If factory loads are not available, relaoding supplies will not be available. So either scenario involves stockpiling, and requires a shelter in place plan. Will a survival episode involve expending a lot of ammunition every day, or one round per day for food. i suppose it depends on your choice of survival weapon: a ma deuce has a bigger appetite than a 10-22. Perhaps the best compromise is a firearm you like and as much ammunition as you can comfortably carry, anticipating that you can use the firearm to obtain food, provide security...and to obtain other firearms and ammunition. Or maybe flintlock backup is the right way to go, cuz you can make gun powder (many of us have already, I suspect) cast projectiles and chip flint. a loaded flintlock is lots more useful than an unloaded Uzi. I guess it all depends on your scanario, its duration, and its scope. Remember that Mel Tappan misjudged his firearm-related survival needs.