[Prepper Hill]

My list would be
.22 / 3 rifles
.223 / 2 rifles
9mm / 2 pistols & 1 rifle
.380 / 1 pistol
.308 / 2 rifles
.410 / 1 shotgun
12 gauge / 1 shotgun
If i needed to shave any off it would be the .380 & .410

 

[manisonenmi]

I own too many handguns and long guns, if there is a such a thing as too many but I stockpile mostly .22, 9mm, 7.62x39 and .223 and .308, which corresponds to he weapons I will try to bug out with (ak-47, ar-15, ruger scout rifle, ruger 10/22 and a couple of 9 mm, my cz sp-01 and FNP, sadly I would leave behind 4 1911 a S&W .38, and XD-.45, 3 .32 berettas, a couple of 9s and two .380s )

 

[Watercanlady]

My hubby loves to collect guns we have many different calibers ranging from 22 to 460 Weatherby. It would be hard to leave any behind. We plan on bugging in for sure.
I don't think the caliber is as much of a priority as being a great shooter with what you ave to work with.

 

[josey76]

So the topic here is VARIETY...

I have hanguns in .22LR, 9mm luger, .357mag, and .45ACP.

I have long guns in .22LR, .22WMR, .243, .30-30, .44mag, and 20 guage shotgun.

At what point do you say enough? Is there and advantage to keeping it limited to fewer calibers?

i like your picks, but would drop 243 in favor of 308, bump 30/30 down in 243 spot,

drop 20g in favor of 12g shotguns.:thumb:

44mag is overrated imo, for handguns its to powerful for most people, and in rifles it has short range, you could drop this in favor of 30/30.


now my picks, lol

handgun;
22lr
.38spl, can also use in 357mag handguns.
9mm
.45acp

rifle;
22lr
30/30
300blk
5.56
308/7.62
30.06 long live the king.
300winmag
50bmg

shotgun;
12g

:

 

[Eagle One]

.22 lr
9mm
5.56mm/.223
12ga
IMHO

I would still feel comfortable to sub:
45acp for 9mm
7.62x39 or 7.62x51 for 5.56/.223

That is my list right there, I have been toying with the idea of adding a .40 cal for me and let the ms. Use the 9, since our gubbyment has been stocking a lot of 40 cal it might make it easy to find in a shtf scenario, but I cant really find a compelling reason to add another caliber. Now if the 40 cal was vastly superior to the 9 mm it would make it something to think about, but I just don't see enough difference to add it.

 

[Eagle One]

That is my list right there, I have been toying with the idea of adding a .40 cal for me and let the ms. Use the 9, since our gubbyment has been stocking a lot of 40 cal it might make it easy to find in a shtf scenario, but I cant really find a compelling reason to add another caliber. Now if the 40 cal was vastly superior to the 9 mm it would make it something to think about, but I just don't see enough difference to add it.

I would also add that I do have a 5 th gun in my collection, right now it is a 30-30 lever but I am thinking of replacing it with a bolt action and a scope for longer range hunting and defensive purposes, I just haven't decided on the caliber yet.

 

[Optimist]

the minute you need to trade ammo in a teotwawki situation is the minute you are a dead man

4 calibers
stock up

Sorry about that, but I heartily disagree. Trade is a significant part of what keeps people interacting, and if you've given up on that, that's when you are a walking dead man. Myself, I will have stocks of ammo to trade if things get bad, and have made provision to have such stocks in place. Hoss-trading is one of the survival skills, perhaps as important as farming, or marksmanship.

 

[BooneWaxwell]

.22
9mm
.308
12ga.



no one needs more than those 4 - no argument will sway me - those 4 will cover everything.


I say no more than 4 calibers

What about Big Game? African Big Game? Materiel destruction?

 

[Optimist]

Boone, his mind is made up, why confuse him with facts?

 

[Gristle62]

.22Lr bolt , 12 ga. , and .45 about all I need. would like a .22 pistol or a .38 for Ms. Gristle.

 

[kain9662002]

For fun? No such thing as too much. For SHTF? 3-4 at the most...

 

[Bushrat]

My wife and I are concentrating on 22lr, 9mm, 7.63x39, 308, 12 ga for me, and 20ga for her. Those are the basics.

Right now I'm a little too paranoid to trade anyone ammo or guns that could be used against me and mine. Of course, after things settle down a bit I might change my mind, but not at this point.

 

[jelloman]

Wow...didn't realize this thread was still alive...

