How many is too many?

Gatorhunter1313

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I tried to do some searching and didn’t see anything on the topic. I was wondering what other people’s thoughts on different calibers in a collection. I’m a wildcat nut and I’m always looking for new calibers. So in your idea how many different calibers is too many in a collection. As of right now just in rifles I have a lot. I have .223, .243, .270, 6.8 spc .308, 30-30, 7.62x54r, 30-06, 300 win mag, 338 win mag, 338 spectre, 358 winchester, 30 hrt, 45-70, 357 mag, 10mm, 460 rowland, 9mm, 357 sig, 45 acp, .22, 50 Beowulf, 416 rigby, 375 h&h and more I’m sure I’m forgetting. And yes, all the pistol caliber are rifles I have. I can’t stop going after different and interesting calibers.
 
If it makes you happy there is no such thing as "too many".

Personally, I am restricitive to myself, I consider deeply and thproughly if I need any next caliber at all, and for what do I need it.... once I give my self a good reason and green light, I go for it.

Except, I am not reloader (yet), and I avoid wild cats like plague. I go exclusively after "vanilla" calibers with good availability of ammo in shops.
 
A good buddy of mine says, "If you know how many guns you have, you don't have enough."
yeah i agree but I'm not actually talking about how many guns total. I'm talking about different calibers. i only have a couple rifles in matching calibers. i have 3 30-30 marlins. i have a 308 bolt gun and an ar-10, things like that. but how many people keep it simple with just a few calibers vs having as many different calibers as they can find. that seems to be how i end up doing it. I'm always on the look out for a new caliber. like right now, i so miss my matching pair of remington 798.s in 375 h&h and 458 win mag. i want a pair again. there are so many other calibers i am always looking at.
 
I've had too many a couple of times and each time thinned them out. My safe is currently in extremely thinned out condition. I really can't say I regret selling any of them. There are a few calibers that, when paired with a particular rifle, seemed outstanding and maybe should have been kept... but I'm not losing any sleep over it either. One combination was an exceptionally accurate 22 Hornet in of all things a little 1st Gen T/C Contender. A completely unhandy little 10 inch barreled handgun thingy but ohh so accurate! The other was the old 45-75 Win in three different original Winchester Model 76s- one a documented/marked NWMP issue 76 carbine and the other two regular 76 rifles. All three were exceptional shooters. Right now the single largest group of similar guns I have are originals from the US-Mexican War and US Civil War eras. Calibers include 54, 577, 58 and 69.

Never sought out wildcats but have had two or three. I was able sell them at a discount and never even regretted that. Right now, IMO, there aren't any performance niches in need of filling by some wildcat so the only reasons to get one would be to say you have one and to later be able to sell it at a discount! :) The closest thing to a wildcat I have now is a 338-06 in a Win 70 CRF. It is standardized in the industry and head stamped brass is available so I guess it could be called a "semi-wildcat".
 
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If it makes you happy to go after different calibers it is never "too many" or wrong in any way.

I spent most of my adult life experimenting with calibers and have had quite a few. About three years ago I decided I would prefer to consolidate and get rid of a lot of calibers. It is not right or wrong, but I must admit it is really nice to buy just a few calibers and stack the ammo deep. Unlike most people I have no anxiety right now with the amount of ammo I have for my firearms. I know the caliber consolidation helped me get to the comfortable spot I am in today.
 
I've had too many a couple of times and each time thinned them out. My safe is currently in extremely thinned out condition :) I really can't say I regret selling any of them. There are a few calibers that, when paired with a particular rifle, seemed outstanding and maybe should have been kept... but not loosing any sleep over it either. One was an exceptionally accurate 22 Hornet in of all things a little 1st Gen T/C Contender. A completely unhandy little 10 inch barreled handgun thingy but ohh so accurate! The other was the old 45-75 Win in three different original Winchester Model 76s- one a documented/marked NWMP issue 76 carbine and the other two regular 76 rifles. All three were exceptional shooters.

