My bullshit detector went off at

> Correction: I’ll always value weapons and ammunition the most. Second? Maybe gas masks and filters.

Why Gas mask and filters? This is not really motivated and does not fit the frame of the story at all. Why you would need those? It sounds more like a Metro 2033 pitch.

Other than that, there are a few contradictions in there, i.e.:

> The politicians kept repeating over the TV that everything was going according to plan, there’s no reason to be concerned

> In my case, there was a man who needed a car battery for his radio.

Versus

> Many died if they went out to gather information, for example. It’s important to remember we had no information, no radio, no TV — only rumors and nothing else.

I'm not trying to discredit this article in any way, it's just that it leaves behind a large "citation/clarification needed"

For real. The blabber about 'amount of ammo' being the most important aspect seems farfetched to me. If you're in firefights enough that you need thousands and thousands of rounds you're going to die no matter what. I kept waiting for the 'use ammo as currency' bit and it never came.

He did mention trading ammo for food at one point, and later, food for ammo. It wasn't a question of drawn-out firefights, it was a question (as I read it) of always having effective weapons at your disposal, even after several years of continuous small drain.

Fair enough - and I think enough ammo for everyone in your group all the time is also important.