Anyway...I eliminated the 30-30 and feel much more comfortable with where that left me...unfortunately my finances won't allow me to accumulate more than 1 or 2 boxes of cartridges at a time...

I'm up to 6500 22...1000 22 mag...400 9mm...400 45...200 243...200 44mag...250 357...100 20 g in various types...

Still have a way to go but I can reload all the pistol calibers so that helps...

Thanks for the input...

 

[aerbourne]

I could justify having no more than 2 calibers in each niche if we are talking about survivalism.

But guns are super fun. So outside of that, go crazy =P

 

[Icesplitter]

.22 lr
.22 wmr
5.56 nato
7.62x39mm
.30-06 spr
.327 fed mag
.40 sw
.416 ruger
20 gauge
12 gauge

The big ten I am stuck with. That's enough for me. I am full.

 

[Hick Industries]

How many would be too many? All of them.

When you own a gun in every possible commercial caliber you will be tempted to design your own.

Until then buy as many guns as you can feed.

 

[Gristle62]

1000 rounds for the 12 ga., 2000 for the .22 , 200 for the .45 and about 5000 for the pellet rifle.

 

[SCPigpen]

Sorry about that, but I heartily disagree. Trade is a significant part of what keeps people interacting, and if you've given up on that, that's when you are a walking dead man. Myself, I will have stocks of ammo to trade if things get bad, and have made provision to have such stocks in place. Hoss-trading is one of the survival skills, perhaps as important as farming, or marksmanship.

I agree. If things are bad enough you can't trade ammo it will probably bad enough that you'd be eating people. Plus I know many people I'd trust enough to trade ammo. If you don't know pwople you'd trust enough to trade ammo with you need better people skills.

 

[MikieG]

In oct of 2008 i was in that boat. I was loading for 10 different cartridges. I had way too many guns in the same calibers etc.
It got stupid. So i revisited my reasons for having them.
They are nothing but tools to me. I do not collect. I do not have safe queens. So i decided to look at the weapon types as well as calibers.
I narrowed it down to .300WM, .308 Win, .223 Rem, 9mm, .22lr and 12ga..
I kept a very few heirloom type guns. After that everything had to be modern Nato types and cals.
I did something i never thought i would ever do. I had a gun and equipment sale. Everything from overunders to .264 mags to fn/fal assault weapons. Gone. Best thing i ever did!
Since then, i even sold the 300WM.
Next will be the 10/22 and the ruger mk3 in favor of dedicated .22lr AR and .22lr conversion for my Glock.
Trim down to just what you actually use not all that you want. That is unless you are rich or actually dont use em. Then in that case disregard.

 

[Harmless Drudge]

So the topic here is VARIETY...

I have hanguns in .22LR, 9mm luger, .357mag, and .45ACP.

I have long guns in .22LR, .22WMR, .243, .30-30, .44mag, and 20 guage shotgun.

At what point do you say enough? Is there and advantage to keeping it limited to fewer calibers?

There is a point when the advantages of economies of scale and commonality of parts starts starts to decelerate. That is to say, having 3 guns each in 4 calibers isn't that much less of an advantage than having 4 guns each in only 3 calibers.

At some point, there has to be a determination made whether the bargain you are able to get or the preference you have or the better suitability of a niche caliber outweighs the benefits of limiting your stockpile.

For me, I already have rifles in 22LR, 5.56x45, 7.62x39, .308, and 7.62x54R. More than one of each (in my own defense, many are milsurp, used, or otherwise bargains). As such, I didn't hesitate to buy a Camp 9 second hand (mint for $375 a year ago) and a Dutch carbine ($40 from a guy who was going to turn it in to melt it down) in the now-extinct 6.5 Dutch (which "Optimist" says I can make from .303 Brit. Thx dude).

I can't imagine that I did myself a disservice buying those two rifles, instead of another one in the calibers I already had. If the survival of my household relies on the difference between buying those two, versus another Mini 14 or 2 SKS's, then I'm doing something massively wrong elsewhere in my preps.

If I only has ONE of each of the other rifles, I could see a flaw in the plan. If I broke my only SKS beyond repair, for example, I would be sitting on cans of 7.62x39 that were useless. But I can't see lowering the bar on what I enjoy, just out of fear that I might break a handful of SKS's and all of the spare parts I have.

Quite frankly, I don't anticipate having to engage in firefights.

EDIT: Some of the less common calibers are just plain fun. I'm not Rambo. I use what I like. If this were the military, I had better get used to 5.56 out of a short barrel. But it's not. I would rather have what I like and like what I have than feel obligated to use what everyone else uses, and only what everyone else uses.