I’ll often make a quick call from work to my ammo and reloading suppliers to make sure they have what I need in stock before running up there over lunch. I make this call from my desk with my coworkers sitting within ear shot and I’ve heard some giggles from time to time. Recently I discussed what they perceive as the large amount of ammo I’m buying with them . . .
That conversation — along with Bill Orielly’s ludiculous rant about the Aurora shooter’s “60,000” rounds of ammo — got me thinking. The aversion to ammo quantities is only a matter of perception. My co-workers’ perception is that 3,000 or 6,000 rounds is a lot of ammo. No one would need to have that much on hand.
Well, for me…I’m a shooter. I use a firearm for defense, teaching, competition, and fun. So when I have 5,000 rounds sitting on my shelf, it’s more out of convenience and necessity than some unfounded desire to hoard 9mm FMJ (I built up my SHTF stock years ago).
For example, if I have a multi-day training course coming up, I’ll generally run through 500-1,000 rounds getting ready for the course. Then the course itself will require me to send 1,500-2,000 rounds down range. During the weeks after the course, I’ll spend a few sessions practicing what I learned; there goes another 500-1,000 rounds. So you see how quickly 5,000 rounds can disappear.
My conversation with the co-workers? Well, when I put the quantities in a perspective they could relate to, they got an understanding for why I buy like I do. For me, every pull of the trigger is a practice repetition. How many times does an avid golfer swing their club? How many times does a baseball player swing a bat, or throw a ball? How many gallons of fuel does a race car driver use? Here’s a good one…how many steps does a runner take in a mile? All of these are reps designed to get better at what you’re doing.
If you want to get good at anything, you’ve got to practice. I’m a good shooter because I practice. A lot.
I hope this helps some of you out if the question ever comes up. But I’m curious; have you had to deal with people thinking your ammo quantities are, um, unnecessary? How did you handle it?