What is the best way to keep up with how much ammo you have on hand? I have tried keeping track on paper but after I shoot it gets inaccurate. Other words it’s sort of hard to keep up with. I have .50 cal ammo cans I keep my ammo in and keep it separated so it’s easier to know what I have and how much, but was wondering if you guys had any other Method.
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Ammo Log (How Much?)
- Thread starter D_mantley
- Start date
Just like any other inventory. You sign out for what you take out. You sign in for what you put in.
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I write the particulars and amounts on fresh cans with blue painters tape and a sharpie. I keep a running count on a 3x5 index card or post-it note inside the can for cans I'm using.
I also keep any pertinent ballistic info on a 3x5 card inside the can for long range ammo.
I also keep any pertinent ballistic info on a 3x5 card inside the can for long range ammo.
For 223 and 9mm, a 50 cal hold 1k 223, so I use one to completion. Before I crack another. Same with 9mm and a 30 cal can if a can is being used it’s not included in the count
i keep x amount in reserve of each caliber, for zombies or similar emergencies.
i have a smaller amount that is "buy to shoot" or "shoot and replace" which is easier to keep track of.
so far, i have not had to touch the reserves, but i am starting to think about shooting some of it vs being exploited by the current market.
i have a smaller amount that is "buy to shoot" or "shoot and replace" which is easier to keep track of.
so far, i have not had to touch the reserves, but i am starting to think about shooting some of it vs being exploited by the current market.
Cheapest way- Spreadsheet
Most fun- Hot intern
Most fun- Hot intern
Gun tracker app has an ammo stash tab.
Each gun you have in the app has a rounds fired tab that will deduct it from your stash or.you can deduct it manually. It can also export an excell spread sheet.
Gun tracker has space all your gun info as well as 3 photos and notes.
Each gun you have in the app has a rounds fired tab that will deduct it from your stash or.you can deduct it manually. It can also export an excell spread sheet.
Gun tracker has space all your gun info as well as 3 photos and notes.
Make it easier XYZ to make an accounting of what you have, especially on easily hacked/compromised platforms......
using this app seems like a bad idea for many reasons.
1000 reloads of each calibre.
1000 projectiles of each calibre.
5kg of powder per each calibre.
Should get me through the ammo drought.
1000 projectiles of each calibre.
5kg of powder per each calibre.
Should get me through the ammo drought.
Best way is to have reserves that you don't touch. Then you know exactly how much you have in THOSE reserves. Then your range stuff can be misc. and you just buy more and shoot when you feel like it, so you don't worry so much about that ammo, but you always know how much you have on-hand in your reserve stocks for SHTF. It doesn't go bad...You don't have to rotate it...It's not MRE's. 
Honestly, there is a good case to be made for lacquered Ammo for your permanent stash too. Old 276 Pedersen ammo was waxed and it still fires just fine even though it was from the late 20’s/early 30’s. The wax seems to have preserved the ammo.
Any ammo stored propperly will not have issues. Keep it dry and clean and it will last hundreds of years. The only real risk is the nitro breaking down over time, but propperly stored in a sealed cartridge it should not be an issue.
Those are rookie numbers you gotta pump those up1000 reloads of each calibre.
1000 projectiles of each calibre.
5kg of powder per each calibre.
Should get me through the ammo drought.
Yeah I hear that, I’m about to possum hunt with 22quiet and a sparrow.
I can't remember how many rounds of steel cased Tula 223 JHP that I have sitting around. You're right, for SHTF, brass or steel won't matter, as long as you got a good quality barrel with at 5.56 stamped chamber...Let it eat! That's why all of my AR's that are chambered for it, are stamped 5.56 NATO... And not .223 Rem or .223 Wylde. I've shot thousands of rounds of steel cased Wolf and Tula, and never a single issue, and have pretty damn decent accuracy with it (I don't buy cheap guns, or use cheap parts for builds). Not even a single FTF. I have had FTF issues with PMC brass .223, which is why I haven't shot that stuff in over a decade.
I have an "emergency stash" that is put away separate, and has enough for me to outfit my family. No ammo is ever removed from this.
I have a "home defense stash" that is essentially long-term stored stuff that is rotated and replenished at certain intervals, but has enough to last 10 years due to my foreseeing crunches like this.
I don't have an accurate count of range ammo. It gets shot and reloaded for as needed.
I also have my "I knew this shit was going to happen" reloading stash that would attract government attention due to the crater I'd leave if my house ever caught fire.
Store your stuff correctly and it will outlast you. Just shot a box of .357 that dad and I loaded back in 1987. No sealants or waxes, just kept dry and out of the heat. The girls and I shot some CCI mini-mags last year that were purchased in 1972. No issues with either.
I have a "home defense stash" that is essentially long-term stored stuff that is rotated and replenished at certain intervals, but has enough to last 10 years due to my foreseeing crunches like this.
I don't have an accurate count of range ammo. It gets shot and reloaded for as needed.
I also have my "I knew this shit was going to happen" reloading stash that would attract government attention due to the crater I'd leave if my house ever caught fire.
