One caliber or all common calibers?

R

Ricky

New member
I see a lot of people posting that they prefer to have several pistols (or rifles for that matter) of the same caliber. That way they only need to keep one caliber in stock.
I on the other hand have decided to have several popular caliber handguns so I should always be able to get ammo for at least one of my guns should there be a shortage. I still need to get a 9mm though.
 
I agree with you and have carried that concept one step further.
I own a SIG P226 with (3) slides and (4) barrels in calibers .22lr, 9mm, .357SIG and .40S&W, all in one case.
Very handy indeed.
 
My plan around this is to only stock certain calibers, and store up a good inventory of them. Keeps inventory simple.

.22lr, 9mm, .45acp, .223, .308, and 12 gauge are my chosen ones.

I have both pistols and rifles/carbines for .22 and 9mm, and someday I'll get a .45 carbine as well... dual-purpose whenever possible.
 
I think 9mm is the most versatile cartridge. Most people consider it part of the family of "major calibers". It can fit in a fairly small form factor like the Rohrbaugh R9 and still function reliably and be a controllable pistol. That's been an engineering feat for 45 ACP, 40 S&W and larger. It's a good round in a duty weapon from police to NATO. It has only better ballistics when shot out of a carbine and decent accuracy out to 100 yard. I know in the 80s police departments had 9mm carbines. The FBI did - in the form of the MP5. If you count the MP5s in service everywhere, I would bet a lot of agencies still have the 9mm in their arsenal.

It's just an all-around good GP round.

But having said that, I don't think it can fulfill the hunting role for big game or protection from big predators like the 10mm and 44magnum can. And the 44 magnum is also very versatile used in a handgun or a carbine like the Ruger Deerstalkers and the like.

I don't think any one caliber can fill all roles. The same goes for cars, if you are getting a car to haul kids and groceries that car is not going to be the best choice to commute to work. The economical gas-saving commuter car is not going to be that great for hauling stuff.
 
I think you should be as preparred as you wallet will allow. I have many guns in many calibers, mostly very common calibers, because I can and because I can't make up my mind as to which is "the best".
 
I think if you want to cover most scenarios with a minimal number of calibers, between using pistol, carbine and rifle for the various calibers, 22LR, 9mm, 44 magnum, .308, and 12 gauge cover almost everything.

I don't see the need for 223/5.56, 357SIG, 40 S&W or 45ACP.

And if someone would make a good carbine for the 10mm I'd drop the 44magnum out of the line up for the 10.
 
COuntZerO,
I would agree with you except I like my .223 & my 45s. I suppose I could live without them if I had to.
 
9mm or .40

Some people have said that 9mm might be the most commonly available but since 90% of the police use .40 I think that the 9mm argument doesn't hold water. I'm not trying to start a caliber war, There are more cops around than soldiers.
 
^ there are a lot of MPs. Every NCO club I ever went to, every base, and every regular unit has MPs or MPs attached. That's a lot of 9mm Berettas out there, and I go back to my carbine argument. Of all of the departments that switched to 40 for their sidearms, how many scraped their MP5s for some 40 cal variant? I don't know but my opinion is not many.
 
I was thinking about the 22LR. It sometimes is a very underestimated cartridge.

But if you're ever in a situation where you have to use your big game hunting rig to kill rats, prairie dogs, gophers or the like, you'll wish you had a .22

And varmints aren't just pestering farms either. There are serious rat problems in a lot of big cities, and I know that in Chicago for instance a lot people have given up on the city to control them and they pop them with a 22 pistol.
 
Some people have said that 9mm might be the most commonly available but since 90% of the police use .40 I think that the 9mm argument doesn't hold water. I'm not trying to start a caliber war, There are more cops around than soldiers.
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Well, not really. According to a quick Google search, there are 861,000 police officers and detectives in the USA. All military combined, there are 2,278,895.

I think it would be a safe bet that the sales of 9mm far out cedes .40, by more then double maybe? That’s why 9mm is less expensive.
 
Having a handgun in each of the common calibers so you will have something you can get ammo for if there is a shortage seems like a good idea.

But, as food for thought, consider having (at least) one gun in an uncommon caliber. That way, if there is a shortage of ammo, you are not compeating against everyone else for that last box of 9mm/.45 on the shelf.
 
