Now this is one I get asked often, and that is "How much stuff should I have saved?"
There are a few things to think about about when discussing this. The main ones are:
*How much do you shoot or plan to shoot?
*What kind of shooting do you or do you plan to do? i.e. plinking, hunting, competition
*How much ammo do you want on hand?
*How much supplies can you safely store?
So now lets see someone answer, and go from there:
*How much do you shoot? I shoot a lot.
*What kind of shooting do you do? I hunt a little, but mostly plinking. I do want to hunt more, and try shooting competition.
*How much ammo do you want on hand? I am not sure. I do know I want to be able to keep hunting and shooting if a gun grabber gets back in office.
*How much reloading supplies can you safely store? However many I need.
Now a person like this I would say after you got your ammo built up some I personally would keep:
*8 pounds of each main rifle powder
*2 pounds of each main pistol powder
*4 pounds of each main shotgun powder
*Now if one of the powders I'd use in pistol is also a shotgun powder I use then I would double the amount of the two combined. If one of my shotgun powders is used for hunting, and say trap loads then double that powder amount.
*Primers I would say 2,000 of each type I reload for.
*Bullets I would say 500 of each per caliber, per type, and per gun.
Now if you are truly just reloading, and shooting on rare occasion it will be much less, but at the very least this is what I consider the minimum each reloader should have on hand no matter how little they shoot:
*2 pounds each of your main rifle powders
*1 pound each of your main pistol powders
*2 pounds each of your main shotgun powders
*300 of each primer type
*200 bullets per type per caliber
Now for the die hard reloader, and bunker bug in prepper, which I have had several people who are ask. My suggestion is this.
These suggestions are for die hard reloaders or people withj bunkers and before storing this amount of supplies check your local laws about the amounts you can safely have. These are also extreme numbers, are per caliber, and if you do get a stockpile this large please make sure everything is stored properly, and safely!
For Semi Auto Handguns (9mm, 40 S&W, 45 Auto, 10mm, 460 Rowland, 357 Sig, etc)
*4lbs of your main powder
*At least 1lb of one of your backup powders.
*2,000+ target bullets. Lead bullets are great for target practice, are inexpensive, and you can cast your own!
*1,000+ FMJ bullets
*500 Personal Defense hollow points (i.e. Hornady XTP)
*8,000 primers
Small Carry, and NON hunting Revolvers
*4lbs of your main powder
*1lb of your backup powder
*1,000 target bullets (cast lead are great in revolvers!)
*500 Personal Defense Hollow Points
*3,000 Primers
Hunting, and Big Bore Revolvers (I love the 44 Magnum, and is one of my favorite rounds to load for)
*5lbs of your main target powder (some target powders a 44 Magnum alone will take almost as much powder as a .223 Remington)
*2lbs of at least one of your main backup powders
*3lbs+ of your hunting powder (the load I use for my 44 Mag takes more powder then a .223, and almost as much powder as a 168 grain 308. So if you hunt regularly with a revolver as I am starting to do you will start going through powder)
*5,000 Primers
Small cartridges for Semi Auto, and Varmint (.223, 17 Remington, 6.5 Grendal, etc)
*8lbs of your main powder. If you use the same powder for hunting as you do target double this amount.
*8lbs of your hunting powder. This may seem like a lot, but hunting varmints, and small game is not like hunting a deer. You can take 50 Jack Rabbits in a night, several coyotes, foxes, and squirrels just to name a few.
*4lbs of at least one of your backup powders.
For short action cartridges larger then .223/5.56NATO (i.e. 22 Nosler, 224 Valkyrie, .243, 7mm-08, 308, 338 Federal etc.):
*8lbs+ pounds of your main powder
*3lbs of your hunting powder if it is different then your main powder
*1lb to 2lbs of at least ONE of your back up powders.
*1,000 Primers if bolt action
*3,000 Primers if Semi Auto
*100+ hunting bullets. Now this number will very. If you rarely hunt 100 hunting bullets will suit you fine. Now a person like myself I hunt in my home state of Missouri, hunt in Wyoming (deer, and antelope, hoping to draw an elk tag soon), and this year will start hog hunting in Texas. Now if I tag out in Wyoming that is 6 rounds, I tag out in Missouri that's another 3 rounds, and in Texas it is unlimited hogs. So even without my son hunting with me who uses the same model, and caliber Ruger American I hunt with I myself without making sure I am sighted (which I do not recommend! I am just using this as an example of bullets alone I would go through without checking my sights) in can easily go through 15 rounds to 20 rounds as long as all my shots are placed correctly, and one shot puts them in the salt. I would easily need 300 hunting bullets. Now I mainly use one .308 for all my medium to large game hunting. If I was to start using a second rifle too such as a 300 Win Mag, or if I used my 7mm Rem Mag regularly I would get 100 hunting bullets for each of those.
*600 target bullets if bolt action
*1,000 target bullets if semi-auto
Shotgun is a bit different, and I am going to span this as if you hunted large amounts of small game, uplands birds, and did a lot of trap, skeet, handicap trap, or sporting clays shooting. Understand in all these instances you use a lot off ammo. The average statistic for a migratory bird is 5 rounds per bird killed. Squirrel hunting we will just go with an average of 3 rounds here in Missouri during summer, and early fall, and 2 during the winter, and early spring.
*8lbs of your main target powder
*10lbs of your main hunting powder
*2lbs each of 2 of your backup target powders
*2lbs each of 2 each of your backup hunting powders
*5,000 target load primers
*5,000 hunting load primers
*100lbs of target shot
*100lbs of your main hunting shot size (I use #4)
*50lbs of your secondary shot size (I prefer #5, but when the shop is out I will do #6)
*2,000+ of each type wad you use MINIMUM
Brass, hulls, and cases
*You can never have too much brass or too many hulls. They do not last forever, and depending on the load, and gun can wear out after just a couple reloads. Shotgun hulls you can get 3 to 5 max usually. Just remember Neck size when you are able too. I have some 308 brass that has been neck sized only, and has had upwards of 5 to 6 reloads, and still going strong.