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Posted: 6/21/2016 9:26:07 PM EDT
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I hear many people say that they want to consolidate on one caliber for logistical reasons or they cannot find certain kinds of ammunition locally. I can buy any ammunition I want online and have it shipped to my door for a reasonable price. Wouldn't it make sense to have many guns in many different calibers? If there is a shortage, you may be able to find .40 S&W but not 9mm. Also what is keeping you from just buying as much ammo as you will need online right now? To me it's not worth it to try to stick to only 9mm and having multiple handgun calibers doesn't bother me at all. |
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You're correct that it's best to have a variety of firearms capable of firing many different calibers. It's also good to buy what you want when the prices are down. I mainly buy .223, .308, 9mm, .45, and 12ga because those are the calibers I shoot the most. I shoot my Russian calibers less, and still have old ammo for them. Some of it is corrosive. I occasionally pickup a case of NC for them if I'm buying bulk ammo during a sale or whatever. The best way to get through a shortage is to have enough stockpiled that you aren't concerned with buying any during a "panic". Of course, as we've seen/experienced, those can last a couple years (or longer if it's .22 lol). My solution during that time was to not shoot much .22, but some people would rather pay more and keep shooting any given caliber they run out of. That's certainly an option. I'm not really too worried about availability during a SHTF event. Chances are high that wherever ammo can be located, there will be weapons nearby capable of firing it.  I've got enough of my own to deal with small problems. |
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From a training/defensive use standpoint sticking to one rifle and one pistol caliber is more practical. Time and money is a huge reason why people stick to fewer calibers.
Concentrating on fewer calibers will make you more proficient in those given calibers. As for having more variety of calibers during shortages goes: if you stick to, let's say just 9 mm and 5.56, you can buy as many cases of those two as you can afford. Then when panic/shortages come you have enough to last until things calm down. Or you can buy a little bit of 7 or so different calibers and see what is available during the shortage. Yeah you'll find that at least one of those 7 calibers is available for you to buy and keep shooting until things calm down. It's a matter of what works for you, and what you want to do. For me I consolidated, because I want to be proficient with the guns I have. Variety is nice, and I do have a couple "fun" guns. If I had the money then yeah I'd like more variety in guns and calibers, but as it is I decided I rather stick up on a couple serious use calibers, and spare parts for my guns. |
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Quoted:
Variety is good, as long as you stock everything deep. I've migrated to 9mm for carry use, but still have thousands of .40 and .45. The main problem with consolidation is if SHTF or panic and you can't find that one caliber you consolidated on. Ya know, this might be a good excuse for me to buy a .40 of some kind. I have purposefully avoided it because I didn't want to stock yet another caliber, in addition to the 30 or so I already use, but really, what's one more? And what if everything else is gone one day except .40 S&W? Now look what you've done. 
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Quoted:
I hear many people say that they want to consolidate on one caliber for logistical reasons or they cannot find certain kinds of ammunition locally. I can buy any ammunition I want online and have it shipped to my door for a reasonable price. Wouldn't it make sense to have many guns in many different calibers? If there is a shortage, you may be able to find .40 S&W but not 9mm. Also what is keeping you from just buying as much ammo as you will need online right now? To me it's not worth it to try to stick to only 9mm and having multiple handgun calibers doesn't bother me at all. I guess you might want to ask whoever said that, if you were in a conversation. They may have been talking about ammo logistics as in if you are in a very, long-term SHTF situation, and it's reached worst-case scenario where you are separated from your home and your cache of ammo and guns. You have your firearm and limited ammo on you. Once your ammo runs out, what are the possibilities of finding more ammo that will work with your firearm? If you have something that isn't 9mm, 40 S&W, 45 ACP, 5.56, 7.62 x 39, or .308 Win, are you carrying around a useless metal blob? You may have to revert to guerilla-style warfare and take your opponent's weapons and ammo and be depdendent on that if your firearm is, for example, a 5.7 x 28 or .338 Lapua. Or if you meet up with others who are in the same dire straits as you, are they able to share their ammo with you? That's my opinion on ammo logistics. I could be all wrong though. |
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I agree. I only hear that kind of statement from the SHTF / prepper types.
