Several pistols in same caliber?

I am still trying to wrap my head around the “buy your ammunition” thought. I reload, all my ammunition is reloaded. I do consolidate, most of my ammunition is 45 ACP. I also load 38 S&W Special and 32 WCF.

Even if I bought ammunition, I would stock up on my primary cartridge.

Kevin

StrawHat said:

I am still trying to wrap my head around the “buy your ammunition” thought. I reload, all my ammunition is reloaded. I do consolidate, most of my ammunition is 45 ACP. I also load 38 S&W Special and 32 WCF.

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Unless you are making your own brass, bullets, primers, and powder it’s all the same. Buy ammo loaded or buy it as components, you are still buying ammo.

Encoreman said:

Just throwing this out there for discussion. Do you think it better in times like these where ammo is harder to come by, to have multiple pistols in same caliber as opposed to 1 or 2 in several different calibers? And after you have 2 or 3 pistols do you really need more? I do believe in the 2 is 1 and 1 is none theory. Thanks Mac

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LOL, In my case 48 is 24 ?

More seriously, make sure you have all your bases covered, 9mm, .22lr, maybe toss in a .380, .357, .44 mag or .40 S&W just for variety. As far has having multiple pistols in the same caliber (unless you're OCD like me) it never hurts to have a lighter / pocketable weapon and a heavier duty weapon with a light.

Just for example certain classes of pistols could be made illegal in the next year or two.

Ed Ames said:

Unless you are making your own brass, bullets, primers, and powder it’s all the same. Buy ammo loaded or buy it as components, you are still buying ammo.

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Not really, I buy my powder in 8 pound jugs, my primers in case lots. I cast my bullets. Make my brass? Why? Is yours destroyed when it is shot? Mine isn’t unless I have gotten 15 or more reloads from it. I have not done the numbers lately but it used to be I could reload 4-5 rounds for the cost of 1 factory round.

Kevin

StrawHat said:

Not really, I buy my powder in 8 pound jugs, my primers in case lots. I cast my bullets. Make my brass? Why? Is yours destroyed when it is shot? Mine isn’t unless I have gotten 15 or more reloads from it. I have not done the numbers lately but it used to be I could reload 4-5 rounds for the cost of 1 factory round.

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You are still buying ammo. It’s just in kit form. I’ve done quite a bit of reloading (owned a couple of progressive presses and an assortment of single stage gear over the years), and I know the costs well.

Even when reusing components (brass), you need to buy them in the first place. If you spend $0.15 on a case, and get 15 reloads out of it, that’s a cost of $0.01 per round. Add bullet (even if you cast yourself there are costs), powder, and primer and you are generally above $0.05 per round, plus labor and wear and tear on equipment. Whether you buy 10,000rds of loaded 9mm or buy the materials and tools to make 10,000rds of ammo, you are still buying ammo. One just involves sweat equity.

I've consolidated my centerfire handgun calibers down to two and maintain a healthy supply of loaded ammo and components for each cartridge. Just my choice. Others prefer more variety.

Thomas Mayberry said:

Others prefer more variety.

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I'm not specifically addressing Thomas Mayberry but I never understood this. I've said it before but I don't really get any special thrill from shooting any particular gun, I fact I find guns sort of boring. My excitement comes from improved performance.

I never got excited because I was shooting a 1911. My CZ75B was probably the most accurate gun I ever shot and I liked that but just the fact that it was a CZ didn't excite me. Even my 4006 which was the closest thing I ever had to a Grail gun turned out to be just another gun after the new wore off it.

I have several Starrett precision measuring instruments. As far as I'm concerned they're pretty close to the top of the line for Caliper/ Micrometers and I'm glad I have them but I don't stand in front of my rollaway and ogle them. In fact, if I'm not using them I don't even think about them.

Except for the fact that Glocks aren't the top of the line I look at them the same way. I carry my Glock 26 every single day and never give it any more thought than my wallet.

Trunk Monkey said:

I'm not specifically addressing Thomas Mayberry but I never understood this. I've said it before but I don't really get any special thrill from shooting any particular gun, I fact I find guns sort of boring. My excitement comes from improved performance.

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I suspect this is one of the few true examples of, “if you have to ask, I can’t explain it to you.”

But... I generally agree with you when it comes to generic guns at short range. Any polymer gun, or even a standard CZ with the painted finish or a standard 1911, firing a mainstream pistol cartridge, is generally going to be more accurate than the user out to 50+ yards. As long as you have a gun that isn’t awful you can concentrate on your own performance.

