Ammo-Cheap or Good???

[JGreen]

I am a new member, but have been a long time observer. A buddy of mine and I have each started to put away supplies and some gear if SHTF. As far as the ammo situation goes we have differing opinions. We have each decided to put a small percentage of our income into preparing. I am more a believer of quantity over quality, while he wants the good stuff. We both are in agreement that we would like a good stock of good ammo. But my thought process is get a good amount upfront(because cheap ammo is better than no ammo) and then slowly replace with quality ammo. And he believes in starting with good ammo, but because of the price it may slow the rate of how quickly he can accumulate his stock. I definitely understand his POV, but I am interested in seeing what other experienced preppers think?

BTW, when I say cheap I am talking about close to target grade.

 

[Seadog]

Something is better than nothing. Its all up to the buyer. Buy what you can afford

 

[ncarper]

There is some "cheaper" ammo out there that is pretty good quality. If you have a gun that will fire anything, then I wouldn't worry so much about "cheap" ammo, but if you have a picky gun - well then you'll want to buy what it likes. There's not necessarily a one size fits all answer.

 

[JGreen]

I appreciate the input so far! For the sake of example I want to compare two different types 9mm ammo. I can buy Federal American Eagle for about $12-$13 dollars a box or I could pay a little over $20 for a cheaper hollow point. Assuming that my gun works great with either, is it worth paying close to double for hollow point or is the target stuff still pretty effective for self defense. Keep in mind that this is a SHTF scenario, where you will want a good supply of ammo.

 

[Lurker66]

Shtf, ball ammo over hp.

 

[ncarper]

Shtf, ball ammo over hp.

Absolutely!!!

 

[n2sooners]

I'd mix it up. A small supply of good HP for personal protection, but not a whole lot. A larger supply of budget HP for longer term personal protection. But if I were going all out for bulk ammo, it would be the cheapest reliable stuff that my gun would fire. The cheapest way to go would probably be reloads if you have the time and inclination.

And I would get a ton of 22lr. It is small, cheap, good for small game, and can be used for personal protection. And you could store and carry enough to use for trade as well as your own use.

 

[BadgeBunny]

Reload. (But if you don't reload, I'd go with 80 to 90% "cheap", 10 to 20% "good" ...)

Oh, and I'll second the "ton" of .22 ...

 

[pistolpete2002]

Reload. (But if you don't reload, I'd go with 80 to 90% "cheap", 10 to 20% "good" ...)

Oh, and I'll second the "ton" of .22 ...

I second what she said.

I like to buy in bulk, but I also buy smaller boxes monthly, weekly or just whenever I can.

 

[Glocktogo]

Shtf, ball ammo over hp.

Seriously? Why? 9mm FMJ is a terrible stopper on pretty much anything except a direct CNS hit, which is tough to pull off under field conditions. Anything worth shooting in a SHTF scenario is worth shooting with effective ammo.

I appreciate the input so far! For the sake of example I want to compare two different types 9mm ammo. I can buy Federal American Eagle for about $12-$13 dollars a box or I could pay a little over $20 for a cheaper hollow point. Assuming that my gun works great with either, is it worth paying close to double for hollow point or is the target stuff still pretty effective for self defense. Keep in mind that this is a SHTF scenario, where you will want a good supply of ammo.

Lots of people envision holding off zombie hoards, but that's pretty unlikely. Locally I can get one of the better SD rounds (Winchester RA9TA) for about 30-35 per 50 round box. Are you really going to need more than 300 rounds of it? That's about $200. FWIW, if you buy an inexpensive die set and a cheap single stage press, you can make your own defense grade 9mm ammo for about $25 per 100, and that's using a premium grade bonded core bullet like the Speer Gold Dot 124gr.

You obviously want to have at least 1000 rounds per pistol caliber when prepping, but at least 20-30% should be quality JHP ammo.

Another +1 on the .22LR ammo. I try to keep at least 5,000 on hand at all times.