KdT And The 100 Round Rule

[skb12172]

Kim always said if you have a particular firearm on hand, you should have a minimum of 100 rounds for it. I've held true to this maxim. Even a single-shot .223 I picked up at an estate sale a few years ago, then later traded in, got this treatment. All it did for a year was sit in my safe, yet within a day or two after acquiring it, I went out and bought 100 rounds of .223 and stored them together.

I realize that most of us, me included, keep much more on hand for our regular use/carry handguns and long guns, but this "minimum" is, I think, a good rule of thumb for the novice or even those of us who may have the random safe queen on hand. For instance, your friend/girlfriend/relative/neighbor who watches the news and has decided to purchase their first handgun or HD long gun and get training. While it sits in their closet/safe/whatever, urge them to also buy 100 rounds of suitable ammo to have with it. This way, they have an acceptable amount on hand to lessen the chance of them ending up with an expensive club.

What say you all in the peanut gallery?

Fire Away!

[BDK]

100 rounds is, pretty much, insufficient, barring a dedicated hunting gun, especially in the large calibers - 100 pieces of double rifle brass is, just about, a lifetime supply.

[Netpackrat]

I think I have more than that even for the 7mm Weatherby magnum that I haven't fired in over 15 years.

[JKosprey]

I'd like to do that. As it is, I generally can't afford that much ammo at a time, so often I tend to buy and shoot. I try to keep at least one box of shells for every gun. Sometimes I have more, sometimes I have less. The absolute lowest standard is that I *always* have enough rounds on hand to load each gun twice. It won't do much for a SHTF situation, but should be just fine for run-of-the-mill defense and hunting.

[PawPaw]

It depends on which gun we're talking about. I generally keep 50 rounds on hand for my hunting rifles, and 1500 rounds is a bare minimum for .22LR (which is a commodity round and shouldn't be included in any serious discussion). For my battle rifle, 300 rounds is a bare minimum. I keep 250 rounds of duty ammo in the car, but if I have to fight my way back to the car, then I"ll probably opt for the battle rifle.

What Kim didn't consider is multiple rifles in the same caliber. I have three .30-30s, and I'm not keeping 100 rounds per rifle. I also have three .357s,, three .45 ACP, and two .47-70s. (I'm sorry, I lost those in a horrible boating accident several years ago.)

I think that Kim was talking about a general rule of thumb, and that's a good starting point, depending on your individual needs.

[rightisright]

Ask yourself if 100 rounds is enough if you want to insulate yourself from price spikes like the one we are slowly recovering from now...

[skb12172]

It depends on which gun we're talking about. I generally keep 50 rounds on hand for my hunting rifles, and 1500 rounds is a bare minimum for .22LR (which is a commodity round and shouldn't be included in any serious discussion). For my battle rifle, 300 rounds is a bare minimum. I keep 250 rounds of duty ammo in the car, but if I have to fight my way back to the car, then I"ll probably opt for the battle rifle.

What Kim didn't consider is multiple rifles in the same caliber. I have three .30-30s, and I'm not keeping 100 rounds per rifle. I also have three .357s,, three .45 ACP, and two .47-70s. (I'm sorry, I lost those in a horrible boating accident several years ago.)

I think that Kim was talking about a general rule of thumb, and that's a good starting point, depending on your individual needs.

Again, we're talking about the bare minimum for any firearm in the house. Even something that is just sitting there for now until you sell/trade it later. Also, a starting point for the novice. For instance, your formerly GFW brother-in-law buys an SP101. He shouldn't leave the store with less than 100 rounds for it. That's the 100 Round Rule.

If we're talking regular use items, I keep 1,000 per long arm and 500 per handgun. It used to be 500 and 250, but I'm in a better financial spot now than I was a few years ago.

For multiple arms in the same caliber, I make sure I can dedicate at least 100 rounds to each. For instance, I have two Mosins. I can easily spare 100 rounds for one of them, while keeping the rest for the other.

As for .22LR, I agree on the 1500 round rule, which I first heard from Kim, as well. Of course, as Paw Paw said, that's a commodity like flour or sugar and isn't included in the discussion.

[Darrell]

The only round I have less than 100 of on hand is .44 magnum, I think. Shame on me. Which reminds me, I haven't inventoried my ammo in a while, I should do that.

[Netpackrat]

Though, it occurs to me that I still have a .30-06 in the house, and not a round of ammo for it. But I bought that rifle to be re-barreled to another caliber, when I get around to having it done. The main reason I haven't yet, is because I am still arguing with myself over whether to go traditional blue and walnut, or gunkote and plastic. I suspect I need two rifles.

[skb12172]

Two is always better than one. Hey, you get to buy an additional gun!