This is one of a series of posts on some commonly held prepping beliefs, and reasons why they may be wrong and possibly dangerous to you and your loved ones.

Their Myth Reasoning (not me talking/writing) – Once again, the math just doesn’t add up on storing a lot of ammo. There is only one scenario where you think you’ll be using a lot of ammunition, and it is the horde scenario. But, there again, you won’t need a lot of ammo – the horde scenario will be over in a few minutes to a few hours, with you the loser, and your stored ammo with go to the winners. Don’t get me wrong – you need guns and ammo, but the idea that you’re going to expend thousands of rounds is just a reflection of people’s erroneous beliefs about what kind of shooting situations they’ll be in. If you’re determined to buy ammo, don’t buy them for just your guns, – buy them for everybody else’s. You’ll actually own a valuable commodity. Better yet, use the money to buy food, which leads us to myth #3.

My Opinion – I disagree with this one. There are a number of scenarios that would require LOTS of ammo. Most firefights don’t last long in non-conventional warfare. But during that brief encounter you could easily blow through 200 – 300 rounds per person. To think a couple hundred rounds is sufficient for grid-down is not such a good idea. Plenty of rifle or carbine ammo (1000 – 2000 rounds per weapon minimum), a good supply of pistol ammo (500 – 1000 rounds) and a respectable supply of shotgun ammunition (250+ rounds of 00 Buck & 100+ rounds of slugs minimum) is extremely important. This is a good starting point. But I also worry about everyday ammo shortages, price increases, eventual ban or limitations, etc. To me ammo, and plenty of it, is just a good investment that makes me feel more secure. And no, I only will store the ammo I need for my weapons. Just so happens that my weapons are VERY common in caliber. You think there is a good reason for that? Any oddball caliber weapons are a recipe for disaster. Get rid of them now while there is still a market for them. If you win the firefight…to the victor go the spoils; which means you get their guns and their ammo. You don’t need to buy and store ammo for everybody else’s guns…worry about your own ammo needs. And lots of ammo equals lots of security.