Do you ever choose your guns by what caliber you can get easiest or cheapest?

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kid_couteau

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Hi All

Just wondering if I am the only cheapskate out there.

I tend to choose guns by caliber that I can easily get. Oh yeah I have a couple of milsurps like 7.5x55 and 7.62 Nagant but for my main use I tend to stick to calibers like:

.223/5.56
.308 Winchester
22LR
30-30
45 ACP

I find it is generally cheaper to buy 100 pieces of 30-30 brass then say something like 7mm Rem mag.

Anyone else like this?

Kid
 
Well generally, the cheaper rounds that you listed are the easiest to get, while I tend to stick with the basic rounds, which generally happen to be on the cheaper side, the reason is to avoid any difficulties when getting ammo. Basically unless wally-world sells it you need to be able to re-load it.
 
Always. Unless you enjoy dryfiring more than actually shooting your guns, ammo usually becomes the most expensive part of the hobby.
 
You bet. I hunt with a .30-06 because the ammunition is relatively inexpensive and readily available. (The fact that the .30-06 has knocked down about everything on the planet doesn't hurt, either.)
 
Rimfires are a given, 22lr pistol and longgun. gotta have them.

For service-caliber pistols I stick to .38sp/.357mag, 9mm, .40s&w, and 45acp used in Ruger Security six, Springfield 1911 GI, Sig P239 chambered in .40sw, with an EFK 9mm conversion barrel and Sig 9mm mags. All bases covered,
in easily found/easily bought ammo in WWB, surplus, reloads, or bulk deals.


For longguns, a .357/.38sp lever action or a Pistol cal. carbine, like a Ruger
PC9, Beretta Cx4, or Keltec Sub2000 would be useful, using the same ammo as above.

For rifles, .223, .308, or .30-'06, in surplus, bulk, or just plain cheap plinking ammo. Not that I'd call a .30-'06 in a lightweight Mauser sporter a plinker.
at least my shoulder doesn't think so. :neener:
 
Cheap ammo, cheap guns

If I were in it to save money I'd just never buy a gun and never shoot any ammo. Also not have a car, never go anywhere, no movies, no dinner out, etc, etc. But fortunately, these times, while a little tight, are definitely not the Great Depression.

It's a hobby. You do what you enjoy. If you can't afford it, you don't do it. If you CAN afford it, then saving money should not be a consideration.

In other words, if you feel you need (for example) a .375H&H, and you can afford a .375H&H, then quit dithering and get yourself a .375H&H and be happy. And don't whine about the cost of ammo. And DO shoot it enough to be able to shoot it well.

Reloading helps a lot, but shooting is still not cheap. Well, relatively.

If I had all the money I ever wanted I'd have a personal airplane, and a couple of vintage cars. Now THERE are 2 expensive hobbies!! I'd have horses, too, except I'm not crazy about horses.

Of course, were I a zillionaire, I'd buy my own NFL football team.

But saving money on a hobby is a contradiction in terms.
 
Kid Couteau asked if he was the only cheapscate out there, and I am here to say: "No, you aren't."

Tiz why I bought a 9mm and practice with it. Shot placement is everything. Doesn't matter how big the bullet is, if you don't hit your target then it's of no value to you.

And, with a 9mm I can afford to shoot for practice. Some of the other calibers, I can't afford as I'm on a fixed income and no raise of any sort over the past 6 years--gasoline is killin' me---------expensive ammo would even be worse. Not to mention, radio gear... I want a $12,000.00 Yaesu radio so I've got to scrimp somewhere.

Russ
 
If ammo price is a concern, .22, then 8mm, then 7.62x54 would be wise choices. Shooter firearms and ammo cost next to nothing for these calibers.
 
Thats a guideline that i generally follow, if i cant afford to shoot it then its of no use to me. However I do on occasion run into a deal on a gun and buy it without thinking of ammo. Just last week i bought a .338 win mag and have found nobody in town that carries ammo for it so im kinda scared of what it will cost.
 
Absolutely. Easiest first, and cheapest a close second. However, I do have a few slightly less common, for which I reload: 6mm Remington, 7mm-08, and .416 Rigby.

The 7mm-08 is not so oddball, and if I had known how accurate Hornady ammo was going to be in my H-S Precision, I probably wouldn't have bought reloading equipment for the 7mm-08.
 
No

I used to think that way until I bought my MAS 36 and started reloading. Now I choose what I buy based on the uniqueness of the firearm and it's history.

