What caliber would have greatest value if SHTF?

[Dave R]

This is only idle musing on my part.

But if one were to stockpile ammo mainly to maximize trade value in case civlization went belly up, what caliber(s) would have the greatest demand AND the lowest supply.

I'm sure there would be demand for .223 and .7.62 NATO, but there would also be good supply of those, from military surplus. (And survival-types.)

Not so for .30-30, or .44mag, and, to a lesser extent, .30-06. I'm inclined to think there are LOTS of .30-30s and .30-06's out there, and not so many big stockpiles.

So what calibers do you think would have the best demand, and lowest supply?

 

[Preacherman]

First of all, the lowly .22LR would be a top trade asset. A .22 can serve almost any purpose, from training survivors in gun handling, to hunting for food, to self-defence (not ideal for the latter, of course, but any gun is better than nothing!). Also, you can stockpile tens of thousands of rounds in minimal space for very low cost, and can also stockpile weapons (for later resale or trading) at low prices (to you - needless to say, they'll be worth their weight in gold after the event!).

Then, the common rifle calibers are a good choice: .30-'06, .308, .30-30, 7.62x39mm., .243, .223, .45-70. Same for the common handgun calibers: .45 ACP, .44 Magnum, .40 S&W, .357 Magnum, .38 Special, 9mm. Parabellum.

Finally, I'd have a goodly supply of blackpowder shooting goodies - powder, caps, flints, patches, balls (including Minié slugs), etc., in the common BP calibers.

I'd think that stockpiling cleaning gear might also be a Good Thing in terms of trade goods - many folks will have a gun or two, but run out of patches, Hoppe's, etc. A bulk supply of CLP might come in handy!

 

[Farnham]

.22 would be the most useful, but it's fairly common. Same with 12 gauge.

The way I understand your question though, is which calibers are there many rifles for, but not much ammo stockpiled. Lots of 7.62 Soviet rifles, but lots of 7.62x39 ammo out there, too. Same for 7.62 Russian, 9mm, and .45ACP. Plenty of .223, plenty of ARs and Mini-14s, too.

I agree with your choice of .30-30 and .44 mag, not so much on .30-06. Plenty of .30-06 milsurp out there. I'd guess there are lots of .270, .22-250, .243, .25-06, and 20 gauge firearms out there, but who stockpiles those cartridges? .300 Savage? .45-70? .300 WinMag? Now that the K-31 is popular, what about 7.5 Swiss? Who can afford to stockpile .40 S&W? Not many people, but there are a lot of folks with .40 S&W pistols.

Of course, I'm sitting on a pile of .45 ACP, 9mm, 7.62x39, 7.62 NATO, and 5.56, maybe I'm biased.

S/F

Farnham

 

[Preacherman]

Farnham, good point on shotgun ammo. I'd think that 12ga. and 20ga. in standard 2¾" shells would be an excellent commodity to have on hand. Let's see... some buckshot, some slug, some #4 or #5 shot, and some small shot like #7½ or #8 should do it.

Of course, shotgun ammo is bulky and heavy, so stockpiling large quantities of it would be a bit more awkward than rifle or handgun ammo.

 

[rangerruck]

the number one cartridge in the whole world is the 22 lr. the most common centerfire gun parts and ammo is the 223, with an ar . the most common rifle and cartridge in the rest of the world is the 76239 with an ak. so if you plan on staying here, when shtf , then get some stuff in that order.

 

[Crom]

Rifle:
My list would include 22LR, 30 carbine, .303 British, and 30-30 Winchester. Maybe 7MM Mag, 7MM Mauser, 8MM Mauser.

Pistol:
45 Long Colt. and 44 Mag.

Perhaps 9MM Makarov and 7.62 Tokarev as well?

 

[palerider1]

mayby the .50 caliber?

 

[LAK]

the number one cartridge in the whole world is the 22 lr. the most common centerfire gun parts and ammo is the 223, with an ar . the most common rifle and cartridge in the rest of the world is the 76239 with an ak. so if you plan on staying here, when shtf , then get some stuff in that order.

I agree with the .22 Rimfire LR. But I might disagree with .223 cal. ARs being the most common CF rifle in the United States.

If you throw in the in-service, reserves and stockpiles of all our branches of the military that might be true. But I doubt it, and would speculate that perhaps the most common and nuerous rifles in the CONUS are either 30-30 or 30-06. There are still many of both of these around that were produced a hundred years ago - not to mention the millions since. And they are both being produced and sold in significant numbers.
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[50caliber123]

The most valuable would probably be whatever you have/need vs. what everyone wants. Region and terrain will make a difference, as different calibers have different capabilities and uses. If something happened tommorrow, I'd be SOL on 7.5x55 swiss, I only have 60 rounds
In Michigan, most shots will be close to medium range, and my hunting collection reflects that: Mossberg 500 and Remington 870 12 Gauge for CQB, Hi-Point 996 9mm, Marlin 1894 .44Mag for short range, Yugo SKS 7.62x39 for medium range, Swiss K31 7.5x55 and Mosin-Nagant M38 for long range. Those are my most effective, powerful weapons.

