"a million rounds of .40 are probably a year's training ammo for the FBI."
If that isn't a commentary on the state of government ignoring constitutional law, I don't know what is. The banks and the drug peddlers should pay for their own security. They didn't help JFK, Sammy and Vicki Weaver, the Branch Davidians, or the dead on 9/11, and they never will even though its their stated reason for being.

We must stop trying to justify such things. The fact is that the amount of ammo I have or the number of guns I have, what kind, what for, are nobody's business but my own. That is the position we must communicate to the gun-grabbers. As soon as we try to justify, we lose.

I agree. Somewhat hard to do if you already have a house, but there are a few things to do for sure. I already use solar for heating water, and have a special room that stays warm in winter. Also, a basement works well for that too.

First a little info., I live in Florida in a tourist area visited by millions yearly. My view may be over simplistic to some people. When I used to carry a single load, I looked at carrying for self defense mainly. Therefore, if I would have had to use my gun, it would have been to defend myself in an assault, robbery or home protection. More than likely, one or two shots and wait for the police to arrive. Then for years now we have been hearing of threats of attacks in the U.S. mainly government and military targets. Of course now is soft targets and innocent people. So in my mind, I think that if I have to use my gun, it could be in a situation in which my life or that of others is in danger not by a robber but a demented individual or rabbid jihadist, one or more. Therefore, one or two shots and wait for the police may not work out well. An extra magazine is small and compact, not adding much weight and if I am ever in that type of situation I don't have to worry so much about running out of ammo so soon before help arrives. I was twice in the military and that's enough for me. I don't want to be a vigilante or a cop wannabe. But if something like in Paris happened here and I'm in a position in which I can legally assist and render aid to law enforcement confronting a Paris type of attack, I'm in. I'll probably be wishing I had two extra magazines with me.

If you plan to hunker down, then super insulation should be a priority (dependent on your local climate, of course.)

If you have a cabin in the boat for the press and components;^)

Probably a good idea to stock up on primers.

I keep saying, let's go take Venezuela!

Well put!

That wasn't what I asked. I know how much ammunition the government purchases. It's the statement of intent ("for the purpose of keeping it out of our hands") that I would like to be able to support. How can we arrive at this conclusion?

Case in point: .22LR ammo. Is the government buying .22LR ammo? I know of no such bulk purchases, and yet .22LR ammo is the subject of just as much, or more, scarcity than any centerfire ammo. I can't find CCI Green Tag for love nor money these days (well, for money I can, if I'm willing to pay $.25 a round or so on Gunbroker) and I'm pretty sure the Imperial City isn't buying up all of the supplies of .22 standard-velocity target ammo.

I've seen a lot of information on government ammo purchases (oh, the Social Security Administration does have an enforcement arm, see http://oig.ssa.gov/newsroom/blog/2012... but some of the arguments have been BS - example, one poster claimed to have seen an Army Chinook helicopter dumping pallets of .22LR into the ocean, which is laughable. And some of them are just normal operations - a million rounds of .40 are probably a year's training ammo for the FBI.

I'm no fan of the overreach that the Imperial Federal Government has gone to in the last few decades, as anyone who has read my comments knows. But I like to have my facts lined up before making an argument. Plenty of conservatives and libertarians like to criticize the Left for making BS arguments, but we aren't immune to it ourselves.

"How does worrying about this quantity affect any criminal result?"
Thinking about San Berdoo, the number of rounds is just media scare tactics trying to herd the public against self preparation and defense.
In terms of the question of this topic, its in the interest of my self preparation and if the discussion helps anyone else's self preparation, so much the better. I am interested in the decision making process, not how many boxes are in anyone's gun safe.

I would say that one can learn a lot from watching "Walking Dead" (replace the Zombies by the hordes of entitled people trying to get whatever they can) and "Jericho" ( what happens when government disappears and a town tries to defend itself from attackers). The fact these shows exist indicates that breakdown of government and the upswing of terror and gangs are on the minds of people for sure.

