Bullets as currency

Vallorrous

I want to be straight I really don't like guns and they're not part of my survival plan!

However when watching an episode of 'The Walking Dead" recently I saw that one of the brighter characters Eugene pointed out that a nearby colony had run out of ammo. As such bullets would become the de facto currency for the Apocalypse.

There are some good reasons to think this is plausible :

-- Bullets are small and easy to carry around e.g in magazines.
-- They have intrinsic value provided you have the right firearm to load them into or know someone who does, who's willing to trade.
-- In a post-apocalyptic scenario bullets could be difficult to manufacture and therefore scarce.
-- Individual bullets have little commercial value meaning the currency can be divided into denominations as we do with cents.

Downsides to me seem:

-- You're going have to inevitably use some of your money for shooting not just for trading
-- Providing someone you don't trust with extra ammo could end up biting you in the a** if they start firing at you.
-- If bullets are made by hand they may not all be the same quality.
-- Rarer bullets may be less valuable as no one may have a weapon which takes them.

Would love to hear what you guys think. Maybe bartering is better but you still come up against the problem of what happens when you need 2 chickens and only have 1 pig to sell... not always convenient to chop it into pieces!

long range shooter

Vallorrous wrote: »

I want to be straight I really don't like guns and they're not part of my survival plan!

However when watching an episode of 'The Walking Dead" recently I saw that one of the brighter characters Eugene pointed out that a nearby colony had run out of ammo. As such bullets would become the de facto currency for the Apocalypse.

There are some good reasons to think this is plausible :

-- Bullets are small and easy to carry around e.g in magazines.
-- They have intrinsic value provided you have the right firearm to load them into or know someone who does, who's willing to trade.
-- In a post-apocalyptic scenario bullets could be difficult to manufacture and therefore scarce.
-- Individual bullets have little commercial value meaning the currency can be divided into denominations as we do with cents.

Downsides to me seem:

-- You're going have to inevitably use some of your money for shooting not just for trading
-- Providing someone you don't trust with extra ammo could end up biting you in the a** if they start firing at you.
-- If bullets are made by hand they may not all be the same quality.
-- Rarer bullets may be less valuable as no one may have a weapon which takes them.

Would love to hear what you guys think. Maybe bartering is better but you still come up against the problem of what happens when you need 2 chickens and only have 1 pig to sell... not always convenient to chop it into pieces!

So 50 bmg is 50 euro a 30 caliber 30 euro and 22 lr is 20 cents?:D

Feisar

Needles or fags will probably be better for bartering with

Esel

Feisar wrote: »

Needles or fags will probably be better for bartering with

Skins - 50 in a pack!

ShadowFox

In America I'd have ammo to trade /barter. In Ireland alcohol cigarettes and knives

Watch Ryder

Ammunition as in smokeless powder types will be a luxury / elite class of bartering. Also unless you have a good primer source (this requires chemicals and labs to make) percussion ammunition will run out within a year or three.

Arrowheads will be the bullet-equivalent for UK and Ireland BUT once black powder production gets going again flint and lead will take over!

davycc

long range shooter wrote: »

So 50 bmg is 50 euro a 30 caliber 30 euro and 22 lr is 20 cents?:D

well in that case ill be an over night billionaire

TeaBagMania

I don’t see ammo lasting very long after SHTF. Darrel has the right idea, get a good cross bow or compound bow. Arrows are reusable to a point and hopefully by then you have learned how to make your own off the land

Watch Ryder

TeaBagMania wrote: »

I don’t see ammo lasting very long after SHTF. Darrel has the right idea, get a good cross bow or compound bow. Arrows are reusable to a point and hopefully by then you have learned how to make your own off the land

Don't forget people will begin making black powder and using flint after a period of anarchy. So there's that to to consider. Black powder weaponry projectiles isn't as difficult to stop as smokeless powder (higher velocity) and plate armor can deflect it easily compared to smokeless.

Watch Ryder

davycc wrote: »

well in that case ill be an over night billionaire

You store that much ammo? Don't tell the Garda! LOL

TeaBagMania

Watch Ryder wrote: »

Don't forget people will begin making black powder and using flint after a period of anarchy. So there's that to to consider. Black powder weaponry projectiles isn't as difficult to stop as smokeless powder (higher velocity) and plate armor can deflect it easily compared to smokeless.

I was thinking about getting a muzzle loader for SHTF but I didn’t want to deal with sourcing black powder so I went the compound bow route, but to each their own

Watch Ryder

TeaBagMania wrote: »

I was thinking about getting a muzzle loader for SHTF but I didn’t want to deal with sourcing black powder so I went the compound bow route, but to each their own

Pyrodex is another consideration too instead of BP

BattleCorp

TeaBagMania wrote: »

I don’t see ammo lasting very long after SHTF. Darrel has the right idea, get a good cross bow or compound bow. Arrows are reusable to a point and hopefully by then you have learned how to make your own off the land

It is impossible to know but there could be between half and one trillion rounds stockpiled around the world.

