Let’s imagine it’s time to cull the cartridge herd in 2014

[cshold]

Cartridges we "can" live without?

Cartridges we "can not" live without?


I’ll start with these.

.222 (AKA triple duce) stays…

.222 mag. goes…

Actually I’m not so sure the .222 mag. is even factory made anymore.
I do realize the .223 has pretty much decimated both of these rounds.

[Streetstar]

Culling the herd from our personal stashes? -- or in general --- I'd hate to erase anyone of them into infinity


That said -- from my personal stash, I've eliminated

1) .44 Mag
2) 30/06 - this may come back if I get a garand tho
3) .22 Hornet
4) .243
5) .270


In general though

Do we really need the .32 H&R mag anymore with the .327 Federal ? (or vice versa )
.38 S&W could go the way of the dodo for all I care - most of the guns chambered in it are old and unsafe to fire with the exception of some H&R top breaks

[cshold]

Culling the herd from our personal stashes? -- or in general --- I'd hate to erase anyone of them into infinity


That said -- from my personal stash, I've eliminated

1) .44 Mag
2) 30/06 - this may come back if I get a garand tho
3) .22 Hornet
4) .243
5) .270


In general though

Do we really need the .32 H&R mag anymore with the .327 Federal ? (or vice versa )
.38 S&W could go the way of the dodo for all I care - most of the guns chambered in it are old and unsafe to fire with the exception of some H&R top breaks

Okay changed to personal stashes then

[Buck Elliott]

Let's NOT imagine that...

That'd be like having someone tell you that you could no longer kiss redheads (or blondes, or brunettes, or...), because some nameless, faceless 'someone' arbitrarily decided you didn't "need" to...

The supposedly "obsolete" rounds still serve the same function and purpose they always did, regardless of upstart competitors..

I love old cartidges, and the old guns for which they were made, or to which they were adapted.

Why would we want to render good guns obsolescent, based on a nebulous, capricious decision.?

Charlie Atkins built part of his gun writing career on randomly 86-ing cartridges that he didn'thave much personal use for.. He's long gone, while most of the rounds that he journalistically deep-sixed are still around..

[Griff]

Simply as an exercise in memory testing... What I don't have or don't want vs. what I have and want to keep. Everyone else can make up their own lists.

Cartridges we "can" live without?.

7.62NATO
.44 anything
.33 anything
Anything over .458
Pretty much anything NOT listed below!

Cartridges we "can not" live without?.

.45 Colt
.30WCF
5.56NATO
12 ga.
.40-90SBN
.375 Marlin
.38Spl/.357 Mag
.38S&W
7mmRemMag
.45-70
.30-06

[Tycer]

I'm already done, down to the minimum.
Left with:
.22 Rimfire
30 WCF
32 WCF
32 Win Sp (might let this go)

380 ACP
9mm
38 sp
357 mag
358 WIN

12,20,28 ga

I have molds and brass for other cartridges, but not planing on adding any new guns to shoot them.

[rjohns94]

Staying.

22lr
45acp
44 special

35 Rem
30-06
45-70

12ga

.54 BP

[AJMD429]

Ten Must-haves:

Do-it-all rounds (2):

• 12 gauge shotshell
  22 Long Rifle

Handgun/CCW rounds (2):

• 44 Magnum/Special
  45 ACP

Bottleneck Rifle rounds (3):

• 223 Remington
  308 Winchester
  375 Ruger

Levergun 'Pistol Caliber' rounds (3):

• 357 Magnum
  45 Colt
  500 S&W (next year, hopefully... )

[Old Savage]

Think I have only ever eliminated the 7.65x53 and the 35 Whelen. Oh, and the .257 Roberts, all were great rifles.

[Mescalero]

Why did you git rid of the Roberts?

[Old Savage]

That is a good question but, it was the siren's song of something else. IIRC, 39 gr of 4064 and a Sierra 100 gr Spt did 3,000 fps and was a nice inch load in a a Win 70 Featherweight. The Ruger 6 mm Rem would out do it though.