Never sought out wildcats but have had two or three. I was able sell them at a discount and never even regretted that. Right now, IMO, there aren't any performance niches in need of filling by some wildcat so the only reasons to get one would be to say you have one and to later be able to sell it at a discount!. The closest thing to a wildcat I have now is a 338-06. It is standardized in the industry and head stamped brass is available so guess you could call it a "semi-wildcat".
i only have a couple rifles i regret selling. my pair of 798's i got when i traded off a lar grizzly big bore 50 bmg. i wish i would have kept the lar but shooting a 50 is expensive. i had the pair of 798's for a while a loved them. i was at the range one day shooting both of them when a guy walked up and started asking questions. after about 10 minutes of talking i let him shoot them both. after he shot them he stood up and tole me if i was willing to wait 30 minutes he would come back and give me $6000 for the pair. i couldn't pass the offer. it more than doubled what i essentially paid for them. i wish i had kept them.
 
No love for the .17s & 20s?
 
I've had too many a couple of times and each time thinned them out. My safe is currently in extremely thinned out condition. I really can't say I regret selling any of them. There are a few calibers that, when paired with a particular rifle, seemed outstanding and maybe should have been kept... but I'm not losing any sleep over it either. One combination was an exceptionally accurate 22 Hornet in of all things a little 1st Gen T/C Contender. A completely unhandy little 10 inch barreled handgun thingy but ohh so accurate! The other was the old 45-75 Win in three different original Winchester Model 76s- one a documented/marked NWMP issue 76 carbine and the other two regular 76 rifles. All three were exceptional shooters.

Never sought out wildcats but have had two or three. I was able sell them at a discount and never even regretted that. Right now, IMO, there aren't any performance niches in need of filling by some wildcat so the only reasons to get one would be to say you have one and to later be able to sell it at a discount! :) The closest thing to a wildcat I have now is a 338-06 in a Win 70 CRF. It is standardized in the industry and head stamped brass is available so I guess it could be called a "semi-wildcat".
talking wild cats. i have a couple that one can't even buy ammo for. i have a 358 mgp which is a 6.8 necked up to .358 and i had a barrel made for a wildcat i made up in an AR platform. i took a 10mm magnum and necked it down to 6.8. i already had the 338 spectre which is the 10mm necked down to 338. i figured i would try to go smaller. its a huge pain to make brass for but i now have about 500 pieces of brass for it. its a really fun rifle to shoot. doesn't do anything over what a 6.8 spc does but it was one of those "why not, i must have it" moments
 
No love for the .17s & 20s?
i want a 204 ruger so bad but i have never had one. i did have a 17 hmr for a while but i was offered a good price for it so i sold it. i have considered getting a 17 hmr barrel for my T/C Encore. i already have about 10 barrels for it now
 
Love my .17 hmr and was laughing at my buddy today who just can’t seem to find any components for his .204–ever!
I do have four .30-06’s and my brother has a left handed one as well as dads inherited old-one Remington in-06. One is a synthetic, one is lightweight, one is inherited and priceless and the last is a “loaner” I send out about every year when someone needs one for their kid or something.
The key is the endless stockpile of brass, powders amd primers I have. Each seems to like a different bullet ( or maybe that’s me) so I have a good supply of various .308 bullets as well. I have other big and small calibers but now that you mention it-I do seem to have a pile of .30-06’s!
1B3D5BAF-1DF7-48FA-AE67-9AAF626DD12B.jpeg
 
I’d say it’s only too many if buying new guns delays your next hunting trip because you don’t have enough cash.
i will say that has never stopped me from hunting. i have a budget i stick to. i do a lot of side work being a plumber and that pays for my shooting habits. i also make shirts and stickers to fund my horrible habit that costs more than children
 
