Sometimes there is a comment which I think touches on something worth pulling from the comments section to the front page. This is one of those times.
Magwa said:
Buy lots of pistols for different applications! You may need to have exactly the right tool for the right job.
Moi? Colt 1911 Officers Acp .45 for simple concealed carry in warm weather (or anytime).
92 FS for general, overall, handgun applications.
.357 magnum for carry while hunting. If I were carrying a rifle or shotgun as a primary weapon I'd have no problem carrying the .357 with speedloaders for backup. There are a number of good reasons for carrying a .357 period.
Then there's idea of carrying two guns as opposed to just carrying extra magazines for one gun.
Then there's the idea of carrying a pocket pistol. Beretta Bobcat per discussion here earlier.
Buy one for every possible scenario!!!! Do your part for the American economy!!!! Multiple calibers means greater dexterity in times of shortage.
Do your part for peace and safety and train hard to shoot each weapon you own very, very well!!!! It's lead on target quickly that gets the job done!!!!!
TOR replies: To get to the foundation of my thoughts on this matter read deep vs broad and redundancy vs collecting. I think it is prudent to try and keep your logistical footprint to a sane size. Having 8 pistols which take 6 different cartridges would be a real pain in the ass and could potentially lead to problems. You can have a pretty good diverse collection with a fairly minimal logistical footprint. Say you have assorted Glock 9mm's, a few .357 revolvers (various sizes), a .380 and a couple .22's. You've got a broad variety of handguns for all manner of carry and defense, a .380 to pack when you dress up nice, and a couple .22's. That is 8+ pistols with two magazine types (Glock 9mm and .380) to worry about. Three pistol calibers and you had .22 ammo already. Maybe throw in a 1911 and cut out the .380 if you are so inclined.
To be honest right now I am looking to simplify my logistical footprint by dropping a redundant albeit potent cartridge (.40s&w). That will leave me with .38/.357, 9mm and .45 pistols. Plenty of variety, two magazine types and 3 cartridges to worry about. That they are the three most common pistol calibers (if they ain't I'll kiss yer ass) in the US is just icing on the cake. This reminds me of the addage that common calibers (and platforms) are common for a reason;) Somewhere down the road I will get a .380 but that was going to happen either way.
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10 comments:
i believe in diversity...i have a little glock 40 and a big glock 40 :p
10:09, Nice. I can't honestly say anything bad about them. The Glock .40 is a good gun if just not for me.
I had a good year last year. Lots and lots of firearm purchases. But I came to the conclusion that I didn't need one of everything. I too chose to cut out the 40 S&W, as well as reluctantly trading off my 44 for a Russian SKS and a S&W semiauto which I'll be selling/trading off (man that 44 really went bang!!), and selling off the ex's 32acp. I have my EDC 380. Then I have 22lr, 9mm, 45acp, and 38/357. For each category except the 380 I have well over 1000rds. This seemed logical to me. As for long guns, I pared it down to 22lr, 8mm, 7.62x39 (bunch of these), and 7.62x54R. Ditto on the ammo. Oh, also a few 12 gauges and shells. The 12 gauges, AK's/SKS's and the 22 are very common calibers, the Nagants and Mausers were cheap (and fun to shoot).
This also provided mre with a nice variety of stuff to play with at the range, without it being overwhelming to deal with.
Sounds about right - but if I worked around large cattle that can hurt me (i.e. equine / bovine), a major powerhouse like a hot loaded .45LC or .44 Magnum would be smart - if faced with threat, something that gets the job done NOW is needed desperately! I don't think a .357 has that kind of instant effect, unless perfect bullet placement is done.
Instead of .380acp, might want to consider the 9x18 Mak. Far more available right now, especially for reasonable price (250 rounds for a C note isn't that bad) and is slightly more powerful than the .380. I know you have it sorta bad for the Walther PPK, so no luck there. You wouldn't need a lot of this for your hideout - 500 rounds is probably a lifetime supply.
I share your opinion of the .40 S&W - never really got me enthused about it. When developed as the 10mm Lite after FBI 10mm Magnum debacle, the .40S&W was compared to the Old West .38-40 round.