As a shooter, who enjoys shooting a variety of firearms on a frequent basis I like having a number of different calibers - within reason. For example, my long range precision rifles are in .308 Win. Not because it's the best by any means but because it's an inherently accurate round with excellent component availability and after shooting it for several years in serve ice riffle completion I know the ballistics very well out to 600 yards. (I also have about 5000 rounds of once fired match brass on hand to feed them). And unrealistic SHTF, wannabe an operator wet dreams aside, the 800 yard effective range of the .308 as a sniper round are more than sufficient for any realistic scenario, particularly here on the east coast. The .308 is easy on barrels, doesn't burn an excessive amount of powder, and won't beat you to death so you can shoot it a lot, particularly given the comparatively low price of 155, 168 and 173 gr bullets bought in bulk quantities. The caliber is also compatible with my FAL and .308 Garand, so it's efficient in that regard as well. I also have a few sporter weight AR-15s, a couple match AR-15s and a heavy barrel AR-15s for medium range varmints, so loaded .223 and .223 components get stocked in quantity. I also stock .22 Hornet it quantity for plinking and shorter range varmints out to about 200-250 yards. I like the .22 Hornet as it is comparatively quiet and neighbor friendly, and extremely accurate. I have a .243 for my son and smallish amounts of .243 on hand. I used to stock more back when I used the .243 for long range varmint shooting (back before using a 6mm was considered cool), but I have more or less standardized on the .308 for that role now. I also stock moderate amounts of .30-30, .38-55, .375 Win and .45-70 for single shot, BPCR, and lever action rifle activities. I have a few other calibers in the safe, such as .30 carbine, 7.62x39 and 7.62x54R, ----- For pistol rounds I stock the standard .45 ACP, 9mm Para, .380 ACP and .32 ACP. The first three make credible self defense rounds, while the latter is fun to shoot and with cast bullets costs no more to shoot than decent .22 LR ammo. The advantage of having .45 ACP, 9mm Para and .380 ACP is that one of the three is almost always available on the shelf even during a shortage and similarly components are fairly easy to find. Large or small primers, I can make it work, and all three do well with the same group pf powders, reducing the logistics of powders that need to be stocked. ---- For revolver rounds I stock large amounts of .38 Special, and smaller amounts of .357 Magnum and .45 Colt. All of these rounds do double duty in Model 92 lever guns as well Once again, this also covers large or small primer availability during periods of time when components get hard to find for years. I also have about 500 rounds of loaded ammo for 7.62 Nagant, mostly because I ordered twice the intended amount by mistake, but partly to ensure I have ample brass to reload for it once PPU stops selling loaded ammo for it. It's also enjoyable to reload given it's quirks and like the .32 ACP with a cast bullet it is dirt cheap to shoot. ----- Now... I could get by just fine with only .308, .223 and 9mm Para. But I'd enjoy shooting a lot less as I'd be a lot more limited in what I could shoot. As for being more proficient with those calibers, I don't buy that argument. That's an argument that might apply to long range shooting, but in that case, what matters more is shooting one of your precision rifles and loads enough to achieve and maintain proficiency. Provided you shoot that one rifle and load enough, it doesn't matter whether you shoot other rifles in addition. The same thing applies to pistols and revolvers. If you shoot your self defense/carry handgun enough to be proficient, any other handgun experience is just gravy on the potatoes and it gives you a lot more depth of experience. |
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Quoted:
From a training/defensive use standpoint sticking to one rifle and one pistol caliber is more practical. Time and money is a huge reason why people stick to fewer calibers. Concentrating on fewer calibers will make you more proficient in those given calibers. As for having more variety of calibers during shortages goes: if you stick to, let's say just 9 mm and 5.56, you can buy as many cases of those two as you can afford. Then when panic/shortages come you have enough to last until things calm down. Or you can buy a little bit of 7 or so different calibers and see what is available during the shortage. Yeah you'll find that at least one of those 7 calibers is available for you to buy and keep shooting until things calm down. It's a matter of what works for you, and what you want to do. For me I consolidated, because I want to be proficient with the guns I have. Variety is nice, and I do have a couple "fun" guns. If I had the money then yeah I'd like more variety in guns and calibers, but as it is I decided I rather stick up on a couple serious use calibers, and spare parts for my guns. |
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