Posted: 3/18/2013 1:49:03 PM EDT
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Do you think it is better to just stick with one caliber and buy as much as possible
or have handguns in multiple calibers so in a SHTF scenario you have more choices. Right now my EDC is a Kahr P9 and I also have a CZ 85, obviously both 9mm. I also have a S&W .38 revolver. I was thinking about getting a CZ 75 P07 Duty in 40 to expand my choices. I sometimes see boxes of 40 cal in the stores but no 9mm or 45. When I went by my LGS today they had the P07 Duty in 9mm and I really liked it. Should I go for that and put another 9mm in the stable or get a 40. They had a nice FN 40, S&W M&P 40 and a few others. Ballistically I feel the 9mm will do the job so that is not my concern. |
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I have a bunch of different calibers and like it that way. I also have a couple guns in the same caliber.
Buy what ever you feel is best. It is personal preference anyway. Nothing wrong with sticking with what you are used to or go in another direction. I see no problem in owning different calibers and different guns as long as you stay proficient with what you carry. |
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In 2008 9mm and .45 dried up everywhere but .40 was still able to be found. I had a Glock 23 at the time but sold it soon after ammo came available again.
Over the winter I was working in a local gunshop and the exact same thing happened. 9mm went first, then .45 but we still had a ton of .40. 9mm and .40 would trickle in but .40 just never went anywhere in huge quantities so I bought another G23 and I'm keeping it this time. I have given the .40S&W round a lot of crap in the past but I'm warming up to it again. It's snappy and the extra recoil isn't really worth the marginal ballistic advantage, IMO but it's a good round and plentiful. I wouldn't go overboard on multiple calibers but I would have a backup plan, invest in one main caliber but you might add another one, like .40, just so you have something to shoot should you not be able to find your main caliber. |
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In 2008 9mm and .45 dried up everywhere but .40 was still able to be found. I had a Glock 23 at the time but sold it soon after ammo came available again. Over the winter I was working in a local gunshop and the exact same thing happened. 9mm went first, then .45 but we still had a ton of .40. 9mm and .40 would trickle in but .40 just never went anywhere in huge quantities so I bought another G23 and I'm keeping it this time. I have given the .40S&W round a lot of crap in the past but I'm warming up to it again. It's snappy and the extra recoil isn't really worth the marginal ballistic advantage, IMO but it's a good round and plentiful. I wouldn't go overboard on multiple calibers but I would have a backup plan, invest in one main caliber but you might add another one, like .40, just so you have something to shoot should you not be able to find your main caliber. OP, I'm a .40 and .45ACP guy so I say go for two calibers. I don't like having more than two for stocking reasons. It's easier to stock up on 2 calibers in mass than say when I had 4 handgun calibers... MuddyXJ, you really should try an M&P mid-size in .40cal. I've got two M&P's a mid-size and a compact. With 180 grain ammo... they both shoot like 9+P's at most. S&W really did a great job of taming the round. I had a glock .40 for 5 years and it sucked to shoot. Glad I sold that G27, felt like I was shooting a 10mm with the 165 grain stuff. |
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i have several different and try to stock ammo for each but i think im going to stick with what i have and not get many new calibers but stock for the main calibers.
i currently have stocks of.380, 9mm, 357/38 .40, .45, .22 and 22mag thinking about keeping .40 for my main pistol round seeing as me and my girlfriend each have one so that will be my go to pistol caliber for rifle cal i mostly have 223 and a little .270, 7mm mag and 7.62x54r so im not going to expand on that too much just keep on with .223 and i havent decided on a hunting/heavy cartridge yet |
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For what it's worth, I made the decision a few years ago to go with one caliber with pistols. 9MM. I felt that it was less confusing and made stocking up easier. There are good arguments to be made for both theories so it's difficult to say someone has made the wrong one. For me, consolidating to one caliber made sense. Others see value to having multiple caliber available. I did the same with my rifles also, .223/5.56. Posted Via AR15.Com Mobile |
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I like to diversify. I draw the line at stuff like .45 GAP and .357 SIG, though. Same. Everything I have is 9mm, .40, and .45 for the most part. I also have a 10mm conversion, but I like staying with the more popular calibers (although the reloading components are almost identical for 10mm and .40) |
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For what it's worth, I made the decision a few years ago to go with one caliber with pistols. 9MM. I felt that it was less confusing and made stocking up easier. There are good arguments to be made for both theories so it's difficult to say someone has made the wrong one. For me, consolidating to one caliber made sense. Others see value to having multiple caliber available. I did the same with my rifles also, .223/5.56. Posted Via AR15.Com Mobile These are the same that I have consolidated to as well. I do have my Ruger 10/22s and a Henry my FIL gave me so 22lr is covered. My grandfather just recently passed away and I got a S&W 38 from him. I will start buying some 38 so I have that as backup as well. It may never happen but I had a dream we were in a SHTF scenario and I had my 9mm's and I was out of ammo. I stumbled upon a good amount of various calibers in the dream but I didnt have a weapon to use any. 
The majority of it being 40 cal, but that just may be because I was thinking about buying one. I guess the key is to just buy and buy and buy whatever caliber I decide on. |
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I'm about the same in theory, but it's hard to limit the number of calibers if you like different types of shooting.
