Are there any calibres you are or were drawn to without... - Page 2

idek · February 3, 2021, 12:17 AM

7x57 Mauser...

There are a bunch of cartridges that are probably just as good or better in a wider variety of rifles and with more abundant and less expensive ammo, but the historical aspect appeals to me. And I really like books by Jim Corbett, and he used a 7x57 rifle--well, his was called a .275 Rigby since it was British-made, but basically the same thing.

Road_Clam · February 5, 2021, 08:54 PM

357 Sig . I love a handloading challenge, everyone complains about 357 Sig being a PIA to reload, I wanted to prove them wrong..... They were right. LOL

44 cal BP cap-n-ball handgun , shooting is in SLOW MOTION , but relaxing.

rc · February 6, 2021, 12:30 AM

38 super. Uses common cheap 9mm bullets but delivers higher performance. Once you've had a good 38 Super, you realize just how good a cartridge it is compared with 45acp and many other common rounds. It's pretty flat shooting in the hotter loads and has low recoil in compact 1911s. Works really well out of a kimber 4" HD Pro Carry! 45 acp out of a commander has more muzzle flip.

Metal god · February 6, 2021, 03:20 AM

For me it’s the 357sig and 10mm one of them will almost surely be my next hand gun . 357sig more likely then the 10mm cus they use 9mm bullets . If I get a 10mm it means I’ve got to tool up for everything including bullets cus I don’t have a 40cal either .

I may get a clock 10mm and a 357sig barrel for it . Only issue is I’m not a glock fan but that is likely only because here in CA we can only buy the gen3 which has the finger groves . My problem is my big sausage fingers don’t fit in the groves comfortabley to the point of being quite uncomfortable. I still pick one up and feel them out about once a year at the gun store but I can never bring my self to buy something I know I’ll be unhappy with .

603Country · February 8, 2021, 09:36 AM

220 Swift. I searched for one back in the 80’s, before companies started offering it again in new rifle. I had read about the cartridge, and I wanted one. Finally found a well used tang safety Ruger 77V at a gun show. Still have it. Still shoot it.

I had to buy Norma factory ammo and then reload the brass.

**Mike Irwin** · February 8, 2021, 09:54 AM

Yes. Pretty much all of them.

Kirrich · February 8, 2021, 10:55 AM

I am drawn to a .327 Magnum for a handgun of some type, but have not really researched it yet.

Geezerbiker · February 8, 2021, 01:18 PM

There have been several that caught my attention but only a few that I actually tracked down and bought. A few of them that I have bought include the .17 Hornet, .22-K Hornet, and the .300 Blackout. I've wanted a .250 Savage for a long time for some reason I can't explain and since I'm not buying guns like I used to it'll probably be one that I never get...

My .300 Blackout is a single shot and I almost exclusively shoot cast bullets from it with light loads. I think of it as a modern .32-20. I could hunt with it if I need to, but I don't so I probably won't...

Tony

hub1home · February 8, 2021, 03:53 PM

I have never fired .38 Super. I did have a gun for it but I traded it off before I ever got a chance to shoot it. It was a foolish move on my part.

**Shane Tuttle** · February 8, 2021, 06:40 PM

10mm: I bought a Springfield Range Officer Elite Operator in it. For disclosure, I'm well tuned to my XD Service model chambered in .40SW. Although a neutered version of the 10mm, the behavior of the round is similar.

6.5-284Norma: Bought a KRG Bravo 1500 chambered in 6.5Creedmoor. Having my gunsmith punch it out to the Norma without ever firing that round in anything. Been eyeballing that cartridge for a LONG time. Couldn't help myself after my gunsmith offered his services with a rifle such as this one.

6.5x55Swedish: Swedish Mausers in the mid '90's were fairly plentiful and I like to collect Mil-Surps. They were pretty cheap at the time and they're legendary in Europe due to low recoil and superb accuracy. As soon as mine came in, I took it to the range and have been in love ever since.

7.62x39: Bought a WASR-10. Took it to the range and fired a couple hundred rounds. Wife and I both were not impressed. Sold it for a little more than we paid for and moved on. One of the few firearms that I sold in my lifetime.

TOU · March 20, 2021, 06:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RGRacing

22TCM - 4" 1911 It is a Fun round to shoot - Not sure I'd do it again.

