Opinions: consolidating ammo/platforms

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Big Mike

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Hello,

Seeking opinions: I'm considering consolidating my ammo/handguns. Currently I have a small revolver (.357) for carry and a full size auto (.40) for the home. I'm thinking of either getting a small .40 for carry (i.e. 4053) or a GP100/Police Service six for the home.

I shoot either revolver and auto fairly well and have no real preference for either caliber, but do like the versatility of the .357/.38, though it's not a deal breaker. I don't hunt, I don't reload, don't shoot as much as I'd like to but have the ultimate goal to be able to reload, but for a variety of reason's that's put off for now.

Does anyone else have such set ups? After years of owning a variety of handguns with different calibers, I'm wanting to trim down the total numbers of different handgun ammo that I use. Thoughts and opinions are appreciated-no wrong answers here. Thanks, Mike
 
Diversify!

The more calibers you own, the better chance you have of finding some ammo for one of them.

rc
 
I could never have only two handguns. If I did, then I'd want them to cover as many roles for me as possible.

Carrying a fullsize auto isn't that hard as long as it's done with a proper holster set up. Not all holsters work the same.

If you're going to stock up for your chosen calibers, it's easier to do that when you only need to stock up for a couple.

On the other hand, as has been pointed out, the more calibers means you can find something that you can use easier, but it's harder to stock up for it.

I say, but whatever gun you think you need (except a .380, as ammo for that is scarce all over) but I'd look more at compatibility between guns.

If your .40 is a Glock 22, then look at a Glock 23, or a 27 if you can handle it well enough.

Seems like the GP-100 for home defense would supplant the full size .40, so unless you're going to sell the .40, you're doubling up for the same role.

I'd be curious what your current handguns are, specifically, as that may have an impact on your choice.

Are these the only two handguns you currently own ?

Is there another want/need that these two guns cannot fulfill?

How much ammo for each do you have on hand RIGHT NOW ?

.
 
Fullsize is 4043, so a 4053TSW could take the fullsize 11 rd. mags. My revolver is a Ruger SP-101 .357. My other handguns are .22 and .22mag (of which I have lots of ammo and is readily available nearly everywhere). I also have long guns/shotguns. Got a couple hundred rounds of everything on hand right now.
 
My two centerfire handgun choices would be different....

What role do you think needs to be filled with a 3rd centerfire handgun?

.
 
I consolidated several years ago and I'm glad I did. I limited my handgun calibers to 22, 357/38, 9mm, 45 acp -- sold off my 10mm & 40 S&W guns. I would recommend you consolidate based on calibers you like shooting & ammo you can afford to buy (not reload).
 
all my handguns are .40 s&w, glock 23, sa xd service model, and a kahr k-40, they can feel any niche that i need them too, ccw, home defense, as well as competetion. they are all ran hard and i know that they are more than capable to handle anything that i can out them through.
 
Thanks to all responding.

As to the roles and needs, uses of these pistols will be limited to target shooting/self-defense. I cover my primary means of home defense with my Rem. 870.

I ask as I have never "consolidated" in this regard and have at one time owned .22, .22 mag, .380, .38/.357, 9mm, .40 S&W, .45ACP, nearly all at the same time. As such, I often found myself out of ammo on about half the pistols at any given time. I know people who have consolidated and found it rewarding. I the caliber/platform with the greatest flexibility is the .38/.357, but my needs are much more narrow (noted above). Thanks, Mike
 
From a survivalist standpoint; if I wanted to consolidate, I'd choose the 357 magnum round. I'd buy a 4" revolver for home. A 2" for carry. A Winchester or similar rifle. I'd then gradually get all the 38special, 38specila +P, 357 mag Hollow Point; and 357 mag SP and keep building it up. I'd basically load up all 4 style of ammo with 125 and 158 grain. Because it's not military rounds, it's actually not as hard to find available. There are places online. I just received 500 rounds of 38 special wadcutters. Great for plinking; and because there's no copper jacket; it's also good for self defense. I would load up about 500 rounds of SP for hunting if needed. I'd load up about 500 rounds of Hollow Point for defensive purposes. And then I would load up about 100 rounds of FMJ or Lead for plinking. Then, as the wal-marts and gun stores had them available; I would modestly buy 1-2 boxes a month of whatever was available. ($50 a month). Then I would continue doing that forever until buying ammo was no longer allowed; or I was too old to use it. And then, I would keep the 2" revolver and a couple of boxes of 38+P for home defense, and give the rest to my kids for their future. I would also have a 22LR rifle and have at least 2 bricks (1000 rounds) of hollow points. Then again, that's if I was a survivalist.

Being I'm not a survivalist, I keep 9 different calibers of pistol and rifle. And I keep about 1000 rounds of each pistol caliber and a few hundred of each rifle caliber. But I also shoot these regularly. A 1000 rounds sound like a lot, but that's only 20 boxes. And if I shoot 2 boxes of each caliber a month, that's gone in 9-10 months.
 
if reloading is in the future, then I ask- have you been saving your 357/38 spl brass? if so, another revolver might make more sense as its hard to lose brass from a wheel gun.

that being said, scrounging 40 sw brass right now, is relatively easy.
 
Maybe another way to ask, is to play on a regularly asked question, if you could only have two pistols what would they be and why?

Not an uber survivalist, but in all things human want to be prepared as much as I can. My rationale is that I'd rather be confident that any of my two pistols can shoot the same round.

I have been saving my .357 brass...
 
Two or three calibers isn't too many to have and stock up for, so I wouldn't worry too much about getting "enough" ammo for each. ("enough" meaning different things to different people)

It sounds like you're willing to go with three centerfire handguns.

