"Police later confiscated additional artillery from Gonzalez’s home: three more handguns, three rifles, a shotgun and 1,300 rounds of ammunition."
- The Brady Campaign - Open Carry Equals Open Season?
From Helmke's latest predictable fearmongering regarding open carry. More on Helmke & open carry later, including tying in a bit of our semi-serious discussion on the topic during Vicious Circle #50.
I know the quoted lines are meant to scare folks, but ~185 rounds per gun is a paltry sum. Hell, 1300 rounds is about the minimum you should have on hand if you own only one gun. I would not be surprised if half the bloggers who came to Charlotte have at least 10 times that amount at home.
10 comments:
1,300 rounds?
I have that in 2 calibers alone (.45 ACP and .22) - and I'm way away from the stock levels I find comfortable.
Let's see I have more then 3 handguns, only 1 rifle and 2 shotguns --- is that enough to make Helmke soil himself?
Love how they have to try to play word games "additional artillery"-- bringing to mind howitizers or cannons - the sign of a very weak argument.
ever find ammo and not remember buying it? as I was cleaning up getting ready for the new bench, found 10 boxes of 7.62x54r that I have no idea where they came from.
1,300 rounds is nothing!
If I go to the range with more than four guns (not an uncommon occurrence at all), I will generally have more ammo than that in the vehicle with me...
And only about one-fifth of it will be small caliber or rimfire.
Yeah that isn't much at all. Hell I usally have over 2,000 in .22 alone.
BTW what's the 7.62x54R? If its re loadable and you don't want it I can take it off yer hands....
Also nice to see you posting more regularly!
There is no set minimum, though my general rule is to have at least 1000 rds. for each major caliber I shoot (not including defensive ammo or .22lr)
I don't make it to the range nearly as regularly as I'd like, but I see buying lots of ammo as a practical thing to do.
It's cheaper to buy in bulk and it insulates you from shortages. I've been able to shoot whatever I want throughout the entire ammo crisis.
I can't speak for the rest of you, but I bet the 12 or so full ammo cans I've got here would scare the hell out of folks like Helmke.
MikeB302000,
The "usual standard" is to have enough ammunition that so that it will last you X number of years at reasonable consumption.
Some people say 5, 10 or even 30 years.
One of the least considered aspect of "stockpiling" ammunition is the future value of the ammunition.
Costs are always going up so it makes sense to purchase and stock bulk quantities of ammo now while it is cheaper.
Never mind the fact that you may not be able to find a source of ammo once the Zombie Apocalypse or Alien Invasion starts.
Speaking personally, the only caliber I have less than 1000 rounds for is .45 Long Colt, and that is only because the only thing I have to throw it is a reproduction of a 150-year-old single-action open-top revolver. 9mm, .223, and .308 both register somewhere in the 1500-2000 range, and I honestly have no idea how much .22 I have on-hand, apart from "more than 1000".
Considering that average range practice sessions for me (which, sadly, are only about once a month now) can vary from 100-500 rounds, depending on what I practice and how many firearms I bring, that really is not all that much.
Factor in bulk discounts, shipping, and all the rest, and 1000 rounds, on-hand, of any one caliber is actually relatively light. Hell, I buy 1000 at a time, especially from Georgia Arms, what with their Canned Heat packages!
MikeB302000,
Why does it sound crazy? I was talking about long term planning.
Do you plan for what you are going to be doing in 5, 10 or 30 years?
Retirement, vacations, etc?
Look at the usage that Linoge has for his range sessions.
100 to 500 rounds per session means that 2,000 rounds is only 4 sessions.
Many people average 4 sessions a year (some more some less--that is what average means Sparky). So, 5 years of ammo would only be 10,000 rounds -- 30 years would be 60,000.
Given a break down in society (riots, Zombie Apocalypse, Katrina style emergency, The End of The World As We Know It) a person may not be able to get any more ammunition.
How much food or ammunition would you want to have on hand if that happened?
Given that most ammunition will last for decades -- why shouldn't people plan in terms of decades?
ever find ammo and not remember buying it?
Yup. Last year I found half a case of .357 SIG Speer Lawman that I bought at a gun show in March 2008. It'd been shoved behind an old subwoofer in the back of my closet.
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