Funny...I'm looking for a RIA 22 TCM/9mm combo and the 4.25" has caught my eye.

dakota.potts · March 20, 2021, 08:25 PM

Heck, I just ordered one - 7.5 FK. But at least it comes with the 9mm barrel and I can get a 10mm/ .40 one so I'm not way out in left field.

There are a bunch that I love the idea of that I'm reasonably certain I would enjoy - mostly on the low recoil side since it's more conducive to my shooting - but either haven't been able to justify financially or haven't found the right platform yet

.22 TCM
.327 Federal Magnum
6mm ARC
9X39mm
.30 Luger
.277 Sig/ Fury (not even sure that one's practically available yet)

I'm sure I could sit here for quite some time watching the cursor blinking in this box while I came up with more and more examples. Variety is the spice of life.

larryf1952 · March 24, 2021, 09:03 PM

The only cartridge that I have ever fired before buying a gun chambered for it is the .22 Long Rifle. Everything else...380, 9mm, 38 Spl., 357 Mag, 40S&W, 44 Mag, 45ACP and 45 Colt, I bought the gun first, because I wanted guns all across the spectrum. I didn't worry about what it would "feel" like. I just figured that I'd get used to it, and I did.

Along the way, I would've liked to have been able to shoot a 38 Super, since I've heard a lot of good things about that cartridge through the years. Maybe, even a screamer like the 9x23.

The next step in my progression would be something in the nature of a 454 Casull. But, I'm at the point and age now where another new gun on that level would just be silliness and the expense would be foolish. So, I'm good.

chris downs · March 24, 2021, 09:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Aguila Blanca

.45 ACP.
Because John Wayne won WW2 single-handedly with an M1911A1.

Tommy gun because Vic Morrow won WWII in "Combat" when I was a kid.
But after "The Rat Patrol", a jeep with a machine gun was my dream buy.

Nathan · March 25, 2021, 10:03 AM

6mm PPC....How can it be sooooo accurate in so many different rifles?!

280AI.....It is just about the most perfectly balanced western game round....or better yet the 300 Sherman!

300 blackout....really darn near the ultimate SBR round.

458 Lott....big enough for anything on earth....cheap enough for anyone on earth to shoot.

45 Auto.....Good as it gets until they make a 46 auto!

45 Colt....This is the start of big bore revolvers. Loaded to 30ksi, it really sings!

stinkeypete · March 25, 2021, 05:13 PM

Having owned just about every class of handgun (to my own satisfaction) the one I was missing was 32-20. My hankering was primed by a simple paragraph in Bowen's book.

"No finer field revolver exists for marksmen who shoot standing on their own two feet as the gods intended."

This comment was made about a custom 32-20 based on a blackhawk frame, hand loaded to .44 magnum pressures, or essentially the .327 Federal Magnum.

Well... it took years to find but I ended up with a Single Six Bisley in .32 H&R which can be loaded to "Ruger Only" levels.

I was not disappointed, it's a keeper. I keep it just subsonic, like a great big .22 LR that can be hand loaded, except the 115 grain lead pills are just a bit bigger and three times heavier.

Shadow9mm · March 25, 2021, 05:19 PM

adding 308 to my list. I already load for 308, and the components are the same, bullets, powder, primers. and I came into some free 308 brass.... now I am rifle shopping.

MarkCO · March 25, 2021, 05:37 PM

I just added another. .45-70 Dies, brass and bullets in the house, looking for a Henry Steel Side-gate that is reasonably priced. They seem to be going for $100 to $300 over MSRP right now.

TRX · March 26, 2021, 05:37 PM

Long ago there was a science fiction author named H. Beam Piper. Piper was a fair gunsmith as well as a writer, and he liked to slide gun goodies into his stories, like the 10mm Colt auto in a story in the early '50s, or a rifle and cartridge he named in "Police Operation", written in 1948. A 1935 Sharps bolt action in a wildcat called .235 Ultraspeed-Express, from a timeline where the Confederacy didn't lose the Second War Between the States...

I admit, I just liked the name. But as I developed a liking for smaller-bore cartridges, the .235 Ultraspeed-Express haunted me. What would that cartridge have looked like, given the story was written in 1948?

