.32 S&W Short, 9mm Largo, .32-20 WCF, .38-40 WCF, 6.5mm Carcano, 7.7mm Japanese, .577-450 Martini-Henry. I haven't seen any of these on the shelves of any of the local sporting goods emporiums, so I pretty much have to roll my own, or order them from someplace else.
obscure calibers??
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hermannr
Member
Don't find too many .264 WinMag on the shelf anymore, and when you do find them they are $70+ a box.
Back in the 60's this was the hot 6.5mm cartridge, Superly accurate with the Sierra 142 gr matchking, and great on coy dogs with the Sierra 100 grain hp. I have enough brass and bullets to last the rest of my life.
Back in the 60's this was the hot 6.5mm cartridge, Superly accurate with the Sierra 142 gr matchking, and great on coy dogs with the Sierra 100 grain hp. I have enough brass and bullets to last the rest of my life.
Dnaltrop
Member
Not "quite" obscure, but damn hard to find the ammo on short notice. Have to order it well in advance of when the Old man wants to take his other favorite Long gun out.
7.65x Argentine Mauser.
My old man's C&R go-to guy has multiple bulk tins around... he almost gleefully tells us he's keeping every single last round for himself, as it was a pain in the rear to get the tins he has, at the insane price he found them for.
7.65x Argentine Mauser.
My old man's C&R go-to guy has multiple bulk tins around... he almost gleefully tells us he's keeping every single last round for himself, as it was a pain in the rear to get the tins he has, at the insane price he found them for.
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montanaoffroader
Member
Model 1917 Enfield chambered in .30 Belted Newton (.30-338 Win Mag). Performance is similar to the .308 Norma Mag. No factory ammo, have to roll your own.
P5 Guy
Member
.30 Mauser and .30 Luger may not be that obscure but the price makes them a rare find in my magazine.
TRX
Member
7.65x53 Mauser. Nowadays I can buy new brass from Norma, but there wasn't any when I first got the rifle. Now I'm used to forming them from .30-06.
"6.5 Ross", basically a .256 Mannlicher rimless, except using rimmed .303 British brass. I made it to feed through a Ross straight-pull action that was already set up for .303.
I'm working on a ".311 Whisper", basically a .300 Whisper, except with a longer neck to cover the grease grooves on a cast bullet, and in .311 because I have several new .311 barrels on hand. I still need to finish the chambering and die reamers.
The .311 will have no ballistic advantages over the .300, it just suits my hardware and purposes a bit better.
Neither of the two above are really wildcats, they're just adjustments to fit circumstances.
"6.5 Ross", basically a .256 Mannlicher rimless, except using rimmed .303 British brass. I made it to feed through a Ross straight-pull action that was already set up for .303.
I'm working on a ".311 Whisper", basically a .300 Whisper, except with a longer neck to cover the grease grooves on a cast bullet, and in .311 because I have several new .311 barrels on hand. I still need to finish the chambering and die reamers.
The .311 will have no ballistic advantages over the .300, it just suits my hardware and purposes a bit better.
Neither of the two above are really wildcats, they're just adjustments to fit circumstances.
JWF III
Member
Only have a few obscure calibers here. (BTW, I don't consider my .44-40s or .32-20s obscure. At least not when compared to the others.)
-.22 Short- findable, you just have to look for it
-.32 H&R Magnum- somewhat findable
-7.5 French- Only Prvi loads it (AFAIK) (Might as well add 7.5 Swiss)
-6.5 and 7.7 Jap
-8mm Nambu- Only seen one box of it in my life for sale. That was 15-20 years ago. The price was something like $80 for a box of 20
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-8 gauge muzzle loading shotgun (SxS)- BPI may have wads, otherwise I'd have to cut my own IF I wanted to shoot it.
Wyman
-.22 Short- findable, you just have to look for it
-.32 H&R Magnum- somewhat findable
-7.5 French- Only Prvi loads it (AFAIK) (Might as well add 7.5 Swiss)
-6.5 and 7.7 Jap
-8mm Nambu- Only seen one box of it in my life for sale. That was 15-20 years ago. The price was something like $80 for a box of 20
.-8 gauge muzzle loading shotgun (SxS)- BPI may have wads, otherwise I'd have to cut my own IF I wanted to shoot it.
Wyman
Romeo 33 Delta
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.276 Enfield RL-18000C (can now be made from RWS 8 X 68S) for the Enfield P-13
.303 MAGNUM (not a .303 Ackley, more like a .303 version of the above) I have this in a Ross M-10 target rifle)
8.15 X 46R
.25-20 S.S.
