Common calibers in collection?

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So I've been thinking ... is it smart to keep my collection to 'common calibers' or is the more the merrier? Here is what I have:

.45 ACP: Full frame S&W 3rd gen (will add a 1911 eventually - no doubt)
9mm: Beretta 92FS and Bersa Thunder Ultracompact
357: S&W Model 66 3'inch (will add +p 38 snubbie and .357 lever gun soon)
.22: Couple of Buckmarks, a 10/22 and an old Stevens bolt action - love the 22!

My question: Should I keep my Glock 27 and maintain a supply of .40 as well? Or should I sell it and go with a primary carry gun in 9mm or 45?

I suppose I could have bought a G26 instead of the 27 and avoided this conundrum, but was intrigued by the .40 S&W at the time.

Thoughts?
 
Why limit what you have by the ammo you have. Get and shoot what ever trips your trigger.
 
By uncommon calibers I was thinking of semi-obsolete or exotic items like the 10mm Magnum, .41 Action Express, .451 Detonics, etc. So I guess there are degrees of uncommon. :D
So with me the sky is the limit, although it would be nice to have uncommon calibers for which ammunition might be available in case I wanted to shoot them occasionally.
 
Reloading makes keeping more calibers in your lineup easier but even if you don't reload i don't see any reason to limit yourself if there is a gun you like. Currently I shoot these in pistol...

22 rimfire
7.62X25
9mm
9X23
38/357
44 Special
44 Mag
45 ACP
45 Super
460 Rowland
and of course 451 Detonics

I am spread even further in rifle...
 
.22lr
.25 ACP
.32 S&W Long
.32 ACP
.454 round ball

Not much right now but I like to keep it different.
 
Uncommon calibers? Like .323 or .421?
or
Uncommon cartridges like the .450 Adams or the .320 Revolver or even the .38 S&W?
 
I have managed to accumulate a nice variety now, as well. Here are the 8 handgun calibers in my safe:

1- High Standard Double 9 W106 Steel Frame revolver with .22 and .22 magnum cylinders

2 – Ortgies 6.35mm (.25 ACP)

3 -Mauser HSC Pocket pistol (WWII vet bring back) .32 ACP

4 - CZ82 Czech Military Pistol 9x18

5 – Smith & Wesson 686 .38/.357 Magnum 6” barrel

6 - Colt 1911A1 .45 ACP made for Argentine military stamped DGFM-FMAP
 
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What calibers you keep is based on your personal philosophy of gun ownership. If your guns are purely utilitarian than you'd be better off to stick with 45, 9mm, 38 etc. If you enjoy shooting just because it's fun than you can do whatever your wallet allows you to do.
 
I've been looking at .40 S&W of late

CUrrent:

.22 LR
.38 SPecial/.357 Magnum
9mm Luger/9x19
.45 ACP
.45 AUto RIm
.45 Colt
.400 CorBon

R-
 
Buy and shoot whatever you want, though I will agree that you might be able to shoot more of your guns more often if they're more "common" rounds.

I currently have guns in:

.22lr
.380ACP
9x18mm Makarov
9x19mm Luger
7.62x25mm Tokarev
.38 Special
7.62 Nagant (got a .32ACP cylinder for that gun that I need to get fitted).

Admittedly - 95% of my handgun shooting at the range is done with the 9mm Lugers or .22LR's.
 
I currently run:

22lr, 9mm, and 12ga

That being said, I have owned all sorts of firearms over the years, and have all sorts of "leftover" ammo from a wide variety of calibers.
 
Well, I'm currently stocking and shooting (out of handguns):

.45 ACP
9mm
.38 Special (and +P defense loads)
.22 LR
.44 (Round ball for percussion pistols)

I have a thing for Russian/Soviet firearms, so I'm hoping to soon add a Makarov (9x18) and/or (maybe) a Tokarev/CZ in 7.62x25.

If you like it, go for it! I claim to try to keep within the constraints of my current stock, but I've added 3 calibers to handguns alone in the past six months. 2 of those were in the last 2 months.

