Hoe much ammo to bring

valleysnyper

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jun 16, 2015
Messages
534
Location
Southwest Wisconsin
Pretty self explanatory, I'm going on a 9 day Colorado elk hunt this year. We will be packing in snd will be a long trip to the truck. How much ammo should I plan on taking in with me ? Anybody pack in a back up gun ?
 
One. It's all you need if you put it in the right place. Lol. Now reality. I usually bring a box of 20 and separated between a couple of containers in the event one gets lost.

I also only pack in one rifle due to weight and besides most folks hunt with a buddy. Meaning if something happens to my rifle, then I can just use my partners if needed.
 
I carry 20 rounds in 2 different containers although I have never use the remaining 19. All have been 1 shot kills except moose. Needed (2) 270 Win rounds to seal the deal.
 
Depends on my tag(s). Since I usually only hunt 1 species, 5 in the mag is plenty.
I hate carrying around extra weight in the hills.
 
What good is an empty rifle with no ammo,common sence says be prepared it's a 9 day hunt anything could happen, ammos lite enough, forget the sink! Lol , talk about taking an extra rifle , ya never know .
 
I carry 2 5rd loaded mags and 3 extra in a small pelican case with my tags and emergency stuff. I've never need the 2nd half of the first mag, but it's always good to have extras. Have a nice stock pack with a pouch now, so I'll probably just keep a couple extra in there from now on.
 
3 7-SAUM rounds fit in my mag. So that many + about 5 more in a tiny zip-loc bag. More in the truck. Weight is precious! Probably not going to get into so many dumb elk that I manage to blast off 20 rounds.
 
Might be considered cheating, as I use horses and mules. So I take a couple boxes. But when out hunting, pack what's in the rifle and about a dozen extra. But never have taken a backup rifle.
 
Around 12. I like to have 3 extra for emergency use, for the 3 shot volleys communicating "here I am" or "I'm in big trouble".

35 yrs ago I flew in on one 20-day stint with only 5 shells. But that was under-doing it. Ended up having only one left on the walk out in grizzly rich country.

With grizzly and brown bear where I hunt, having ~12 makes sense by providing some extras for these other possible uses of ammo.

When it comes right down to shooting the targeted animal, 6 should be enough 99% of the time. If 6 isn't enough, it's because of the equivalent of Murphy's Law.

By taking 12, you're at twice the number that should almost always be sufficient.

But when my trips are shorter and I'm lighter on weight, I'm not averse to taking a few more rounds for good measure.

Whatever that all means! :)
Short answer is 12 most of the time for multi-day backpack hunts.
 
"With grizzly and brown bear where I hunt, having ~12 makes sense by providing some extras for these other possible uses of ammo"

Yep...for sure. Where I hunt I always encounter "grizz" on the hunt.
 
Warning! This thread is more than 5 years ago old.
It's likely that no further discussion is required, in which case we recommend starting a new thread. If however you feel your response is required you can still do so.
Top