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How and why (your favorite caliber)
- Thread starter MINSH101
- Start date
I don't have one favorite, but I have to say several are all around awesome like the 357 Mag, .44 Mag, .45 Colt and others.
For me though, I've consolidated down to .40 and 10mm and I consider the .40 to be my main option. I've always liked it, even though as of late people seem to not like it. Some of the most accurate guns I've shot were .40's and it's also very versatile. Ammo is easy to find and as a handloader, you can load it from mild to wild.
For me though, I've consolidated down to .40 and 10mm and I consider the .40 to be my main option. I've always liked it, even though as of late people seem to not like it. Some of the most accurate guns I've shot were .40's and it's also very versatile. Ammo is easy to find and as a handloader, you can load it from mild to wild.
Cheapshooter
New member
How do you not love the one that brung you to the dance?
22 Long Rifle Rimfire. Affordable, fin to shoot, and chambered in the widest variety of both hand guns, and long guns.
Now if you want to ask the same question for specific purposes, there are as many answers as purposes.
22 Long Rifle Rimfire. Affordable, fin to shoot, and chambered in the widest variety of both hand guns, and long guns.
Now if you want to ask the same question for specific purposes, there are as many answers as purposes.
Spats McGee
Administrator
For a favorite caliber, just because I love to shoot it, I have to go with .22 LR. I didn't really start with .22, but it was my first gun beyond a BB gun or a single-shot 20 ga. It's also the Plinking Caliber, and I have had some great fun while plinking over the years.
disseminator
New member
45 Caliber for me.
lee n. field
New member
How did you come to love your favorite caliber? Why is it your favorite?
This question is asked because we all have a story to tell. I'm curious as to how folks gained exposure to their favorite caliber. Was it the military? Or a family member long gone?
My favorite is the .357 magnum. My uncle Levi was a deputy in Louisiana and one time, in the early to mid 70's, he came to visit my dad. He asked me to grab something from his suitcase and there it was...a beautiful snub nose revolver in .357 magnum. During his visit he emptied it and let me hold it. That began a love affair that I carry to this day. The reason why it's remains my favorite is its stopping power and versatility in ammo selection.
Thanks for sharing
Don't really have a favorite. 9, .40, .45 ACP, I carry them all. Rarely, anymore, .38 Special in a snubby.
I cannot pick one, but my tale is one of growth... and how I have come to love many.
My formative years were spent reading Jeff Cooper in the late 80's so naturally... I was a card carrying 9mm HATER! Fast forward 30 years and I now own more handguns in 9mm than in any other single chambering. I obviously love it and as a hobbyist handloader, I love that not only are my own loads fantastic in my pistols, but 9mm brass grows on trees and I never have to worry about losing brass that my guns have strewn to hell & back.
.38 Special has always held a special place for me but what is noteworthy is just -HOW- much more I have latched on to this old standby in just the last five years -- let me explain!
My first ever metallic cartridge handloads were .38 Special and I figured I'd always love the round... for 25 years I did and then I got a Coonan Classic and overnight, I had a whole new platform for the round. Shortly after that, I found a lightly used but awe-inspiring custom PPC revolver built on a 1956 S&W K-38. And with that, I had another new place to shoot this old favorite. As if those two additions to my ".38 Special arsenal" weren't enough... at the ripe old age of fortysomething... my world changed forever as I bought my first S&W Model 52. I hate to use an overused line but if you aren't hands-on familiar with a S&W 52 then you may seriously have no real idea of what these pistols are like. In any case, WOW, .38 Special again and again! This past summer I added a Ruger 77/357 for steel plate fun... typically running .357 but had to laugh at finding another way to burn through .38 Special!
Anyway, that's a tale of two favorites and I have more favorites also.
My formative years were spent reading Jeff Cooper in the late 80's so naturally... I was a card carrying 9mm HATER! Fast forward 30 years and I now own more handguns in 9mm than in any other single chambering. I obviously love it and as a hobbyist handloader, I love that not only are my own loads fantastic in my pistols, but 9mm brass grows on trees and I never have to worry about losing brass that my guns have strewn to hell & back.
.38 Special has always held a special place for me but what is noteworthy is just -HOW- much more I have latched on to this old standby in just the last five years -- let me explain!
My first ever metallic cartridge handloads were .38 Special and I figured I'd always love the round... for 25 years I did and then I got a Coonan Classic and overnight, I had a whole new platform for the round. Shortly after that, I found a lightly used but awe-inspiring custom PPC revolver built on a 1956 S&W K-38. And with that, I had another new place to shoot this old favorite. As if those two additions to my ".38 Special arsenal" weren't enough... at the ripe old age of fortysomething... my world changed forever as I bought my first S&W Model 52. I hate to use an overused line but if you aren't hands-on familiar with a S&W 52 then you may seriously have no real idea of what these pistols are like. In any case, WOW, .38 Special again and again! This past summer I added a Ruger 77/357 for steel plate fun... typically running .357 but had to laugh at finding another way to burn through .38 Special!
