The Truth About Ammo Hoarding Vs Preparedness (ft. AmmoSquared)

State of the Second welcomes back Dan and Danielle Morton, the husband-and-wife owners of Ammo Squared, for a wide-ranging conversation about ammunition as a stored asset and what real preparedness looks like. The Mortons started Ammo Squared in 2015 out of their garage and describe the company as building an ammunition safety net for America. Their model flips the usual transaction: you buy a generic need, like 9 millimeter practice, store it with the company, and have it shipped whenever you want. Since their last appearance the business has grown fast, from about 40,000 members to 147,000, and they just opened a second facility in Texas after celebrating a 10-year anniversary in Boise. Most of the episode digs into how a storage-first ammo company actually operates. Dan walks through the caliber-of-the-month approach, the lesson learned from once offering more than 500 calibers and getting stuck on ones they could not restock, and why widespread adoption has to exist before a caliber makes business sense. They talk through how shortages work on their side, where an auto buy keeps running and customers wait in line for allocation, and why major NATO calibers get prioritized by manufacturers during a crunch. Kaylee adds the consumer view, including how the platform simplifies choices for first-time gun owners by labeling rounds by purpose instead of brand, and the dopamine hit of watching an account grow in the background. The hosts and guests also riff on April Fools' products that accidentally revealed real demand, and Dan previews a next-generation platform that would let members speak or type what they want and use AI to build an ammo plan. The back half turns serious. Dan frames ammo as a store of value, comparing it to gold and silver and noting some customers have sold stored inventory back when they needed cash. In the From the Soapbox segment, the conversation moves to personal sovereignty, public education, and Second Amendment education, including GOA's reminder that rights are constitutionally protected rather than government granted. Ammo Squared's stated long-term vision is to store one billion rounds over the next ten years across 10 to 20 warehouses, positioning itself as America's ammunition reserve so future shortages lose their sting. Questions this episode answers What is Ammo Squared's business model, and how is it different from buying ammo through normal e-commerce or a gun store? Ammo Squared is a storage-first ammunition service: members buy a generic need like 9 millimeter practice, store it with the company, and have it shipped whenever they want. That flips the usual transaction, letting people build a stockpile in the background instead of buying and taking delivery all at once. How much has Ammo Squared grown since the founders' last appearance on the show? The company grew from about 40,000 members to 147,000 members. It also opened a second facility in Texas and marked its 10-year anniversary in Boise, with a team of roughly 28 to 30 people. Why did the company cut back from more than 500 calibers, and how does the caliber-of-the-month program work now? Ammo Squared once offered more than 500 calibers and got stuck holding ones it could not restock, so it pared back. Now it adds calibers through a caliber-of-the-month approach and does not stock a caliber until someone signs up for it, then stays just ahead of that demand. What happens to a customer's auto buy during an ammunition shortage? During a shortage the auto buy keeps running while customers wait in line for allocation. Major NATO calibers tend to get prioritized by manufacturers during a crunch, so they flow more reliably than niche rounds. How does the platform make buying ammo easier for first-time gun owners? The platform labels rounds by purpose instead of by brand, which simplifies the choice for first-time gun owners. Members can set it and forget it, then log back in later and watch the stored count grow in the background. Why do the founders describe ammo as a store of value, and can members sell it back? Dan Morton frames ammunition as a tangible store of value comparable to gold and silver, something that will not go to zero. Some members have sold stored inventory back to the company when they needed cash. What is Ammo Squared's long-term goal for stored ammunition and warehouses? The stated long-term vision is to store one billion rounds over the next ten years across roughly 10 to 20 warehouses. The aim is to position Ammo Squared as America's ammunition reserve so future shortages lose their sting. What new platform features are the founders planning, including how AI might fit in? Dan Morton previewed a next-generation platform that would let members speak or type what they want and use AI to build an ammo plan for them. The episode also touched on April Fools' products that accidentally revealed real customer demand. Chapters 00:16 — Rapid fire questions 02:45 — Who Ammo Squared is and the safety-net model 03:53 — Rapid expansion to 147,000 members 06:54 — Caliber strategy and caliber of the month 11:25 — When a new caliber is worth carrying 15:02 — How shortages and waiting in line work 16:34 — Simplifying ammo for first-time gun owners 20:37 — Set it and forget it, plus variety boxes 23:55 — Next-gen platform and AI ammo plans 27:32 — April Fools products that revealed real demand 31:07 — What's next: one billion rounds stored 36:02 — Ammo as a store of value 40:28 — From the Soapbox: sovereignty and education 53:29 — Where to find Ammo Squared and GOALS 2026 About the guest Dan and Danielle Morton are the owners and founders of Ammo Squared, which they started in 2015 out of their garage and run from Boise. The company stores ammunition for members and ships it on demand, and the Mortons describe it as building an ammunition safety net for America. By this episode the business had grown to 147,000 members, recently opened a second facility in Texas, and marked its 10-year anniversary with a company of about 28 to 30 people. Danielle has said they homeschooled their three daughters and graduated their last one this year. Their stated long-term goal is to store one billion rounds of ammunition over the next ten years. Key quotes "essentially, America's ammunition reserve is what we talk about in our tagline. It's literally a safety net." — Dan Morton "we don't stock that caliber until somebody actually signs up for it. And then once they sign up for it, we just need to stay ahead of them." — Dan Morton "There has to be widespread adoption because if there's not, then it just doesn't make sense to carry it." — Danielle Morton "you set it up like we say set it and forget it and then you forget about it. And then you log in and you're like wow, I've got 300 rounds." — Dan Morton "We're actually looking at a goal of storing 1 billion rounds of ammunition." — Dan Morton "when you think about ammo, it's a store of value, right? It's like silver. In my mind, it's like silver. It's like gold. It is something tangible that will never go to zero." — Dan Morton "your rights are constitutionally protected. They're not government granted, they're not gifts because, you know, we have rights, not privileges." — Kaylee