Where exactly do people think they will be getting ammo after SHTF?

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You answered your own question about where people (kids actually) get the idea they can find ammo when SHTF - it's from all those zombie MMORPG on the internet where ammo just magically appear here and there.

Unless you have a hideout somewhere far away from large populated areas, you are never going to have enough ammo to fight off all the tens of millions of city dwellers desperately looking for food and shelter. You want to see what a real SHTF scenario, read or watch the reports about New Orleans when hurricane Katrina landed. You really think you are going to find any ammo lying about in that situation?

if you really wanna know, my "found" ammo is from the guy who i just killed because... mmm probably no reason. he walked into my line of fire and my trigger finger was itchy. or i just wanted to make his head explode. or maybe i was bored... or i'm testing new ammo...

seriously though my ammo comes from my reload bench. that's the future, whether now as gun laws get tighter, or in the SHTF. aside from powder you stockpile components and you roll your own at your leisure. handloads have substantial advantages over factory ammunition. it has the disadvantage that you need to assemble it, but i think in the first couple days of SHTF while you bunker down - only a idiot would think they can loot stuff - you're gonna have plenty of time to load a couple hundred.

handloads can be customized to purpose and gun, you can realistically load just about anything they sell and then just about anything imaginable (within limits) you wanna .223 40 grain subsonic? i don't see why that's not possible, even though there's no listed load for it.you can take it a step further if you're really into it- wildcatting or inventing new loads for existing cartridges.

looting the gunshop is plain unrealistic, and if anyone's seen World War Z's supermarket scene, if someone decided that they'd rather not get shot robbing a mom & pop gun shop and gambled to loot walmart... they'd soon realize how poor of a decision they made. robbing mom & pop gun shops are pretty much suicide. places like walmart when employees walk off the job there's no one to stop looting firearms. in a mom & pop type of shop no one's gonna be walking off the job leaving things unattended. and of course there's no way to know if it's a riot or an actual SHTF, gun stores aren't gonna allow sales until whatever it is is over and they may use lethal force to prevent robbery.

realistically no one's gonna obtain ammo thru looting and not end up dead sooner or later.

realistically ammunition is either you stock it, you trade it, or you make it.

The main reason I would choose NATO ammo is simply because a lot of people use it...like soldiers and police....so you can "take" their ammo supplies. Ever notice how guerrilla's target armories and ammo dumps ? If you have a 257 Roberts, good luck with that. Use what others use....K I S S

Maybe the crux is what shtf actually means. I see it as a total breakdown of societal order as we know it. In which case the police are concerned with saving themselves and their loved ones as opposed to catching shoplifters or looters. Hell, there won't even be anyone working at the store.

As far as " finding" ammo, it doesn't really matter how you happen upon it, chances are it will be a common caliber. That is, after all, the definition of common.

The whole argument is dumb. Buy whatever gun you want and buy the appropriate ammo. You will not be purchasing any ammo when SHTF so being able to acquire it now is all that matters.

The idea is that when shtf you will have to defend yourself. 5.56 is a nato round and it can be "found" everywhere. The general idea is that if you have to kill somebody to stay safe that both military/police will carry the 5.56 AND most people who have an AR will also. It is also possible to come across a gun store or a warehouse or an abandoned storage unit and find that somebody stored their stuff there.

If you cant pack it out why bother? Elect to bug in...after the scavagers see your hanging in, expect to repel boarders.

22 lr pack the best round count to weight ratio. On 22 short will harvest some amateurs' AR,AK or FAL.

I think it's more telling to look at so-called "assault weapons" and what they shoot. Yes, 5.56x45mm NATO is plentiful right now... But not in the months after the Sandy Hook shooting. .22LR still hasn't shown up in some places, either. .308 Winchester or 7.62x51mm NATO is another cartridge that will be gobbled up if gun grabbers start their shenanigans.

On the other hand, I've never really had a hard time finding .270 Winchester, and for the most part .243 Winchester and .30-30 Winchester have been around, at least a couple boxes at a time. Shotgun shells were pretty common, too, after Sandy Hook, and they have remained plentiful.

In my opinion, I'd rather have forty or fifty rounds of good .270 Winchester that I can use to feed my family with my rifle, and a trusty 12 gauge that I can use for food and protection. Having a .223 Remington/5.56x45mm NATO in the form of an AR is fun, but it may not be my first choice.

Plus, most of the "SHTF" scenarios that the psychos are planning for will never happen.

Well anyone who is prepping should have at least a few hundred rounds, that will be enough to cover most situations. If you need more than that you are likely facing one of two scenarios. 1. world has basically collapsed and you have used all your ammo for hunting. In this case it is unlikely you will find anymore ammo in any caliber(although you are still more likely to find more common calibers. 2. you have used all your ammo fighting off zombies,aliens, bands of gangs trying to take your stuff, in this case you will have a better chance of getting ammo of the corpses that is a common caliber.