 

[sm]

+ 1
For Preacherman and Farnham.

Mentors & Elders back when I was a brat...
...days of Civil Defense drills, Cuban Missle Crisis, GCA '68...

Advocated folks having single shot .22 rifles, single shot shotguns lever action Rifles, and Medium Frame Revolvers. LOTs of .22 ammo for use including barter.
Having the components to Reload the rifle and shotgun ammo.

I was born in '55 to give a better idea of timeline. Guns that were available, reliable, would hold up , not need a lot of attention, not terribly expensive (single shots) and ammo being such that would take care of needs from food to defensive.

This is what folks bought lots of , hoarded and who knows how many went / are still where. The Ruger MKI handgun was $24.95 and all you had to do was send in a postcard and your gun ( like others) came to your home COD. Lots of folks liked these...still .$24.95 was a lot of money back then. Some folks better off did add this and some other choices...the suggestions aforementioned were basic affordable ones. There was "talk" and "concerns" about repeating guns being the first confiscated or regulated if matters "get any damn worse".

Not a new concern, like I said this is what was discussed and suggested when I was a brat. Still makes sense to me. Mentors & Elders bought every used Model 10 that ever came up for sale. I have no idea how many hand held Lee Reloaders I saw as a kid....everyone had these and simple reloaders stashed as well.

Some things just work no matter the year on the calendar...

 

[scout26]

12 ga.

It's the "Swiss Army Knife" of firearms. Keeping a bunch of loaded shotgun ammo around might be "bulky and heavy" as Preacherman stated, but keeping a bunch of reloading supplies (Powder, Primers, Wads and Shot/Slugs) around might not be a bad idea (Heck, I already do it anyway). It'll be a lot easier to customize loads to your needs and for trading. Plus a lot easier to fabricate a shotgun, then a rifle. At least it's my plan, if the SHFT and it's TEOTWAKI.

Oh yeah, and a whole buttload of .22LR.

+ a stash of cleaning supplies.

 

[Manedwolf]

Rifle:
My list would include 22LR, 30 carbine, .303 British, and 30-30 Winchester. Maybe 7MM Mag, 7MM Mauser, 8MM Mauser.

Pistol:
45 Long Colt. and 44 Mag.

Perhaps 9MM Makarov and 7.62 Tokarev as well?

I agree a few of those, but some I think are pretty much just enthusiast things, too rare to be of use.

I'm surprised you didn't mention 9mm Parabellum, I'd DEFINITELY include that, being there's stockpiles on hand for police supply, military supply, etc...

 

[Rexrider]

You would have to think about what kind of firearms do non- enthusiast own.

I tend to think a good majority of gun owners may have only one handgun and/or maybe a rifle for hunting. How many .38 snub-nosed revolvers are tucked away with maybe a box of ammo to go with it? Or hunting only types that buy 20 rds a year for their rifle. These are the people who will be looking for ammo once they realize the SHTF and find out they can't run to the gun shop to buy more.

Using this logic, here are my recommendations.

Handguns:
.38 special, .357mag, 9mm, .380 and maybe .45acp (I think 45acp is more of an enthusiast’s caliber and therefore will probably have a supply on hand, IMHO).

Rifles:
30-30, 30-06, .270 (.270 is popular these days, isn't it?), .308.

12 gauge and .22lr would always be safe bets.

I did not include .233/5.56 and 7.62x39 because I would think the people who shoot these calibers probably buy in bulk anyway.

Of course if the world became a place where you are bartering with ammo, I doubt you would have much trouble unloading any caliber you have on hand. Not to mention firearms w/ammo would probably be worth their weight in gold.

 

[kjeff50cal]

My list is .22Lr, 30/06, 308, 30/30, 357, 9mm, 9mm Mak., & .223 Rem.


Also a good inline muzzleloader (this is going against all my percussion sidelocks I have) because you can use a varity of ignition sources (read primers) to shoot it.

The one inline worth its weight in gold would have to be the Savage 10L (I think), the one that burns smokeless powders.

Also as a bow to the mountain men, a good flintlock, if SHTF becomes welcome to the new dark ages.

kjeff50cal

 

[azredhawk44]

I'd nod my head to .30-06, .30-30, .308, 7.62x39 and .223 for rifle. Nothing else. Lots of auto, bolt and lever guns in those calibers and the chance of your neighbor having a 8mm Mauser, .25-06, .22-250 or 7mm-08 that he really needs ammo for are few and far between. Why bother if he didn't?

