Which Guns Would You Pick If You Don't Reload?

Interesting replies. Some calibers I never would have considered if I didn't reload, such as 45 Colt. I've seen some on the shelves, BUT it's quite pricy at $40 a box currently.
 
I dont reload much but I do buy guns with no regard to whether i reload or not. I get both common and more obscure cartridges

What I do though is make sure there is adequate ammo supply now. Since i am hunting focused I dont need thousands of rounds to burn up but I do want more than enough for a bit of practice and then a lifetime of hunting if it comes to that.

So I will buy AT LEAST 200 rounds of ammo at the same time that I buy any gun that I dont already have an ammo supply for.

I jiust bought a 270. Common as mud but I have never had one. So now I have a few hundred rounds.
 
I've been a shooter for almost 60 years, and didn't take up reloading until about a year ago. The rifles I owned then are chambered for 30-06, 7.62 X 39, .30 Carbine, .45 Colt, and .22 Lr. So that's only 5 calibers. I don't know which one of those I'd want to shed. I guess if I was hard-pressed, I'd have 30-06, 7.62 X 39, and .45 Colt (the latter being the most fun for both loading and shooting).

Edited to add: apparently, I misunderstood the thrust of the original question, as being about rifles. If the question is directed toward all firearms, well: 12 gauge shotgun, 30-06, and .38 special. I have far more shotguns and pistols than I do rifles.
 
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I wouldn't have my 222, 6mm, 303 Savage, or 38-40 if I didn't reload. Definitely would still have the 30-30, 30-06, maybe the 243, along with the 357's, 9mm, and all the rimfires and shotguns. I would have never started reloading in the first place if it hadn't been for my 222 however. Since then, cost of ammo isn't a consideration if I want to add another rifle to the stable, so long as I can find brass and bullets.

Mac
 
I would try to remember what was on the shelf during the last ammo shortage and add that to my list. 350 legend, 7mm-08, 30-06,12ga and 7.62x39. All those are not my first choice but I remember seeing that ammo on the shelf.
Maybe that's why I reload
 
Ks5shooter said:
Bought soooo much ammo years ago when it was very cheap.I will die and be leaving 7.62x39 ammo to next of kin.
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Same here. It was $0.10/round back in the 90s for Chinese or mil-surp, and I bought loads, along with Winchester and Remington soft-points. Then, I inherited a couple of cases last spring of Chinese and Iraqi milsurp. Unless there is some sort of military action in the country, I have much more than I could ever use.
 
definitely my 32-20 lever guns,
and my .375 H&H

seriously though, I remember when I didn't reload, my interests were definitely in common calibers, .357, .45, 9mm, .223, and common hunting rifle calibers. I wouldn't give a second glance to most "rare" calibers unless I knew at least two places in town I could go right then and buy ammo.
 
An easier decision would be "what would I part with IF I didn't reload?"

7.65 Luger
357Sig

6mm SLR
8x68S
358Win
350 Rem Mag
8.15x46R
40-70 Win (Improved)
.45-90 2.4"
.45-100 2.6"


The rest I can pretty easily find factory ammo for, but I just wouldn't end up shooting them much.
 
NIGHTLORD40K said:
Reloading isn't really an option for my situation, so I've brutally culled most the weird and expensive cartridges from my inventory.
Lets me stock the remainder deeper.
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OK… for me, I look for weird and expensive to reload.

ever heard of a 9mm Nickel??? my shop had a CZ WW2 post probably in that caliber

But if I didn’t reload, 9mm & .223… cuz it’s the cheapest
 
Bazoo said:
So I got to thinking; What guns and in what calibers would I be interested in if I did not cast or reload?
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Looking at the responses, and my own opinion, I say the real question is "...what calibers would I be capable of shooting if I did not cast or reload..."

The answer is easy - the ammo that you can readily obtain these days, like .22LR, .223, 9mm, .45, etc.

I might be interested in shooting the .257 Roberts or 7.65 Argentine, but if I can't easily obtain the ammo then I'm not going to be shooting much. Too bad. There are a lot of bullets that are becoming "weird calibers." That's a shame. Anyone notice how our "retail landscape" here in the U.S. has steadily grown to be standardized and the diversity of products has shrunk? Going shopping is going to resemble going to the commissary someday - you get what you get.
 
My #1 pet hunting rifle for some 35 years was my Weatherby Mk V in .30-'06. 26" barrel, Canjar trigger, Leupold 3-9x40 scope. Quite reliably Sub-MOA. In my younger and healthier years the weight was no problem. Basically, anything inside of 500 yards belonged to me.

Then my legs cheated and got old, so I changed to a Remington 700 Ti in 7mm08. 6.5 pounds, fully dressed and ready to hunt. That added some years to my walking-hunting.
 
If I didn't reload, I'd probably sink all my centerfire efforts into 357 Magnum/38 Special. I'd have a Blackhawk with convertible cylinder for 9mm to use the most common caliber I could find. That and 22LR would be about all I'd shood.

Of course, 12 gauge. But I think that goes without saying.
 
Any shotgun ammo as I don't have the press for it. When I 1st started reloading 357sig and 300bo would've stopped right there as those 2 were a PITA at 1st. If I stopped reloading for any cartridges I have it would be every pistol cartridge. Rifle cartridges are way more expensive to stop reloading for excluding 556 and 308.
 
Savage30L said:
Same here. It was $0.10/round back in the 90s for Chinese or mil-surp, and I bought loads, along with Winchester and Remington soft-points. Then, I inherited a couple of cases last spring of Chinese and Iraqi milsurp. Unless there is some sort of military action in the country, I have much more than I could ever use.
Click to expand...
Yep miss those days,leaving gunshow followed by a guy with a dolly with 5 cases...lol
 
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