In a different day and age, I might not be nearly as concerned about tracking my inventory as I am today; but the changing landscape is what motivated me to tackle this project.
For me, there are two reasons to inventory ammunition: cost-control, and general preparedness.
- Cost-control:
When gas prices skyrocket, the best way to reduce your total expenditure on gasoline is to keep your tank full. For instance, if your car has a 20 gallon tank and you fill it up (from empty) at $1.99/gallon, then you've got $39.80 invested in gas. If gas goes up to $2.49/gallon after you fill up and you burn all of your $1.99/gallon gas before refueling, then a fill-up costs you $49.80, and that is the new value of the gas in your tank. However, if gas goes up to $2.49/gallon after the first fill-up, and you refuel when the tank is only half empty, then that fill-up cost you $24.90, and the total value of the gas in your tank is $44.80 (instead of $49.80). By buying more gas when it is cheaper, and less gas when it is higher, you save some money over the long haul.
Similarly to the gas thing, if you buy more ammo than you need when it is cheap, and you buy less than you actually use when it is more expensive, then your total expenditure on ammo will be less that it is if you only buy ammo on your way to the range. - General preparedness:
If food becomes scarce and you don't have any stored, then you are going to be hungry. If ammo becomes scarce and you don't have any stored, then all of your guns become bricks.
We currently live under the dictatorial rule of an administration which is doing what it can to make ammo harder to buy (pressure on banks, and pressure on BATFE). NOT storing some ammunition just to have it on hand, and regularly replacing it as you use it, is to consign yourself to having a collection of mechanically complicated bricks.
I have guns in my home for the same reason that I have fire extinguishers in my home. I have additional ammo stored for the same reason that I keep my fire extinguishers charged up. I have more than one flashlight in the home. I also buy more than one or two batteries at a time. Whenever a flashlight's batteries run down, I can replace them from on-hand inventory, and then replace the inventory when it is both convenient and cost effective.
If I only owned one or two guns, in one or two calibers, then I wouldn't really need a spreadsheet for this either. For those who are in that position, then this would probably not be something very useful to you. I understand, and that's OK. But over the years, my wife and I have accumulated a small "collection" of guns. Between us, we own three shotguns in two gauges, eight rifles in four calibers, five revolvers in four calibers, and nine semiautomatic pistols in three calibers. I do understand that this is a lot of guns for some people, but for others it is not really very many guns. In any case, maintaining an standing inventory for that many firearms, both for reasons of cost-control and preparation, is kind of an accounting headache. A decent spreadsheet can make that a lot easier.
That is why I asked for y'alls' opinions. Not everybody has a need for this, and that is OK. But hopefully the poll will give me some indicator of whether or not any existing need makes this worth pursuing for money. Even if there were no demand, I would still design this thing for my own use.
I could probably reduce my gun collection by a significant amount and make my life simpler. The primary reason I hang onto all of these guns is so that my son may have them when I'm gone. And those guns won't have nearly as much value to him either if he has to run out and spend a bunch of money on ammunition for them too. As it is, he could sell off most my guns and keep the ammo for himself and still be sitting pretty, because he already owns guns himself in most of these calibers ......but that's up to him. Right now, he and his wife struggle to meet the mortgage, put food on the table, and raise my granddaughter. They are young, and this is the season of life they are in. My wife and I went through this kind of period in our lives too. Ammo and range trips are lower on his fiscal priority list than keeping the mortgage lender happy, and keeping my granddaughter fed and clothed. They're no different in that regard than lots of other young parents.
Also, range trips are one of our "father/son" activities, and he can't really afford too much ammo. So most of the time we go, it's my ammo we shoot. I don't mind that if it gives me quality time with my son; but it does mean that I keep more ammo on hand for shooting than I would normally shoot myself, and so that also bumps up my inventory needs.
Anyway, thanks for the feedback so far. It is valuable. I've already realized that I've got to add another column or two to this spreadsheet to log in cost at time of purchase when inventory is added, since cost control is one of the reasons for using it in the first place.