[El Chivo]

I may eliminate 30-30 this year if I can't get a nice accurate load. Then I'd have .35's exclusively (35 Rem and .357 magnum). Well I do have a .243 but I don't load for it.

I still like the idea of 260 Rem, I think it would eliminate .243, .270, .308, and 25-06. But I don't need it.

I have just never been a big fan of 30 cal.

So that would leave me with:

22lr
.243
.357 magnum
35 Rem

[madman4570]

Kinda look at it this way.

My guns are bought and paid for and boy oh boy does it kill me to dump any of them. They don't have to eat unless I want to feed them.
If taken care of my take is they are better than letting the bank use that value worth.
Don't take up much space for what they give and how you feel when holding, shooting and just plain looking at them.

Na, think I will just keep mine, heck even add some more and tell the other good ole boys in their nice cozy safe(s) scoot over some boys you got company.
If I was in the need for cash, wife has a lot of things she don't need!

[M. M. Wright]

Cartridges that I have eliminated from my inventory:
270
25-06
40-60
38-40 (has to come back now that I have a nice Bisley in that cal.)
6.5-06AI
50 EX (never could get it to group decently so I traded it)
IL'm trying to get rid of the 220 Swift but then I would want a 22-250AI.

Mostly I shoot:
44-40
41 Colt
45 ACP
45 Colt
308
45-90
Add 12 gauge and 22 lr and I could easily get along with just these.

[cshold]

"12 gauge and 22 lr and I could easily get along with just these."

I'm sure we all could agree with that.
Won't go hungry anyway

[RIHMFIRE]

the rounds i can live without....
big bores...no need for them down here...
and uncommon stuff like 356 win, 307win etc.......

i stick with the common stuff...
22, 380, 38/357, 44sp/44mag, 45acp, 45lc,
30-30, 30-06, 12 & 20 ga
and the old oddball cowboy rounds 38-40, 44-40, 38-55
mostly because of components availability...

rounds i want....22mag....22-250.....
a model 71 and an 86 in 45-70...just cause they are winchesters
410 and 28 for skeet!

[Old Ironsights]

I did that a long time ago... mainly because redundancy is expensive.

I have, and will keep:

.22 LR
.32 ACP (at least until I'm out - bought 2 cases years (and years) ago and still have nearly 2/3 of one)
.357
.45 ACP

7.62x54R (until I'm out/it stops being Cheap)
.308
9.3x72R
.45-70

.410
16ga

Plus Muzzlestuffers.

I think that will hold me.

[gak]

Not really getting rid if anything, but if I had to one it might be .44 Mag now that i've got a passel of .44 Special.
So gotta keep

.22s. - as in rimfire cheap (formerly?) Plinking and target, and SD BUG. Gotta have at least one each long and short gund in, but preferably four or five, .22s.
.30 Carbine - HD, pest'ing,, and no longer cheap but still occasional fun plinking. My sentimental favorite.
.32 H&R. - great desert trail gun and plinker w/ modicum of defense. I'd say with several H&R -only Rugers in the fleet (not yet converted) ,, the .327 doesn't yet render it obsolete. My most fun cartridge/guns to shoot,
.357/.38. - SD, carry, all rounder, arguably the only short gun "you" ever need, and my Lady Smith 65 perhaps the choice of "if you could only keep one gun, period..." my even greater affectiion for my SAs notwithstanding.
.44 Sp. - the "new" .44, w/ the right ammo stash and a nice DA, could replace the .357 as "do all."
.44 Mag - (with the above proviso) camp, bear gun but nothing in Az absolutely requires. Stellar in a leverguns too, always seems you should have at least onr short and one ong gun in the magnum, but push come to shove the .30-30 (and .44 Sp in short gun) can do most of its duty and then some if a cartridge had to go.
.30-30 - need you ask? Still the king do all short-to-midranger. Imminently handy hunter. The "only one long gun" choice if it came to it. 94 or 336, take your pick - both fine guns - but my choice has been the 94.
.270. - could easily be the .30-06 but I was raised on the kool -aid and hard to break habit. Nothing in NA (I'm likely to hunt) it can't| take with authority and accuracy. That said, if I lost it I might opt for a .270 lite (7mm-08) with equal ( if slightly shorter range) "goodness" mojo of the .270. A .270 at most hunted ranges, with short action in a tidier package, what's not to like?
20 ga. - just because. Unless doing serious/large bird, all the hunting shotgun most of us need.
16 ga - my 12, does most of what I'd ask a 12 to do in a tidier package with kess boom-kick. I dont do much shotgunning for the shell availabiluty/cost factor to override my affection for this best ever (IMO) gauge.

