SHTF Ammo

I've been shopping for firearms with the intent of having a gun for the most popular ammunition which might be available/found/bartered in a SHTF scenario. I've been passing on great deals (like a serials matching 1947 Mosin Nagant, and a Romanian Takarev) because they shoot obscure ammo.

My theory is that no matter how much ammo I have, I might run out. When/if SHTF occurs, ammo could be a good barter item. I'd hate to walk away from ammo barter because I don't have a gun to shoot it with. I'd hate to walk away from found ammo for the same reason. At the same time, I'd hate to walk away from something else I need because I don't have a particular ammo to trade.

Yesterday, I purchased a 9mm (I never should've sold my Calico M951S) and finished my list of popular civilian/military/law enforcement rounds. I wonder if I missed any that I should consider.

9mm Luger, .45ACP, .40, .357/.38sp, .22lr, .22mag, .223/5.56x45mm, .308/7.62x51mm, 30-06, 7.62x39, 12ga, 20ga

Of course, in the back of my mind I'd love to find a good deal on a .50 BMG...

Is there another type I should be considering?

Reloading your own ammo will get you by for a while. You can cast your own lead bullets, re-use your brass, and even manufacture your own gunpowder if you know your chemistry.

One problem:

Does anyone know how to make a primer?

A lot of "preppers" I've run into seem to think that because they have reloading supplies they'll be OK indefinitely. Not if you can't make a primer.

Right, reloading is another aspect to the ammo issue. The problem with that is brass can't be reused indefinitely.

Mercury fulminate is the hard part of a primer. Like you said for gunpowder - you just need to know the chemistry.

I don't know the most popular rifle caliber, but i'd like to. For a shtf scenario I guess the biggest thing is if you have to run. That's where a 22 really seems practical.

I have an ak in 7.62x39 and 22, glock 27. I'm going to buy a 9mm conversion barrel and mags.

I guess you can use a regular 22, but I knew people growing up that would shoot deer on the side of the road with a 22 mag and eat them.



I never thought about making a primer

a reply to: stutteringp0et

.556-----.308-----9mm-----45acp-----22lr. These are the rounds to have for survival and you should have a least 1000 rounds per gun.



The .556 round is the best all around caliber in the world. 3000 fps = Bad day. The .308 has more power but is heavy,heavy,heavy. I always laugh when I hear people talking crap about the .556. Ballistics do not lie people do.

a reply to: stutteringp0et

Is there another type I should be considering?

Yah, less types.

In a the land of real shtf, you will probably be on the move. One can't possibly carry all that stuff. You'd be leaving most of it behind.

Keep it simple, carry a rifle and all the rounds it can handle.

a reply to: SubTruth

This isn't a question of "best round" - but a question of most popular (most likely available ammo) in SHTF. Of all my handguns, I'd prefer to carry my 1911 - if I have ammo for it. In other words, in SHTF - my favorite gun will be the one that's loaded.

When SHTF, if I'm looking for ammo - I'd like to have a gun for whatever ammo I find.

5.56 is your best bet for a long gun not a 223. A 5.56 can chamber 223 and 5.56 where as a 223 can only chamber 223 rounds. For side arm 45ACP or 9mm but also a judge 45/410 ga shot shell. These would be my choice for a bug out situation. Ammo is light and not bulky and can be acquired from a lot of sources along the way.

Now for a bug in, all of the above plus 12ga shot gun and something long rang like a 30/06, or 700win mag for at&t shots.

In the end the best weapon is the one you use everyday.

a reply to: intrptr

In the short term, I'm planning on bugging-in. I have supplies, tools, food (and food production) - and I'm in a remote location. If I have to bug out - I have already chosen the firearms that are travelling with me (.40, .45, .22, .223, .308). Handguns and rifles for each member of my family.

a reply to: stutteringp0et

I think preppers tend to over do guns and ammo. You've got to carry that stuff you know. How many gunfights do you really expect to survive?

I'd stick to one rifle and one sidearm. I'd go 9mm ot .45 on the sidearm for ammo availability and 7.62 on the rifle as a comprise between availability and stopping power, because good luck hunting with 5.56. And unless you're really a good marksman there's a strong argument to be made for swapping out the rifle for a scatter gun- you can reload your shells easier, hunt better, and intimidate better at close quarters. Cause most of us aren't recon marines and we wont see trouble coming 500 or even 300 yards off.

As for barter goods, whiskey and cigarettes. Lighter and more universal.

a reply to: The Vagabond

I've taken a hog with 5.56, and I have a plan for weapons to carry if bugging out. My plan isn't to carry everything I have - that would be ridiculous. Each member of my family will carry 2 (handgun and rifle).

originally posted by: hillbilly4rent
5.56 is your best bet for a long gun not a 223. A 5.56 can chamber 223 and 5.56 where as a 223 can only chamber 223 rounds

223's can chamber 5.56 just fine, and can shoot them quite well. Over time the chamber pressure could be an issue but in a survival situation that may not be a big deal.

a reply to: hillbilly4rent

My AR is chambered in 5.56 - so I'm all good there.

For the best shtf ammo to have on hand, 22lr, 12 gauge bird and buck, 9mm, and 223/5.56. In that order.

a reply to: caterpillage

It's the other way around, 5.56 can chamber .223 - but .223 cannot chamber 5.56. Unless you're talking about the .223 wylde barrels...

a reply to: stutteringp0et

Well you listed the NATO calibers plus the 7.62 x39 and the .22 so that pretty much covers easy to find ammo, however the 300 AAC is very quiet when suppressed and subsonic. Furthermore the parent case for it is the 5.56 and is easily converted to shoot 300 AAC. So in my opinion that's the one you are missing.

a reply to: SubTruth

The .338 is ever increasing in popularity. I don't think I'd want to rely on this caliber in a long-term survival situation, but it would sure come in handy against anyone wearing body armor during the early stages of SHTF. That said, my preference is a simple 30-06 fitted with the highest quality glass.



And primers? Primers are affordable and available ATM. If you don't have a press, you don't need primers. If you have a press ... you know it's mounted to a bench, and that's in a static location. A press and primers are only good up 'til the day before SHTF. Those forty ammo cans you filled up and set beside your press aren't likely to go anywhere with you either.

I hope my handgun (on my hip) will get me to my AR (in my trunk). I hope my AR will get me to my hunting rifle (in the woods). If SHTF, I will NOT be bartering ammo with anyone for anything.

And, for anyone who is really concerned the S *will* HTF, you ought to be considering something like THIS before things 'get real'. There's nothing like unbalancing the odds in your favor.

a reply to: stutteringp0et

Decent idea but having everyone carrying weapons chambered for the same rounds could save a lot of headaches all the same. And not that you can't kill anything with 5.56 but the round is designed to wound not to kill. Having to hit the heart or head or else track a wounded animal is less than ideal, to say nothing of the importance of being able to drop a human or animal predator immediately.

a reply to: caterpillage

Let me rephrase that. The 223 can chamber a 556 but as you said the pressure is the issuse.

originally posted by: The Vagabond
a reply to: stutteringp0et

Decent idea but having everyone carrying weapons chambered for the same rounds could save a lot of headaches all the same. And not that you can't kill anything with 5.56 but the round is designed to wound not to kill. Having to hit the heart or head or else track a wounded animal is less than ideal, to say nothing of the importance of being able to drop a human or animal predator immediately.

Have you tried Hornady 5.56 V-max? It literally turns coyotes into red jello, i'm sure a center mass shots on humans would leave no wounded..