What stage do you stockpile

[kf4zht]

As I start finding loads I like I am trying to figure out how to best use what I have. Since I know that people on here stockpile stuff due to supply and demand, at what stage do you stockpile?

Do you have lead ingots, powder, dirty brass and primers, where you know that you can make whatever you need

Or

Do you cast bullets but keep the rounds unloaded

Or

Or do you load up as many as you can till you run out of a component?

Right now I keep enough for 2-3 range trips on hand but everything else stays in componet form except brass is cleaned and resized.

[gloob]

I can't keep up with aiming for a certain amount of ammo for all my guns. I just pick one or two things I am going to do that day and make as much as I can before I get bored. That might be casting bullets. It might be sizing and priming 45 acp brass. I haven't had an issue of having too much of anything yet. I routinely shoot to the bottom of my pile e ery now and then. I suppose I should get a progressive press so I can know what it feels like to have too much ammo. ;)

[Beagle333]

I cast em, powdercoat em, and store them in ziplocks. The powdercoating will keep them from ever oxidizing, and there's no lube to dry out and crack or fall out of the groove. I can just dig them out whenever in the future, load and shoot! :cool:


(KE4GWE)

[Harry O]

I keep from 50 to 500 cartridges loaded (depending on how often I shoot the caliber). Cases are sized, trimmed (if needed), neck expanded and sorted into headstamps. Bullets are cast, but unsized and not lubed. All are kept in separate .30 or .50 (or lately .50 tall) ammo boxes. Of course, primers and powder are kept in separate sealed boxes, too. I can size, lube, and load whatever I want in a short period of time if my loaded stash is getting low.

Keeping the components in air-tight ammo boxes will keep them forever. I still have some .22LR Federal cartridges that were bought in 1963 (52 years ago). They have been kept in ammo boxes since they were bought and they still fire with total reliability whenever I take out a few to test them. Unfortunately, I only have a few boxes left, so I will probably not find out how long it will take before they become unreliable.

[bangerjim]

Keep enough on hand LOADED to meet my needs for 2-3 weeks.

Otherwise, I keep all componenets separate until needed. That way if sales of anything is ever requred due to unknown circumstances, components are much easier to sell. Nobody in thier right mind would EVER buy loaded-by-someone else rounds.


banger-j

[Buck Neck It]

My shooting addiction always gets the better of my hoarding instincts. Seems I am always back to empty cases.

[mongoose33]

I have a certain amount of ammo made up as a base; I don't like to dip into that at all.

Like BangerJim, I like to keep most in component form, so that if I had to dispose of it, it could be sold. Unless you are licensed to make and sell ammunition....well, you can't.

There's another advantage to holding components in ingot form, powder and primer and brass form. I can turn ingots into any style of boolits I want. I've tried to accumulate powders that can do double and triple duty, i.e., usable in a number of different cartridges. For instance, I use WST in .45ACP but also 9mm. I have never used it in shotshells but it was made for that. Using Red Dot there--and Red Dot can be used in a whole host of other cartridges besides shotshells

Flexibility--that's what I'm aiming for, so to speak.

[runfiverun]

I buy brass and load it, then I store it.
when I wanna go shooting I get some out and shoot it.

I generally figure out loads for my guns pretty quick.
I have a specialty high speed load.
and an everyday generic do everything load that burns a medium slow for the caliber powder and runs about 3/4 throttle.
I may also do a box or two of a super light boolit,, plinky 30-50 yd load in case a kid wants to shoot the 'super magnum' revolver, or whatever.

boolits are stored in 5 gallon buckets for the rounds I shoot the most [44/45/357,308]
and the minor stuff like the 41 mag and rifle boolits usually have about 2-3k ready to load stored on a shelf.
there may be some sitting waiting to be sized and lubed depending on how the stock on the shelf's look.

run out of a component?
notgonna happen.

[mac45]

I try and have at least a box or two on hand for every caliber.
Other than that, most of my stock is powder, primers, and boolits.
I cast and load as I have the time.

[Doggonekid]

I try to keep lots of everything. I have probably 350 LBS of cast boolits in many different flavors. I have around 500 LBS of lead ingots to replace my boolits during the winter. I load all winter shoot all summer. Although my numbers keep getting bigger each year it still never seems to be enough.

[gloob]

Flexibility is good. And that's where casting helps a lot. As long as I have some alloy or even some cast or commercial boolits on hand, I can technically melt it down and make any boolit I need.

If I run low on LPP I can make 10mm in 40 cases. If I run low on SPP I can shoot my 10mm and 45 ACP. If I run low on rifle primers I can load light cast rifle loads with pistol primers.