It is looking like ammunition could become scarcer/more expensive in the future making cheap and easy to find cartridges a thing of the past. With the end of the cold war and the 7.62 X 39 shortage I would be less willing to bet that there will be lots of cheap ammo in the future for us civilians. Also keep in mind that the international community will probably sign on to some small arms control treaties making it harder for us to acquire ammunition of foreign origin. Hopefully I am wrong but it is best to be prepared.
 
Kinda
I have a XD 9mm and a Taurus Tracker which i shoot .38s in. Both you can get cheap ammo for, yet both good solid guns. I reload for the tracker which makes ammo even cheaper.

However, later today i go pick up my new sp101 in .32, which is not easy to find ammo for, so i will start reloading for it to.
 
I do to some extent. It took me a while to get a .40 S&W because I already have 9mm and .45 ACP and .40 is just another caliber I need components for to reload, dies, brass, bullets, etc.
I love those PS-90s but the 5.7mm ammo is spendy and scarce and I already have enough rifle calibers to reload!
 
I've always been a believer in keeping things simple. Years ago i decided that having a gun in every known caliber in the universe would not be cost effective for me, so i have kept my modest collection limited to the more readily available and inexpensive calibers/gauges. I also have at least two guns in every caliber i have. This lets me do a couple of things:

1) buy in bulk and be able to save some $ when the various sales are on in the stores. Since they don't all offer the same deals on the same calibers all the time, i can stock up on one, then another, as these sales happen.

2) use the guns i have the most ammo for and hold off on using those where supplies are tight or prices get too outrageous.

3) should there ever be some local or national SHTF event that may require it, i stand a better chance of finding a source of re-supply if necessary with the more commonly available calibers, sooner than i would with something more exotic.
 
Yes . . . but as a handloader, it's not so much cost, but availability that concerns me.

Take big-game hunting, for example. Frankly, I'm not overly impressed with most cartridges on the map - they really do overlap, and I don't see much practical difference between a 7mm Rem Mag, a .30/06, a .300 Win Mag, or a whole bunch of other rounds in this general category. Sure, you can nitpick and say "Cartridge X has 173 ft. lbs more energy at 342 yards than Cartridge Y, and will drop 1.2 inches less at that range" but . . . so what?

IMHO there are only two cartridges needed to hunt all big game worldwide - the .30/06 and the .375 H&H. And these will be available just about anywhere there's a gun shop. If you're in Zambia and lose your ammo, you might actually be able to find some in these calibers; not so if you have a .338 Federal, a 7.62mm Warbird, or a .500 Alaskan. (If you're a PH and may need to stop a charge, there's nothing wrong with packing something with a bigger wallop . . . but then, you're going to have plenty of time to lay in a supply of ammo.)

Now, if you WANT to use something else, something different, maybe even something rather exotic, more power to you. Experiment to your heart's content. I'm just writing what works for me.
 
nope...........

it is the gun that speaks to me, not the ammo........I guess this is because I am a long time reloader......chris3
 
I usually pick common stuff. That's the reason I've got 10mm, 44-40, 45-90, 10 gauge and 357 Herrett:D

I can reload my 10mm with high quality full power loads cheaper than you can buy most 9mm. Reloading components don't care what case they're going in, it still costs the same.

The thought of buying wussy little guns just to get cheap ammo gives me the willies
 
I've been trying to standardize on common calibers for the very reason of
being able to obtain relatively cheap ammo. Such calibers as 308, 223,
7.62x39, 30/06 make up the bulk of my rifles. I do have an occasional gun
with a more expensive to shoot caliber but even that ( 300 Win Mag) is
cheaper than a lot of the magnum rounds.

The place where I get carried away is with handguns, in particular with magnum revolvers. I have 44 mag, 454 Casull, 45 Win Mag and a few other somewhat expensive to buy calibers but all of it is reloaded for so ammo costs are a lot more reasonable.
 
I can reload my 10mm with high quality full power loads cheaper than you can buy most 9mm.
Click to expand...

I don't think so. The prices i see quoted on internet sites like Midway and others just for the bullets average between 0.09 & 0.12 ea., which makes just that one component more than i pay for a complete factory 9mm ready to go. Add another couple cents for powder and primer, and it's more still. Yet another reloading enthusiast who might exaggerate just a bit? Or are you buying bulk loads of 10K at a time?
 
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