How to Track Your Ammo Inventory

If you shoot regularly, it doesn't take long for your ammo to spread across calibers, brands, and storage spots. Tracking it means you never run out unexpectedly, you know what a range day really costs, and you can spot a good deal when you see one. Here's how to do it, with a spreadsheet or with an app.

What to track

At a minimum, record for each box:

• Caliber or gauge
• Brand and product name
• Bullet type and weight (for example FMJ 115 grain)
• Rounds in the box and rounds remaining
• Purchase price (so you can work out cost per round)
• Where it's stored

Useful extras are the date you bought it, the lot number, and an expiration date if one is printed on the box.

Tracking with a spreadsheet

A spreadsheet is free and flexible, and it's a fine place to start. A simple layout is one row per box, with columns for caliber, brand, load, rounds per box, rounds remaining, price, date bought, lot number, and location. Add a column that divides price by rounds per box to get cost per round.

The catch is that a spreadsheet only stays accurate if you update it every time. After a range trip you need to remember how many rounds came out of which box, and typing in new purchases is tedious. Most spreadsheets drift out of date within a few months.

Tracking with an app

An app takes over the parts that people skip. In Ammo Box:

• Scanning a box's barcode fills in the brand, caliber, and bullet type for you.
• Logging a range session subtracts the rounds you shot from the right boxes, so your counts stay correct without extra data entry.
• Low-stock alerts warn you before you run out of a caliber you shoot a lot.
• Storage locations let you record where each box lives and filter your inventory by place.
• Charts show what you shoot most, when you shoot, and how your supply is trending.
• You can export your inventory and logs as CSV or PDF at any time.

Everything is stored on your device, with no account to create.

Spreadsheet or app?

If you only own a few boxes and shoot rarely, a spreadsheet is enough. If you shoot often, keep several calibers, or want your counts to update on their own, an app saves a lot of effort and makes it much more likely the numbers stay right.

Habits that keep any system accurate

• Record new ammo the day you bring it home.
• Update the counts right after each range trip, while you still remember.
• Do a physical count once or twice a year and fix any differences.
• Keep old and new boxes of the same load separate, so you can shoot the oldest first.

You can work out the cost side with our cost per round calculator.

• All articles