Anyway, that's a tale of two favorites and I have more favorites also.
I visited Col. Cooper, on his ranch, a few years ago, my Son was 18, and the same height as Jeff, 6'2"?
Fine Gentleman. He put his arm around my Sons shoulder, just prior to us leaving. "Your Dad is a fine fellow, except for his penchant for that pipsqueak cartridge, the 9mm" I was carrying a Glock 17 at the time.
One thing we did agree on, always shoot twice, the double tap.
Fine Gentleman. He put his arm around my Sons shoulder, just prior to us leaving. "Your Dad is a fine fellow, except for his penchant for that pipsqueak cartridge, the 9mm" I was carrying a Glock 17 at the time.
One thing we did agree on, always shoot twice, the double tap.
johnwilliamson062
Moderator
9mm.
It gets the job done for less money and less hassle(finding) with less recoil and less noise.
It gets the job done for less money and less hassle(finding) with less recoil and less noise.
I don't have one favorite cartridge but I have favorite gun/cartridge combinations. I love the .45 acp and my favorite launcher is my Remington Rand. I tend to like guns that are big-for-caliber since I have large hands and they're easier to get a grip on.
My stepfather was the only family member I had who was really into handguns and his Ruger Single-six was the gun I got to shoot most. I bought its twin as soon as I was old enough and it's a gun I'll never part with.
My stepfather was the only family member I had who was really into handguns and his Ruger Single-six was the gun I got to shoot most. I bought its twin as soon as I was old enough and it's a gun I'll never part with.
SauerGrapes
New member
I've really become fond of the 38spl. Probably because I like revolvers. 1911 and the 45acp would be my 2nd. Only because I like 1911s'.
Bob Wright
New member
When I was a youngster I read a lot by Elmer Keith. I had a Colt New Service in .45 Colt, and soon it had been reborn as a .44 Special. By the time I got my custom .44 Special built, the .44 Magnum had been introduced. I made do with the .44 Special until I could get my first .44 Magnum, a Ruger Super Blackhawk.
I had handloaded the .44 Special for a number of years, so I was never intimidated by the .44 Magnum. With the .44 Magnum I began to make shots at distances never before tried with the .44 Special. Its long range power and accuracy sold me on the Magnum and I became enthralled with them. While I still have a great deal of respect for both the .44 Special and .45 Colt, the .44 Magnum Super Blackhawk holds a special place in my heart.
Bob Wright
I had handloaded the .44 Special for a number of years, so I was never intimidated by the .44 Magnum. With the .44 Magnum I began to make shots at distances never before tried with the .44 Special. Its long range power and accuracy sold me on the Magnum and I became enthralled with them. While I still have a great deal of respect for both the .44 Special and .45 Colt, the .44 Magnum Super Blackhawk holds a special place in my heart.
Bob Wright
stinkeypete
New member
No. 1 is .22. I learned to shoot with my grandpa’s H&R .22 Special. These were acquired for the Pennsylvania State Troopers as they were cheaper to practice with than .38s. That’s what I was told fifty years ago, anyhow. We always shot .22 shorts in that gun. My dad let the gun go in his divorce.
Many years later, I found another one and bought it. Now I know why we only shot .22 short... the cylinder doesn’t have a lock up! It just spins close to the barrel and don’t let it spin backwards from it’s advancing direction and it’ll be fine. Sort of.
Then I started shooting in a pistol league. My pistol smith recommended a baikal IZH and that was a great big tack driver. He also made me a custom from a Norinco copy of a TT Olympia. That would be the very last pistol I would ever part with.
Looking for a field pistol for rabbit hunting, I tried a little S&W air light, but it was not a good experience. Even after being returned to the factory to fix the barrel that was on so croooked the sights didn’t have enough travel to compensate for, it just would not group for me. My Norinco grouped better than my 10-22 from sandbags. really.
Light, small, accurate, quiet... yep. .22 for me.
Next choice? .45. .45 cap, .45 Colt, .454 Casull. Heavy, big, accurate, hand held thunder roaring hand cannons.
I guess I like the extremes.
Many years later, I found another one and bought it. Now I know why we only shot .22 short... the cylinder doesn’t have a lock up! It just spins close to the barrel and don’t let it spin backwards from it’s advancing direction and it’ll be fine. Sort of.
Then I started shooting in a pistol league. My pistol smith recommended a baikal IZH and that was a great big tack driver. He also made me a custom from a Norinco copy of a TT Olympia. That would be the very last pistol I would ever part with.
Looking for a field pistol for rabbit hunting, I tried a little S&W air light, but it was not a good experience. Even after being returned to the factory to fix the barrel that was on so croooked the sights didn’t have enough travel to compensate for, it just would not group for me. My Norinco grouped better than my 10-22 from sandbags. really.
Light, small, accurate, quiet... yep. .22 for me.
Next choice? .45. .45 cap, .45 Colt, .454 Casull. Heavy, big, accurate, hand held thunder roaring hand cannons.
I guess I like the extremes.