I'm a prepper too. Prepper is the new term and sounds so much better than all the other terms the lefties brand us with. I have stocked up on RWS 124 grain FMJs. They are high velocity and accurate and function reliably in my nines and always make minor power factor so I'm confident when I go to compete. They are fairly inexpensive at Walmart too. I have several magazines of 147 grain Hydra-Shoks that I use for self defense and carry but that's just to make any jury happy because that's what cops shoot people with. I always load my mags one down so they are sure to seat during quick mag changes. I hardly ever load all my mags unless I'm going to a shoot. If open warfare breaks out, then I'll keep more than 2 loaded. It looks to me like we're in for a slow ride to the bottom so you'll have time to load up. Just be sure you don't get so focused on hoarding that you don't shoot lots of ammo in practice. I'd rather be a real good shot with 200 rounds of ammo for battle than a poor one with 100,000 rounds in my gun safe. Most of us will be nothing more than a supply of provisions, ammo, guns and gear for the competent fighters.

thanks for the reply! yeah I get out about once a week to my clubs' range but, they only allow stationary shooting which is better than nothing I guess. My friend has a farm we used to run and gun on but, he got married and his wife wasn't too fond of the "hillbilly things we did" So now I'm stuck at the range which it's a nice range but, ya know. Hopefully there will never come a day where Ill need to use anything but, like everyone says better to have it and not need it. Definitely have to check out that RWS thanks again

Better to be prepared and be wrong than unprepared and caught with whatever might happen, be thinking longer term and set up to reload your own in the future....good luck....JJ

Originally Posted by rgrundy

I always load my mags one down so they are sure to seat during quick mag changes.

Exactly. If the slide is forward when inserting a fully loaded magazine the top round must be pushed down for the mag to lock into place. If the mag is fully loaded the spring is probably fully compressed. This means the extra space has to be made up somewhere. In a double stack mag it happens by the rounds compressing vertically and expanding horizontally. The magazine is now bulging out on the sides. This can be observed by trying it. A lot of force will be required to seat the mag, then the mag will probably stay in place when the mag release is pressed. The mag will likely have to be pulled back out if no rounds were fired instead of falling out. I have seen M16 mags have the spot-welded seam on the rear break open due to doing tactical reloads with fully loaded mags. Downloading also reduces stress on the magazine bodies when they are just being stored loaded. Downloading to save the spring is a myth. Springs wear out due to cycling and become unreliable when people stretch them out thinking they are counteracting the reoccuring compression they experience. Simply staying compressed doesn't hurt them. I download my 15 round pistol mags by one and 30 round M4 mags by two.

One thing that is missed on many survival discussions, because there is only about 1% of the population that has military experience, is that fully loaded you have 210 rounds of ammo on you to fight with and that any battlefield is a scavengers paradise. You really don't need lots of supplies if things get horrible because the less experienced will not survive and you can have their stuff. It's the old rule of "Finders Keepers". I was told long ago that the only stuff you really own is what you can put on your back and run with.

Yep. That's why having a 9mm pistol and a 5.56mm rifle are a good idea. Lots of stockpiles of those rounds in this country. Oddball ammo could be hard to find.

Thanks guys very helpful info I really appreciate it. I got a ways to go yet resource wise and physical wise (could stand to lose some pounds. why do grilled animals have to be so delicious) I've been wanting to get into reloading don't know the first thing on how to but, the internet is an awesome thing. All my handguns are 9mms with my 357 as the exception, Rifle wise i own all Russian variants other than my 10/22