Caliber Question..no not stopping power, lol

[Defender]

I have steered my gun collection towards having the ability to fire as many different calibers as I could, but staying within the range of whats more popular. My rationale was that in a teotwaki situation, I should be better equipped to find ammo to use that had been abandoned by others or taken off those who no longer need it. Going this route does give me more guns maybe, but less quantities of any given caliber. I know, that at this point, people are concerned about things and I have been wondering, hopefully not too late, if I would be better off consolidating calibers somewhat, as some others have done, albeit for different reasons. One consideration that may make it a moot point is the inability to transport all this ammo to a potential bug out location...If I am afoot, I certainly wont be able to travel far carrying much so...but for the sake of argument, lets say I find a place to head to in sufficient time to take my vehicle...and that it don't happen real soon, lol, what ammo calibers would y'all recommend?

[Mike]

9mm, .38/.357, .223, & 7.62x39.

[Caster]

Mike is close:)

9mm .38/.357 .223/5,56 and 308

[Jonnin]

Grab and go? 22 lr target/hunting pistol, 223 pistol or rifle (probably the pistol), 9mm pistol, and 12 ga shotgun. I would return later for the rest, esp a good hunting rifle, but if in a hurry, those 4 would be the short term solution.

[hipower]

9mm/38/357/223-556/22

[UncleJak]

.40 s&w?? I've seen a lot of law enforcement using the .40 recently...I use .40, 7.62x39, and .22lr

[Guest Victor9er]

.40 s&w?? I've seen a lot of law enforcement using the .40 recently...I use .40, 7.62x39, and .22lr

That was my thought also. There's SO many LEO using the .40 caliber now, in a SHTF senario it should be fairly easy to find the .40 caliber. It's one of the reasons I'm looking at getting a Glock 22, with the added benefit of being able to swap out the barrel and shoot 9mm through it as well.

[tnhawk]

I plan to always have an adequate supply of .45 available.

[gregintenn]

22lr. It is wedely available, and you can transport a LOT of it.

[R_Bert]

in order of popularity, based on what I pick up (or see at the range; picked up ~10K this year)...

.22LR

9mm Lugar

.40 S&W

7.62x39

.223 Rem

.45ACP

The rest are just in the noise level.

[MikePapa1]

in order of popularity, based on what I pick up (or see at the range; picked up ~10K this year)...

.22LR

9mm Lugar

.40 S&W

7.62x39

.223 Rem

.45ACP

The rest are just in the noise level.

That would be what I have.

[Guest robinsonfam1]

nobody in for 12G?

not really surprised.

Cons: its heavy, large to carry.

Pros: stops whatever it hits. easy to find.

Im a pistol (close range), short range, long range guy. i have a few shotties but not sure if there will be one on my shoulder depending on the SHTF situation. if i need to bug in, yes. defend, prolly not. id rather hit em with a rifle. maybe a slugs but again, reloading and carrying would be tough.

[Jasongar8]

.22

9mm

.38

.223/5.56

7.62x39

[c.a.willard]

Just my thinking, but id stock up on two or three calibers of ammunition. My top 3 are 22LR, 9mm, and 223. There my picks because i can stock up on ammo fairly inexpensively, which also allows me to practice significantly more and because they maintain a lower weight so i can carry more further. And the reality (at least as i view it) is that if i can find a stock pile of ammo i can probably find the firearm that goes with it. IE .40 cal because its a common LEO round Your just as likely to find the gun as the ammo. So if i run low and have to switch to using calibers i find thats ok, ill grab up their gun along with it. Also im a minimalist, i like to reduce the variety as much as possible. My bug out kit has 3 guns. 1 AR, 1 G17, 1 G26. Then for the AR i have a .22 coversion kit and a complete spare parts kit. Eventually ill probably get a .22 kit for the Glock as well. Again this is just me not insulting any ones choice but sometimes less is more.

[Backon4]

I've got 22lr, .223, 9mm, .40, about to load 2k 45, 7.62 54r, and some 12g. I honestly can't see running out of ammo but the only other thing I can see maybe having is an AK and a couple of k of the 7.62 39.

[JAB]

I'm not sure how much advantage there would be in having the same caliber as local LEO. After all, in a TEOTWAWKI, SHTF. crisis situation how likely is it that the LEO who already have those ammo stores are just going to allow you to go 'shopping' in the local cop shop vs. the likelihood that at least some of those LEO will either have already taken those supplies or banded together to fortify and protect them?

Personally, I like having a variety of calibers to increase the chance that I will find ammo for something (more in case of another ammo shortage but I guess it would apply to SHTF, too.) Remember, in the last ammo shortage 9mm shelves cleared out pretty quickly because it is such a popular caliber. Same with .22LR. Eventually, .40 S&W shelves were empty - at about the same time that .38, .357 and .22WMR got scarce. The popular wisdom of 'choose what is popular so you can always find ammo' (which figured into my decision to go with 9mm Luger for centerfire, semiauto defensive handguns - after all, it is supposed to be the most widely used such caliber in the world) was dead wrong. In fact, at the height of the shortage just about the only handgun ammo that was widely available in large quantities was .25acp and .32acp (and close to the end of the shortage that started becoming a little more scarce, too.)

I really don't see me going on a forced march/bugging out and living off the land for months. I also don't have a fortified compound to which I can retreat. If SHTF, I'll likely be riding it out at home or 'retreating' to stay with relatives in the area.

