Any calibers going a bit "Stale" in your collection?

Status
Not open for further replies.
No more .44 or .41. .357 on a limited diet now. Broke both my wrists as a kid and now after 50 rds of .357 it just plain hurts.
 
I don't remember the last time I shot any 7.62x54R (91/30 Mosin-Nagant) or .32 Auto (Colt 1903 Pocket Hammerless). I still have a little ammo for both, but don't reload for them. I guess .300 BLK is next. Not because I don't like it or have ammo, I have over 1000 rounds for it, I've just been into different long guns lately, my Grendel most of all. I haven't been on a clays course in 6 months, mainly due to COVID restrictions at the ranges, so my 12 gauge has been idle. Most of what I'm shooting lately are .40S&W, 10mm Auto and .357M and .41M. If I buy a new gun, it becomes my go-to for the range for a while, but I tend to bounce around with what I shoot. I've got plenty of choices.
 
I guess most folks would say that I’ve got a lot of calibers going stale for lack of use. As difficult as ammo and reloading supplies have been, my range time has been reduced considerably in an attempt to preserve the supplies that I have. I imagine that many others are in a similar situation.
 
Last edited:
40S&W. I have a few thousand rounds of it on hand for the one handgun I have left in it, Walther P99. It was my first handgun so I am not going to sell it and rarely carry it. I last carried it 3 years ago when I went to a state with a magazine ban on handguns over 15 rounds.
 
I'd say .40S&W for me. At one time it was my EDC. I have a few pistols chambered in it a long with a pretty decent amount of ammo. But I just don't ever shoot it anymore. I've got a few guns chambered in 10mm now. So now if I want to plink with something with more gusto then 9mm I skip the .40s and grab a 10mm. same projectiles for both, so I don't really see a point in loading .40. In fact I don't even have a tool head setup for 40 anymore because I switched it over to 10mm. Often times for me its more about the gun then the caliber, But my .40s and my 9mms are pretty similar. Same brands and style pistols. So it's not like I have a certain firearm that gives me a reason to shoot that specific caliber like I do for say .357 or 45apc.
 
.30-30
.308
.30-06
.45acp
.357mag

I can load for all of them, but with the powder/primer situation being what it has been these last couple of years I just haven't been shooting them in order to conserve what I still have. I have other calibers such as 7x57 and 6.5x55 I rarely shoot, but I rarely shot them before the pandemic so they don't really count.

The only thing I've been shooting much at all since The Panic started has been:

.22lr (by a lot!)
.327 Fed Mag (roll my own)
.32acp (same)
.38 special (same)
.44 special (and same)

Except for the 38 the other calibers are fairly new to me so what reloading supplies I'm willing to expend has gone to them for load development and experience.

Things are starting to look up though. The last Orlando show I went to had a dealer with both powder and primers. Prices were above those of 2019, but falling from the preposterous of 2020 & 2021!
 
Most of my shotguns. Since moving to the south the only thing I use a shotgun for is Turkey hunting.
 
8mm Mauser and 7.62x25. I can't afford to replace it once it's gone so I'm just sitting on what I have. I don't know why. Might as well burn it up and sell the guns later.
 
.40 S&W and .41mag. And all my rifle calibers.
Hate the MODNR ranges, the closest decent private outdoor range is expensive to join and has a long waiting list, so rifles have been unused for years. My .22's, 9mms, .38's, and .45 handguns are much more "hand friendly" so those get shot at the indoor range frequently...
Shotguns have not been shot in decades....
 
I love all my firearms but I find myself seldom shooting these calibers:
.38 Super
.380 ACP
.38 Special
7.5 Swiss
7.62x39
 
10mm has taken a lot of my attention from 45 acp too. I still carry a 45 acp though - lower report, bigger hole.

I use my 30-30s almost not at all, 45-70 has taken it's thunder and I only use 30-30 if I'm going to shoot over 150 yards (which 45-70 does fine with too but it's trajectory is steep).
 
The .40 s&w fallout is sort of a shame, but Ive never owned personally a .40 s&w. It is close enough to .45 ACP and 9mm (40 technically has more power than both) but for better or for worse, its in the same ballpark. I know all about the .40 s&w capabilities and have fired thousands of .40s&w through the years. I've always liked it, however Advancements in research and technology have now shifted back in favor to the smaller 9mm.... however I knew it all along, that 9mm was just fine, even with the older jacketed bullet technology such as HI-Shok, Hydra-Shok, and non bonded Golden Sabres (which all 3 of these are still in my magazines, and are for my purposes just as good as any bullet out there)
The fact that thousands of these older jhp bullets designs have been cycled through my 9mm carry guns without failure is more valuable to me than some new chomed out designer "botique" bonded XTS-DSPN-JHP +P with elastomer filling so the cavity doesn't plug.....one which is $1.50 per round and you can't afford to fire more than 20 rounds of it in testing or you'd be broke.