But when you move away from generic pistols things are a bit different, IMO. Whether we’re talking about a tuned up race gun, an oddball handgun firing bullets at 2000+ fps, a hand finished fine firearm, or whatever, the performance of the specific gun becomes more important. It can give you an opportunity to be challenged in ways you weren’t before, and therefore improve your performance in ways that the generic gun didn’t enable.

Of course if the type of shooting you do doesn’t change to match the capabilities of the gun that’s not going to be very relevant to you.

Ed Ames said:

You are still buying ammo. It’s just in kit form. I’ve done quite a bit of reloading (owned a couple of progressive presses and an assortment of single stage gear over the years), and I know the costs well.

Even when reusing components (brass), you need to buy them in the first place. If you spend $0.15 on a case, and get 15 reloads out of it, that’s a cost of $0.01 per round. Add bullet (even if you cast yourself there are costs), powder, and primer and you are generally above $0.05 per round, plus labor and wear and tear on equipment. Whether you buy 10,000rds of loaded 9mm or buy the materials and tools to make 10,000rds of ammo, you are still buying ammo. One just involves sweat equity.

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I've picked up 10 gallons of free 9mm brass at my club. I've picked up 5 gallons of 45 ACP.

That's free brass.

New Starline 45 ACP is $0.18 each. You can easily get 36 reloads on one. That half a cent per load. New 9mm brass are $0.14 each. I'm guessing that 28 reloads are possible. That's half a cent per load.

My current cost for 9mm....using REPLACEMENT cost, not actual costs are...

Primer $0.031
Powder $0.009
Bullet $0.01 That covers electricity and coating. I've got ~2500 lbs of alloy, close to a lifetime supply.
Brass..free.

That's $0.05 per round.

45 ACP is just a hair over that.

If I went with ACTUAL cost, using components on hand I can shave a penny per round off that easily.

Texas10mm said:

...That's $0.05 per round. ...

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Have you ever heard the punchline, “Now we’re just haggling over the price,” and the joke that goes with it? Because that’s where we are.

Someone who works at a job for an hour, goes home with $20 for that hour of work, and spends it on 50 rounds of ammo has exchanged 60 minutes of life for 50rds of ammo. Another person who works for the hour, spends $2.50 aka 7.5 minutes of that hour on reloading components, and then another 10 minutes sourcing supplies, another 50 minutes case prepping loading sorting and otherwise dealing with everything necessary to produce 50rds of ammo, has spent 67.5 minutes of their life to buy 50rds of ammo. The price is different, but at the end of the day, it’s the same core transaction: You are buying ammo.

And yes, with the right gear and know how you can load more than 50rds per hour. At the same time you can buy ammo in more than 50rd boxes. That’s just quibbling about the price not changing the nature of the transaction.

I have way too many different calibers, so I buy guns that shoot the same calibers I already have. The 10 MM intrigues me but the .45 ACP is not enough?

Encoreman said:

Just throwing this out there for discussion. Do you think it better in times like these where ammo is harder to come by, to have multiple pistols in same caliber as opposed to 1 or 2 in several different calibers? And after you have 2 or 3 pistols do you really need more? I do believe in the 2 is 1 and 1 is none theory. Thanks Mac

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I buy what I want to shoot, keeping in mind that acquiring a new caliber adds effort to my search for an adequate supply of ammo.

It has been a while since I acquired anything in a new caliber.

9mm Glock 19s

Variety is the spice of life-----in some things. Guns are one of those things so I have several different guns in several different calibers, both handguns and rifles. No use in getting bored,

Encoreman said:

Just throwing this out there for discussion. Do you think it better in times like these where ammo is harder to come by, to have multiple pistols in same caliber as opposed to 1 or 2 in several different calibers? And after you have 2 or 3 pistols do you really need more? I do believe in the 2 is 1 and 1 is none theory. Thanks Mac

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The thing, IMHO, that comes into play is that there is no one gun that is good for all purposes. Just as that cool new Corvette is probably pretty lousy at going mudding or hauling 4 x 8 sheets of plywood from Home Depot, a nice concealable .380 or 9mm is probably not the sidearm you want to have in bear country. As @Ed Ames was getting at, you have to start with analyzing your uses to which you are putting that firearm.

In my case I have narrowed my ownership to 5 different caliber firearms. That said, I have multiple firearms in each caliber for different reasons. I have 3 revolvers, for example, in .357. One each two, four and six inch barrels.

I do not, however, have two duplicate firearms. They're all different and all fill different roles. The one caliber in which I have more guns than any other is .22LR, they're fun and cheap to shoot. And lugging 200 rounds to the range is a lot easier than lugging 200 rounds of .44 Mag.

