What's an adequate supply of brass?

[1Shirt]

Was asked that question, and for me this is what I came up with:
For rifles in 224 & 6MM, that I would use for p-dogs and varm, think that 300 cases would be minimum for each rifle I shoot. 500 would be better.

For my Milsurps, all 30 cals, I think 200 would be minimum, 300 better.

For my heavy rifles 375H&H, 444, and 45-70, 100 would be minimum, 150 would be better.

For my auto hand guns 300 minimum, 500 better.

For my revolvers 500 minimum, 750-1000 better.

I am not much of a handgunner, but enjoy shooting them. If I were a match shooter, I am sure that my quantities would increase drastically. However, I am a varmint shooter, a hunter, and a paper shooter. Probably shoot between 3000+ roounds a year. (Down from what I used to shoot when I was much younger.

Will be interested in the responses and comments!
1Shirt![smilie=s:[smilie=s:[smilie=s:

[1Shirt]

Correction on Milsurps, forgot my Sweds in 6.5.
1Shirt!

[dverna]

Current approximate inventory
5.56 - 4000 cases
.30/30 - 500 cases
.308 - 2000 cases
.300 Mag - 200 cases
9mm - 5000 cases
.38 - 2000 cases
.40 - 5000 cases
.45 - 2000 cases
28 ga - 500 hulls
20 ga - 1000 hulls
12 ga - 12,000 hulls

I do not hunt except for a bit of upland game but want to be able to if need be. I believe in being prepared for whatever happens. Shortages, new laws, SHTF. I do shoot a bit of ATA trap - 15,000 rounds a year until this year.

Don Verna

[Cherokee]

Being somewhat OCD, I would consider anything less than 1,000 for something I shoot a shortfall in supply. At my age, I suspect much of my brass supply will never be used by me

[Hickory]

When I go out to shoot prairie dogs, I generally take 1500 rounds per gun, 3 gun minimum.

Why the big guns? Do you feel like punishing yourself?

Handgun ammo, I take 18 shot shells and 12 solids.

[RobS]

I get by is how it works for brass but don't over use it. I don't shoot a ton but rather for fun and hardly ever shoot more than 200 at a time and more normal if at 50 to 100. Average a year I get out once every two weeks. So for rifle bolt action 200-300, then for my autos 500-750 and the revolvers 500 or so.

[shooter93]

16.7 million rounds might be adequate.

[mac60]

1Shirt - The quantities you laid out are reasonable to me. I have a few hundred of everything I shoot. What I shoot a lot of (.38 spl.) I have 2,000+. I don't do much shooting during the summer, but I go at it with a vengeance once the weather cools off - I also don't "hot rod" anything and try to make brass last as long as possible, so most things I probably have a lifetime supply of.

[SteveUSP]

If the SHTF, then brass, lead, powder, and primers will be worth more than gold. Stock up all you can get, within reason. It's not priceless, yet.

[dondiego]

Enough to last.......keep savin'......+ 1000

[blikseme300]

Too much is almost enough.

[Cosmiceyes]

I'm like you as I have hundreds of most all I shoot.There is some like the 357 Super Mag that I have a 1000,and the 7-30 Waters as I didn't know how the wild-cattish calibers would would fare in the supply world if discontinued.I was surprised my 7x57 brass numbers were less than 100.I use 100 brass to load till I see a case become unsafe.Then it's put in the recycle bin,and a new one pulled from the over flow.In my .280 Remington I have deer boolits,and Elk boolits.So 200,and when I need brass it is easy to find.What has me scratching my head is how did I get 1000 38 specials? 357 Magnum I would understand. I have a 44 magnum Ruger I am selling as being older I like carrying less weight.So I went to the 44 special in the same model,but Bisley with a 5 1/2 bbl.It is just right. I want another one. So should I have ammo for both? :)
.25 auto-50
.32 auto-700
.380 auto-500
9mm -1000
38 spl-1000+
357 mag-1000
357 Super Mag-500+
40 S&W-500
44 Spl-500
44Mag-500
223-800
243win-500
7-30Waters-500
7x57-100
280 Rem-700
30-30Win-1000
358Win-60
375H&H-200
8x57-0?

