Single Caliber Concept

If you can only afford one set of dies, or rather one really nice custom made mold that's the only reason I can imagine wanting to stick to one caliber.

I'm almost in that category since I invested in a custom hardline mold a few years back.

But not hardly....I enjoy my 380's 38's, 45's as much as my 9's. I also have a set of 40 dies and a bunch or brass and ammo, so I really need to expand my caliber collection by at least one pistol.

I'm far less concerned with trimming down than I am with not adding more. No desire to add a .40 for example. Although....ammo might be more available during the next panic...ok...never mind. Off to find a used .40.

Not a fan of single calibers here. Say for example your single caliber of choice is .22LR and it's oh, say spring of 2013 and you have no ammo on hand. Can't really buy ammo that's not on the shelves now can ya? While I maintain the main calibers, (.45 ACP, .40 S&W, 9mm, .380 ACP, .38 Special and .357 Magnum, I also have other less common calibers such as .357 Sig, 9mm Makarov, .32 ACP, .45 Colt, 7.62 Tokarev, etc. that during times when some other calibers are in short supply, other odd calibers may still be in stock.

I would go with 45 ACP if it were my only auto-loading pistol.
That pistol would be a 1911.
It's easy and fairly inexpensive to load myself and components are always available.
From practice loads to SD, there's a nice range of ammo to work with. Parts are available for the pistol. Can't say it's easy to carry but I find it easy to shoot.
Now if you have to buy your ammo I would consider getting a simple press and dies for it and stock up on primers. The cost would be paying off in a short time if you use it.

LATE EDIT: I re-read the OP first post ... Not asking about particular calibers. Sorry

I don't know how the Glock guys do it with a G17, and a G22, or a G22 with a G17 barrel in the house. I don't know how they keep from trying to stick a .40 S&W up the tube of a G17 or a 9mm in a G22. Those guns and mags look so much alike, especially if you're grabbing the gun in the dark.

Limiting yourself to a G17, G19, G34, and G26 would eliminate the above problems.

On the other hand, if your guns are different between calibers, such as all your .45ACP is shot out of a 1911, and all your .40S&W is shot out of a SIG P229, and all your 9mm is shot out of Glocks, then you'd probably not have any troubles getting the wrong round in the wrong gun.

IMHO going to a single caliber is short sighted. Depending on one caliber of ammo or reloading stuff "could possibly" lead to a shortage/drought as others have pointed out. If you actually go this route DO plan for a rainy future at the least. I have a lot of options if one caliber of ammo/reloading components dry up. It was due to the 40 S&W ammo being the last to leave the shelves and the first to return this last speed bump that stirred me into action to buy a 40 cal firearm. Another option on the table. Plus with many calibers you can trade with others to get preferred ammo with others used as "bait".YMMV

I am in agreement with the earlier posters. It is better to have options when ammunition is hard to find. A gun is worthless without ammunition.

If one reloads and thus has an abundance of components and or commercial ammunition then the 9mm-Luger would appear to be the most economical center fire cartridge singular usage concept.

If I personally were limited to a single caliber it would be .45ACP.

A decent Ruger Blackhawk could be loaded to silliness if you wanted handgun hunting. A S&W N frame like a Model 25 or M1917 could be loaded with even light weight bullets and mini charges of powder that might not function a 1911 whatever you did for indoor plinking. A 1911a1-ish service pistol would be a great service pistol or if you prefer, even a (gasp) Glock (ack, spit) or some other more "modern" service auto could fill the need for a fullsized auto. Plenty of concealable .45s out there from year olde Star PD up.

Of course like others I am not sure I would like being limited to a single caliber.

Just before the .22 LR drought there was a drought of .380 ACP going on, actually helped sales of .32 Autos and the earliest 9x19mm minis.

Try to find .38 Special ammo that is not high performance stuff or FMJ. The only RNL or even LSWC I see these days comes out of my old Lyman press.

If I had to choose a single rimmed cartridge it would be the .357 Magnum. Plenty of single and double action revolvers at least and not a bad carbine round in Marlin or Winchester lever guns or even the little Ruger bolt gun ( if you can find one in .357) I believe someone is even making the Coonan semi auto pistol again.....

-kBob

I'm going the other way. If I stock for 10 or 100 calibers makes no difference to me. I still put the same amount of money into ammo and reloading supplies. A diversified portfolio means I'm more likely to find something I can use. I do really like those things which can serve multiple purposes...like bullets I can use in multiple calibers. .355 can be used in 380 or 9mm. .358 lead goes through my 357 and 38s. Here's a real beauty... .311 lead does well in 32sw, 32 long, 32acp, 32 mag, 327 fed, 30-30, 308, and 30-06 provided I run the rifles with trailboss, an abnormally versatile powder. So to run 8 different guns I need 1 big pile of bullets, 3 powders, and 2 primers. My only limit is the amount of brass and lead on hand.

Harleytoo said:

So, first off, forget "which" caliber. Which is not important.

The idea is, aside from the obvious cost and consistency advantage, is there an advantage to migrating to a single caliber?

