The thing everyone is missing is you need just enough to repel an attack. Then go collect the guns and ammo from the attackers. Free guns and ammo. That's why I've never bought an AR. I'll just pick one up in the street. I already know how they shoot from being in the military. Same with a 9 mil and 45.

I used to shoot a lot. But, I've found the last couple of shortages have affected me psychologically. If there is a shortage, I don't shoot much because I do not know when/if I can replace the ammo. If there is not a shortage I do not shoot a lot because I am sure its just a matter of time before there will be one.
Of course there's always the fact that I have a hard time wasting high price ammo. Since I am getting a little long in the tooth, I remember what I used to pay. By comparison, its now all high priced. I wonder if younger people who never bought 22lr for 50 cents a box, 12gauge pheasant loads $3.50, or 270 for $5.00 do not mind buying at today's prices and blast away like I used to.

To answer the original poster's question - like money in retirement, you can get by on less, but always feel better having more.

Enough my Grandkids won’t have to look for it !

When we shoot for fun I buy enough ammo for the outing. If available I sometimes replace what we shot after. Shoot for fun during scarcity does not happen. Trapping and hunting only. Grandkids practice with bb guns. Price of anything considered a deer hunting round is horrible. If you buy brass cost is equal to loaded rounds. Shoot for fun except 22 doesn't happen much.

The dumb fatal mistake would be running out of ammo.

And why I bought my boys ppc air guns, AFTER they already had .22s, shotguns, and center fire rifles. Pellets are cheap, available during shortages, and they kill anything I would shoot with a .22 just as dead.

you have exactly the ammo you have on the shelf if your roof leaks or your storage poor not even that at times.

ammo at the store is never a guarantee any more. some stores some days better than others.

looking for any ammo even a month before a season is getting harder every year.

one year it was 12ga slugs
this year 20ga slugs
still looking for restock on 20ga sabots

at times anything that went bang nearly. like 2020

buy pheasant ammo in March or April there is either none on the shelf or they want double or triple for what is come Sept/Oct

like to be at least a year or 3 ahead on any hunting ammo
I would like to be further ahead than that but my money keeps being worth less and the ammo more.

My Tommy gun I have 15,000 rounds and three Drum Magazines. My UZI is made by Smith and Wesson and chambered in 45 as well. Then my others all have about 500 rounds per caliber. Too bad I lost it all in a Boating accident.

A dumb fatal mistake would be thinking that you are going to sit there with your 10,000 rounds of ammo and fend off a modern military force. You might get off ten rounds before it's lights-out for you. I realize everyone wants to play out "Red Dawn", but that ain't ever going to happen.

A few dozen rounds and a stealthy strategic plan might allow you to survive until you have the ability to accomplish something.

It might be helpful if you guys buying up every primer as it hits the shelf to back off and give the rest of the resistance a chance to help out if the SHTF.

Ok wrangler I see your just making assumptions of others plans and mind sets. Not unusual carry on.

And what mistake would tha be?

More then the Govt. has.

Amen posco ...store near me just got large rifle primers went up after work sold out

To make it simple, I consider 100 rounds per center fire shotgun, rifle, and handgun caliber to be absolute minimum to allow enough for its intended purpose as well as at least a little practice. Rimfire, I’d say 250. These amounts are barebones minimums in my opinion. Ideally, each of these amounts would be 500 or 1000+, especially since we all know how difficult it can be to get ammo. Some people waited years to finally be able to get the ammo that they needed. Of course with regular, planned use such as serious target practice, these numbers are going to be much higher.

The rest of my answer is that it’s really hard for a person to have too much ammo or reloading components if they like to practice or hunt. It would depend on the person, their needs, and whether or not they will be able to replenish stocks. A person or family can easily burn through hundreds of rounds in an afternoon target shooting. A target shooter, a hunter, and a person only wanting ammo for defense likely all have different needs and goals.

Hunting wise, a person should have enough ammo to take X number of game, enough ammo to account for misses, PLUS enough ammo to check zero/rezero/practice with, and it needs to be the bullets/loads that their guns pattern well. Using ammo that patterns/groups well saves ammo, because it reduces the number of finishing shots, misses, and times that you have to shoot a few extra shots just to ‘make sure’ your zero is good.

I don't think that's a false assumption of many preppers thoughts. However, I don't think there's any problem prepping for a variety of scenarios, but many folks have unrealistic expectations of their capabilities.

The best fight is the one you never fight. The people in your group will be your loved ones. Regardless of how bad or what you have been bullets fly and one finds it's mark it will be one you care about. Now medical help is a joke now not counting in a bad situation. Best to hide and avoid all fights if possible.

You can do that with as much ammo as you can carry and have 100x more in several stashed places. Saying because you have ammo meany you think your Rambo is the same as saying people will be a mass shooter because they have a gun.

True

got 7 rounds total, come take them!

Enough that I can't get rid of all the dead ones laying in my yard.