[sealer]

while i've not counted my brass, i have weighed them. not counting the brass that is in reloading rotation, i have just over 800 lbs of assorted cases and hulls. those are just for the calibers that i reload for. and yes, i never plan to run out.
dennis

[btroj]

There is no such thing as too much.

I have over 3 K each for 38 special and 45 ACP. I have over 500 357, about 400 44 special and 300 44 mag. Probably 500 45 Colt.

Rifles are different. I have 300 or so for 30-30, a couple hundred 45-70 and probably 500 each 270 and -06.

I want enough to let me have some ammo loaded and still have empty cases. Nothing worse than wanting to try a load and discovering that all your brass is loaded!

Like pornagraphy, I can't tell you what enough is but I I ow it when I see it

[Abenaki]

"There is no such thing as too much."
Winner! winner! chicken dinner! btroi you are correct!

I have at a minimum 1000 for each caliber. Some calibers I have over 2000.

This is how you keep from crying when there is an ammo shortage!

Take care
Abenaki

[Adam10mm]

I've got a fairly small caliber footprint, so it varied. I'm down to a 20ga shotgun and 10mm pistol, but the others were as such:

Auto pistols like the 9mm, 10mm, .45 ACP I kept an inventory of 20,000 pieces each.

Revolvers in 38/357 Mag much lower at 5,000 pieces.

45/70 rifle I was OK with 500pcs.

.223 Rem was during my obsession with AR15s and I got scared to death if my inventory got down to 50,000 pieces. I hoarded the daylights out of that brass. Think I was up to 300,000 pieces at one time before the wife told be I could only keep one 55 gallon barrel of it.

I was a brass hoarder, but I recovered. Currently I have zero brass for the 10mm, couple hundred rounds loaded, and maybe 600pcs of 20ga Federal hulls.

I'm getting back into revolvers and settled on the .41 Magnum as my muse. Currently have about a hundred pieces but I want 2,000 to have on hand.

[hithard]

When the time comes, I sure I'll find lot's just laying on the ground.

Which is my plan if things get real rough.

[Muddydogs]

If I don't have 1000 I figure I don't have any. For my auto loaders 10,000 is about enough.

[justingrosche]

76703
I am absolutely a brass horder. This what I had two years ago.... I most likely have double that now.

[possom813]

I had an epiphany a few months ago and realized that the answer to this question is simple.

You should have more loaded ammo than empty brass.

[ku4hx]

All I can get; been scrounging for brass for over half century. Brass is like money to me: nickle here, quarter there ... just never pass it up. Current supply is about 18,000 total.

[GabbyM]

Quantity aside. I started using the 100 round flip top boxes in place of 50 round boxes for rifle brass. With the 100's I can more easily keep the brass in lots of multiples of 100. For instance if you had 600 cases in 30-06. You could divide them up into three 200 piece lots in six 100 piece flip tops. 200 30-06 cases does a fair job of filling up a case tumbler and is a nice amount to reload at one time. Goal is to keep a given lot of brass together and in uniform shape.

Much of my brass sits around sized cleaned and primed in lots ready to finish loading as desired.

[Bello]

For the calibers I Handload for I like to have about 300-500 +

[smokeywolf]

It really depends on how much you shoot of a particular caliber. I can't imagine anything less than 300 being enough of anything. Another factor is if you're reloading for an obsolete or semi-obsolete cartridge. In that case I would have to refer you to blikseme300's comment, "Too much is almost enough".

smokeywolf

[s1120]

Was asked that question, and for me this is what I came up with:
For rifles in 224 & 6MM, that I would use for p-dogs and varm, think that 300 cases would be minimum for each rifle I shoot. 500 would be better.

For my Milsurps, all 30 cals, I think 200 would be minimum, 300 better.

For my heavy rifles 375H&H, 444, and 45-70, 100 would be minimum, 150 would be better.

For my auto hand guns 300 minimum, 500 better.

For my revolvers 500 minimum, 750-1000 better.

I am not much of a handgunner, but enjoy shooting them. If I were a match shooter, I am sure that my quantities would increase drastically. However, I am a varmint shooter, a hunter, and a paper shooter. Probably shoot between 3000+ roounds a year. (Down from what I used to shoot when I was much younger.

Will be interested in the responses and comments!
1Shirt![smilie=s:[smilie=s:[smilie=s:

I would think you would want a lot more for the autoloader pistols.. But that's just me.


