quote:

Originally posted by mark123:
....limiting the number of calibers in your collection.

Much depends on what you want to do. If collecting is the goal, then the more the merrier.

If shooting -- and perfecting the craft of shooting -- is the goal, then limiting the calibers is likely a wise idea.

quote:

Originally posted by fritz:

Much depends on what you want to do. If collecting is the goal, then the more the merrier.

If shooting -- and perfecting the craft of shooting -- is the goal, then limiting the calibers is likely a wise idea.

^^^ Or both.

I used to collect WWII rifles . WAY too many calibers to stock . Sold all of them except for my Garand . Now I'm just a shooter with a lot fewer calibers to keep up with .

Not counting muzzle loaders... north of 60 different calibers? My eggs are NOT all in one basket.

(Off the top of my head I came up with 10 other cartridges I used to load for but no longer have.)

quote:

Originally posted by smschulz:
^^^ Or both.

Very, very few are good at both.

7.65mm, 32 Auto, 25 ACP, 17 HMR, 50 AE, 22 Magnum, 38 Super, 41 Magnum, 17mach2, 440 Cor-Bon, 9mm Steyr...

And that is just in semi-auto pistols.

Yeah, I have the normal calibers as well, but I didn't have any problems getting ammo the last time there was a so-called 'shortage'.

All depends on where you stand.

Over here in UK, things are, as most of you know, quite lot different to what you are used to in the US of A.

I make up from my lack of choice by having -

Seven .22 rifles, that's four bolts, a semi and two Martini. However, they are all the same calibre, of course.

So I also have, in range downwards -

2 x .577cal Sniders - cartridge-firing breechloaders. They use Snider specific .600" dia bullets of 520gr.

1 x .577cal Pritchett - muzzle loader - it shoots a specific smooth-sided Pritchett bullet.

1 x .577 Musketoon - a selection of bullet weights of Minie bullets.

1 x .45-70 Govt high Wall - two different loads for two different purposes - one for intro shooting a big calibre BP cartridge that smarts at both ends , and a more gentle nitro for an intro to big-bore shooting that is still impressive enough, but not retina-detaching.

1 x .451cal Whitworth match rifle - a three-band version of a rifle used in your recent civil war. The home-cast bullets can be round-nosed multi-groove cylindrical of 535gr, pointy-nosed multi-grooved cylindrical of 560gr, or round-nosed hexagonal paper-patched items of either 520 or 600gr.

2 x 7.5x55 Swiss - identical-performing loads but with two bullet weights - one simulating the energetic military load with a 175gr bullet, the other a more genteel 155gr load for a day on the range.

2 x .308Win - one with 168gr bullet - the Krico 650SS, and the other with the 155gr bullet - Schultz & Larsen-barrelled K31 hybrid for the 300m match.

2 x 7x57 - a 175gr load for my Boer War bringback carbine - just three digits away from the example shown by Ian McCollum in Forgotten Weapons, and a lighter, 150gr load for a 1912 Mauser Model B sporting rifle that lived in Rhodesia from 1913 to 1990, used for pot game on an almost daily basis.

1 x 6.5x55 1898-date Carl Gustaf Model 1896 rifle - just one load of 140gr.

1 x Ruger Old Army BP revolver - cast ball, and finally,

1 x Ruger Super Redhawk .357Magnum revolver of the kind that we can have here on Mainland GB. Two loads - #1 is a full-house 158gr FMJ, and other is a gentle .38 Spec lead target load. So gentle, in fact, that I'm still using the cases I bought back in 2003, after more than 20 reloads each, and I have about five hundred of 'em.

With the exception of a P220 in .45ACP, all my handguns are 9MM and all my rifles are .223/5.56.

I like that I only have to stock 2 calibers of ammo, and they are generally the most readily available and cheapest options. Makes staying stocked and shooting often easy and affordable.

