battle rifle book 16

BATTLE RIFLE BOOK 16

Ammo & Mags

I used to be content with the standard one year’s worth of wheat for my prepper food.  Sure, I drastically increased that for Y2K, but that was supplementing the year’s worth with higher quality and adding other foods for variety, not necessarily increasing how long I’d eat.  Then, shortly after that, thanks to the Baby Momma ex-wife taking me back to court for more ( her making much, much more never dropped my support back down, of course ) and the all Negress run Food Stamp office telling me to Eat Cake, I had a genuine calorie deficit issue.

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I resolved that quickly, as there are fewer more powerful motivations ( besides sex-at least while young ) than looking at an empty cupboard ( basically, I rented out the bedrooms and slept in the living room ).  I still wish the ex an eternity in the lower bowels of Hell, but I am thankful for the experience as it moved food up the list of prepper priorities ( it had been guns, as per usual ).  Food went from “meh, I got enough” to a much more realistic “Holy Crapping Hump, I can never have enough food, food security or food accessories!!!”

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I bring this up not to highlight my greatness and perfection, although, yes, thank you very much, but because I see this same process in the gun folk.  After the Great Magazine Scare, price or availability scaring their souls forever, now the normal mantra seems to be, All Magazines All The Time.  Where dozens of magazines used to be appropriate, now only hundreds will do.  They can’t seem to get enough.  While there is nothing wrong with this per se, because it is hard to ever get to Too Much, I wonder.

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There doesn’t seem to be a corresponding ammunition mania.  Perhaps because while ammo was scarce and reloading components non-existent, our good little Randian capitalists had every faith in the free market to provide, and the corresponding government prohibition had no such solace.  Well, I hate to take a runny crap on anyone’s parade, but the capitalist system is just as broken.  Right now, all this Cheap Manna From Heaven is from that very system imploding, global demand destruction seeing desperation sales at or below cost-kicking the can down the road until bankruptcy ( but, more on that in the next chapter ).

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The capitalists infrastructure collapsing gave the appearance of swinging back to its normal Supply And Demand, whereas more and more communists are getting into office.  The Mag/Gun Ban Fear is once again ramping up, and once again, in general, it seems ammunition is being second fiddled to more semi-auto’s and their magazines.  Well, Sorry Charlie, but ammo is the weak link.  It always has been.  You need to act like it, though, instead of rushing down the wrong Panic Path.  It isn’t a question of how many mags do you need, but how many you can get AFTER ammo.

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And how much ammunition do you need?  Yes, it is arbitrary.  But I NEVER see my figures being proclaimed as too low.  If anything, I rarely see ( again, a general consensus from wide reading-I KNOW you might well be different ) them close to mine.  To me, a semi-auto needs a good three to five times as much as a bolt gun, and I was never comfortable with my primary bolt-action ( a hearty toast to one of the last great efforts of the British Empire, the Lee-Enfield no4 ) ammunition supply under five thousand rounds. 

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Most folks seem to think their poodle shooting semi doesn’t need more than one to five thousand rounds, with the lower end seemingly more common.  Sure, if you are chasing away Skinnies intent on looting your hurricane damaged house, I suppose a thousand rounds would be enough.  But for a long period of Bosnia-Rwanda followed by a full up apocalypse?  You are all gay blade over guns, have enough magazines to load up every round you own at the same time, but have one case of MRE’s and only a smidge of ammo?  Priorities, dude!

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This isn’t the venue to discuss food, so I’ll end that here by just reminding you Food Is First.  While stocking food, the minimum guns and ammo is enough.  Only after food do you start with a far more serious arsenal.  And THEN, it is minimal guns and mags and maximum ammunition.  You can always barter, steal or battlefield acquire more guns.  That is your least priority.  I don’t care if there is a coming semi ban.  The easiest item to replace or if need be substitute is a gun.  Without ammunition, all your other equipment is worthless.

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Get far more ammunition than you think you need.  If you are poor, but insist on semi’s, fine.  Go about one fifth factory ammo and the rest reloading components if you must.  Lee Loaders are inexpensive enough if you substitute time and labor for money.  If you stick with steel case, just be aware the danger to your gun, if any, and the corrosive AND accuracy hit you’ll take.  I wouldn’t accept anything lower than ten thousand rounds.  Hey, I’m sorry.  You are the one insisting on a semi-auto.  If you want my arguments for manual action guns, see my book “BBBno2”. 

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Otherwise, you insisted on this tool, and without ammo it is as useless as a microwave after grid down.  Some people make the argument you don’t need much ammunition, because you won’t survive that many firefights.  While a good argument, here is my counter.  You don’t prep to survive.  Most preppers will die-it is an overpopulation issue.  You prep IN CASE YOU SURVIVE.  Same with way more ammo than you’ll ever use.  You stock it in case you survive to need it.  Better to have it and not need it than need it and not have it, yes?

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After you are comfortable with your ammo situation ( perhaps not done, but at least comfortable with the interim amount ), then it is time for those magazines.  Yes, mags are easily lost and fragile, and absolutely necessary, BUT!  You can in a pinch, not ideally but if necessary, limp along without a ton of mags.  But NOT without that ammunition.  It is about prioritizing your limited budget.  Ammo first, then as many mags as possible.  Is a hundred per weapon crazy?  Na.  It solves a long term supply issue.  Is it necessary?  It might be a smidge overboard.

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But we are talking prepping here.  To me, a ton of wheat, and thousands upon thousands of rounds of ammunition ( before rimfire ) are just normal, not excessive.  So I can’t say a hundred mags per gun is all that unreasonable.  It just might not be feasible.  Here is what I would suggest, if you have only two or three dozen mags.  Is it possible to carry ammunition in your choice of weapon on stripper clips?  I know the M-16 ammo used to be issued in clips and we only carried about four mags.

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That of course sucked as a hold or take ground Army dude, but as a survivalist?  Not only would that decrease your cost and carried weight, but I’d wager it would really focus your mind on retaining the few mags you did have.  Is that optimal?  Of course not.  But just as a low velocity ammunition loader will focus your aim and rate of fire, and influence your tactics, lack of surplus magazines on your person will force you to fight smarter, also.  Meaning it will improve your logistics on the back end.  You could do worse than ignore current military combat execution.

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So there you go.  Have about ten times your carry load in magazines back home.  If you use your semi as a long range marksman and never Close Quarter Combat spray and pray, treat it as a bolt action.  Three to five thousand rounds ( or reloads ).  If you will be using that semi as taught in spray and pray ( “suppressive fire!” “cover me!” ), you need three to five times as much for a semi as for a bolt ( primary long arm, not shotgun, rimfire or pistol ).  Ammo first, then mags, then more guns.

( .Y. )

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