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[Libash_Thunderhead]

And how should I set up the values?

[Goatmaan]

Dwarfs can carry (up to) 25 bolts. More if they grab the right stacks.
 10 marksdwarfs in a squad would be assigned 250 bolts.
Ive never had a problem with ammo in bins, some have.
My problems stem from trying to use wood/bone for training and metal for combat.

So rule of thumb...25 per dwarf.

  Goatmaan

[Shonai_Dweller]

Training and combat bolts seems to work better now since the recent fix.

I've not Scienced it much, but my dorfs now seem to carry around a bunch of metal bolts and a bunch of wooden bolts. They wander over to the range when they feel like it and use all their wooden bolts and they still have the metal bolts ready for when the goblins turn up. I checked them a few times and they seem to be replenishing used bolts properly too.

I suspect they still won't reload their crossbows mid-battle from the stacks of bolts they're standing on in the defence bunker though.

[Bradders]

I've read that using pillboxes for your marksdwarves, with fortifications on the uppermost level and a fully walled level below that, above the path to ground, will force the marksdwarves to break LoS when they do the typical "ran out of bolts, better try to bash their heads in" tactic, and by losing their target they'll pick up more ammo, before returning to their 'patrol' alert/schedule or station order.

Haven't actually gotten it to work, because my majestic retracting-bridge-ceiling Superdome fortress megaprojects never seen to actually attract seiges, just werebeasts.  Not real seiges anyway, just hello-goodbye sieges.  I want some combat for once, but noooo, its always the poor woodcutter and animal worker (shear/milk/cheese/geld) who get rekt by goddamn stealth werebeavers or some crap.  My dwarves need to train, not watch the birds fly by.

[Saiko Kila]

Dwarves can carry more than 25 bolts though. When they fire one, and there are bolts available, they often pick up another stack. So dwarves with 24+25 (or similar) are not only possible, but quite frequent, depending on your stores and training regimen. If you re-use bolts, or have bone bolts, then multiple stacks are possible. I never assign less than 300 per squad because of that, and usually even more (up to 500 if only one type of bolts). Also, there are stacks of up to 40 bolts, brought or bought.

If you assign 100 bolts to a squad, and the assigned stacks are 25, 25, 18, 25, then another stack of, say, 25 bolts, can be assigned. And is assigned, as long as there is stuff in your store.

If the stack is assigned to a squad, then it may be not assigned to a dwarf, because all dwarves have what is necessary. But the stack is not available for other assignments. So it's better to assign a little more than minimum necessary, and produce more than assigned.

[Baffler]

Wait, the ammunition is assigned on the military screen for the squad, not per dwarf? All these years...

[Panando]

I usually assign 400 bolts for a squad of 10, while 500 is probably safer I find 400 is always enough in practice.

[Libash_Thunderhead]

If the stack is assigned to a squad, then it may be not assigned to a dwarf, because all dwarves have what is necessary. But the stack is not available for other assignments. So it's better to assign a little more than minimum necessary, and produce more than assigned.

Oh, I see.  Maybe the default value is good enough when I have more than 1 squad.

[Saiko Kila]

If the stack is assigned to a squad, then it may be not assigned to a dwarf, because all dwarves have what is necessary. But the stack is not available for other assignments. So it's better to assign a little more than minimum necessary, and produce more than assigned.

Oh, I see.  Maybe the default value is good enough when I have more than 1 squad.

Default values depend on civs or world, I believe. For example my current civ has for ranged squads 250 normal bolts and 250 short bolts as default. For melee squads it is 100 normal bolts. Of course I don't have short bolts at all and melee don't need ammo, so it's misleading.

There's easy way to tell if you need to assign more. If there is a green mark to all assigned bolts, then it's good to add more. If there are bolts without a mark, then no dwarf wants them (because he has no place or something). So 1-3 unassigned stacks are OK in my book.