I got rid of .380 a few years back and standardized on 9mm for my pistols. Pocket to full size, they are all 9mm

I only keep 3 calibers now stocked up:

9mm
5.56mm
.308

I have 20 calibers.

Stocking ammo is a bit of a pain, the good thing is that no matter what is popular, I always have something to shoot.

I also have carry guns in 9mm, .357 Sig, .357 Magnum, .40 and .45.

I can always find carry ammo for something.

I have always taken the view of "the more the merrier." When the next panic or the panic after that happens and I've expended all my ammo and the only ammo available is 6.5 Carcano or 7.7 Jap, I will be glad I have a firearm or ammo for that. On the more hard to find ammo, during panic mode ammunition companies don't concentrate on their yearly or semi-annual production of those and they run out in stores due to desperation, so they can be harder to find then 9mm or 5.56. From memory, I am currently keeping the powder dry on:

.22LR, .22 Mag, .25, .32, .380, .38 Special, 9mm, .357 Mag, .357 SIG, .40 S&W, .44 Mag, .45 ACP, .460 Rowland, .223/5.56, .30 Carbine, .30-30, .308/7.62x51, .30-06, 7.62x39, 7.62x54, .30-40 Krag, 6.5 Carcano, 7.7 Jap, .303 British, .450 Bushmaster, .50 cal muzzleloader Sabots, 20 16 and 12 gauge shells in various flavors, BBs, .117 pellets, air soft, sling shot.

My calibers at this time are .22LR; .380 ACP; 9mm Luger; 5.56 (or .223); and 12-gauge. My shotgun, a Benelli Nova, can take any length shell, but I stick with 2 3/4" to get a fourth shell in the magazine. Also, 3 and 3 1/2" have needlessly heavy recoil. .380, going in a seldom-used BUG, is the lowest priority for stockpiling.

I'm probably going to cut out 10mm and 9x18 Makarov (I only have one handgun for each of those) and work with the rest. I'm going to keep the guns but I just won't worry about stacking ammo for them.

I've become really interested in putting together AR-15s so 5.56 is where it's at for me at the moment.

No need to limit anything. You don't need to keep a SHTF level supply of ammo for all calibers. Be selective on that aspect.

I think the more calibers the many. During one of the ammo shortages, the only ammo that was readily available ANYWHERE was .40 caliber. I thanked the lord that one of my 20 guns was .40 caliber and found myself shooting that more often so I didn't dwindle my stockpile down. I also don't think you need a stock pile for every caliber you own. Just the ones you would go to in an emergency situation.

I'm a diversity guy too. When I buy something oddball, I try to buy a couple of thousand rounds in that caliber and dies to load for it. Most recently (a couple of years ago) I picked up a 327 Federal Magnum, mostly because of the wide range of ammo it will fire. Right now I'm short of 38 special, but have several cases of 357 (I have no dedicated 38's.) I also have maybe a huge number of empty cases in 38, like 3 or 4 5 gallon buckets full.

At one time I had 19 calibers plus .410, 20, 12 & 16 gauge shotguns.

As Para pointed out on page 1, if you’re made of money it doesn’t matter.


Years ago when I realized how much money invested in ammo that I didn’t reload I was stunned.

Now I only have

22LR
5.7x28 - only because I have a bunch of ammo
380 - only because I have a bunch of ammo
9mm
40S&W - only because I have caliber conversions
38/357
45acp

223
6.5 Creedmoor
300BO
308
8mm Mauser - only because I have a bunch of ammo

The ones I have a bunch for will be gone when the ammo gets low. Except 22LR I reload for and have enough powder & components for several thousand rounds, probably more than I’ll live to shoot.

22lr
380
9mm
38
357mag
40
44mag
45ACP
17hornet
223
308
303british
45 round ball black powder
62 cal round ball black powder
69 round ball brown bess
410
12 ga

I think I’ve got it covered

I have some antique 348 Win ammo, but couldn't afford the gun to go with it. So don't do that.