Not much culling there I guess

[Sixgun]

Are you a closet liberal? Theres no need to get rid or even to stop thinking about any cartridge, even the 25 auto. --------6

[Old Savage]

[shooter]

I've thinned my herd about as much as it will be thinned, I think. I may add more guns, but I think the only other caliber I want to add is possibly a .308. I would get rid of my .44 magnum, as I never shoot it anymore, but the gun is kind of a family heirloom, so I think I'll keep it.

Keeping:
.44 Mag (only because it's a family gun)
.45 Colt
.45 ACP
.38 special (wife's)
.223
7mm-08 (wife's)
.243
30 WCF
45-70
.22 lr
12 gauge

I could do away with the .243 as well, but I really like that gun so I think I'll keep it. Besides, the 7mm is my "wife's", and I only get to take it out with her permission . Like I said, throw a .308 in there and I'm done.

[1894c]

I have LIMITED myself to the following... :)
.22 cal.
.40S&W
.30 W.C.F.
12 Gage anything
(.9mm & .38spl., don't reload them...use them on a limited bases)

Might add .35 Remington in the near future...

[GoatGuy]

I'm pretty happy with my current crop of calibers. None that need culling.
However, the recent enthusiastic posts here regarding 6.5 mm goodness has made me consider re-barreling my left hand, glass bedded Remington 700 .243 Win. to 260 Rem.

260 Remington, huh! Let's see. Research, select and buy barrel, have it fitted, acquire brass, bullets and dies. Perhaps pay outrageous prices for several powders types, other than that on hand, to determine which will deliver the maximum potential of velocity, accuracy of barrel and cartridge. Load development time, range time, plus concern about the new barrel fitting my bedded stock. Eh, maybe not after all. - John

[TedH]

I'm not thinning anything, and have no intention to for the foreseeable future. Although my wife would disagree, because she asked me just the other day just how many guns I had, and I honestly couldn't answer. She thinks if you don't know how many you have, it is too many!

[Woodsman]

Minimal must-haves:

Defensive Handgun- .45ACP
General Purpose Rifle (Medium Game / Light Tactical) - .308/7.62x51
Tactical Carbine - .223/5.56x45
Small Game Shotgun - 20G
General Purpose Bow (Medium Game / Small Game) - 70# Compound (OT, I know)

Purged over time:
.30-06
.270
.30-30
.357
.40 S&W
9x19
.380
.32
16G
Long Bow (again, OT)

[Chuck 100 yd]

What Buck Elliott and Six said +++
I think they should start reproducing more of the old timers and making guns to shoot them with.

[.45colt]

"Cartridges we "can not" live without?"
Had a lot over the Years , these are staying around.
.45 Colt
.32-20
.Marlin .338 Express
.45-70
.375 H&H.
.12ga shotgun.
From Bullfrogs to Buffalos.

[piller]

Cartridges to get rid of??? Let's see what is useless. That Remington load that used a battery to ignite it. That load for the H&K Sub Machine Gun that was caseless and used electric ignition.