Depending on the type of situation and how bad/long term the collapse is, I'm really not sure how long I'd make it without some of my meds. If I am going to croak, anyhow, I'll spend my last days at home or with family sleeping in a comfortable bed (and doing what I can to help ensure that at least some of them survive) while society collapses - not out running around, sleeping in the mud and living off of beetle and grub stew. For that reason, having consolidated and easy to carry ammo isn't as much of a concern for me.

in order of popularity, based on what I pick up (or see at the range; picked up ~10K this year)...

.22LR

9mm Lugar

.40 S&W

7.62x39

.223 Rem

.45ACP

The rest are just in the noise level.

Just wanted to point out that your method of evaluation (basing popularity on the empties collected at the range) likely skews your results. If I take a .38 or .357 to the range, there will be no brass to collect as revolvers don't throw it far and wide. I extract the empties and put them back in the box in the hopes that I will start reloading one of these days. The lower cost of 9mm factory ammo makes it less likely that I will go to the trouble of reloading that caliber so I am not as concerned about recovering/keeping 9mm brass - especially since autoloaders do throw the empties out. Notice that - with the exception of .22LR (which chambering can be found in just about any action type but in which semiautos are a popular choice), all of the calibers on your list are mainly fired in semiauto platforms.

Edited August 15, 2011 by JAB

[R_Bert]

Just wanted to point out that your method of evaluation (basing popularity on the empties collected at the range) likely skews your results. If I take a .38 or .357 to the range, there will be no brass to collect as revolvers don't throw it far and wide.

Considering I have picked up 300+ .38 Spl and ~100 .357 in the last two weeks.....I doubt it. The others were 500 - 1500 rounds (a half wheelbarrow load all total this last week).

Reloaders, and want to be reloaders are the exception. Most folks at the range dump their brass (and noodlers like me snatch it up), or worse, shooters put it in the box, and then dump it in the garbage (picked a few boxes out).

SO, .38 & .357 may be on the list, but are much lower usage rate than the others, maybe 1/3 to 1/2 that of .45 ACP.

[Jonnin]

nobody in for 12G? not really surprised. Cons: its heavy, large to carry. Pros: stops whatever it hits. easy to find.Im a pistol (close range), short range, long range guy. i have a few shotties but not sure if there will be one on my shoulder depending on the SHTF situation. if i need to bug in, yes. defend, prolly not. id rather hit em with a rifle. maybe a slugs but again, reloading and carrying would be tough.

I listed the 12ga. The cons, well compared to what? The ammo is heavy, but the gun isnt much heavier than a large caliber rifle, really any rifle that is not a tatical lightweight build or scout build is about the same. And, the pros include a very wide variety of ammo types. At short ranges, to defend my area, yes indeed. If they are out where I can pick them off with the rifle, that works too. If I have to reload my shotgun, it was the wrong tool for the job, more than 10 showed up and I should have grabbed the zombie rifle.

[JAB]

I listed the 12ga. The cons, well compared to what? The ammo is heavy, but the gun isnt much heavier than a large caliber rifle, really any rifle that is not a tatical lightweight build or scout build is about the same. And, the pros include a very wide variety of ammo types. At short ranges, to defend my area, yes indeed. If they are out where I can pick them off with the rifle, that works too. If I have to reload my shotgun, it was the wrong tool for the job, more than 10 showed up and I should have grabbed the zombie rifle.

I still like the good, old 12 gauge shotgun and wouldn't mind having another 12 gauge pump or two and maybe a few more break-action singles, eventually (if I could find some in good, working order for cheap.) I think that a few simple 12 gauge singles might be just the ticket for securing in the outbuildings, etc. just in case they are needed quickly. As I said, the only way I foresee going 'mobile' would be in a vehicle where weight of ammo/firearms would not be a major issue and most likely I'd be bugging in at home. There are very few 'clear line of sight' shots I could take around my house that would be too long even for a 12 gauge slug - maybe a Brenneke.

12 gauge loads with 7 1/2 shot would definitely not be the best defensive round. However, they would be okay for small game/bird subsistence hunting and might work okay at close range, in an extreme pinch, for defensive use (as I said, not the first choice but maybe as a last-ditch effort.) Such loads are available in 'bulk packs' and can be stocked in good quantities for relatively little expense. Honestly, I would think that in a long-term SHTF situation of a type that we would be most 'likely' to face (which still means not very likely), subsistence hunting would be a much more frequent role a firearm would need to play than fighting off hordes of Special Forces zombies. In such a case, the simple 12 gauge (or even 20 gauge) just might prove more useful than the most uber-tactical AR variant available (not that an AR couldn't be used for hunting, too.)

In addition to the field/small game loads, heavier loads are pretty easy to come by, as well. Even Walmart sells some brands/types of 12 gauge buckshot and slugs for not a lot of money. My theory is that, when it comes to obliterating flesh and maybe even bone at close quarters, pretty much anything in 12 gauge buckshot or slug - including the relatively cheap Remington or Winchester stuff - is going to work just fine without breaking the bank - thereby increasing the ability to build a pretty good stockpile of 12 gauge ammo even if by just buying a box or two of buckshot/slugs at a time.

Edited August 16, 2011 by JAB

[Guest gunrunner1979]

never count out the .22lr, if you know what you are doing you can take down anything from squirrel to deer

i agree with 9mm,45acp,5.56,7.62x39,7.62x51(.308),12ga

[Guest tenn]

9mm for handgun

7.62x39mm for the AK47 (primary rifle)

5.56x45mm for the AR15