If you only have one .357, then a 5-shot snubby is a poor choice, as it doesn't begin to take advantage of the caliber and is hard to shoot well, especially at speed. It may fill a specific niche well, which may be enough, but as an "all-around," it's severely lacking.

Were I to suggest to a non-reloading gun person what 3 guns to get to fulfill the needs you list (carry, defense, recreational) I'd suggest these:

4" or 6" .357 double action revolver, such as the S&W Model 686, 19/66 or a Ruger GP-100. If a 4" is chosen, it's still feasible to carry it concealed, while a 6" might be more accurate for most folks. (due to longer sight radius)

For carry, a Glock 26 or 19 or a S&W M&P Compact, or a 3" XD, all in 9mm. 9mm ammo is cheaper and easier to find than any other semi-auto caliber right now. If you're set on .40, then you can swap out these choices for their twins in .40 if desired.

For an "all-around" semi-auto, the Glock 34/35, the S&W 5" M&P Pro, or the XD 5". All but the M&P Pro are available in .40. (the 4" M&P is available in .40)
Still carryable if needed, but easier to shoot well, again due to longer sight radius. Any of these guns can be competitively used for IPSC or IDPA matches providing fun and skill building opportunities.
 
Ok, so now you're asking what TWO pistols..........

It would depend greatly upon the circumstances. Laws ? Economic compelled sell-off? Two to take to escape disaster?

Two CENTERFIRE or are rimfires included? Two registered frames? Two for ME, or two per person in family ?

If it were due to laws (you can only own two registered handguns) then I'd pick an STI 2011 and a S&W Model 29 w/ 5" barrel. (at least, these are the choices today!)

I can have a top end in various calibers for the STI, keeping high capacity capability. It wouldn't be too big to hide in a KyTac BraveHeart holster (www.kytac.com) and I could use it in IPSC and IDPA matches in several divisions.

The Model 29 would cover the power end of the spectrum, picking up where the 10mm top end for the STI leaves off.

.
 
If I was going to consolidate for the sake of ammo storage I would go with the .40SW over the .357 for several reasons. These days with Moon clip revolvers the .40 is a more versatile platform since it is available in revolver, pistol, and carbine. Second, since it is widely used by police it is usually available to someone willing to look. Also because it is a police standard there are many factory load options from CCI shotshells to heavy performance loads. If it were me I would look into trading the small .357 for a S&W 310 in 10mm/.40SW. and hang on to the 4043. I hope my reasoning helps.
 
I have a Witness Match 10mm, I decided I am going to buy all but the .38Super of the Witness slides (and a 40 S&W LS Barrel) so I can shoot anything that I come across.
 
As I had posted separately, I have been decreasing my pistol calibers without even realizing it. While I have no intention to sell the firearms, I no longer buy or keep .38spl, .357 Magnum, .40SW and have pretty-much consolidated down to .45ACP and .22lr.

I still have a case or so of 9mm FMJ plus a few boxes of JHP, but that's just because I don't shoot the stuff anymore.
 
I did it. My primary calibers are 9mm and 5.56/.223, I can stock a large amount of ammo in these two calibers or a little bit in a lot of different calibers, I chose to consolidate. Here's what I carry and what I carry them for:
9mm
Duty - Beretta 8000D
BUG/Off duty - Custom S&W 360J
Off duty - Kahr CW9
Carbine - Kel-tec SUB-2000 (rides in my gear bag)

5.56/.223
Patrol Rifle - Bushmaster C15M4
????? - Kel-tec PLR-16 (will probably replace the SUB-2000 in my gear bag)

Of course, like most of us I have some other guns in other calibers but they are plinkers and fun guns, for the ones I carry daily and shoot/train with alot it made sense for me to consolidate.
 
that being said, scrounging 40 sw brass right now, is relatively easy.
Click to expand...

I'd agreed with your six months ago at our club, in fact that's why I got into .40S&W full sized guns, just too much free brass on the ground to ignore. But lately I'm finding more .45ACP brass laying around than .40S&W and all most as much .38Super -- two calibers that have been most shot by reloaders for a long time. I don't know if our local LE now want their empties back after issuing ammo, or its just scroungers beat me to it :)

I'm definitely in the multi caliber camp, although I see the attraction of standardizing on one or a few, I like to shoot and enjoy shooting what's cheapest at the moment.

--wally.
 
Maybe I missed something here, but aside from the .22s, you only mentioned .38/.357 and .40 in centerfire. I don't see how you could simplify this any further if you are going to shoot both revolvers and semi-autos.
 
I chose the wrong three for my primaries and backup> My primary is .40, my secondary is 9MM and my backup is .380. I don't have a ammo problem, I have always kept at least a 1,000 rounds for each caliber and each gun
 
I went with .357/.38 and .22 WMR. Prefer shooting revolvers, and the .357 provided me the power and longer range I wanted. The .22 WMR was what the .22LR wanted to be, longer range/more power, but still small lightweight cartridge.
 
While the .357 and "friends" are NOT my personal favorites, the scarceness of ammo is a good reason to have one gun that shoots 3 "different" calibers. I went through this same excercise, sort of, a while back when contemplating selling my .40 S&W. I'm rather heavily "invested" in 9mm, and it certainly isn't my favorite either, but when i started my affair with it, I was still in the military and it was my issue sidearm. I like the .40 better, but now isn't a good time to diversify for economic reasons. I'm a .45 guy, but the .357 family has it's own benefits. You'd do well with one. If you already own a .40, well, another one of those wouldn't be a bad choice either. I got rid of all my "only have one gun in this caliber" wonderguns. Simplify, streamline, and practice. Maybe one day, I'll regrow my collection, just not any time soon I'm afraid.
 
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