Ive never counted, but I have quite a bit of all im reloading. I gotta have a good 700+ 38spc, maybe 500 357mag, and 400 22jet. Not so much that Im not keeping a eye out for more... but enough that it will probably last me to the end of my time on this rock.

[grumman581]

I use 1000 pieces of brass in any caliber as a baseline. For some autoloader calibers, it might be a couple of thousand and for some rifle calibers that are not shot in large amounts (e.g. .45-70, .300 Win Mag), it might only be 100. For .308 and 7.62x39, probably less than 500 rounds on hand. But, if I find anything at the range, I keep it... Never know if you are going to need it in the future.

[ku4hx]

It really depends on how much you shoot of a particular caliber.

And what you plan to pass on. Both my kids are grown and starting families and now is a pretty hard time for many in that situation. Both are shooters/hunters and one of my goals is for them to not be left empty handed. They don't want to talk about this, but they understand it in light of currents events.

But it's not just brass, it's everything: guns, magazines, components, spare parts and etc. Hoarding is one thing, collection and accumulation with a specific goal in mind is another.

[jonp]

I keep 2x the amount of powder on hand for the brass in expected case life. For example, I can reasonably get 10 target loadings out of 45acp (probably more) so for each case I would keep 10 primers and, say, 50 grains of Bullseye.

[MrWolf]

I agree with you can never have to much. Rough guess I have about 20 cases of 12 ga for trap reloaded, bout 300 lbs of magnum shot left, bout 10,000 each of sp and lp primers, 4,000 small rifle primers, near 40lbs powder split between shotgun, pistols, and rifle. Probably close to 5,000 12ga hulls and I also keep every scrap of brass in any caliber I find or dig out of the ground. To much? [smilie=l:

[BNE]

What is too much? I have some brass that I have kept in my garage for 10 + years and is still shiny. So its not like it will go bad if kept reasonably dry. I keep what ever I come across. I have bought very little. Even if you have more than you consider a life time supply, it is valuable for trading with other reloaders.

[dragon813gt]

1k minimum for any cartridge I shoot. Some of it is going to last almost indefinitely, 38 special. Some of it I will only get a few loadings, 308. I have boxes of cartridges I don't shoot. They are kept as trade bait and in case I ever purchase a firearm that uses it. The more 223 brass I acquire the more likely it's going to be that I finally purchase an AR. I have little interest in one but I can't let thousands of cases sit around empty ;)

[grumman581]

I've even experimented around with reloading steel cases for .223 and it seems to work well enough in my Thompson Encore. Haven't tried them in the AR since I'm casting the bullets and I am using fairly low powdered loads.

[jonp]

Not to hijack this thread but since someone brought storing brass long term up I know that unprimed brass will last almost indefinitely but how long will Primered Brass last? I bought some new Nickel 38sp that is primered a while ago and never used them and they are just sitting there. Should I load them and use them, clean them up and then store them?

[Buzz64]

Just loaded and shot some .38 spc with no problems. It was primed in 1982 and stored in 30 cal ammo can until about two weeks ago. They were CCI primers if it makes any difference.

[mpmarty]

I don't count or weigh my brass I count how many five gallon buckets full of each caliber.
45acp 4
10mm 3
30/284 2
45/70 2
7.62 Nato 5 plus two of loaded unfired surplus from Portugal and Africa.

[1Shirt]

Some interesting responses and quantities. I started this off talking about minimums. Agree that there is no such thing as to much, however, often space availability might become an issue. Like a lot of others, I have no max number, and availabilitiy of brass and cost (where applicable) is an issue. Cost right now is a big issue based on limited availability and the cost of what is available, particularly to the new handloader. Doubt however I will ever need or use over 1000 380's.
1Shirt!

[Adam10mm]

I used to keep a lot of brass as trading fodder. Always used it to "sweeten" deals.

[Love Life]

I had over 250,000 308 cases... Beat that.

[Iron Mike Golf]

And what you plan to pass on.

Concur. Part of taking care of family. My biggest brass expenditures don't come from range loss. It's the ammo I send home with my son and son-in-law.

[dragon813gt]

I had over 250,000 308 cases... Beat that.

If it was personal use I'd say you had everyone beat. A business purchase is another story ;)

[dondiego]

Only 250 K? Why, that is a drop in the bucket to Homeland Security!