The Brits occasionally used ".235" to refer to what we now call .243; difference in where they measured, plus rounding. So a .243 or 6mm bullet would work. "Ultraspeed-Express" sounded like something overbore. Back then, lots of gun cranks were blowing out .30-06 cartridges and using slow milsurp powders to see what kind of velocities they could get. So, basically a 6mm-06. I was sketching neck lengths and shoulder angles when I realized generations of shooters had probably trod that path before I was born, and checked around for off-the-shelf reamers and dies. And I have a 6mm-06 reamer and die set sitting beside the monitor, waiting for round tuits. There's a local shop that makes trophies and plaques; I'll have them use their laser to engrave ".235 Ultraspeed Express" on the barrel when it's time.

ballardw · March 27, 2021, 04:14 PM

Let's be a bit more inventive: take a 6mm Lee Navy case, blow out the shoulder like the Ackley variations of other cartridges and neck down to an actual .235?

Or start with a .240 H&H case...

Love H. Beam Piper, especially the Parattime books.

KyJim · March 29, 2021, 12:16 PM

When I was growing up, we had long guns, but rarely saw a handgun. So, every pistol I bought was in a caliber I had never shot (except for .22s in rifles). So, those would be .25 acp, .380, 9mm, .38 spl, .357 magnum, 10 mm, and .45 acp. I haven't felt the call of a big bore, magnum revolver or a .40 SW semi-auto.

February 5, 2021, 08:54 PM	#27
Road_Clam Senior Member Join Date: November 21, 2013 Location: New Hampshire Posts: 1,695	357 Sig . I love a handloading challenge, everyone complains about 357 Sig being a PIA to reload, I wanted to prove them wrong..... They were right. LOL 44 cal BP cap-n-ball handgun , shooting is in SLOW MOTION , but relaxing. __________________ "To be old an wise you must have been young and stupid"

February 6, 2021, 03:20 AM	#29
Metal god Senior Member Join Date: April 10, 2012 Location: San Diego CA Posts: 6,876	For me it’s the 357sig and 10mm one of them will almost surely be my next hand gun . 357sig more likely then the 10mm cus they use 9mm bullets . If I get a 10mm it means I’ve got to tool up for everything including bullets cus I don’t have a 40cal either . I may get a clock 10mm and a 357sig barrel for it . Only issue is I’m not a glock fan but that is likely only because here in CA we can only buy the gen3 which has the finger groves . My problem is my big sausage fingers don’t fit in the groves comfortabley to the point of being quite uncomfortable. I still pick one up and feel them out about once a year at the gun store but I can never bring my self to buy something I know I’ll be unhappy with . __________________ If Jesus had a gun , he'd probably still be alive ! I almost always write my posts regardless of content in a jovial manor and intent . If that's not how you took it , please try again .

February 8, 2021, 09:54 AM	#31
Mike Irwin Staff Join Date: April 13, 2000 Location: Northern Virginia Posts: 41,390	Yes. Pretty much all of them. __________________ "The gift which I am sending you is called a dog, and is in fact the most precious and valuable possession of mankind" -Theodorus Gaza Baby Jesus cries when the fat redneck doesn't have military-grade firepower.

February 8, 2021, 06:40 PM	#35
Shane Tuttle Staff Join Date: November 28, 2005 Location: Montana Posts: 9,443	10mm: I bought a Springfield Range Officer Elite Operator in it. For disclosure, I'm well tuned to my XD Service model chambered in .40SW. Although a neutered version of the 10mm, the behavior of the round is similar. 6.5-284Norma: Bought a KRG Bravo 1500 chambered in 6.5Creedmoor. Having my gunsmith punch it out to the Norma without ever firing that round in anything. Been eyeballing that cartridge for a LONG time. Couldn't help myself after my gunsmith offered his services with a rifle such as this one. 6.5x55Swedish: Swedish Mausers in the mid '90's were fairly plentiful and I like to collect Mil-Surps. They were pretty cheap at the time and they're legendary in Europe due to low recoil and superb accuracy. As soon as mine came in, I took it to the range and have been in love ever since. 7.62x39: Bought a WASR-10. Took it to the range and fired a couple hundred rounds. Wife and I both were not impressed. Sold it for a little more than we paid for and moved on. One of the few firearms that I sold in my lifetime. __________________ If it were up to me, the word "got" would be deleted from the English language. Posting and YOU: http://www.albinoblacksheep.com/flash/posting

