Most calibers for least investment

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Onward Allusion

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The P320 modularity thread got me thinking. While I'm no Glock fanboy, I gotta say that it's probably the least expensive platform to move into multiple calibers.

For an investment in G31 and G21, once can shoot 5 calibers (9mm, 357Sig, 40SW, 10mm, & 45ACP) for the price of a G31 to 9mm and a G21 to 10mm conversion barrels, a higher weight recoil assembly for the G21, & a 10mm magazine.

Of course, I'm not talking about anything more than range fun, but seriously, for around $1K (used) I can put together a package that shoots 5 calibers. Are there other platforms that can do this? I know a few make/models can go from 40SW-9MM or 40SW-357SIG, but are there any others that can go from 45ACP-10mm
 
I can take my Polish Flare Gun and fire 5 various types of "what-ever". :)

Let see:

1. 26.5 mm Flares

2. 12 gauge Flares

3. .22

4. .45 Colt

5. .410 Shells

The only hitch is the low round count of one shot per loading.

Then you also need barrel inserts for the 12 gauge and the other two sub-caliber sizes .22 and .410/.45 Colt.

At about ten yards the .45 Colt makes a nasty entry wound since the bullet is twisting and turning like the old dance "The Twist".
 
The Tanfoglio Elite Match, since they moved to the large frame, can run 9mm, .38 Super, .40 S&W, 10mm and .45 Auto. However, you need a new slide, barrel and magazine so it's nowhere in the hemisphere of "low cost."

But this kind of swappability comes in handy for some folks in some places where the serial numbered part is overly restricted and you are very limited to "how many" guns or handguns you own.
 
Any 357 Magnum can also shoot 38 special. But don't try it in a Rossi lever action 357 Mag. That's all their happy with, at least one I used to own.
 
Sevens said:
The Tanfoglio Elite Match, since they moved to the large frame, can run 9mm, .38 Super, .40 S&W, 10mm and .45 Auto. However, you need a new slide, barrel and magazine so it's nowhere in the hemisphere of "low cost."
Click to expand...

You forgot .22!!

If conversion barrels are available somewhere -- (?) -- you might be able to run a .40, 9mm, .38 Super and .357 SIG in a 10mm slide, and not need all those different top ends. Mags might be compatible for 9mm and .40.

The older, small-frame 9mms and .40s would run in the same slide, and the larger framed models might be as flexible. With the small-framed guns, the barrel diameters were the same.

I've never had the need to look for conversion barrels for those models, so don't know if they exist.
 
Conversion barrels are cool but they aren't exactly cheap. Personally I would rather buy a lot of cheap guns than one gun and lots of conversion barrels but that's just me.

One advantage of owning conversion barrels over owning a bunch of pistols is that all those pistols take a lot more time to clean than just a barrel by itself. And cleaning time starts to add up when your pistol collection grows.
 
If you have a break-open single-shot shotgun, you can get inserts that let you shoot handgun ammo. I have a few of them. They weren't expensive.
 
EAA's Witness/Tanfoglio pistols can do most of it on the same frame, I think. They also include .22lr, .38 super, and 10mm, as well as longslide options. They also have a compact frame and compact slides/barrels, but I'm not sure how it all fits together.

It's hard with semiautomatics, but easy with revolvers.

The Medusa M47 revolver had trick extractors and could safely fire just about any .35 pistol round, rimmed or rimless. It's generally stated to fire at least 25 different calibers.

What's the going rate? $5k? That's $200 per caliber. Not bad.

A .460 S&W can also fire .454 Casull, .45 Colt, or .45 Schofield if you are a weirdo. That's a pretty good range of power.

And then with single shot pistols (Thompson Center especially), the sky's the limit.
 
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