How Stockpiling Ammunition Can Help Save America

[Author’s Note: This article would have taken a different angle if the results from Tuesday were also different. The title would have been the same though… ]

I passionately believe that if every American had a stockpile of ammunition (along with the tools and training to use said ammunition) our country would be in a better place - in multiple ways.

"Big T, little t, what begins with T?" - Dr. Seuss (sort of)

Resistance to Big "T” Tyranny

First of all, I, and many like me, believe a civilian population having affordable access to ammunition, firearms, and training is a good thing. A necessary thing. While communists and totalitarian governments would disagree (just ask Mao or Stalin their stance on gun control), our founding fathers agreed, and understood that an armed populace was necessary to resist tyranny and protect personal freedom.

"To disarm the people [is] the best and most effective way to enslave them." - George Mason, Virginia delegate that objected to the original version of the Constitution because it lacked a Bill of Rights (which was added three years later). 

As we found out during the Covid years, locales that had the most gun control (Australia, New Zealand, California, New York, for example) were more likely to lock down their people and impose mandates that limited personal freedom. This isn’t a 1 for 1 correlation of course. We know there are millions of armed citizens in California and New York who, if things went any further, just might have taken up arms, but we’ll never know. 

So if we’re counting down, resistance to big "T" Tyranny is the number one reason for stockpiling ammunition, owning firearms and training regularly... but there are other reasons as well. 

Resistance to little "t” tyranny

Tyranny covers any situation where someone exercises power or control over you in a cruel, oppressive, or abusive manner. Someone pointing a gun at your face and demanding the keys to your car is a form of tyranny in my book. They are trying to exercise control over you through use of force. In that moment you have to comply or fight - those are your only two options. Having a gun in your hand is an effective form of defense in those situations. In other words, a good way to resist little "t” tyranny. 

Much like when a government is forcing Big Tyranny on you, you have two options: you can comply or fight. To be fair, fighting tyranny doesn’t necessarily mean only using firearms either. It just means resisting and not complying like many of us did during the Covid times. It didn’t need to get to the shooting stage. 

But this is a sliding scale of force that starts with a dirty look and ends with a bullet, or lots of bullets -  the most effective means of resistance to tyranny we common folk have available. 

Self Sufficiency

You’ve probably seen those memes that show a happy family on a farm with a dog running around. Then a statement like: Resist Tyranny: Grow your own Food - or some variation of that. Self Sufficiency is undoubtedly a form of resistance to government control in our lives. This is why China loves having people live in high rises with doors they can weld shut, and why globalists want us all in “15 minute cities” -  we are easier to control. The people that live on land and have no need for government are very difficult to control. 

Why? 

Because the government doesn’t have any leverage on them. They can’t turn off their electricity, they’ll just make their own. They can’t shut down the food supply, they’ll grow their own. They’re cars aren’t electric and can’t be shut off remotely either. Those old diesel trucks won’t quit for 150 years! In other words the more self-sufficient you are the less likely you are to be subjected. For these folks, having a stockpile of ammunition is just table stakes. You can’t claim to be self sufficient without owning multiple firearms and a crap-ton of ammunition! 

Inflation Protection

What do you get when you stuff a bunch of dollars under your mattress for 30 years? Thirty years of bad sleep! We know the dollar is a mess. It is losing reserve currency status, we’re in 35+ trillion dollars worth of debt and currently owe more money on our outstanding interest than we pay in national defense! I’m a hard asset believer and don’t keep very much of my money in Federal Reserve Notes. Like Hemingway describes of the two ways to go bankrupt, currency collapse will happen: “gradually, then suddenly.” The less paper you are holding when that happens the better. 

On the other hand, having a stockpile of ammunition won’t be the worst idea either, and might just protect you from financial ruin. Sure, you also need to balance it out with other physical assets (like gold and silver) that hold value in a currency devaluation, but ammunition is something that will keep its value in both inflationary times and go up in times of uncertainty. 

Exhibit A: Fiery but "mostly peaceful" riots of 2020. 

Community

Now we get to other ways that having a stockpile of ammunition will help save America that you might not have thought of like: Community. Like we say around my house, “families that shoot together, stay together”. The fact is, gun people are generally just good honest people. When you enter the shooting community you become part of a huge family. If you haven’t been to a shooting sports event, what are you waiting for? Go! Take a look around at all the folks who are having a good time, swapping stories and enjoying their shooting passion. Take a training class and experience the same thing. I’ll bet you’ll make some friends with the guy or gal on the firing line right next to you. Having a stockpile of ammo means that you will get out and “play” with your guns more. You’re also more likely to take a training class or join a shooting sport and in turn, meet new people and become part of the firearms community. 

Sunlight & Exercise

It is hard to shoot guns and not be outdoors. Yes, indoor ranges exist, but if you are like me, you prefer to be outdoors in the sunshine. Depending on your form of shooting you might be hiking great distances (ie hunting), running up and down hills (ie Run N’ Guns) or just getting some range time in the great outdoors with family and friends (see “community” above). Either way you are likely outdoors, getting sunshine and fresh air - which is one of the best things you can do for your health. 

Owning a gun is also good for your mental health as well, which brings me to my last point on why having a stockpile of ammunition will help save America… 

Greater Sense of Responsibility 

When you own a gun, you have immense responsibility in your hands. Let’s be honest here, you have the power to take someone’s life with 3-5lbs of pressure from your index finger. That is no joke. Every single gun owner needs to be able to handle that level of responsibility. Those that can’t, will wind up dead or in prison. When you carry a gun daily it is even more important that you exhibit self control and patience with those around you. You have to be responsible. Period.

Everyone has seen the videos of road rage where someone gets angry after being cut off and takes action into their own hands. If that person also has a gun, as they sometimes do, then life altering decisions could result. For those of us that own guns, train regularly, and mentally work through potential real life scenarios, we are less likely to fall into anger traps that could put any of us in serious trouble. That just comes with the territory of owning a gun. If you can’t handle it, then it is best to sell your guns or at least get training before something very bad happens. 

Now, to come full circle, when you own guns, stockpile ammunition, and train regularly, you develop a greater responsibility to protect not only yourself but also your community and even your nation. As a member of the gun owning community you become part of the “militia” referred to in the Constitution. You become the best defense against big "T” Tyranny.

As James Madison points out in Federalist Paper No 46, the militia serves as a check on federal power and a safeguard for individual liberties. He estimates that, if needed, hundreds of thousands of armed citizens could resist any unjust federal actions… Today, that number could easily be tens of millions. Let us not forget Americans like to "play war", and we're good at it.

It is no stretch of the imagination to say that owning guns, stockpiling ammunition and getting regular training is literally our patriotic duty as Americans. This is how we can help save the future of our country.