Over the last few years I have found that I have migrated to having essentially three calibers. Of those three, I am down to really two that I have more than one gun for.

So, I am at a point where I am really considering dropping to a singular caliber.

Thoughts?

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Ultimately it depends on what you shoot so there really isn't a single right answer.

IMO, 1 shotgun GA, 1 Centerfield rifle, 1 centerfire handgun caliber, and 1 rimfire (22lr) has a lot of logic.

Not that I currently follow that logic.... I trimmed back to only 3 a while back (I dont have a centerfire rifle right now)

I would like to get back to 5 or maybe 6.

I want to add another shotgun GA (20ga) and a centerfire rifle caliber (probably 5.55/.223)

And then maybe a 2nd pistol caliber mainly for common ammo thats available every where reasons.

I reload, so there will never be an ammo shortage for me. I don't shoot through SD ammo, so I won't run out of that, either.

I have gotten rid of a lot of calibers. I don't enjoy the mental gymnastics of trying to figure out the role of this caliber vs that one. While it is clear why you would use a .25/.32 in a pocket gun vs a 9mm/.40/.45 in something much bigger, the 9mm vs .40 thing stumps me.

I also think it is much easier to appreciate the qualities of two similar guns if they are the same caliber, as well as diagnose problems.


But hey, whatever floats your boat. Ten guns in ten calibers is no sillier than ten .45s.

I'm thinking along the same lines as the guyfromohio: not looking to add anymore calibers to the line-up; just sticking to the ones I already have. Pretty much .45 ACP, and 9mm. as my go-to favorites, .38 Super just for the fun of it (also readily convertible to 9mm.), .380 for occasional duty for CCW and .22LR for target practice and plinking fun.

If I was strictly a "city person" who only shot paper I would have no issue with just having my 9mm Glocks, but I would miss shooting 1911 45's just cause they are fun. Since in reality I spend some time sharing woods with wild pigs and black bears, having a Glock 23 and a Glock 21 seems like a real good idea, even if I don't practice with them that often. The only time I use either of them is in the woods open-carried, in other words.

Ooppps.

My post above was written with the mind set that I was in the General section, not the Hangun section.

I'm down to 1 handgun caliber unless you count 22lr too.

I may add a 38 revolver someday... or maybe not.

I see more pros than cons... for me.... as I don't get a lot of extra joy in shooting a bunch of different calibers as other people do.

I'd rather have the familiarity of one.

Even though I have different handguns that shoot the same caliber, I also like keeping the controls the same.

I also don't like DA/SA for a few reasons... one being that I like consistent trigger pull.

Folks who carry for serious purposes should stick to one gun type (not necessarily one caliber, but one gun type). Otherwise, you embarrass yourself by dying trying to pull the DA trigger on a 1911 when you thought you were carrying a Glock.

Jim

Having only one caliber would be boring. I like having a wide variety of guns and calibers to shoot.

It would be as interesting as only owning one book.

If I were the OP, I'd prioritize on 22LR; there's so much of that stuff out there, they'll never run out in a hundred years!

"It would be as interesting as only owning one book."
Yeah, pretty much this (and nothing else)

Tallball said:

It would be as interesting as only owning one book.

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I have a widely varied collection of 9mm handguns. Do you really think they are all the same just because they run on the same fuel?

Otherwise, you embarrass yourself by dying trying to pull the DA trigger on a 1911 when you thought you were carrying a Glock.

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Uh, say what?

At any rate, my answer to the OP's question:

is there an advantage to migrating to a single caliber?

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would be NO. Qualified by, well, maybe if you owned only a few guns ... But I'm pretty sure most of us here enjoy shooting a variety of platforms (e.g., I happily rotate between revolvers, 1911s, modern DA/SA pistols and um, er, yes, even a couple striker-fired pistols). Also, I suspect many of us also keep around a few different guns for different purposes (i.e., carry, home defense, hunting, etc.).

There is a happy medium between the two extremes for me.

As a reloader, I maintain few calibers, I do collect and store brass for many calibers that today I have no use.

Wouldn't it be smart to stick with a few calibers if the performance is about the same.

I am not sure how to group the common calibers exactly. I would think there are four or five groups of calibers that perform very alike.
.22LR, 9mm, .357, .44mag

To answer the original question, I do not think I could migrate to a single caliber. Maybe a group of three or four.

OP, good point that when you find a good deal at your LGS or gun show you need to ask yourself if you want to bring another caliber onboard. Is it worth saving $40 on the handgun to add a similar caliber that you already have in the stable?



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harleytoo said:

The idea is, aside from the obvious cost and consistency advantage, is there an advantage to migrating to a single caliber?

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What is the "obvious cost" advantage? Only caliber I'm aware of with a cost advantage over all others is .22 rimfire. Are you seriously proposing limiting yourself to .22 rimfire?

What is the "consistency" advantage? Is there some caliber that is known for more consistent ammo than others? Or are you referring to saving yourself the exertion of distinguishing among the caliber markings on the ammo boxes?

Neither one seems like an advantage to me, more like trying to come up with non-existent reasons to justify your actions.

If you want to shoot just one caliber and that makes you happy, just do it.