Do business with people who have common calibers. If you want to offer a service for those with exotics, have a stock of reloading equipment and appropriate dies if you really want. Make them produce brass and leave it with you. That way your primer, powder and 7mm bullet can reload 7mm WSM, 7mm Remington Magnum, 7mm-08, etc... Have the ability to construct cartridges for several .30 calibers, several 7mm calibers, several .22 calibers, etc... Used dies are cheap and usually still serviceable, so check out gun shows and the like. And in hindsight, screw the guys with the WSM cartridges.

Handguns, I would only deal with what I had to shoot (but I have a lot) . Stick to the commons of 9mm, .357, .38 and .45acp. If you've got anything else, great.

Best demand is the guy next door with 1-2 rifles that he never shoots any more and only has a partial box of 20 rounds. You give him 100 rounds of whatever he needs, and he'll feed you good (if he's trustworthy). Chances are it's a .30-06 or .30-30 though.

 

[Brandon223]

my idea

Ok people don't bash me for this...

Stock pile 9mm ammo, but use a lathe to make a dead-center hole in it and insert a section of steel rod that is the appriate size and there you go 9mm AP, which would be good for situations where an organized and highly funded group of freedom stealers *cough* UN *cough* and you need to pierce through armor. Or since the SHTF no one will care about laws for I suggest you stock up on aluminum bar stock to manufacture moderators for various weapons, which in tern is extremely useful when detection of your presence could result in your death.

Or maybe I'm just paranoid...

 

[Farnham]

Do business with people who have common calibers. If you want to offer a service for those with exotics, have a stock of reloading equipment and appropriate dies if you really want. Make them produce brass and leave it with you. That way your primer, powder and 7mm bullet can reload 7mm WSM, 7mm Remington Magnum, 7mm-08, etc... Have the ability to construct cartridges for several .30 calibers, several 7mm calibers, several .22 calibers, etc... Used dies are cheap and usually still serviceable, so check out gun shows and the like. And in hindsight, screw the guys with the WSM cartridges.

I like that idea, too.

S/F

Farnham

ETA: Forgot to address the other part of redhawk's post. I've got an 8mm Mauser and a .22-250, two of my co-workers run .25-06, and one of them is considering a 7mm-08 for his wife. My neighbor hunts with a 7mm RUM, and that's his only rifle (don't ask me why). With me being the exception, most of these people would fall into the "one box of ammo = 4 deer seasons," so don't have much on hand.

Don't be surprised if your neighbor only owns one gun and it's in .338 UberLoudenBoomer Ackley Improved, most folks ain't considered this question. If he's only got 3 rounds of .338 ULB AI, a nice fella would lend him an SKS. Me, I'd get the deed to his house.

F.

 

[Freedspeak]

Most valuable or practical!

Your premise was most valuable.

I would say the the most practicle would be the 22 LR in agreement with most others, can be used for defense, hunting, and minimal storage requirement.
Beyond that I would say a good higher caliber rifle 0r shotgun based on your home location.

 

[OrvilleYertleson]

I think it is important to separate what would be most usefull for you to stockpile for your own personal use, vs. what you should stockpile for trade.

For me personally I am big on 5.56 and .22lr because of their ubiquity. I feel I will be able to find those cartridges long after most others have been used up.

For trade value though...Probably 12 Gauge. Almost every gun owner has a shotgun, but few people (outside this board) have more than a couple hundred rounds stored away and even fewer have large quantities of buckshot (5.56 takes up a lot less space). It is a round that will quickly be in demand and will be usefull to 'most' people.

As a second cartridge I would pick whatever your local standard is. In the mountains, it would probably be the good old 30-30. Many people have a rifle, but few people have lots of ammunition.

Your typical high power rifle rounds (30-06, etc) are typically expended one round at a time and net a large return (a whole deer, for instance). So a hundred rounds for a bolt action rifle will likely last a long time. Many people will probably stick to old habits and use their shotgun for birds and small game, in addition to defense, which will consume more ammunition.

 

[OrvilleYertleson]

Ok people don't bash me for this...

Stock pile 9mm ammo, but use a lathe to make a dead-center hole in it and insert a section of steel rod that is the appriate size and there you go 9mm AP, which would be good for situations where an organized and highly funded group of freedom stealers *cough* UN *cough* and you need to pierce through armor. Or since the SHTF no one will care about laws for I suggest you stock up on aluminum bar stock to manufacture moderators for various weapons, which in tern is extremely useful when detection of your presence could result in your death.

Or maybe I'm just paranoid...

Or you could just use any high power rifle and not have to worry about legal issues or the complexity of what you suggest. Plus, it is a lot harder to 'detect' someone who is several hundred yards away and not limited to the range of a pistol cartridge.