But I would never worry about having too much ammo of one kind as long as I have a few thousand primers and a few pounds of powder around. I am not afraid I might decide to sell all my guns in that caliber, ever. I will always keep at least one favorite bullet hose for ammo that I have in stock. And if I'm not too happy with it, I might shop for a better one.

[shoot-n-lead]

I have 1000rds of 357 loaded, 200 38spl, 500 bigbore...the rest is in components.

I don't keep much of the Contender/XP100 rifle type cartridges loaded and I don't load for my rifles...cause I don't shoot them more than a couple of times a year...except for the pistol cartridge lever guns.

[11B-101ABN]

The problem with stockpiling is the possibility to be in violation with your local fire regulations as to the amount of propellant stored in your home. The regs are usually a county thing rather that state, or federal, and would normally not surface unless there was a fire, but that situation would more than likely get the attention of your insurance company also. It's a good thing to be aware of your local storage rules, and if you get anywhere near the limit, load, load, load. With the difficulty in the past few years of getting powder and primers, none of the guy's I shoot with have been able to stock up to anywhere near the limits.

[kf4zht]

Sounds like most people store at the component level, which is roughly what I am doing now.

Being able to cast anything is one of the main reasons I want to get into casting. Right now I run into issues all the time where I need 45 bullets but only have 9mm on hand or want to reload some 380 but only have heavy bullets around. I need to start gathering stuff to cast and building up a supply of lead, especially since I just added several more calibers to reload.

[Harter66]

I try to keep a few 100 of each boolit available, and a couple of boxes for each pistol cartridge loaded. I don't keep a lot of rifle ammo loaded except 1 that is prone to high volume purge shooting. I do put those 45 cal trays to use for rifle boxes.
Mostly though it is in components .

[Ken in Iowa]

My rifle ammo needs can change, so I will often prep, size and prime cases over the winter. This allows flexibility in powder, charge, bullet and seating depth.

My cowboy ammo is another matter. I'll try to have several months worth on hand.

[Big Steve]

I keep a pretty good stock of everything I shoot loaded. I try to stock about 1000 cast/lubed/sized bullets for my favorite calibers. After that is satisfied I just stock lead (either ingots and/or raw), primers of all sizes, and powder. I take all free brass I can get, which is usually a lot when I'm actually seeking it.

That way, with the ingots, powder, and primers I can make a bunch of whatever caliber I'm into at the time without having all those components tied up in calibers I'm not shooting much of, just sitting on the shelf. I have my staples i.e. .357/.38. .45 acp, and .40......but my tastes seem to change on other calibers. I'm not too scared to cast a bunch of bullets ahead of time because if worst came to worst, and I couldn't get components at all, I could always recast them into whatever I needed at the moment. I worry about such things, but in 32 years of loading/casting, I hadn't had to do that yet. Finally, my stores are to the point that I don't have to buy anything at the moment. I just wait on good deals or until I find exactly what I want.

What I have done, and still do, because I enjoy it and I like to know what my options are, is I experiment a lot with powders/loads that I don't normally use, just to know what my options are in case I did run out of my favorites.

[mold maker]

A months worth loaded for each regular used. A box or more loaded for the odd stuff. Components etc for as far ahead as I can afford.
At 73 my future use is probably less than average, but old habits die hard.

[fredj338]

Stock piling ammo takes up too much space. So I stock components & enough ammo for 3-4 months of shooting plus my SHTF ammo. Primers, if you are going to spend money on something & find a place to store it, it is primers. Without them, you don't reload.
I can cast bullets for all my handgun calibers, a couple rifles & even swage my own 223 bullets, but you gotta have primers. I can scrounge powder from other ammo sources & retask it. A 16ga shell is 3-4 handgun rounds & the lead can be made into bullets. I could take apart rifle shells I don't have guns for & reuse the powder for 223 or 308. You get the idea.

[GhostHawk]

All of the above!

When I get a new gun, new cartridge to work with I normally start with some factory ammo.
Then go on the brass hunt. Primers I have a fair stock of after buying at several points in the last year.

Some ammo I do like to load up and have ready for use.
I always like to have 1-200 bullets cast and available for instant use for most calibers.
And I like to have 100 to 300 rounds put together, on hand, ready at need.

Now it does vary some, I don't stock as many rounds for my pair of Mosin's. I have I think 60 rounds of factory, and another 60 of reloads ready, and that is enough for now. I did recently find some more brass for this so I might someday decide to load up another 50.