.22lr, 9mm, .45acp, .223, .308, and 12 gauge are my chosen ones.
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I think this is a pretty much has it covered, and about what I have these days myself. Ill add 7.62x39 to the list.

Even then, I have it narrowed even more, with 9mm, 7.62x39 and 5.56 being the most used.

Or, you can reload and not worry about shortages. ;)
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That too, and I do. You dont really save any money, but you do shoot a lot more. :)

^ there are a lot of MPs.
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And unfortunately, if this new bill goes through, we may be seeing more of them here on the streets in the US too.

Of all of the departments that switched to 40 for their sidearms, how many scraped their MP5s for some 40 cal variant? I don't know but my opinion is not many.
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I think youll find many, if not most that switch these days, are going to 5.56 over pistol caliber guns, and for good reason.

Personally, I dont get the semi auto pistol caliber carbines. Why have a less powerful round in a rifle/carbine sized gun, when you can have the real thing?

The full auto versions do have some merit, as they work like a shotgun when used properly. They still have the short comings of the pistol caliber rounds though, especially if any kind of armor is involved.
 
The multi-caliber revolvers that shoot 357, 38spl and 9mm also might come in handy, I guess they would shoot 380 too right?

I'm not sure about how far a 380 Auto bullet would have to jump in a 357 cylinder, but the ad for the Charter Arms Rimless Revolver says you will be able to fire 380s out of it.
 
44 AMP said:
Having a handgun in each of the common calibers so you will have something you can get ammo for if there is a shortage seems like a good idea.

But, as food for thought, consider having (at least) one gun in an uncommon caliber. That way, if there is a shortage of ammo, you are not compeating against everyone else for that last box of 9mm/.45 on the shelf.
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True, this is. During the great Obama Ammo Shortage when 9mm and the like were impossible to find, Bass Pro and Gander had 357sig every time I looked.

Still, I say the best answer for any shortage is to be a reloader and stock up on components. Components are far, far cheaper than factory ammo and many cartridges overlap on primer, powder and bullet options.
 
Sparks1957 said:
My plan around this is to only stock certain calibers, and store up a good inventory of them. Keeps inventory simple.

.22lr, 9mm, .45acp, .223, .308, and 12 gauge are my chosen ones.

I have both pistols and rifles/carbines for .22 and 9mm, and someday I'll get a .45 carbine as well... dual-purpose whenever possible.
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Apparently Sparks and I were separated at birth, he and I are of exactly the same mind on this. I stock a minimum of 1000 rounds of factory ammo for each of the above calibers. I am also set up to reload all of the above calibers (obviously not the .22LR) and although I haven't done much reloading yet, I have (and continue to buy) all the needed components.
 
Caliber and Cartridge - two very different concepts.

How 'bout some wikipedia?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caliber
In guns including firearms, caliber or calibre is the approximate internal diameter of the barrel in relation to the diameter of the projectile used in it.
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cartridge_(firearms)
A cartridge, also called a round, packages the bullet, gunpowder and primer into a single metallic case precisely made to fit the firing chamber of a firearm.
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I have several handguns and rifles that shoot the same caliber ammunition, but the not the same cartridge:
.35 caliber
.380 Auto
9mm Luger
.38 Special
.357 Magnum
.35 Whelen

.22 caliber
.22 Short
.22 Long
.22 Long Rifle
.22 WRF
.22 WMR (.22 Mag)
.220 Swift

How about some .30 caliber stuff? Depending on who you talk to, even ".32 caliber" might be included in this list: *(.3105" to .313")
.30-06
7.62x54R*
7.62x39mm*
.30-30 WCF
.32 S&W*
.32 S&W Long*
.32 H&R*
.327 Federal*


Everything listed above is a very distinct cartridge, with its own availability characteristics and price levels. Being the same caliber does absolutely nothing to save time, money, or energy spent searching for ammo.

Reloaders can, sometimes, save a very small amount of money by using the same components for several different cartridges. But, that compromise is usually far from ideal.
 
Microgunner does you SIG shoot all those cartrides reliably?

I've heard of people doing this with the Glocks too - you get the larger caliber 45 or 10 and then convert down to everything else, but I've also read about people having feeding problems with their conversion slides.
 
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