Caliber consolidation

[miles1]

I wanted to ask the high road masses what everyone thought on picking guns based on there caliber for purposes of just focusing on one caliber d/t such things as cost and such.Im not asking would caliber you prefer;just if when you do buy a new gun its in the same caliber as your others in your home.A friend on mine has several(7) handguns of different model and make but its always in 40SW.He obviuosly likes that caliber but we got in the discussion that although he has no problem with the 9mm or 45acp he picks the 40 for ease of purchasing more ammo.Wondering how wide spread this is.Thanks

 

[WinThePennant]

I tend to stick with 9mm because it so economical to shoot.

That said, I am thinking about buying a .357 Sig for HD.

 

[iblong]

As a hand loader I tried to get down to 2 cals,Ididnt take but 6 mo. and I was back to 6.Varity is the spice of life!

 

[Mr.Blue]

Variety is the spice of life, but I try to buy very common calibers that will be around for a while.

 

[Lucky Derby]

I tried it for a while. Didn't last long though.

 

[Skribs]

From a hand/re-loading perspective, consolidation is a good idea. You spend less on reloading equipment, everything uses the same caliber...

From a usefulness standpoint, I see consolidation as a good idea, but I'm not sure which direction I want to go. I eventually want to settle on 9mm or .45, but since I can't decide between the pros and cons, I'm going with .40 for now. Eventually I plan to have some of all 3, so it won't matter.

However, if you have decided solidly that you think one caliber is more useful for your purposes, I see no reason not to use it.

 

[W.E.G.]

Sometimes you DON'T need three ammo cans full of ammo for each gun.

Some guns you just buy because they are cool, or interesting.
Doesn't mean you are going to "train" with them.

I'm not sure I own any 7.65 Mauser ammo.
If I do, I don't know where it is.

I do know where my 7.65 Luger is though.

 

[easyg]

I like caliber diversity.

If there is ever an ammo shortage I might not be able to find caliber A, but maybe I can find caliber B, or caliber C, or caliber D.

If all of my weapons require caliber A, and caliber A happens to be scarce, then all of weapons are useless.
But if I happen to have weapons that fire a variety of ammo, then maybe I can keep at least one of my weapons stocked with ammo.

 

[Ridgerunner665]

I consolidated to 45acp (mostly)...but I do have a 357 also.

 

[thefamcnaj]

I started out with the 40 caliber for simple reasoning(I was new to guns and didn't do any research)...its bigger than the 9mm and cheaper to shoot than the 45 acp. With that simple minded reasoning I became a 40 caliber kind of guy. Then I learned 9mm is the cheapest of the most common defense calibers to shoot. So I started buying 9mm's. Then I decided I wanted the great American classic 45 acp. So I bought them exsclusively. Then I got into wheel guns and got a .357 mag. And it just keeps going and going. There's always something: caliber, size, weight. Its all part of the sickness, any excuse under the sun to buy a gun.

 

[dragon813gt]

I will always have at least two. .22lr and a larger centerfire. Same goes for my rifles. There is no escaping the economics of shooting .22lr.


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[2wheels]

I just try to make sure all the calibers I shoot are relatively cheap and easy to find. The most difficult caliber I have to find is .380, so that should say something. So far including .22LR, I've got 5 different pistol calibers to worry about buying.

There's a lot of cool calibers I'd love to own, but I don't have the budget right now. Maybe someday!

 

[Sheepdog1968]

My calibers are definately out of control. Sometimes it bothers me. I don't keep all of them stocked equally as not everything is designed for self defense. If I were to do it over (say a fire or flood wiped everythign out), I'd likely stick with 308 and 30-30 for the centerfire rifle. For pistol the 45 ACP. For shotgun 12 gauge. I'd also likely have 22 LR in there as well. I'd miss some of the other calibers but I would be ok.

 

[wditto]

I guess I'm the least logical of all us gun-nuts , er , I mean afficionados.....I stocked up on tons of 9mm about the last election day because it was so much cheaper than my favorite, .45 - then I trade all the 9mm off for .45 'cause I like it better.......hmmmmmmmmmm

 

[Capt. Ct.]

At one time I thought that sounded like a good idea. I was going to stick to 9mm. I have five calibers right now. There are a couple more I'd like but have not made the move due to the fact that I would have to buy more bullets, brass, and dies.

 

[Zerodefect]

I'm down to .380auto, .40 S&W, and .45ACP.

I have no plans on adding any more calibers. I might add a range only SVI 2011 pistol. But I'll stick with .40 for that instead of the usual 9mm.

 

[BossHogg]

Entirely to many guns to shoot to limit it to one or two calibers. I reload for 9mm 38/357 45acp and 45 Colt. Out of just those 5 calibers I have hundreds if not thousands to choose from. Keeps me busy enough and next door to the poorhouse.

 

[mdThanatos]

I started off with .44-40 for CAS matches, then .45acp for range fun, then I added .38/.357 for CAS, then sold the .44-40 (think I still have ammo thought, oops), sold my single actions, and picked up some DA/SA revolvers, and am sitting with .45 and .38/.357 currently but really really really considering a 9mm of some sort, no idea why.

 

[cfullgraf]

Sometimes you DON'T need three ammo cans full of ammo for each gun.

Some guns you just buy because they are cool, or interesting.
Doesn't mean you are going to "train" with them.

I'm not sure I own any 7.65 Mauser ammo.
If I do, I don't know where it is.

I do know where my 7.65 Luger is though.

I agree. Firearms that I only shoot once in a blue moon, I don't have much ammunition on hand but i do have components and equipment to reload them.

Powder, projectiles, and primers are frequently applicable across several cartridges. For the little used cartridges, I try to load them with components I have on hand for other purposes.

I lost count of the number of cartridges i load when I ran out of fingers and toes.

 

[ku4hx]

I've been a hand loader since 1969 and boolit caster since 1970. I currently load for fourteen cartridges and therefore have no aversion to acquiring any caliber gun ... the more and varied the better.

 

[Scimmia]

While I understand caliber consolidation, I do basically the opposite. I like the play with new things.

 

[tahunua001]

I buy my guns based on application, cost per round, cost per gun. if I'm buying a 22lr I dont want to spend 600 dollars on it, likewise if I was buying a 45 I would not spend less than 200 on it(sorry to all you hi point guys, I meant no offense). if all I want is a plinking and practice rifle 223(about 30 cents a round for brass cased) is not the most economic choice however 5.45x39mm is very close to the 223 in terms of recoil, accuracy(within 300 yards) and stopping power and only costs about 17 cents a round with it's only drawback being hard to find hunting ammo which I can get for the 223 easily enough.


all of my rifles are different calibers and all of my pistols are different calibers but now I am looking at getting rifles that match the same caliber as pistols currently owned and at the same time I'm looking at pistols that match calibers of currently owned rifles. in my opinion there is no "1 size fits all" but matching a pistol and a rifle to the same application demographic(such as 9mm for plinking or 45 for camp guns and bear defense(not grizzlys, not trying to hijack the post with a flame session). the only exception I might make is if I ever wanted to carry a backup gun in which case using the same caliber would prove useful should your primary fail.

 

[johnnydollar]

I do the caliber consolidation thing. I buy 9mm ammo because it is cheap, readily available, and I can use it in any of my 11 pistols. It works for me!
JD

 

[owlhoot]

Consolidation????? Last time I looked I had handguns in 17 different cartridges/calibers.

 

[chris93555]

When I look for a new gun, I look for a different caliber, I only have 2 guns that are the same caliber (9MM)