Most oddball cartridge you load for?

The most oddball cartridge I load for is .44 percussion. I use coffee filter paper and a Kleenex to make a self-contained cartridge like they did in the old days.

I guess the most oddball actual cartridge I load for is .270 Win, which is decidedly mainstream lol.

.256 Winchester magnum. Close second is 7-30 waters. Both calibers can claim a short production run in “standard” production guns, but very very few. .256winmag was chambered in Marlin 62 rifles and in Ruger Hawkeye single shot revolver style pistol. The 7-30 saw a production run in Winchester rifles but they are few and far between. I would love a 7-30 marlin 336, and I might have to make one at some point in life. Both are obscure, and both are hard to find brass for, but at least they are relatively easy to form brass.

I've got a few. 6.5x50 Japanese, 7,5x55 Swiss, .41 Rem Mag (oddball or just under appreciated?). .300 Savage and .280 Rem might fit into the uncommon category, but I wouldn't call them oddball. Had 3 others that I got rid of due to either logistics or not loving the rifle. 7.7x58 Japanese...just never loved the rifle. 7.5x54 French MAS...got tired of reforming 6.5x55 Swede brass as this was before the days of PRVI imports. 6.5x54MS...my brother in law fell in love with the rifle, so I traded him rifle and reloading dies/brass for rebuilding an outboard motor. That was a fun cartridge and rifle.

.41 Swiss Vetterli, converted from rimfire, with cartridges based on 8mm Lebel.

9 mm Largo for my Super Star.

It could be anyone of a select few. I load for 7.7mm Jap, 308 Norma Magnum, 22-250 AI and 357 Herrett.

50 Beowulf is probably my only oddball

warhwkbb said:

How did you get the Vetterli converted from rimfire?

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I acquired it that way! It's a pretty common conversion, and a buddy of mine has done 3 (including mine). There are some links/resources at the bottom of this page: http://www.swissrifles.com/vetterli/index.html

Probably any of these:

.45-120 Sharps
.41 Action Express
9x25 Dillon
.218 Bee
9x23 Winchester
9x21

ReloaderFred said:

Probably any of these:

.41 Action Express

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What are you doing for 41 AE brass? Just scrupulously hanging on to your existing stock?

.458 Winchester Magnum, 8mm Mauser.

I convert 32-20 cases for use in my Nagant revolver.

40-82 Winchester, 32 Winchester special

I don't have anything right now that odd. But normally I like oddball stuff. I have a 1891 Argentine mauser that I put a jp.Sauer and son barrel on, it's in 8x57, and is a true 8mm with .309 bore and .315 grove.

gas seal rounds for 7.62x38r
herters .401 mag

.45 Colt. Still kind of popular I guess but perhaps not as much as in the past. If Dirty Harry had been using one of these instead of a .44 Magnum things might have turned out differently for this historical cartridge... "Well, to tell you the truth, in all this excitement, I've kinda lost track myself. But being this is a .45 Colt, "....

History of Colt's revolvers in Texas. https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/lnc01

.40

ATLDave said:

What are you doing for 41 AE brass? Just scrupulously hanging on to your existing stock?

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I sold most of them for a lot of money, but I saved a few back, just so I could say I still load for it. I doubt IMI will ever make it again, but you never know. Quality Cartridge was making brass for awhile, and still may, but it was very expensive.

Fred

I have everything I need to reload 7.62x54R, but I sold the two rifles before I ever got around to reloading for it. Now, I have nothing even remotely oddball.

32 Winchester Special.

I have dies and rifles in 32-40 and 25-35 but haven't loaded for them yet. That's as weird as I get. I'd like to learn how to load for .41 Colt also.

Not super-wacky, though maybe a little anachronistic: .32 S&W Long and .38 S&W (both black powder and smokeless). Brass, bullets, and dies are still available for both, so not that big a deal.

45 Raptor

warhwkbb said:

I also reload 348 Win

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For me, probably that right there, although some consider the .41 Magnum obsolete and worthless, too.