Caliber Consolidation?

[Route 45]

300BO is basically 762x39 but more expensive and less available.

7.62x39 has gone up in price quite a bit. Cheapest is 37 cents a round on Ammoseek, vs 40 cents a round for the cheapest 300 BLK.

I have both 7.62x39 and 300 BLK, but thinking about getting rid of my 1 AK and selling the ammo to just stick with 300 BLK. Really don't need 300 BLK for anything, but if I can get .30 caliber AK performance by swapping an upper on my AR, why not? I enjoy shooting 300 BLK more than my 5.56 ARs, it's not as blasty. Especially with a 10.5" upper. But if I had to get rid of 300 BLK, 5.56 does everything that I might need to do with a carbine.

 

[Route 45]

Rifle
.22LR - Perfect for varmints. Also, in a survival situation you can carry a ton of it, and it can even technically take larger game if you can get up close and take head shots. Not something you ever want to be using it for, but if you actually reach a point where it's hunt or starve, having a load of 22lr on you is probably going to be your best bet.

.223/5.56 - Seems to be in the goldilocks zone for rifle cartridges. The recoil is quite mild, it's a relatively light round, easy to have high capacity in a small package, powerful enough for self-defense and even hunting larger game, even if not quite ideal. Tons of firearms are chambered in it, it's readily available, cheap, etc.

.308 Winchester - Also an extremely common round. If you want to set out to hunt deer, this seems to be about the best cartridge you can find for having just right amount of power out to 300 yards. Plus it can be a more authoritative option as a self-defense cartridge than 223.

Pistol
9mm - Seems to be the goldilocks round for handguns, like the 223 is for rifles. Plus there's a ton of it out there, it's cheap, etc.

Shotgun
12 gauge - You can't ask for much better versatility in a firearm. I don't think there's an animal in this state that you can't get an effective hunting load for. Yes, you'll be limited to relatively close-range engagements, but with buckshot or slugs 12ga can actually be quite effective as a self-defense option, even out to 100 yards and a bit beyond.

This is the way I'd go, if I was absolutely consolidating down to a few calibers.

The only exceptions are that I shoot and enjoy 40 S&W, and particularly enjoy it in my P320 AXG. My other .40 pistols are M&Ps, and they convert to 9mm easily with a barrel and magazine swap, so in reality they are dual caliber. Good to have options.

The other exception is .38 Special/.357 Magnum. I'm not a revolver guy for carry or home defense, but I keep a couple of Ruger GP100s and an SP101 around because they are durable, versatile, reliable and easy for anyone to shoot.

So for me:

Rimfire: .22 LR
Pistol: 9mm, 40 S&W
Revolver: .38 SPL/.357 MAG
Carbine/Rifle: 5.56 NATO, 7.62x51 NATO
Shotgun: 12 GA

 

[DoggyDaddy]

Rimfire: .22 LR
Pistol: 9mm, 40 S&W
Revolver: .38 SPL/.357 MAG
Carbine/Rifle: 5.56 NATO, 7.62x51 NATO
Shotgun: 12 GA

Man... life would be so much simpler. And I'd regain a lot of square/cubic footage of storage space.

 

[Bassat]

Three years ago I moved from rural Marshall county do the heart of booming Osceola. As I no longer have open fields in which to shoot, I consolidated calibers back then. I have no long guns left at all. My collection consists of 1 .22LR Pistol, 2 9mm Pistols, 1 45ACP Pistols. That about sums up my needs.

 

[wcd]

As I'm sure many people have, I've expanded the number of calibers that I own over time. I'm considering consolidating a couple of those calibers and am interested in hearing other INGO members' opinions on which calibers they would consolidate and why. I'd like to keep the discussion independent of what particular guns I own or how much ammo I have, as well as what I currently use them for. I am most concerned with keeping a set of calibers that cover a broad spectrum of potential use cases. For instance, I don't hunt very often anymore and don't currently shoot my rifles more than a few times a year... but I want to be able to, if things change and I need/want to. I also want to favor more versatile calibers, versus owning every boutique round out there. The only thing I don't think I will ever need to do is long-range precision shooting -- 300 yards and in is about it.

In short, can I trim down the number of calibers I own while maintaining versatility? Or is the range I have pretty reasonable? Here are the calibers I currently own:

Rifle
.22LR
.223/5.56
.300 Blackout
7.62x39mm
.308 Winchester
.450 Bushmaster

Pistol
9mm
10mm
.45 ACP
.50 AE (yeah, yeah... I know)

Shotgun
12 gauge

I always enjoy listening to the various perspectives out there, so I'm looking forward to seeing what everyone has to say.

Looking at your list it seems like it’s already slim.

 

[Route 45]

Looking at your list it seems like it’s already slim.

What other caliber is needed, and why?

(Talking about need, not want, this being a consolidation thread)

 

[wcd]

What other caliber is needed, and why?

(Talking about need, not want, this being a consolidation thread)

I was going to elaborate but it is a consolidation thread.

 

[profjeremy]

I was going to elaborate but it is a consolidation thread.

