Calibers you have not bought factory new

I've never bought factory ammo for my .45-110 Sharps (2 7/8" case), but I've bought plenty of other factory 45 CALIBER ammo - including 45 ACP and a few boxes of 45 Colt ammo.
Even though I have a few boxes of factory 308 Norma Magnum ammo, I've never ran any factory ammo through my rifle. That's unlike all of the other 30 CALIBER rifles I've had over the years (30 Carbine, 30-30, 308 Winchester, 30-06, and 300 Win Mag) that I bought factory ammo for. All but two (a 270 Win and a 338 Win Mag) of my big game rifles have been 30 caliber, and I've ran factory AMMO in each of them at one time or another.

 

No factory for .25-06, 7x57 Mauser, .45 Colt.

 

The last time I bought factory ammo was when I re-qualified over 10 yrs ago., It was a requirement to use factory ammo. All my new calibers I buy dies and new brass. So many of my guns have never seen a factory round in 45+ yrs.

 

338/06

 

I can't claim to have never bought factory new or surplus ammo for ANY cartridge I shoot. Pretty much every gun of a new caliber came home with a box of factory ammo or surplus ammo. After the weapon checks out (and I enjoy the immediate satisfaction of shooting it) I usually make the second investment in the reloading head and change over kit for my Dillon 650 which usually takes a few weeks waiting for dies, a head and caliber conversion to arrive. .44 mag is the one exception since I already had a .50 ae head setup setting up a .44 mag head was much cheaper when I added a 44 mag barrel to my DE and I didn't need the immediate satisfaction of shooting the new barrel.

Cartridges that I reload for and haven't bought new factory ammo for in ages:
.380
9mm
.45 acp
44 magnum
50 ae
.30 carbine
.223 / 5.56 - I have commercial cases and lake city cases which use different loads
6.5 x 55 Sweed
.308 / 7.62 x 51 - I have commercial cases and lake city cases which use different loads
30-06
8 x 57mm Mauser

Cartridges that I only buy factory ammo for:
.25 acp
.32 acp
7.5x54 MAS - Never found affordable brass for this cartridge

Cartridges that I am still using surplus ammo that I purchased back when it was affordable:
7.62 x 54R
.303 British

 

Started reloading in 1972, since then I have bought 1 box of .270 Winchester to get brass to reload. I bought 3 boxes of factory rounds for the 350 Legend due to dies not yet available at the time. I load for the following:
.220 Swift, .223Rem., .222Rem., .38Spcl., 9MM Luger, .380 Auto, .357Mag., .44 Mag., 6.5 Grendel, 6.5 x 55, 7x57 AI, 30-06, 8mm/06AI, 350 Legend and 7mm Rem. Mag..
Besides those two none of the rest have seen any factory ammo.

ETA..
Forgot the .270 that I started with

 

45acp

Bought one box of Colt 45 for the brass. Never shot it tho due to coming across some brass the next day.

Haven’t bought any factory ammo in years (other than the Colt 45) except I bought the Wife a case of 22LR about 7-8 years ago

 

Thank you all for the posts, thank you to those who corrected me it is Cartridges not calibers. This is a great forum and I continue to learn each time I log in.

 

We knew what you meant the first time........well.......most of us did anyway.......

 

I haven't purchased a factory round in over 20 years except for .22 and I load for 22 different calibers including shotgun. It chaps my hide when I end up with a box of factory shotgun shells in some deal I purchased, they just have to be shot. Good thing my trap club doesn't care what we shot during trap games as I have sent many loads of lead 2 shot down range just to get rid of the stuff. I still have some factory pistol rounds purchased years ago that just sets around in the way but as of late I have made a conscious effort to burn through it when I go to the range, last range trip I burned through 100 .38 rounds just to have them gone.

My buddy's are always asking me what I think of this or that factory round and I have to tell them that I have no idea as I don't keep up on anything factory just like I have no idea what the going price of factory rounds are as I never look at the stuff.

 

I've bought a little factory for everything.....it's how I get brass for less common cartridges. When new brass is, say 40 cents apiece and the rounds are 50 cents, or whatever, then the cost of those first factory rounds are effectively cheaper than reloading that first set of rounds. Besides, I see what a good factory load will do and then better it.

 

41 Magnum, 30 Herrett, 222 Remington, everything else, just 1 or 2 boxes for instant gratification . . .

 

450 Bushmaster. I fell into a deal on brass when I bought my upper and it has never seen a round of factory.

I can't say I have never bought the following but I have reloaded many MANY orders of magnitude more than I have bought as these were cartridges I used for USPSA/IDPA competition.

40 S&W
45 ACP
38 Short Colt
38 Special

300 BO is another cartridge that I have bought only a hand full of boxes and 95% of the rest has been reloads. Likewise 44 Mag.

 

30-06 - Bought my first M1 Garand a year ago and already had most of the reloading components for it, except brass. It makes sense to reload only for this gun, due to its specific pressure curve.

 

I usually buy a box for brass or initial break-in. In the case of my 257 Weatherby it was cheaper to buy factory ammo than to buy brass. I bought 2 boxes to get me started. The only cartridges that I can think of that never came home in a factory box are 308 Norma Mag, 300 BO, 45LC, and 7mm TCU. No one had ammo for the Norma so I made brass out of 300 H&H. The TCU was easy by shooting 223 and then partial resizing by running the case into the full length die enough to size the neck and not touch the shoulder. The headspace is critical in a Contender Pistol. I've learned a lot over the years, but it is usually "what not to do".

 

I have equipment to reload any cartridge that I have a gun for except 9mm Largo, 16 gauge, maybe another near obsolete cartridge.

I have several wildcats (7mm Int. Rimmed, 22x6.8, 38/45 Clerke) and a couple obsolete/discontinued cartridges (6.5x54 Kurz Mauser, 22 Bench Rest) that the firearms have never seen a factory round.

Most of the others, something north of 30 different cartridges, I like to buy some factory cartridges to run over a chronograph. Sometimes when I get a firearm with a new to me cartridge, I get some factory ammunition to generate some new components for reloading.

 

Yup, this 100% except for the things that don't exist on a shelf anywhere like .455Webley/.45ACP and 10.6mm Dutch Revolver, I've bought and shot factory at least once for everything just to get a baseline.

 

277 Wolverine
300 BO
44 Magnum

 

I bought one box of factory ammo for my (then new) Ruger GP100. After about 400 rounds downrange so far I haven't used any of it.
My handloads work just fine.

 

The two I have never bought any pre-assembled ammo:
1. 219 Donaldson Wasp
2. 458 SOCOM

Everything else has had at least one box of factory.

 

Never bought 44-40, 45 Colt, 45-70 or 30 carbine.

 

Like others I buy factory to compare and/or to get brass. I have only one rifle that I never bought factory for....because I can't buy factory for .22-243 Middlestead.