.30-30 Wesson
.32 W.S.L. (available ammo is old and collector-priced.) I use the brass and reload for a Ruger No 1 and this is the parent case for my .30 Carbine Rimmed
.32 Ideal
.303 MAGNUM (not a .303 Ackley, more like a .303 version of the above) I have this in a Ross M-10 target rifle)
8.15 X 46R
.25-20 S.S.
.30-30 Wesson
.32 W.S.L. (available ammo is old and collector-priced.) I use the brass and reload for a Ruger No 1 and this is the parent case for my .30 Carbine Rimmed
.32 Ideal
.475 Wildey Magnum. Finally got new Starline brass. Still can't get the gun to run right though. 
As someone else mentioned 7.65 Longue. I cheat though and load it in 32 ACP cases. Took me awhile to find a load that would cycle the action.
Oh, and I also have a VZ-52 in 7.62x45. Haven't decided if it's worth the hassle to reload for though.
As someone else mentioned 7.65 Longue. I cheat though and load it in 32 ACP cases. Took me awhile to find a load that would cycle the action.
Oh, and I also have a VZ-52 in 7.62x45. Haven't decided if it's worth the hassle to reload for though.
351 WINCHESTER
Member
Let us not forget the .351 Winchester SLR.
ihctractor
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8mm-308 Norma
I inherited a custom Mauser in 8mm-.308 Norma Magnum. Came with custom made dies to reload.
It's a .308 Norma magnum case necked up to 8mm. Somebody put a lot of time and money building this which doesn't make sense because the ballistics are identical to the .338 Winchester magnum but you have to make your own ammo.
I inherited a custom Mauser in 8mm-.308 Norma Magnum. Came with custom made dies to reload.
It's a .308 Norma magnum case necked up to 8mm. Somebody put a lot of time and money building this which doesn't make sense because the ballistics are identical to the .338 Winchester magnum but you have to make your own ammo.
Likewise, I have a Remington Model 8 in .30 Remington that is a pain to find ammo for (currently discontinued).
Local stores haven't seen any in several years. I last picked up a few boxes from Wisconsin Cartridge at a cost of about $1.50 a round, though they are regularly sold out.
Salmoneye
Member
.35 S&W Auto
I prefer the .401 SLR...
I prefer the .401 SLR...
olafhardtB
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- May 8, 2011
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- 393
I just got a couple of 32 s&w short topbreaks and 500 s&w is areloading proposition uhless you want the snot kicked out of you and your pocket book. Sort of covers both ends of the spectrum.
S.A.C.M. 1935A or 1935S? I have a 1935A and reload for the 7.65 French Longue. I use either .30 caliber Mauser or Luger bullets. You don't see many people shooting these anymore due to the ammo situation, but reformed brass can be bought.
I also have an MAS 49/56 in 7.5 French, and reload for that as welll using modified Swedish Mauser brass.
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lizziedog1
Member
I love obscure or obsolete calibers.
I don't like to follow the crowd, if you know what I mean.
I don't own a 30-06. I realize it might be about the closest thing there is to a perfect caliber for North America hunting. I know that everyone and their grandma has one. That is the reason I don't.
I have a 30 caliber rifle. It is a 300 Savage. Not quiet a '06, but versatile enough for most of the game around here. More importantly, I'm the only one on the block with one.
I reload, so having ammo is usually not a problem.
There is one criteria I do have. Before buying some new gun for some obsolete cartridge I check for the availability of brass. If it is impossible to find, then I'll skip it. If it can be made easily from another caliber I'll think about it. But other than that, I love those oddball calibers.
I don't like to follow the crowd, if you know what I mean.
I don't own a 30-06. I realize it might be about the closest thing there is to a perfect caliber for North America hunting. I know that everyone and their grandma has one. That is the reason I don't.
I have a 30 caliber rifle. It is a 300 Savage. Not quiet a '06, but versatile enough for most of the game around here. More importantly, I'm the only one on the block with one.
I reload, so having ammo is usually not a problem.
There is one criteria I do have. Before buying some new gun for some obsolete cartridge I check for the availability of brass. If it is impossible to find, then I'll skip it. If it can be made easily from another caliber I'll think about it. But other than that, I love those oddball calibers.
Local Pawn Shop has a Colt Army Special in .41 Long Colt. I guess the only place you can get those rds these days is from one of those cartriage companies that caters to the Cowboy Action crowd. Used to have a Mas 36, in 7.5mm French. I think the 36, the semi-auto MAS 59, and maybe a belt-fed MG where the only guns ever chambered for it. I think it was ballisticly pretty similar to the 30/06. The Mas 36 was a little odd. No saftey (kept keeping your finger off the trigger), two piece stock, intergal cruciform bayonet, and the locking lugs where on the rear of the bolt. Not a bad gun though, used to be able to get them out of the SGN for next to nothing.
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