Just my thoughts on the question.

I find myself to be a collector more and more as I get older. I have an assortment of more "common" guns but find enjoyment collecting guns that are away from the norm. As I do this I don't have a problem adding a new caliber to the mix. Overall though I can have several for the same caliber at any given time.

I have 3 Glock 9mm pistols.
I have 3 .357 Magnum revolvers - they also shoot .38 Special.
I have 3 .38 Special revolvers.
I have 2 Ruger SA revolvers in .45 Colt.
I also have 2 revolvers in .22LR
4 of the above are / can be CCW guns.

I like having at least 2 guns in each cartridge.

I do reload much of my ammo but I also buy ammo. @Ed Ames pretty much explained my thinking on ammo, bought or reloaded. Excellent post Ed Ames.

WrongHanded said:

I'd say that depends heavily on a few things.

Do you intend to use all these pistols for self defense and/or home defense?

Do you have large reserves of ammo, or are you planning to build large reserves?

Are you concerned about having enough ammo available now? Or are you more concerned about future availability?

Do you have a reason to own different sizes of pistol, and different calibers for different applications? Meaning a small pistol for concealed carry, and a larger caliber pistol for woods defense etc.

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What do you consider large amounts of ammo? Just thinkin.

During the last drought I purposely bought a couple of outlier guns in not as popular cartridges. .327 mag, etc.

Currently I have no time to shoot, so I have decided to just stock up on the two major calibers that I do shoot (when time allows) and that I do carry for SD.

I have 3 .357 revolvers, and 3 guns chambered in .45 acp. My day to day carry is a Shield. 45. I also use a little NAA Blackwidow as a back up. I dont shoot it enough to worry about stocking up on .22 mag, but i already have 150 rounds on hand and .22 mag never seems to dry up.
While carrying in the woods or parts unknown, I like my 686+ to go along. .357 is also my coat weather caliber of choice, and I find good .38+p to be very good medicine for most applications where I dont want my eardrum split by a .357.

So right now, all my weird stuff is just kinda in hibernation. I see .45 on the shelf, I buy two boxes. Same goes for .357. If there is any quality .38 self defense ammo at a reasonable price, I usually snap up a box to make sure I keep about 40 rounds of quality .38+p on hand. I have been also purchasing a few boxes of 12 gauge 00 as it is available. Once the pandemic hit and everyone was all worried about the gates being stormed, it was tough to find and I was glad I had a couple hundred rounds socked away. Right now I have a few range trips worth of what I am shooting/carrying in .38/.357, .45acp with enough 12g to fend off a small invasion.

The next buying panic will most like be due to change in political climate and the fear of what that may do to guns chambered in 5.56 and other semiautomatic rifle rounds. I see a run on pistol magazines holding more than 10 rounds as well and maybe all the common semiautomatic pistol rounds like 9mm and the like. Im not chasing that dragon. I dont have time enough to shoot as it is. Im not going to be anything more than inconvenienced by whatever happens. At the end of the day, I'll shoot shotguns and wheelguns while everyone gouges and hordes. Im fine just my sling shot and bow for recreation anyway. I can do that in my backyard if ALL the ammo dries up while I wait for it restock.

deadeye dick said:

What do you consider large amounts of ammo? Just thinkin.

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Within the context of the thread, I'd say enough SD/HD ammo to cover full mags (however many are carried) for each gun used in such a role, times 3. And enough range ammo for a year's worth of regular practice (whether that's 1,000 rounds a week, or 50 rounds a month).

What I'm getting at is, if an individual could cover there ammo requirements for a year, scrounging for it during the lean times is not a concern.

I shoot 9mm, 45 acp, 380, 38/357, 22 lr. I reload for every caliber except the .22. I have never bought brass for any thing I own, there's just too much on the ground. As to the time spent at the press, I don't think of it as work or place a value on it. I get paid if I'm at the press or at my job so no difference for me.

Hmm, I’m not sure if I have more .22 pistols, 9mm/38/357 or 45’s right now. I’d count but then again, I don’t like to lie to my wife.

rkittine said:

What am I missing?

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Also looks like you have a nice house and a nice car , so I'm going to say a hot girlfriend/wife

I've said this several times before but the Obama Ammo Panic lasted for years. So I don't think it's ridiculous to have a couple of years supply on hand. Assuming I don't get in a huge gun fight I switch out my self defense ammunition once a year. It's usually 3 boxes so I'd like to keep a case on hand but I'm not there yet. I do have two years supply (7 boxes) on hand.