I am trying to be proactive and accumulate what I will need when the system breaks down. The biggest problems I have uncovered will be from the government people and others trying to take what I have saved and accumulated to keep themselves going. Defense against the government will be very difficult and probably get me killed (WACO). Hiding in plain sight is probably the way to go as long as it lasts (and the cheapest defense). Home defense is the next thing, which means a lot of bars on the windows and doors, and structural improvements like walls and gates. Freedom from utility failures (use of solar power, pellet stoves, and portable radio communication), and at least some freedom from having to go out for food ( live in farming areas, or grow you own hydroponic veges). Its a daunting possibility overall. We are so dependent on each other at present.

Same here, Herb.
If I had the capital I'd be building Atlantis, but I don't know where.

It's the fedgov. It's not likely to be used for what they claim anyway ;^)

Google Government ammunition purchases. You will also find that many agencies that don't even have armed employees such as the social security admin are buying all kinds of ammo.

I can see why you might question my question given the state's attack on the 2nd amendment. Please be assured that I presume you have the right to have as much as you decide you need and can afford to buy using your own earnings and capital. I hoped to learn how to determine how much I need using my own limited resources. This is a public forum, however, and there are google tools used in the background, so I am not looking for anyone to share any personal details.

Thanks for the comments, wmiranda. I completely agree regarding using discretion when you have limited rounds available. Will you elaborate on why you now think it important to carry 35 rounds instead of 18? (Or is it 33 and 17;^)

I bought all the components and read a huge book on it but never practiced it. Someday I still plan to make reloading a hobby. I expect it to be an engaging hobby with returns.

And reloading can be economical (long term) if you have the space to safely store components.

It is funny, when the media described the ~4,000 rounds of ammo the recent San Bernadino shooters had, I thought, I probably have that much, and so do many people. It sounds like a lot if you keep a single revolver in your night stand for home defense, or a single rifle/shotgun for hunting and never go practice.

I buy it in bulk boxes, and try to limit the guns I have to similar calibers to avoid a bunch of different cartridges. What is the big deal? If you go out shooting for a few hours, it is easy to go through several hundred rounds. I don't feel like buying it each time I go out. Why not have a bunch at home?

If it were necessary to have a basis for comparison, which it is not, how many rounds do police officers use 6 months in practice? How many do competitive shooters go through? How many rounds on average did any terrorist shooter in the US use in the act of a crime? a few hundred? few boxes? How does worrying about this quantity affect any criminal result?

I have guns. My wife and I train with guns. It uses lots of ammo. But I have an untouched back-up stash. It will be used only for self defense, but if I use it up it means that either the military has gone to the darkside or there is gang warfare in my neighborhood. Either way, no matter how much ammo we have, we won't survive. (I know there are other scenarios, but I'm making a point.) There's no use kidding myself, at my age I'm not joining up with a group, but at least we'll go down fighting. It gives me the creeps to think about it, but then, I never thought I'd ever see what the country has become.

"This is NOT ammo for the Military but rather ammo being stockpiled for the purpose of keeping it out of our hands."

Got a source for that?

That's the wrong question: it's about the right to carry arms/ammo, not what limit should be placed on it. But for practical reasons, it's whatever one believes is necessary for protection, and that varies greatly among individuals.

Enough is plenty. When I carry a Bersa 380, I used to carry one in the chamber and one full magazine. These days I carry a spare magazine. If you need more than one to defend yourself, you might as well be in a firefight. After San Bernardino, when I carry a 9mm with 17 rounds, I still carry a spare magazine. In the case of San Bernardino, the first police officer arrived in about 3 minutes, yet, we saw the result. When carrying smaller amounts of ammo, ammo discipline is absolutely necessary. You don't fire for the sake of making noise or to get lucky. Therefore, in that type of situation if you shoot and make each count, enough is plenty. To achieve this you have to think it and practice it in the range. Anyone can send 10 "to whom it may concern" rounds down range in less than 5 seconds. And remember, you will be responsible for every round you miss.