[Jaltered]

Which ammo calibers are considered "most common"? Or in other words, when the SHTF, if ammo becomes scarce...which will be easiest to find around?

I know that the 9mm is one of the most commonly used pistol calibers, but what about rifle calibers and/or even shotgun ammo?

 

[Bumper]

Handguns

9mm
.45ACP
.38/.357


Rifles

.223
7.62x39MM
.30-06


Shotguns

12 gauge

 

[Cliff]

Bumper nails it again.

 

[APachon]

I might add .308 to the rifle mix.

 

[Bud White]

Handgun
9mm
45 acp
38/357

Rifle
30/06
308
223


Shotgun
12 20 gauge

lot more 20's out there than most people would think

 

[coma]

Hand Gun:
1) 9MM
2) .45 ACP
3) .38/.357

Rifle:
1) 30-06
2) .223
3) 7.62 x 39 / .308 winchester mag

Shot gun:
1) 12 Ga.
2) 20 Ga.
3) and believe it or not .410 Ga.( i know people who still use them to hunt and shoot trap with)

 

[APachon]

What are your takes on the 44Mag for the pistol category??

 

[Bud White]

Yes i supposed 44 mag would be fairy easy to find and even the 40 by now

 

[APachon]

I forgot about the 40. I try to make my pistol and rifle purchases based on calibers I already own so that when I go to buy ammo, I am not buying 30 different calibers.

~A

 

[Bud White]

i mean if you really want to strech it some the 300 win mag and 7mm mag are very popular and how could we forget the 30/30

 

[clubsoda22]

handgun: 9, 40, 45 (i know for a fact that those 3 are the most popular)

Guessing for rifle: 223, 7.62x39, 308

Shotgun: 12, 20

 

[randyb]

I agree with what everyone is posting but if I was to narrow it down to one of each i\'d opt:

handgun
9mm (with .357/.38 being second)

Rifle
.308

Shotgun
12 ga.

I would also mention that for a true SHTF case the .22 LR would be one of my picks with both the rifle and handgun being available.

 

[silvercorvette]

Originally posted by Bumper
Handguns

9mm
.45ACP
.38/.357


Rifles

.223
7.62x39MM
.30-06


Shotguns

12 gauge

I disagree, back in the days of cowboys they usually had a rifle that was chambered to the same caliber of the pistol they carried. I just bought a Colt SAA revolver chambered in .45 Colt about three months ago. I also bought a Winchester lever action rifle also chambered in .45 Colt. Back in the early days of the wild west it was a absolute necessity, for me it is a convenience being able to load ammo for the revolver and the rifle with the same dies. If you are planning for a SHTF scenario then it might be a good idea to do what they did in the olden days and find a rifle chambered in a common hand gun caliber. If you want the ideal solution you can buy a .45 cal Thompson style sub machine gun that can be legally purchased as a semi auto only carbine for about $1,000. Then you can match it up with a nice 1911 in .45ACP. That would help to simplify things if that is what you are trying to do.


I am assuming that it would be a good strategy if you were stockpiling ammo to have one caliber. But on second thought if you ever have to go into a scrounge mode having two different common calibers could be an advantage. I personally have enough loaded ammo and components to make ammo that scrounging won’t be a necessity.

 

[JT]

Originally posted by APachon
I try to make my pistol and rifle purchases based on calibers I already own so that when I go to buy ammo, I am not buying 30 different calibers.

I’m trying to do the same thing. I try not to buy weapons in calibers I don’t already have, and over time I have eliminated a few from my collection.

 

[silvercorvette]

Originally posted by JT

Originally posted by APachon
I try to make my pistol and rifle purchases based on calibers I already own so that when I go to buy ammo, I am not buying 30 different calibers.

I’m trying to do the same thing. I try not to buy weapons in calibers I don’t already have, and over time I have eliminated a few from my collection.

If you do reloading it helps cut the cost of dies. I have a Dillon 650 set up with a seperate tool head with seperate powder measure all set up save time and work on changeovers.

 

[JT]

One of these days I’m going to start reloading. I’ve been saving my brass for quite a while, so I have a good start on supplies.

The main reason I want fewer calibers is in case of any SHTF scenarios. I would rather be able to feed as many different weapons with the same ammo as possible.

 

[silvercorvette]

I recommend a Dillon 650 or 550. There are other good machines out there but I was able to teach myself to reload with zero experience buy watching a Dillon video, reading a few reloading manuals, and following the owners setup manual. Some people recommend single stage for a first timer, but I am sure I would have given up after spending most of the day making ammo and only wing up with enough for a few minutes worth of shooting. A Dillon 650 will give you a few hundred rounds in an hour. Some people can do 500 to more than 600 in an hour but I prefer to work at a slow careful pace.

Most people say you won\'t save money by reloading, you will just shooting more because it is cheaper.

 

[JT]

Originally posted by silvercorvette
Most people say you won\'t save money by reloading, you will just shooting more because it is cheaper.

Sounds just as good as saving money to me.

 

[silvercorvette]

PS one of the reasons I am so pro Dillon is their no BS warrantee. If it breaks they fix it for free no questions asked. I have heard of them repairing a press that was destroyed in a fire for free, and an old rusted press with missing parts bought at a garage sale was fixed for free no questions asked. Dillon does this all the time.

 

[Euclidean]

I can't believe no one has mentioned .22 LR. That by far has to be the most popular rifle caliber in North America. Everyone has a .22. People who own no other guns have a .22 LR chambered rifle.

For the SHTF scenario, it would be immensely useful. You don't want to use your good ammo hunting for food, and if need be even a novice shooter could use a Ruger 10/22 with some effectiveness.

I'm not saying it's my first choice for defense, but it's immensely practical and useful.

Edit: Also wanted to add 7.62x39 must surely be the most popular rifle caliber in the world at large. If it's not, it's up there. Also, .45 ACP is practically unheard of outside the USA.