Store your stuff correctly and it will outlast you. Just shot a box of .357 that dad and I loaded back in 1987. No sealants or waxes, just kept dry and out of the heat. The girls and I shot some CCI mini-mags last year that were purchased in 1972. No issues with either.
Buy ammo cans, put Vaseline in the seals, and put the ammo in them with some rice for desiccant. That is better storage than the USG has for its ammo.
Buy so much it doesn't matter.
Excel spreadsheet.
I count everything the first of the year and verify the totals, if I buy more, I add to the totals and I keep a shooting log of what I shoot so I can subtract it from my totals when I get home.
Helps me to keep track of how many rounds I have through a particular barrel too.
I count everything the first of the year and verify the totals, if I buy more, I add to the totals and I keep a shooting log of what I shoot so I can subtract it from my totals when I get home.
Helps me to keep track of how many rounds I have through a particular barrel too.
Create a “working can” for each different type. Anything in that can doesn’t count. Top it off from your cases when it gets low. That allows you to only manage cases and not individual rounds
Separate into 2 stacks. a stash and a shoot.
The stash is bulk quantities like 1k, 2k, etc. stash that away.
The shoot pile is a working pile depending on how much you want to budget for shooting say 50-200.
You'll have the stash plus whatever is on hand in the shoot pile.
The stash is bulk quantities like 1k, 2k, etc. stash that away.
The shoot pile is a working pile depending on how much you want to budget for shooting say 50-200.
You'll have the stash plus whatever is on hand in the shoot pile.
Put together an Excel spreadsheet. Take inventory and then ALWAYS update after you shoot. Been doing it this way for years and never am off.
Phone apps, etc are a poor way to do it unless you don't mind the data being on some server somewhere.
Phone apps, etc are a poor way to do it unless you don't mind the data being on some server somewhere.
I keep an excel spreadsheet of ammo but have a shelf in the ammo locker that is not tracked. everything going into the locker is logged. Once a case is opened it’s moved to the in use shelf and removed from excel. This way I’m only tracking when new cases arrive or get opened and placed in use. Anything less than a case is incidental.
Set 300 rounds aside for combat shtf situation ; u might set 200 rounds aside for hunting application then stash another 500 rounds of the same thing else wereBest way is to have reserves that you don't touch. Then you know exactly how much you have in THOSE reserves. Then your range stuff can be misc. and you just buy more and shoot when you feel like it, so you don't worry so much about that ammo, but you always know how much you have on-hand in your reserve stocks for SHTF. It doesn't go bad...You don't have to rotate it...It's not MRE's.
A 1000 rounds packed in mags (in some sort of water proof storage) takes up a ton of space. Not to mention 5-10k rounds
I keep an excel spreadsheet which lists each caliber followed by bullet weight of each caliber. Then I just add to it when I buy more or subtract what I shoot. All my ammo is kept in labeled cans and sorted accordingly so it's easy.
If I can find a box of ammo somewhere in the caliber I want to shoot I use it.. otherwise I buy some. I do have a few cases of 5.56 silver bear and plenty of components should I want to load a few k more. Sad, I know.
If I had ammo, I for damn sure would not post a picture of it in ammo cans stacked on wooden shelves.
but that’s just me.
but that’s just me.
I would amend that...... The best situation is to not be able to track how much you have because you have too much.
I have two separate processes. One I keep a spreadsheet with the ammo I purchase, from where, and the price. In times like this it feels good to see that the ammo has appreciated in value and I giggle that I don't have to pay the current prices. Second, I have several sets of ammo cans. Some for ammo, some for empty brass, and others for bullets. In the picture below, beside the pink stickers which will come off once I camo paint the cans in alignment with their contents, you will see a black circle. Those are NFC stickers which are made to be in contact with metal. I can store up to 888 bytes of information which can be read and written with any modern smart phone with a free app like NFC Tools for android or iPhone. You can then update the info as you use your ammo. I have used the cans to validate my spreadsheet. I hope that gives you some good ideas.
For contingency/long term storage ammo, a 3x5 notecard stored inside with ammo count. Reloads are easy as the boxes are all 100 count. When the number of reloads gets low, make some more. For powders and projectiles, I keep an excel file on google drive so on those rare occasions I see product on the shelves I can reference at home on-hand quantities via my phone and only buy what I need. Super handy for powder.
Lol, paranoid much? Its not illegal to have bullets yet.
Google doc and drive is pretty benign. Not that they couldnt. But can you imagine the ramifications if it came to light they were accessing and using individual documents on your personal drive. I mean there are important people and whole companies that use it as a platform.
I use an Excel file. One tab per caliber, organized by application (SHTF vs Range vs HD), type (FMJ vs HP vs whatever), bullet weight, and manufacturer. Each tab has one or to formula cells to track total amounts by Application. There's a Summary tab that has links to all the other tabs and formulas for overall totals. The ammo itself lives in .30 and .50 ammo cans.
I sometimes forget to deduct rounds when I get home from the range, but it gets caught up and accurate again when a can is emptied.
I sometimes forget to deduct rounds when I get home from the range, but it gets caught up and accurate again when a can is emptied.