What I can't live without:
.45-70
.45 Colt
.44 Magnum
.357 Magnum
.38 Special
.22 lr
7mm08
12 gauge
20 gauge
.30-30
.40 S&W

What I don't want to get rid of even though I can cover what it does with something else:
.270
.223
.480 Ruger
.327 Magnum
9mm
.380

What I don't want to see disappear since I haven't had the opportunity to shoot it yet:
This list would be too long to fit here. Sorry!

[Streetstar]

I'm not thinning anything, and have no intention to for the foreseeable future. Although my wife would disagree, because she asked me just the other day just how many guns I had, and I honestly couldn't answer. She thinks if you don't know how many you have, it is too many!

That happened to me recently and I couldn't say either , so I just said "between 30 and 40" -- I think she about fainted

--- have that number down considerably now - I culled most of my "Big box store" guns along with some nicer guns i'll never use due to my current disinterest in hunting -- I figure if I ever need anything similar again, there will always be a "big box store" nearby if I want more 10/22's , generic AR-15's or synthetic stocked bolt guns

This may get me banned, but I also sold my 1911's - I greatly prefer the ergos of the Sig Sauer P220 , - that's not to say another 1911 wont make an appearance someday, but the ones I sold were a basic Springfield and a Rock Island - nice, reliable guns, but also ones that are easy to replace

I offered up a couple of beautiful guns right here in the classifieds I thought would interest someone with discriminating taste , and they went fast (thx guys ) --- and sold a .44 Mag Marlin and a .32 Special Winny to a buddy (didn't want them to get too far, I may have the chance to buy them back some day )--

The gun safe is as empty is it has ever looked - and I am still undecided about whether to unload a pair of Rem 870 tactical style shotguns or not --- oddly enough, for that type of gun, I prefer the older Winchester 1300 Defender (not the newer SXP)

I kept several varieties of .22's in all action types
My Weatherby .300 MAg "big medicine" rifle
An older "Retro" AR-15 built with an old M-16 upper (I enjoyed the AR15 "hobby" for a while though, I likely have enough parts on hand to assemble 3 or 4 more of these with the addition of a barrel here, or an upper receiver there )
Leverguns in .45 Colt, 30-30, and .45-70
2 10mm Glocks, A Sig 380, and a few .357's
A pair of Model 50 Winchester autoloader shotguns in 20 and 12 gauge are also going nowhere

I felt like selling what I sold just freed up some capital I had in a long term savings account and it was time to cash out ----- I'm still well equipped though, and actively looking for more leverguns - with a focus on quality , not quantity this time around

[Mescalero]

I am going to add .260 Rem. & 6.5 Grendal.

[FatJackDurham]

I only have 38 S&W, 38 Spl, 357 Magnum, .22 LR, 45-70, and 7mm Mauser.....
I guess I'll dump the 38 spl, if I have let something go.......

[earlmck]

Cull? That word is not part of my vocabulary. Had to break out the Webster's to see what the heck you were talking about, casastahle.

The old gun safe seems to have shrunk over the past couple of years but I got an email yesterday -- seems the one I ordered under Costco's Christmas Special is on the truck and headed this way. Whew! Narrow escape. As long as there is room in the gun safe there can be no possible excuse for "culling".

[Blaine]

I only have about 25 long guns and handguns.....They come and go. I could let go of about anything at anytime. It's money in the bank, so, I don't like to cull much of anything....

[gordylew]

If there isn't room in the gun safe, it means time for another gun safe. I only cull them to the least used safe. Never know when it will come back in style. I have never heard anyone say "I'm glad I got rid of that -----" unless it was no good.

[Streetstar]

I have never heard anyone say "I'm glad I got rid of that -----" unless it was no good.

I've said it several times this year, -- and about excellent firearms -- sometimes interests and needs change, and if you have an item that you foresee you have no use for , but somebody else may be able to use it as intended, then why not (but again, this is a personal choice) -\
Me - I'd rather have more vintage leverguns and target/benchrest oriented stuff in the near future than hunting and self defense oriented stuff, so I thinned my personal herd a bit. And if I get the urge to go hunting ever again, my lever operated "fun guns" can certainly pull double duty for that