I am a gun guy. I have used guns for many things in my life. To defend myself and others, to teach discipline to others, to discipline myself, and to just manage stress or have fun. So in the process of doing these things, I have found the need to store set amounts of ammunition. As of today, I know how much ammo I will go through in a month. So, I keep an amount of ammo stored that will fill that need. I also feel the need for being prepared in this area of ammunition. So I have established an amount that I want to keep in storage and have on hand always. We do the same thing with our food storage. We maintain certain amounts that would feed our family for a specified amount of time. We must rotate that food to not waste, to maintain nutrition or quality, and to prevent spoilage. I approach my ammo storage in the same way. Organization really does matter. This takes some preparation and discipline. Like food, ammo can have a shelf life. If not stored properly it can go bad like food. If not organized you can find yourself wasting or storing more of one thing than you really want.
Labeling is a very important step. Identifying what is in an ammo can without opening it is essential. This will save you time and preserve your ammo longer. Ammunition has a long shelf life if stored properly. If you need a particular caliber of ammo, labeling will keep you from opening several cans to find what you’re looking for. Get a good labeler. This is good for many things beside your ammo storage.
If you use desiccants in your ammo storage create a desiccant check schedule. Every 6 months (my schedule, maybe not yours) I open certain cans and check the desiccant. I do half of my storage every 6 months so the entire stock gets checked annually. Your schedule may vary depending on how and where you store your ammo. Ammo storage is another article. I’m just focusing on organization. All of these checks can be put into reminder form electronically. You can use a written calendar or whatever will work for you. My phone is what I use.
One of the main reasons I maintain an ammo inventory is insulation from cost fluctuations.
The 2008–13 United States ammunition shortage refers to a shortage of civilian small arms ammunition in the United States that started in late 2008 and continued through 2010. There was an additional shortage in December 2012 that went through most of 2013. The 2008 election of President Obama increased both firearms and ammunition sales. Rationing followed during the shortage. During 2012 a mass shooting at a school in Newtown, Connecticut, a frenzy over gun control laws also set off a shortage. .22 Long Rifle seemed to be the most difficult to find. This eased up in 2013 and the availability went back to where it was before although ammo prices increased and did not decrease with the increase in availability. During this time I never had a problem with my weekly shooting because I had stores of ammo. I did try to replenish what I was using and so I too was looking for almost anything available like everyone else. I just didn’t feel panicked like some others did.
Keeping all this inventory on my computer is much easier than a written log. There are several apps for your phone or device that will help you to keep an account of what ammo you use and have on hand. I’ve used some of them but I always come back to just a Word document. On this document I have:
The location of the ammo. Some ammunition are in hidden locations.
I have long term and short term storage.
Quantity, what kind of can it is in, caliber, whether it is in a bag, box, or loose.
I have the totals for each caliber
I also have my goals for amounts I want to store for each caliber
Having a plan for ammo storage is an important part of your defense plan. Be realistic about what you would like to store and store safely and in an organized manner. You’ll be more prepared if a shortage should ever arise and not panic because you are caught without any ammunition when it is needed.
Semper Paratus
Check 6
Burn
No comments:
Post a Comment