I think it is safe to assume that there is enough ammo to last a good while after SHTF.

TeaBagMania

No doubt there is a lot out there stockpiled but getting your hands on it is a different story.

BattleCorp

TeaBagMania wrote: »

No doubt there is a lot out there stockpiled but getting your hands on it is a different story.

If sh1t goes down, I think I'm covered. :cool:

TeaBagMania

Likewise, as long as you keep it sealed and dry should last a good long time. Easy here in the desert but Irelands 100% humidity 100% of the time has to be a challenge

Capt'n Midnight

TeaBagMania wrote: »

Likewise, as long as you keep it sealed and dry should last a good long time. Easy here in the desert but Irelands 100% humidity 100% of the time has to be a challenge

People making their own cases would have to relearn this.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Season_cracking


Bullets are useless as currency as they aren't interchangeable. Specific ones for common weapons would have value. But a weapon that relies on rare bullets is worthless so the bullets then loose value too as more common bullets are more useful.

used cartridges would have value , but you'd have to collect them and rework them and then you are right back into quality control. And unless you are using flintlocks or somesuch there is the minor inconvenience of needing a considerable supply of percussion caps.

TeaBagMania

Truer words have never been spoken and this is exactly why I only own 22lr, 45acp, and 7.62x51 or 308win. Fairly common, or at least in my neck of the woods

tc556guy

The world is awash with ammo; it isn't running out any time soon.
The brass on many rounds can be reused several times by anyone even semi-skilled in reloading.
I would stock up on ammo for personal use and skip it as part of your barter plans.
Find other things to use as an exchange medium.
The ammo you trade today could be used against you tomorrow.
if someone has a rare caliber that they've run out of ammo for, sucks to be them.
They can pick up something on the market that's in a more common caliber for any remaining ammunition.

BattleCorp

tc556guy wrote: »

The world is awash with ammo; it isn't running out any time soon.
The brass on many rounds can be reused several times by anyone even semi-skilled in reloading.
I would stock up on ammo for personal use and skip it as part of your barter plans.
Find other things to use as an exchange medium.
The ammo you trade today could be used against you tomorrow.
if someone has a rare caliber that they've run out of ammo for, sucks to be them.
They can pick up something on the market that's in a more common caliber for any remaining ammunition.

Bullets will be perfect for trading in an apocalyptic world.

For example: "Give me your valuables or I'll give you these bullets (at extremely high velocity)".

"Seems like a fair trade, here are my valuables".

tc556guy

BattleCorp wrote: »

tc556guy wrote: »

The world is awash with ammo; it isn't running out any time soon.
The brass on many rounds can be reused several times by anyone even semi-skilled in reloading.
I would stock up on ammo for personal use and skip it as part of your barter plans.
Find other things to use as an exchange medium.
The ammo you trade today could be used against you tomorrow.
if someone has a rare caliber that they've run out of ammo for, sucks to be them.
They can pick up something on the market that's in a more common caliber for any remaining ammunition.

Bullets will be perfect for trading in an apocalyptic world.

For example: "Give me your valuables or I'll give you these bullets (at extremely high velocity)".

"Seems like a fair trade, here are my valuables".

Which is exactly what you don't want happening to you if you're a good guy
Trade something else lest you find your own ammo coming back at you eventually
I'm still shooting ammo that in some cases is 70-plus years old.
What we have already in existence will be with us for at least the rest of our natural lifetimes

Esel

What about currency as bullets?

Think 'ten thin dimes' from Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid.

Capt'n Midnight

tc556guy wrote: »

The world is awash with ammo; it isn't running out any time soon.
The brass on many rounds can be reused several times by anyone even semi-skilled in reloading.

to reload you need the makings of bullets.

not the sort of stuff you want jiggling around in your money bag

tc556guy

Capt'n Midnight wrote: »

tc556guy wrote: »

The world is awash with ammo; it isn't running out any time soon.
The brass on many rounds can be reused several times by anyone even semi-skilled in reloading.

to reload you need the makings of bullets.

not the sort of stuff you want jiggling around in your money bag

reloading is pretty straight-forward stuff.
Not something someone on the move will be doing, but in an established location, pretty easily done and stockpiled for

Capt'n Midnight

tc556guy wrote: »

reloading is pretty straight-forward stuff.
Not something someone on the move will be doing, but in an established location, pretty easily done and stockpiled for

easily done if you have the where with all

But first a primer on https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Centerfire_ammunition#Primer_chemistry


gunpowder would not need primers but using a matchlock or flintlock might not convey the same respect as a semi automatic