About 20 years ago I was purchasing my first "defense style" handgun. This was at the peak of the popularity of the .40 S&W, and at this time i believe 100% of LE that I knew of used. 40. I knew the FBI used 40. And I had my eyes on a Glock 23 or Glock 22.... so was at a local gun show, back when gun shows used to be good, and had made some sort of deal just about every show I attended.
A reputable FFL who's prices were as fair as can be, and who ive bought from before, had a number of Glocks for sale, and I was looking at the G23 and G22...... the guy asked "Why" the G23 or 22, and why not the G17 or G19?..... he then went on to explain that the 9mm was cheaper to shoot, higher capacity, less recoil, easier to shoot.....and other comments as well. He convinced me of getting into the 9mm based on my needs.....and low and behold I left with the G17. I thank Mr. -----? who ive never seen again, for showing me the way back then, and talking me out of the .40 and to use logic rather than just use what the Govt. uses just bee-cause.

I think the .40 s&w is just a fine round, and I don't think it's going anywhere anytime soon. It's popularity is however decreasing. In the hands of a steady handed, well trained professional, the .40 S&W has an edge over 9mm, and always will.... But, there are needs out there to fulfill that are not about the caliber and performance of the round itself; a round which is and always has been a great one. The 40 Smith and Wesson.
 
Lately all of them. just too cold here. but in the spirit of this tread. the last couple of years the only ones that get much use is 22lr and 9mm. both my oldest granddaughter and I shoot steel challenge with 22 and 9mm.
 
I've not shot any 30-30 Winchester for over a year! 45ACP is probably close behind it. My 9mm, 380, and even 38Spl seem to get the most attention in my collection, that's what I carry most.
 
I have reloading and shooting capabilities for something north of 30 different cartridges. (I always forget the exact number).

I get around to shooting most of them every now and again and have no plans to divest myself of anyone of them. So, I do not consider any of them “stale”.

With the current shortages, I have not been shooting as much to conserve supplies. Hopefully things will improve soon.
 
Sans 7x57 I sold off all the weapons in “odd ball” calibers. The only one I miss a bit is probably the 49/56.
 
With the component shortages, especially small primers, I have generally reduced my frequency to the range and when I go plinking, I'm not shooting as much so the rotation has slowed down a bit. I have several calibers and gauges I have to shot in a while but that's just temporary.....
 
I'm the complete opposite to the OP. For me my 10mm handguns have taken a back seat to most of my other handgun calibers. Hell I even shoot my Webleys more then I shoot my 10mms.
 
I'd say the Ruger Wrangler in 22 LR. I got my fun out of it, about a year of use, and I'm loath to get rid of the only .22 revolver I have, but it got boring after a while. For a year of use and it's price not bad, and to keep as a back up revolver.
 
.32 ACP and .38/.357. Haven't been shooting much anyway, but those calibers I'm just not gonna waste primers on.
 
Magnums as in .357 and .44. I shoot regularly but I shoot .38 Specials and .44 Specials out of the same guns 95%. Mostly my reloads. I do load some classic medium/light magnums but maybe only have the same box or two of factory loaded magnums for the last few years.
 
Autodidactic said:
I'd say the Ruger Wrangler in 22 LR. I got my fun out of it, about a year of use, and I'm loath to get rid of the only .22 revolver I have, but it got boring after a while. For a year of use and it's price not bad, and to keep as a back up revolver.
Click to expand...
Pretty much the same here with my Bearcat Shopkeeper. It satisfied my single action phase. :)
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

G
  • Locked
Different caliber sizes
Replies
4
Views
907
C-grunt
C-grunt
B
  • Locked
10mm Question?
2 3
Replies
62
Views
3K
Art Eatman
A
aaaaa
Bond Arms--Do they need more calibers?
2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11
Replies
253
Views
10K
aaaaa
aaaaa
T
  • Locked
Caliber consolidation?
2
Replies
44
Views
2K
Atticus
A
Browning
  • Locked
  • Poll
General HG Caliber For Field Use/Handgun Hunting/BUG For Bow Hunting/Hiking/Rural
2 3
Replies
69
Views
3K
19-3Ben
1
Back
Top