My military style rifles and precision rifles are .223 or .308 - but with a couple 7.62x54R exceptions (PSL and Mosin sniper), one AKM in 5.45x39mm, and finally an everybody has to have at least one SKS in 7.63x39mm - actually a Yugo M59/66. My lever guns are all either .30-30, .375 Win or .45 Colt My pistols are .380 ACP, 9mm Luger, .45 ACP and .45 Colt. I shoot BPCR with an 1874 Sharps in .45-70. So..that's 9 calibers I reload for and 3 former soviet bloc calibers that I just buy surplus. |
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I'm a caliber consolidation guy. I mainly stick to 45ACP where I can, and I haven't bothered reloading other calibers. I also have some 9mm guns, but thats pretty much it. Well, and 22LR of course.
For rifles, I don't really hunt so 223 is all I shoot pretty much. Its nice having a big singular hoard of ammo, and being able to still shoot anything in the safe. Also, if you get into suppressors, caliber consolidation is nice there too. |
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For what it's worth, I made the decision a few years ago to go with one caliber with pistols. 9MM .40S&W. I felt that it was less confusing and made stocking up easier. There are good arguments to be made for both theories so it's difficult to say someone has made the wrong one. For me, consolidating to one caliber made sense. Others see value to having multiple caliber available. I did the same with my rifles also, .223/5.56. Posted Via AR15.Com Mobile I agree. This is what I did. Would have been 9mm if not for issue gun considerations but .40 doesn't bother me. I like the consolidation. |
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While I primarily shoot .45 ACP, 9x19mm, .38 Special, and .22 LR, I have handguns in the following chamberings:
.22 LR .32 ACP .32 H&R Magnum 7.62mm Nagant .380 ACP 9x18mm Makarov 9x19mm NATO .38 Special .357 Magnum .40 S&W .44 Special .45 ACP The .40 S&W is really my least favorite, but I recognize that it might be beneficial to have a gun so chambered. My only .40 S&W handguns are two Glock 23s (one RTF2, one Gen4), and I have no interested in getting anything else in .40. If I had to pick one handgun cartridge it would be .45 ACP. Two, and I would add .38 Special. Both are easy to handload for and the brass lasts a long time, plus both offer a wide selection of bullet weights and styles. |
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While I primarily shoot .45 ACP, 9x19mm, .38 Special, and .22 LR, I have handguns in the following chamberings: .22 LR .32 ACP .32 H&R Magnum 7.62mm Nagant .380 ACP 9x18mm Makarov 9x19mm NATO .38 Special .357 Magnum .40 S&W .44 Special .45 ACP The .40 S&W is really my least favorite, but I recognize that it might be beneficial to have a gun so chambered. My only .40 S&W handguns are two Glock 23s (one RTF2, one Gen4), and I have no interested in getting anything else in .40. If I had to pick one handgun cartridge it would be .45 ACP. Two, and I would add .38 Special. Both are easy to handload for and the brass lasts a long time, plus both offer a wide selection of bullet weights and styles. Yep, that’s me…I try to have a representative of each, if not two. If the S ever does really hit the F, ammo availability will become rather difficult. In fact, 9mm ammo will probably become some very valuable currency. Even when ammo gets tight, you notice that most revolver cartridges are still available, so don’t neglect the revolvers. It’s a good idea to have a .357, .44mag, and .45 Colt. Then you can shoot .38 S&W, .38 S&W long, .38 Special, .44 Russian, .44 special, .44 mag, .45 schofield, .45 Colt. Never doubt those obscure rounds, I see them all the time. Typically onesy-twosey, but I do see them. A .32 H&R mag revolver will also shoot .32 ACP in a pinch, as well as .32 S&W and .32 S&W long. The other way to go is to get one or two in 2-3 calibers, and the stop buying guns and start buying ammo. |
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For what it's worth, I made the decision a few years ago to go with one caliber with pistols. 9MM. I felt that it was less confusing and made stocking up easier. There are good arguments to be made for both theories so it's difficult to say someone has made the wrong one. For me, consolidating to one caliber made sense. Others see value to having multiple caliber available. I did the same with my rifles also, .223/5.56. Posted Via AR15.Com Mobile I did this as well. 
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I definitely believe in multiple calibers for overall success. As an example, during all the recent ammo shortages the only caliber we could regularly find in stock was .40 S&W which, ironically, was one of the calibers we didn't have. So we did what we had to a bought a .40 for us both, my bff chose a Walther P99 and I chose a M&P40. Now we have most of the common calibers covered and some not so common calibers.
At the moment, IIRC, we have .22 (long, long rifle & short), 9mm, 40S&W, 45LC, 45acp, 38 special, 357 mag, 44 special, 44 mag, 223/5.56, 30-06, 45-70, 6.5 Grendel and 50 Beowulf. We have several rifles and revolvers that share ammo which is a big plus IMO. We also have 12 gauge shotguns. The 22LR and 9mm are the two most widely used calibers in the world so those two are must haves. In the US, in addition to the 9mm & 22LR, you can almost always find 45acp, 38/357 mag, 223/5.56, 30-06 and 12 gauge. The only caliber I don't have that is an American standard is the 30-30 but all the calibers I have are used and add something unique to the group but the 30-30, while a very useful caliber, doesn't add anything that one of my others can't do as well or better already. Now if I came across a nice pre-64 Winchester 94 in 30-30 I'd buy it in a heartbeat. It does mean we have to stock a lot of different ammo's but it also means if something like another ammo shortage happens I have a much better chance of having a gun, or guns, for whatever ammo I actually can find. |