Consolidating Calibers

I used to think, like many people, that having many guns, as opposed to just a few, was a good idea. My thought process at that time, was that if I had guns in several different calibers, that I would have a better chance of finding ammo, or in other words, being able to shoot any ammo that I found. The problem with this was that I found myself in a situation where I had many guns, but very little ammunition for each weapon. I had pistols in .45, .357, .38, .38 S&W, .44, 9mm, and a few other odd calibers. I also had rifles in several calibers, some odd, like 7x57 Mauser. Although there is nothing wrong with any of these guns or calibers on the surface, it did create a problem for me. I liked to take a few of the guns from the collection and shoot them with friends, usually I would shoot up a box in each gun, and some of these calibers, due to rarity are expensive. Therefore, I spent my limited resources on a small number of expensive rounds of ammunition. I have since come to the conclusion that it is better to have fewer common calibers and more ammunition, which will be less expensive in a more common caliber. I am not suggesting that you cannot collect guns or that you shouldn't have multiple guns. What I am suggesting, however, is that you should collect and buy guns that use as few calibers as possible, and preferably those that are very common. 


For pistols, aside from .22, everyone knows that 9mm is the most common round available, and the price of 9mm ammunition reflects that. If you are not a fan of the 9mm, that is fine, just remember, that under survival conditions, you are far more likely to encounter 9mm rounds than any other. If you are concerned about stopping power, there is a larger selection of defensive ammunition available for 9mm that is more than adequate for personal defense. Just a side note, regardless of what round you chose to carry, remember that you should not consider all ammunition the same. A lot of people buy a gun for defense, and then proceed to load it and carry it around with cheap target ammunition. It is fine to buy full metal jacketed ammunition, or FMJ, for target practice and stocking up, but you should have your personal weapon loaded with defensive ammunition. I use a jacketed hollow point, but frangible ammunition should also be considered, depending on your environment. This is a very common mistake, so do some research on your own.


For rifles, it is not that simple. .223 and 7.62x39 are of course very common and should be considered as your staple assault rifle round. However, these rounds are a little small for hunting. .308 is a better round for hunting, and still very common and modestly prices. .308 is by far the cheapest and most widely used hunting round today, eclipsing the 30-06 in popularity some years back. The .308 is also a good assault rifle round. It was used widely by the military throughout much of the last century, and still to a degree today. Both AR-15 and AK-47 style rifles can be purchased in .308. I personally have an AK-47 in the native 7.62x39 and consider that my staple assault rifle. Because it is so common, the 7.62x39 ammunition is less expensive than .308 and I can buy more ammunition per dollar spent. However, I have chosen to stock and use a different caliber for hunting large game, .308, and I don't plan to acquire any other hunting rifles that are not in this caliber. There are many available used and new rifles in .308, so you are not limited. 


Be careful when buying used guns, however, especially if they have been re-chambered. Many old rifles, like Mausers, have been re-chambered to .308, and some cannot handle the pressure of a modern .308 load. This is also true of other calibers. Just make sure that you know the pressure rating of the gun you are buying, and the rating of the round that you are planning to use in it. Also, pressures are not always listed in the same scale; some are listed in Copper Units of Pressure (CUP) and others in Pounds per Square Inch (PSI). Below, I have listed the formulas for converting between the two.


PSI = (CUP x 1.51) - 17,902
CUP = (PSI + 17,902) / 1.51


Here is a real world example: 
I had a small ring Mauser, in 7x57, with a pressure rating of 46,000 CUP. I wanted to have it re-chambered to .308, but according to SAAMI, the .308 Winchester has a MAP (maximum average product) pressure of approximately 62,000 PSI* (conformal transducer measurement). My gunsmith advised against re-chambering, for a good reason. Using the formula above, PSI = (CUP x 1.51) - 17,902, I can see that 46,000 (Mauser CUP Rating) x 1.51 = 69460, minus 17,902, gives me a result of 51,558 PSI. This is well below the SAMMI rating for the .308. You can see why most gunsmiths would be hesitant. Granted, the Mausers, as well as most other guns, were built to take a 125% pressure load, it is not worth my life to put that to the test. Even if it didn't explode, it certainly wouldn't be good for the gun over time. Also, you may say, that it would be acceptable to shoot a lower pressure hand load, which is true, but what if the gun is later owned by someone else that doesn't know the back story. That is just too dangerous to risk. My choice was just to trade the gun in on something else.


Just to follow up on the .22, I own several .22 guns and I consider them a very important part of any collection. The ammunition is cheaper by far than any other caliber and they are essential for target practice, small game hunting, and training for new shooters and children. Although they aren't very practical for defense or hunting large game, they can be used if needed. I know that deer, and other large game animals can and have been killed with .22 rifles. If I could only have 1 gun, it would definitely be a .22. They are very versatile and can be used in many situations beyond what might seem practical.


-Richard