By all means... I would love to hear your thoughts. Some of my best "yes" stories started off as "no"! Haha

 

[wcd]

By all means... I would love to hear your thoughts. Some of my best "yes" stories started off as "no"! Haha

Just wondering what made you consider downsizing? Needs can change over time. I guess I was thinking best not to rush into anything. Besides right now I am not sure real steel may not be a better investment than perhaps a 401 k or at least provide diversity in assets.

 

[profjeremy]

Just wondering what made you consider downsizing? Needs can change over time. I guess I was thinking best not to rush into anything. Besides right now I am not sure real steel may not be a better investment than perhaps a 401 k or at least provide diversity in assets.

I definitely hear you, but it’s really a few things. First and foremost, had a furnace and AC kick the bucket unexpectedly this summer and I need to get those paid off. Second, I’ve had my collection expand significantly within the past year and a half, some of it on whims, so there is an element of self-flagellation to it as well. Third, I’ve always believed in having lots and lots of ammo stockpiled and it becomes much more difficult from both a cash and space standpoint to do that, the more calibers I have.

I‘m sure there are other reasons I could think of and if I had more time, money and space, I’d probably keep them all, but I am definitely feeling like I need to right-size my portfolio and actually shoot a higher percentage of the guns I have.

 

[Nugget]

Third, I’ve always believed in having lots and lots of ammo stockpiled and it becomes much more difficult from both a cash and space standpoint to do that, the more calibers I have.

I had this problem for a while too. Then I decided that the guns I only own for fun (bigger calibers, hunting calibers, one-offs, milsurps, etc), I probably only need 100 - 200 rds per gun. Stockpile the important stuff (22, 9, 308, 556, 762x39, etc) and keep enough of the others around to keep them feed once or twice per year without having to buy ammo when it's not on sale.

 

[Hawkeye7br]

To the OP...are you a blaster? If not, the 7.62x39 can be replaced by the blackout. Ammo is more pricey but cases can be reloaded. 7.62 is cheaper but largely stuck with steel cases that you toss.
Do you reload? If no, you'll never gain anything with brass cased calibers. Nobody uses surplus ammo for accuracy.
Is the blackout on a AR platform? If yes, the 7.62 is not needed. My SKS has sat in the safe for 15+ years, and the 2k of ammo is under the stairwell somewhere.

 

[VERT]

My wife likes her shield EZ in .380 so I guess .380 stays. Otherwise:

9mm
.45 acp
.38 spl (.357 mag)
.223
.308
12 gauge
**a .44 magnum long gun if you need a straight wall cartridge hunting rifle.

These will do whatever you might need done.

 

[Nugget]

My SKS has sat in the safe for 15+ years, and the 2k of ammo is under the stairwell somewhere.

Now THESE are examples of reasons to consolidate a caliber. No gun deserves to live in a cage. Hawkeye, keep me in mind when you finally decide to set her free!

 

[JTKelly]

I never really worried to much about consolidation. Once you have one that uses small primers AND another that uses LARGE primers it about covers them.

But just thinking about it... I could cover everything I need with a 12 gauge, 30-06 and a 10mm or 44 mag if I wanted to.

 

[profjeremy]

To the OP...are you a blaster? If not, the 7.62x39 can be replaced by the blackout. Ammo is more pricey but cases can be reloaded. 7.62 is cheaper but largely stuck with steel cases that you toss.
Do you reload? If no, you'll never gain anything with brass cased calibers. Nobody uses surplus ammo for accuracy.
Is the blackout on a AR platform? If yes, the 7.62 is not needed. My SKS has sat in the safe for 15+ years, and the 2k of ammo is under the stairwell somewhere.

I’m not really sure what a blaster is, but I don’t reload. However, I have a friend who does and I generally collect my brass for him.

I have a couple of 300 BLK rifles and yes, one of them is on an AR platform. Truth be told, that was what got me started thinking about this whole caliber consolidation thing, but then it became a broader question in my mind. I have exactly one 7.62x39 rifle and three in 300 BLK. The 300 BLK suppresses very nicely, while 7.62x39 doesn’t really… yet the 300 BLK supers get decently close to 7.62x39 power. In fact, I haven’t shot my 7.62x39 since I got my 300 BLKs, so short of a land invasion by a foreign power, I’m struggling with the utility!

 

[Route 45]

I’m struggling with the utility!

You can be mostly a practical gun owner and still own a few for hobby/fun/nostalgia/collecting. If one of your guns fills none of those roles, though, nothing wrong with selling or trading for something that better suits your needs or interests. Especially when utility is the main focus, and two platforms overlap so closely.

 

[Expat]

It is an interesting intellectual exercise but not something that I would worry much about.

 

[KellyinAvon]

It is an interesting intellectual exercise but not something that I would worry much about.

That is what we do here

 

[Mongo59]

That is my answer, I am NOT a practical gun owner.

I tried this "consolidation" just for my rifle rounds once. Ended up with more than I started out with. And you know what? It didn't hurt me a bit!

I guess when I run out of storage I will just have to build an addition.

The Amish think it is funny, I keep all my rifles in socks. I will have them lined up and just touch the end of the barrel and say, "Winchester" or "Browning". They think I am Nostradumbass or someone...