Ammo: Stash vs Train

[leman]

Reading this thread https://www.m4carbine.net/showthread...t-the-gun-quot got me to thinking about the people that say that they don't have the money/ammo to shoot more. I know some people that have an AR and only keep a few mags worth of ammo at home with their rifle, but take about 6 classes a year and shoot every week. I also know some that sit on tens of thousands of rounds per weapon and never train. Obviously there is a happy medium here.

Lately I have lucked into a few classes at a great price. This has caused me to dip into my "reserves" and I'm feeling that paranoid feeling like I don't have enough ammo and I need to chill out on classes and training for a while till I can get my stash stocked back up. Still do lots of dry fire and low round count range day though. I'm down to about 1000rds 5.56 and 1500rds 9mm. What about y'all what's y'all's happy spot?

[turnburglar]

Not to sound cynical: but 99% of the shooting population wouldn't make it past 30 rounds in a gun fight.


I'm in the train more, stash less camp.

[leman]

I agree. But I consider most of mine as a "rainy day fund" for whenever the next panic is so that I can continue to enjoy shooting. Not to go all Rambo/red dawn.

[ST911]

Common variable: No planning.

Set a performance goal, identify required resources, train and practice to it. Evaluate results. Start over.

Same for purchasing. Look at what you know you know you're going to do (above), add a buffer for unplanned opportunities, add 12-18 months of supply to maintain that activity. That gives you not only what you need now, but covers the extended order periods/low supply, or your backstock for your disaster prep.

Be honest with yourself and realistic in your goals. The "more! more! more!" cycle many are in isn't productive.

[TehLlama]

Train.
I'm in the embarrassing camp of I'm going to have to turn most of my ammo stash into training ammo because it's been sitting the better part of a decade, and the environmental controls on it haven't been totally up to scratch. I'll start replacing it once I burn through a couple cases.

Make really efficient use if training time and resources. Incorporate dry fire, holster/manipulation drills, and inclusion of timing and precision elements so you're having to push hard whenever you're burning through ammo -- but don't hesitate to use ammo for training as long as you have your minimum stash set aside and still have comparatively easy access to replenishing it. Skills are perishable, ammo less so. Having enough to ride out panic buys is arguably worth more economically, so that's what I base my decision making around - but I also wind up hoarding too much ammo that I should be using to stay up to speed and developing as a marksman.

[alphavictortango]

I use classes as an excuse to buy a couple cases of ammo. Use some and stash the rest knowing it functions in that gun.

[ggammell]

If you train more you can do more with less.


Maybe. Maybe not. Sounds good though.

[Kain]

Shoot and train. Or train and shoot. Whichever. If you are worrying about stockpiling, my advice would be whatever you are shooting or training with, to buy, just a little more than you need and stash it away. Figure out your own personal ratio and stick with it. Eventually you will get yourself a nice stash. I have a good bit stocked away, and also shoot a good bit, between me and the old man this year we have likely burnt through 15k rounds, or more, though mostly reloads. I am trying to stock a decent buffer of ammo and components though as well as burn through ammo that has been stashed for a couple years and replace it with new/better ammo. That said, all the ammo in the world ain't worth a damn if you can't hit anything, shooting skills are perishable.

[Hmac]

I do both. I keep 6000 - 8000 rounds sitting around, replace a case every time I shoot a case. Shoot the oldest rounds first. Currently, my oldest ammo is about 18 months old.

[Beat Trash]

For several years, I operated underling the following rules: for every two rounds i buy, one gets stored, and one gets shot in training. I also rotate the new ammo, by shooting the old. So when i buy a cane of a thousand rounds, it gets put in the back of the ammo shelves, and 500 rounds gets puled from the front of the shelf for shooting/training.

This helped me get through the lean ammo scarce times without too much concern.