Love my .17 hmr and was laughing at my buddy today who just can’t seem to find any components for his .204–ever!
I do have four .30-06’s and my brother has a left handed one as well as dads inherited old-one Remington in-06. One is a synthetic, one is lightweight, one is inherited and priceless and the last is a “loaner” I send out about every year when someone needs one for their kid or something.
The key is the endless stockpile of brass, powders amd primers I have. Each seems to like a different bullet ( or maybe that’s me) so I have a good supply of various .308 bullets as well. I have other big and small calibers but now that you mention it-I do seem to have a pile of .30-06’s!
30-06 is one of my favorite calibers. i want to get another one. i have a ruger american in 243 and a savage axis in 308 i use at my loaner rifles. every year at our property in georgia someone needs a rifle. i keep a lot of 30 caliber bullets on hand. i do need to get more powder but i have about 80,000 primers for everything as of now. i have bins full of brass for guns i don't even own anymore. i also have a ton of 44 mag brass because a few people i know have lever guns in 44. i keep all their brass and load it with cast bullets and use that for gator hunting.
 
This post is so timely. I have some calibers that I am going to sell:
CZ550 9.3x62 because it is too close to my 375HH.
Remington Mohawk 308 Win. Too close to my 7RM.
Savage SRT-10 Tactical 308 Win. Too close to my 7RM and I'm not shooting matches anymore.
Marlin 1895 44mag.
MRC American Legend 30-06. Too close to 7RM.
That leaves me with a pretty good spread:
5.56/223. 6.5CR. 7RM. 375HH. I figure they will handle anything I might want to hunt. Of course, if something jumps right up in front of me I might pick up another something.
 
This post is so timely. I have some calibers that I am going to sell:
CZ550 9.3x62 because it is too close to my 375HH.
Remington Mohawk 308 Win. Too close to my 7RM.
Savage SRT-10 Tactical 308 Win. Too close to my 7RM and I'm not shooting matches anymore.
Marlin 1895 44mag.
MRC American Legend 30-06. Too close to 7RM.
That leaves me with a pretty good spread:
5.56/223. 6.5CR. 7RM. 375HH. I figure they will handle anything I might want to hunt. Of course, if something jumps right up in front of me I might pick up another something.
the 9.3 has been on my watch list for a while. i have dies for a 9.3x62 but never had a rifle for it. i hate to ask how much you want for it because i have 5 rifle builds in the works right now but i must know.
 
6.5x54
6.5x55 x 4
7x57 x 1
9.3x57 x 3
9.3x62 x 2
45-70 x 1


The more the merrier.
Especially when you find something you like.

I would say that life is much too short to quibble about "too many" of the things we enjoy, particularly when it comes to something that isn't (relatively, generally) expensive.

Hell, one of these days I might even buy something like a 30-06, ha
 
6.5x54
6.5x55 x 4
7x57 x 1
9.3x57 x 3
9.3x62 x 2
45-70 x 1


The more the merrier.
Especially when you find something you like.

I would say that life is much too short to quibble about "too many" of the things we enjoy, particularly when it comes to something that isn't (relatively, generally) expensive.
out of curiosity which do you like better? the 9.3x57 or the 9.3x62? they have both always topped my list of curiosity and i have always wanted to get one of them
 
As if there is a rule or anyone's opinion other than yours matters.
 
Here’s the part where I question my own sanity-I have a different die set for each favorite bullet and rifle in .30-06. The bullet seating die permanently set for my favorite bullet in each specific rifle. I buy the dies used so maybe $20 each-fortunately lots of -06 dies kicking around. I have six currently-lmfao!
 

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thriller wrote on Bronkatowski1's profile.
Until this guy posts something on pay it forward free I would avoid him at all costs.
sgtsabai wrote on Buck51's profile.
If it hasn't sold by next week I might be interested. Stock would have to be changed along with some other items. I'm already having a 416 Rigby built so money is a tad bit tight.
The35Whelen wrote on MedRiver's profile.
Hey pal! I'll take all the .375 bullets if they're available.
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