I do find that I am more, well lets call it "satisfied" with the current state of things if I have at least 200 rounds ready and more that could quickly be assembled.

Exceptions of course happen, I just got a 300 blackout in a H&R Single shot. Grand total right now after a week of making brass and loading is 60 rounds. But as I convert .223 brass, find .223 brass or find it reasonably priced that number will go up.

But it is a process, it takes time.

I will say I sleep pretty good with a good stock of both ammo and powder/primers.

[1911KY]

I load up about 400 rounds every 2 weeks, as I try to shoot 300-400 every 2 weeks. I usually only cast up a month's worth of bullets at a time and try to get them all powder coated within a couple days of casting.

I keep everything in component form. I have yet to have more than 500 reloaded rounds on hand before I get a range trip in.

[gwpercle]

It really depends on your frame of mind, how much free time you have and your anal-OCD level.

I'm a why do today what I can put off until tomorrow kind of person. I don't stock pile much. I tend to load them as I need them. I do enjoy casting so will slip off and cast a few, (it's good to do on a rainy day) put them in little boxes then lube and size them as needed or time allows.

Others aren't happy unless they have stock piles of thousands, loaded and ready to load.

Just do it as makes you happy, this is a fun hobby , don't feel you have to keep X-number of things loaded or bullets ready to load. Also a lot depends on how much and often you shoot, you do want to keep up with the addiction!

Gary

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

Do you have lead ingots, powder, dirty brass and primers, where you know that you can make whatever you need

Or

Do you cast bullets but keep the rounds unloaded

Or

Or do you load up as many as you can till you run out of a component?
YES,
YES,
and YES.

[Cherokee]

Another yes, yes, yes to the OP questions, depends on the cartridge.

[Kraschenbirn]

I try(?) to do almost all my casting over the winter...like, right now, I've something over 10K boolits left after my "Spring reloading binge." For my rifles, 100 rounds is my 'trigger-point' for reloading. For handgun, if I ain't got 500 rounds on the shelf, one of the Dillons will be set up for that caliber within the next week or ten days.


Bill

[pworley1]

I load enough to meet my near needs then leave the rest as ingots, clean unprimed brass, powder, and primers.

[Jeff Maney]

311299, 311041, C312-155 Already cast probably total 3,000, not many are sized.
Several hundred of each loaded. About 2,000 # of lyman ingots, various types.
I do keep brass cleaned up, sized & trimmed.
I think I cast, form 300 Blk brass (bought 4,000 pieces of LC 5.56 blanks for conversion)
than time spent actually shooting!
Jeff
De kg4f

[Garyshome]

I load it till the brass is gone, then move on to the next cal

[BNE]

I buy brass and load it, then I store it.
when I wanna go shooting I get some out and shoot it.

I generally figure out loads for my guns pretty quick.
I have a specialty high speed load.
and an everyday generic do everything load that burns a medium slow for the caliber powder and runs about 3/4 throttle.
I may also do a box or two of a super light boolit,, plinky 30-50 yd load in case a kid wants to shoot the 'super magnum' revolver, or whatever.

boolits are stored in 5 gallon buckets for the rounds I shoot the most [44/45/357,308]
and the minor stuff like the 41 mag and rifle boolits usually have about 2-3k ready to load stored on a shelf.
there may be some sitting waiting to be sized and lubed depending on how the stock on the shelf's look.

run out of a component?
notgonna happen.

5 gallon bucket?!? I am in awe......

[runfiverun]

that's buckets [plural]
I have a couple of 7 gallon buckets too, but they are just for the 452664 and 429667 and the rcbs 38 158 rnfp.
the 429241, 452640 and others are just 5 gallon buckets.

I don't like running out of stuff ever [if I can help it]
the boom or bust nature of my job demands I do things in cycles of too much, then scrimp and scrounge cycles.

[dlbarr]

Process for me is 1) clean, size & prime brass 2) cast, lube & box up bullets.

Part I dislike most is dispensing the powder charge. But I'll get set and maybe do 50 rounds/night for 2-3 days. then I have 100-150 rounds on hand and go shoot. If I waited to stockpile 100s of rounds before I shot, I'd never get around to it as long as it takes me to make time for all steps + range time.

But for the amount of shooting I do, I keep a fairly good inventory of components as expect to be more active after the kids get on their own in couple-three years. So I pick up primers & powder regularly and used brass when it comes up here (if I can get to it before you do).

[dragon813gt]

at what stage do you stockpile?

All of them. No point in not having raw lead, lead ingots, brass cases, powder, primers, raw cast bullets, sized and lubed bullets, completed rounds.