Coachteet, Seems like a pretty good setup to me.
6:39, I can't disagree with that, ditto for grizzly country. You are right that I do have a crush on the PPKS which may well cloud my judgement on the matter. The 9x18 ammo is sure cheap which is nice. .40 isn't a bad round at all but since I got into .45acp and 9mm it doesn't have much of a point anymore.
We standardized on calibers a long time ago because it's too counterproductive to have a dozen calibers to keep track of and reload for. Like pretty much everyone else who eventually gives this topic alot of thought we went with the usual 9 & .45, .223 & .308, 12 ga & .22, and .357.
I love firearms as much as the next guy, and have a few in 'non standardized' calibers but stocking up for them isnt a priority like the other calibers.
The arguement that by stocking for a plethora of different calibers you wind up having the broadest range of available ammo seems to make sense at first blush but in practice it leaves you with a little of everything rather than alot of a few things. Additionally, its usually cheaper to stick with fewer calibers.
Much has been made about how folks can go into WallyWorld right now and find no 9 or 45 or 40 but can find scads of .38 Super or .41 Magnum and, therefore, we should have guns in those calibers since apparently those are the last calibers to get picked up. A practical idea except if we were practical we'd have stocked up on the 9/40/45 ammo earlier and wouldnt be in this mess to begin with. If youre choice of ammo is whats 'leftover' at the WallyWorld gun counter you missed the point entirely.
Be nice to have a case of every caliber under the sun but, to me, a dozen cases of three different calibers makes more sense than one case of three dozen calibers.
YMMV, of course.
Commander Zero, The calibers you mentioned are a 90% solution of what we have. Take out .308 and insert 30.06 and that is my plan. I don't regret the Garand or the Springfield. A .308 or two will come to our place eventually.
I think the best thing to do is have guns in the most common calibers. First of all they are common for a reason. Second of all if I need to cross level ammo with someone (or them to me) the odds that their pistol will be a .38/.357, 9mm or .45acp are pretty darn high.
I'll admit I got a little overenthusiastic.
I'll also admit that gun collecting isn't what it used to be given the tenor of the times.
I own the same calibers, obviously, in handguns that TOR mentions in the lead article. I've also got a Ruger Mark II 4" barrel. Cheap practice round for handguns, good handgun to teach basic pistol shooting, handy varmint tool, everyone should have a .22 rifle and be well stocked with .22lr, anyway.
Personally, the pocket pistol isn't a high priority. But it is intriguing. But something in .38 +P would be first choice.
Shotguns, some configured for hunting, some for self defense, are a common gauge. You can't get greater diversity out of a firearm than you can a shotgun.
HP rifles were a common caliber until someone gave me 2 milsurp rifles in excellent shooting condition. Now we're reasonably (not overly) stocked up on 30.06 and 303 Brit ammo. What are you supposed to do when someone gives you a lovely, classic rifle? The potential uses for these two firarms are interesting.
Be safe, be reasonable, be prepared.
This might make for an interesting conversation and help me make a decision.
One of the milsurps I mentioned previously is a sporterized Lee-Enfield #4 MkI. The original #4 design, manufactured in the spring of 1943.
The handguards, bayonet lug, etc have been removed. I don't particularly care for the original sights on the rifle. I ordered and installed a new front sight guard to see if it would be an aid to my aging eyes. It helps a bit.
One of the options I have is restoring this old classic, one of the top ten battle rifles of all time, to it's "original" condition. I doubt that makes a lot of sense from a business point of view. I also doubt that it would bring any historical value back to the rifle seeing how the original parts are long gone.
I could also simply leave it as is. I do enjoy it as is.
The other option is converting it into a scout rifle. Tapping for a scope or rail mount, (not easy, but doable) mounting a scope and bringing it's full potential to practical use. That would bring it pretty close to Colonel Cooper's concept of the perfect scout rifle.
You can argue the lack of availability of .303 ammo but there's plenty of .303 Brit ammo in my neck of the woods. I also have enough stocked to make this a practical option.
Any comments?
I took your comment into account, and if and when I get the XD it will be in .45, which I have plenty of.
Thanks for your input,it helped me with this decision.
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