Order Bullets Settlement For Free

Settlers equipped with a gun by the player character will not consume any ammo, but in order to use that weapon, they need to have at least 1 (one) ammo in their inventory of the type that the equipped weapon uses. That single ammo will never be consumed and acts as infinite ammo.

Companions have unlimited ammunition for their standard weapon (with the exception of Butch), but they will have to be supplied with the appropriate ammunition for any other non-default ranged weapon.

Once you give them a weapon, make sure they have ammo for it.

[Settlers] don't consume ammunition provided they have at least one unit of the correct ammunition for their weapon. The same holds true with grenades. The only exceptions are the missile launcher or Fat Man, as these are tagged with "NPCs Consume Ammo". Try giving a settler a minigun and a 5mm round. =)

Short answer is yes. Not just settlers either, well, come to think of it it is just settlers but you can equip your provisioners the same way. I give them one round of each ammo type and then equip them with the best weapon and armor I can give them.

For most weapons, if you give the settler enough ammo to reload once, it's effectively infinite. So, for example, if you give them a 10mm Pistol and 20 rounds, they'll fire forever. Missiles and Fat Men are an exception, and grenades, They are consumed, one-for-one, when the settler uses them.

You have to supply them with ammo. They also have more action points than you do.