March 20, 2021, 08:25 PM	#37
dakota.potts Senior Member Join Date: February 25, 2013 Location: Keystone Heights, Florida Posts: 3,084	Heck, I just ordered one - 7.5 FK. But at least it comes with the 9mm barrel and I can get a 10mm/ .40 one so I'm not way out in left field. There are a bunch that I love the idea of that I'm reasonably certain I would enjoy - mostly on the low recoil side since it's more conducive to my shooting - but either haven't been able to justify financially or haven't found the right platform yet .22 TCM .327 Federal Magnum 6mm ARC 9X39mm .30 Luger .277 Sig/ Fury (not even sure that one's practically available yet) I'm sure I could sit here for quite some time watching the cursor blinking in this box while I came up with more and more examples. Variety is the spice of life. __________________ Certified Gunsmith (On Hiatus) Certified Armorer - H&K and Glock Among Others You can find my writings at my website, pottsprecision.com.

February 3, 2021, 12:17 AM	#26
idek Senior Member Join Date: August 20, 2009 Posts: 903	7x57 Mauser... There are a bunch of cartridges that are probably just as good or better in a wider variety of rifles and with more abundant and less expensive ammo, but the historical aspect appeals to me. And I really like books by Jim Corbett, and he used a 7x57 rifle--well, his was called a .275 Rigby since it was British-made, but basically the same thing.

February 6, 2021, 12:30 AM	#28
rc Senior Member Join Date: April 28, 2001 Location: CA Posts: 1,768	38 super. Uses common cheap 9mm bullets but delivers higher performance. Once you've had a good 38 Super, you realize just how good a cartridge it is compared with 45acp and many other common rounds. It's pretty flat shooting in the hotter loads and has low recoil in compact 1911s. Works really well out of a kimber 4" HD Pro Carry! 45 acp out of a commander has more muzzle flip.

February 8, 2021, 09:36 AM	#30
603Country Senior Member Join Date: January 6, 2011 Location: Thornton, Texas Posts: 3,998	220 Swift. I searched for one back in the 80’s, before companies started offering it again in new rifle. I had read about the cartridge, and I wanted one. Finally found a well used tang safety Ruger 77V at a gun show. Still have it. Still shoot it. I had to buy Norma factory ammo and then reload the brass.

February 8, 2021, 10:55 AM	#32
Kirrich Member Join Date: December 21, 2020 Location: N. Nevada Posts: 32	I am drawn to a .327 Magnum for a handgun of some type, but have not really researched it yet.

February 8, 2021, 01:18 PM	#33
Geezerbiker Senior Member Join Date: March 20, 2011 Location: Willamina, OR Posts: 1,908	There have been several that caught my attention but only a few that I actually tracked down and bought. A few of them that I have bought include the .17 Hornet, .22-K Hornet, and the .300 Blackout. I've wanted a .250 Savage for a long time for some reason I can't explain and since I'm not buying guns like I used to it'll probably be one that I never get... My .300 Blackout is a single shot and I almost exclusively shoot cast bullets from it with light loads. I think of it as a modern .32-20. I could hunt with it if I need to, but I don't so I probably won't... Tony

February 8, 2021, 03:53 PM	#34
hub1home Senior Member Join Date: November 15, 2014 Posts: 182	I have never fired .38 Super. I did have a gun for it but I traded it off before I ever got a chance to shoot it. It was a foolish move on my part.

March 24, 2021, 09:03 PM	#38
larryf1952 Senior Member Join Date: July 17, 2004 Location: KCMO Posts: 615	The only cartridge that I have ever fired before buying a gun chambered for it is the .22 Long Rifle. Everything else...380, 9mm, 38 Spl., 357 Mag, 40S&W, 44 Mag, 45ACP and 45 Colt, I bought the gun first, because I wanted guns all across the spectrum. I didn't worry about what it would "feel" like. I just figured that I'd get used to it, and I did. Along the way, I would've liked to have been able to shoot a 38 Super, since I've heard a lot of good things about that cartridge through the years. Maybe, even a screamer like the 9x23. The next step in my progression would be something in the nature of a 454 Casull. But, I'm at the point and age now where another new gun on that level would just be silliness and the expense would be foolish. So, I'm good.

March 25, 2021, 10:03 AM	#40
Nathan Senior Member Join Date: July 1, 2001 Posts: 6,331	6mm PPC....How can it be sooooo accurate in so many different rifles?! 280AI.....It is just about the most perfectly balanced western game round....or better yet the 300 Sherman! 300 blackout....really darn near the ultimate SBR round. 458 Lott....big enough for anything on earth....cheap enough for anyone on earth to shoot. 45 Auto.....Good as it gets until they make a 46 auto! 45 Colt....This is the start of big bore revolvers. Loaded to 30ksi, it really sings!

