion, you will pay about $10 more a case of 500 than if you went with FMJ or HP.

7.62x54r - Unless you have a Dragunov or an RPK, get the cheap mil-surplus corrosive rounds, you can get them for less than $5 a box in a lot of areas, and the mosin nagant is so easy to clean that you have no excuse to not take 5 minutes to clean it, even in Sit X.

.22 - Federal is perfectly fine for your standard .22 round, and dirt cheap. for HP I'm a big fan of Winchester.

Pistol rounds - Weather it is 9mm, .40, or .45 if you are stocking up on FMJ, Winchester white box is not bad stuff and it is cheap. I would highly suggest getting some +P JHP rounds though. Much better for taking down 2 legged predators.

.223 - Wolf - Unlike the 7.62x39, Wolf's .223 is pretty clean, and not expensive in comparison to brass cased .223. There is some controversy over weather or not the steel cased Wolf ammo can damage recievers in AR style rifles. I myself have not seen it. Also people say that you cannot reload steel casings, and I have seen it done. You just wear out your dies a lot faster than if you use strictly brass.

12ga. - Take this one with a grain of salt, as I do not use my shotgun for anything but blowing things up on the range. I have used many different brands of shells in various shotloads while making vegetables (my protest against the vegan movement) go boom and have not seen much of a differance in reliability or power in 2 3/4 shells. I just get whatever is on sale. For SitX make sure to stock up on 0 or 00 buck, any pellet smaller than 4 lacks the penetrating power to perminantly neutralize a predator.

Hope that helped. And I await the flames that may come of this post...