So, whatever. :D
 
Used to own .22, .380, 9x19, .38S&W, .357, .45ACP and .454. Now I only own .45Auto compact pistol. I find coin and stamp collecting infinitely more interesting hobby. One can sell and buy across national borders and few new stupid laws will not turn collection into heap of metal scrap.
 
I guess it depends on why you shoot. Those heavily into survival/HD/SD training might find many different calibers unnecessary or counter to their game plans. Those who collect might have all sorts of calibers, but might not shoot them very often and require only a box or two of ammo for each. Competitive shooters might focus on one caliber or a few common ones. There are as many possible combinations of those as there are shooters in the world, so do what you want.

I"m up to 13 handgun calibers. Some rarely get shot (.32 S&W) and others get shot a lot (.45 ACP). My personal preference is for diversity, because that is what makes shooting fun and interesting for me. A solid 98% of my range time is playing around with different guns and target shooting, and the other 2% is me running any type of practice drill. The most common reason I see for caliber consolidation is that it makes keeping ammo around or reloading less of an issue, but I find there are a lot of calibers I don't need much ammo on hand, namely because I won't shoot it that much in an outing. A .44 magnum, for example, I'll rarely shoot more than twenty five or thirty rounds out of it in a day. Any more than that and I start to lose my ability to shoot it well. I'll load up several hundred and that will last me a while.

Its your call. I personally know that if I limit my choices, I'll get bored really quick.
 
Why limit what you have by the ammo you have. Get and shoot what ever trips your trigger.
Click to expand...

This is the answer. I'm not saying to rush out to get all the oddball stuff you can find, but just expand your horizons.

I don't even own a .308 rifle yet. After I do, I'm dang sure going to need a .270 WSM... Why limit yourself just so you can keep the cartridge inventory to so-called "common calibers"? .270 WSM is probably fairly popular for a good reason, i.e: refined needs. That's a good thing, not a "bad" thing.

Les
 
I like the obsolete and semi-obsolete cartridges. For some reason I find them to be more fun to shoot. I do reload so having ammo usually isn't too much of a problem.
 
I like both diversity and the unusual. In my handgun collection I have:
22LR/22Mag
357 SuperMag
375 SuperMag
380 acp
40 S&W/10mm
41 Mag
44 Special/44 Mag
44 Rhino (a wildcat ctg)
445 SuperMag
45 acp
45 Colt
454 Casull
460 S&W Mag
480 Ruger
 
If you enjoy shooting the .40... keep shooting 'em.

EDIT: Besides, you can always get a G26 anyway. You can never have too many guns.
 
.22LR, .25acp, .32acp, .380, 9x18, 9x19, .38 special, 7.62x25, 40S&W and .45acp. Why limit the fun? I also have bore snakes for all my calibers except the .25acp.

It does make for a lot of different boxes of ammo and cleaning brushes etc but I just couldn't part with any of my babies right now.
 
Alex...I'll take My 2% of a Buck for a hundred.

Being a pragmatist, and not given to jumping on trends...and because I view my guns ultimately as something that may have to be pressed into service...as remote as that possibility may be...I like having the option.

I tend to hang with calibers that are commonly available and stay away from exotics, wildcats, and those specialty or "niche" calibers. .308 instead of 7-08. .30-30 instead of .32 Special. (Even though I own a couple of M94s in that chambering and have an adequate supply of ammo set back.)

Cartridges like .30-30 and .38/.357 are available practically everywhere in small shops, hardware stores, and fish bait stands from Miami to Nome. It's probably not really important at the present, it could become so one fine day...and I like to be prepared for the worst.

For the odd man out, such as my .41 Magnum revolvers...I maintain an ample supply of powder and primers, along with lead and bullet moulds in order to keep them running in the event of an executive order from local, state, or national levels severely restricting or eliminating ammo sales for the short or long term.
 
In handguns I stay pretty much with the mainstream calibers; .22LR, .380ACP, .38/.357, 9mm., .45LC, and .45ACP. Basically just about anything you can readily find at WalMart. Having stated that, I do have my "off the beaten path" calibers as well. I have always had a great fascination with .38 Super, .41 Magnum, and .44 Special handguns. Maybe it's because they're not so commonplace and more of a niche caliber choice, that make them more interesting to me.
 
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