March 25, 2021, 05:13 PM	#41
stinkeypete Senior Member Join Date: July 22, 2010 Location: Madison, Wisconsin Posts: 1,293	Having owned just about every class of handgun (to my own satisfaction) the one I was missing was 32-20. My hankering was primed by a simple paragraph in Bowen's book. "No finer field revolver exists for marksmen who shoot standing on their own two feet as the gods intended." This comment was made about a custom 32-20 based on a blackhawk frame, hand loaded to .44 magnum pressures, or essentially the .327 Federal Magnum. Well... it took years to find but I ended up with a Single Six Bisley in .32 H&R which can be loaded to "Ruger Only" levels. I was not disappointed, it's a keeper. I keep it just subsonic, like a great big .22 LR that can be hand loaded, except the 115 grain lead pills are just a bit bigger and three times heavier. __________________ My book "The Pheasant Hunter's Action Adventure Cookbook" is now on Amazon. Tall tales, hunting tips, butchering from bird to the freezer, and recipes.

March 25, 2021, 05:19 PM	#42
Shadow9mm Senior Member Join Date: March 21, 2012 Location: Indianapolis, IN Posts: 3,974	adding 308 to my list. I already load for 308, and the components are the same, bullets, powder, primers. and I came into some free 308 brass.... now I am rifle shopping. __________________ I don't believe in "range fodder" that is why I reload.

March 25, 2021, 05:37 PM	#43
MarkCO Senior Member Join Date: October 21, 1998 Location: Colorado, USA Posts: 4,308	I just added another. .45-70 Dies, brass and bullets in the house, looking for a Henry Steel Side-gate that is reasonably priced. They seem to be going for $100 to $300 over MSRP right now. __________________ Good Shooting, MarkCO www.CarbonArms.us

March 26, 2021, 05:37 PM	#44
TRX Senior Member Join Date: September 24, 2008 Location: central Arkansas Posts: 400	Long ago there was a science fiction author named H. Beam Piper. Piper was a fair gunsmith as well as a writer, and he liked to slide gun goodies into his stories, like the 10mm Colt auto in a story in the early '50s, or a rifle and cartridge he named in "Police Operation", written in 1948. A 1935 Sharps bolt action in a wildcat called .235 Ultraspeed-Express, from a timeline where the Confederacy didn't lose the Second War Between the States... I admit, I just liked the name. But as I developed a liking for smaller-bore cartridges, the .235 Ultraspeed-Express haunted me. What would that cartridge have looked like, given the story was written in 1948? The Brits occasionally used ".235" to refer to what we now call .243; difference in where they measured, plus rounding. So a .243 or 6mm bullet would work. "Ultraspeed-Express" sounded like something overbore. Back then, lots of gun cranks were blowing out .30-06 cartridges and using slow milsurp powders to see what kind of velocities they could get. So, basically a 6mm-06. I was sketching neck lengths and shoulder angles when I realized generations of shooters had probably trod that path before I was born, and checked around for off-the-shelf reamers and dies. And I have a 6mm-06 reamer and die set sitting beside the monitor, waiting for round tuits. There's a local shop that makes trophies and plaques; I'll have them use their laser to engrave ".235 Ultraspeed Express" on the barrel when it's time.

March 27, 2021, 04:14 PM	#45
ballardw Senior Member Join Date: September 19, 2008 Posts: 1,411	Let's be a bit more inventive: take a 6mm Lee Navy case, blow out the shoulder like the Ackley variations of other cartridges and neck down to an actual .235? Or start with a .240 H&H case... Love H. Beam Piper, especially the Parattime books. __________________ -+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ All data is flawed, some just less so.

March 29, 2021, 12:16 PM	#46
KyJim Senior Member Join Date: July 26, 2005 Location: The Bluegrass Posts: 9,142	When I was growing up, we had long guns, but rarely saw a handgun. So, every pistol I bought was in a caliber I had never shot (except for .22s in rifles). So, those would be .25 acp, .380, 9mm, .38 spl, .357 magnum, 10 mm, and .45 acp. I haven't felt the call of a big bore, magnum revolver or a .40 SW semi-auto.