Confession - I am a caliber junkie...

[awp101]

Hello, my name is awp101 and I am a caliber junkie.

I've always been facsinated by not only firearms but the ammuniton they use. It started with the calibers I grew up with (.30-30, .30-06, .22, etc) and once I became interested in military history it expanded into those calibers used in various conflicts such as .303 Brit, 8mm Mauser, 9mm, 6.5 and 7.7 Japanese, etc.

Growing up (which some claim I've NEVER done! ) in the 70s and 80s I became aware of the "Evil Empire" and the oddball calibers they issued. 7.62x54R, 7.62x39, 5.45x39, 9x18 Makarov. It was years before I figured out the "R" in 7.62x54R meant Rimmed, not Russian and when I first read of an AK74 I was CONVINCED the author had dyslexia and the editor missed it.

I was content reading about and using the above calibers. Sure, I'd heard of the .45 Colt and .44-40 in passing along with the .30-40 Krag and 6.5 Swede but they didn't interest me much. Same with the .38 Special, .357, .44 Mag, .45ACP, .32ACP and .380ACP. Then I found the internet and realized not only was there something to those calibers but there was a whole passel that were totally new to me.

One day a couple of years ago I asked on another forum about lever actions and was pointed here. I started reading about .30-20, .32-40, .35 Remington, .32 Win Special and .38-40. Holy cow, MORE stuff I'd never heard of and of course I needed to research them and own as many as I could. The research led me to the works of P.O. Ackley, Cartridges of the World and the ultimate den of sin: Wildcat Cartridges Vol I & II.

CotW and Wildcat Cartridges Vol I & II have become constant companions recently. Each time I open one, some new caliber jumps out and says "Build me! Do something with me!" Of course I don't have the time, resources or talent to do it myself or have it done for most of these but it's fun to think about.

Finally it hit me yesterday as I was reading about some wildcat I ran across while looking for info on ANOTHER wildcat: I have no use for any new calibers. Anything these wildcats can do, I probably have a factory round (or at least access to a factory round) that can do the same thing, if not cheaper, certainly with less work. Yet the voices continue...

How can you argue with names like .218 Mashburn Bee, 6.53 Scramjet, .219 Zipper, .450 Assegai, .22 Long Snapper, .25 Hornet, .17 Mach IV, .240 Cobra, .375 Whisper, .257 Mini Dreadnaught, and .22-.30-30?

You can't....well, I can't anyway. I've quit wondering "What use do I have for that?" and just finally admitted to myself that I am a caliber junkie. I may never own most of these cartridges, in fact I'll probably never get a hold of more than 2-3 of them if that many. But I still plan on having fun reading up on them and dreaming...

[Old Savage]

I like to try and also reload as many as I can. I have records on about 24,000 rounds reloaded.

[AJMD429]

How can you argue with names like .218 Mashburn Bee, 6.53 Scramjet, .219 Zipper, .450 Assegai, .22 Long Snapper, .25 Hornet, .17 Mach IV, .240 Cobra, .375 Whisper, .257 Mini Dreadnaught, and .22-.30-30?

My favorite is the ".22 Velo Dog"

[BenT]

I reference those two books alot . But your missing one . The handloaders manual of cartridge conversions by Donnely and Towsley. Not only does it list alot of cartridges but tells you how to make the brass from standard cases. Also Wildcat Cartridges by Zeglin is a very good read about looking into all the aspects of wildcats.

I'm sorry I can tell that there is no hope for your addiction , so I thought I would feed it a little.

[awp101]

BenT I saw the conversion book at a local 'smith shop today but didn't want to pony up $40 yet.

[Rusty]

Uh Oh... I bet someone will be burning up the search engine over on Amazon.com in short order.

[mescalero1]

OK,
5.7mm Johnson
got it in a .30 cal carbine
MUCHO fun
hi cap mags
everyone thinks it's a .30 carbine
the dipsticks do not THINK it is an EBR
Yep wildcats, mucho fun

[airedaleman]

And don't forget one of the pioneers in cartridge conversions: Major George C. Nonte and his "Home Guide to Cartridge Conversions." Still have the one I bought in 1967.

[Andrew]

Finally it hit me yesterday as I was reading about some wildcat I ran across while looking for info on ANOTHER wildcat: I have no use for any new calibers. Anything these wildcats can do, I probably have a factory round (or at least access to a factory round) that can do the same thing, if not cheaper, certainly with less work.

It would probably be easily proved, to most peoples satisfaction, that the overlap in performance between cartridges is astronomical.

Some of that stuff is pretty neat though, and it's hard to knock creativity in ones hobbies.

[oldmax]

Great post , Thanks "awp" & All.

Good Read, ( Keeps this site interesting ).

Just Hope I don't run across any of the afore mentioned books,,

[TedH]

Yep, this hobby could get pretty boring if all we had were the 38 Spl and 30-30.

[Old Savage]

I don't have any odd ones but let's not forget the 220 Jaybird.

[BenT]

Awp 101 , if you have a Borders around you join their Rewards Plan . They E-mail offers and about once every 6 weeks you get a 20 to 33 % off coupon. That is how I got that book . They even ordered it up with the discount. They can do that depending on the supplier. In the last couple of years that is how I have gathered some good reference books at a discount. Otherwise Midway has better prices than Amazon I have also bought some from
http://www.gunshowbooks.com/ . They keep everything they sell in stock . Prices usually only go up when they restock .

[Ysabel Kid]

So, how many calibers do you currently need to feed?

[awp101]

Finally it hit me yesterday as I was reading about some wildcat I ran across while looking for info on ANOTHER wildcat: I have no use for any new calibers. Anything these wildcats can do, I probably have a factory round (or at least access to a factory round) that can do the same thing, if not cheaper, certainly with less work.

It would probably be easily proved, to most peoples satisfaction, that the overlap in performance between cartridges is astronomical.

Some of that stuff is pretty neat though, and it's hard to knock creativity in ones hobbies.

Used to be, wildcats were created to fill a need (ie something better for varminting other than a .22 or .30 cal) or to at least to try and improve upon a factory cartridge (ie Ackley's work).

Now it seems it's just to have something different.

So, how many calibers do you currently need to feed?

Wow, I was hoping to avoid thinking about that one...

Let's see here, I have to feed: .22LR, .22H, .223/5.56, 5.45x39, .30-30, .308, .30-06, 7.62x39, 7.62x54, .303 Brit, 7.5 Swiss, .45ACP, .45 Colt, .45-70, .45-120, .38-40, .32-20, .32 H&R Mag, .380 ACP, 9x18, 9x19, .357, .40, .44 Mag, 12ga....and that's just the smokeless stuff I can think of offhand, it doesn't include the BP other than the .45-120....... Plus I want a .32 ACP (cz 83 to complete the caliber collection they are commonly found in), a 6.5-.303 I ran across, a .35 Rem, a .38-55, a .22 Long Snapper andandand

Honestly, I could live/survive with only 3-4 of those calibers and be set for 99.9% of anything that came my way unless it's heavily armored.

But that's no fun!

[3leggedturtle]

m the same way want a contender carbine barrel in .30 mauser and the .22 carbine and .30 carbine. still have 1000 308 mil-brass for my soon to be 308. and the 250 cobra (25/220 swift) is on my short list which is about 3 years old. yep it never ends.