Oddballs

[Ivan the Butcher]

.44 WCF
.44 Largo
.44-40 Win.

All three being the same makes it easy.
Jim

I never heard it called a Largo before!

I made a few 44 WCF extra long for shot shells from 444Marlin (303 Brit or 30-40US had also been recommended), I never got that project completed before I sold the guns!

Ivan

 

[Kurusu]

I never heard it called a Largo before!

I made a few 44 WCF extra long for shot shells from 444Marlin (303 Brit or 30-40US had also been recommended), I never got that project completed before I sold the guns!

Ivan

That's how the Spanish call it.

 

[Kurusu]

.44 WCF
.44 Largo
.44-40 Win.

All three being the same makes it easy.
Jim

You forgot the .44-40-200.

 

[bulletslap]

The odd balls I load for not mentioned yet.

300 Sherwood
40-65 Winchester
9x57 Mauser
9.3x72R

 

[jimbo728]

You forgot the .44-40-200.

Whoops!
Jim

 

[Kurusu]

The odd balls I load for not mentioned yet.


9.3x72R

Around here that's not such an oddball.

And Sellier & Bellot still carry it.

 

[bulletslap]

Yes they do carry it a at **** ton a box

 

[Kurusu]

Yes they do carry it a at **** ton a box

No one's perfect. And since it is a caliber that's mostly chambered in high end double rifles, at least across the "Big Pond", I don't think money is the issue for those who use it.

 

[bulletslap]

I have two Drillings that use it a Kettner and a Sauer, and Geeze o Pete the factory ammo is higher than ***** on a Ferris wheel!

 

[Kurusu]

I have two Drillings that use it a Kettner and a Sauer, and Geeze o Pete the factory ammo is higher than ***** on a Ferris wheel!

Having "rich folks" tastes. Implies "rich folks" prices.

But the good thing is. You can reload and dodge the bullet. So I'll admit it as an oddball caliber.

 

[Narragansett]

I found myself looking at an oddball the other day. 7 X 61 Sharpe and Hart. Very capable caliber.

I have had this conversation with a dealer friend of mine. Of course he disagrees. Obviously some calibers have evolved, and better steels brought on newer calibers, but I contend that there are just too many cartridges out there, which lends itself to creating oddballs and obsolescence.

I think one can accomplish anything with a good 22, a 6mm Remington, a 270/308/30-06 ( your choice), and a 375 H&H which is a handloaders dream. Just my .02

 

[fredj338]

I found myself looking at an oddball the other day. 7 X 61 Sharpe and Hart. Very capable caliber.

I have had this conversation with a dealer friend of mine. Of course he disagrees. Obviously some calibers have evolved, and better steels brought on newer calibers, but I contend that there are just too many cartridges out there, which lends itself to creating oddballs and obsolescence.

I think one can accomplish anything with a good 22, a 6mm Remington, a 270/308/30-06 ( your choice), and a 375 H&H which is a handloaders dream. Just my .02

Yeah but life would be boring. I choose a 280 over a 270 because the 270 is boring. 30cal is reallly boaring but very popular. I have one of each in a Garand, less boring. I prefer my 338-06 but its all personal pref. I wouldnt choose a 6mm if I could choose a 6.5.

 

[Ivan the Butcher]

I found myself looking at an oddball the other day. 7 X 61 Sharpe and Hart. Very capable caliber.

I have had this conversation with a dealer friend of mine. Of course he disagrees. Obviously some calibers have evolved, and better steels brought on newer calibers, but I contend that there are just too many cartridges out there, which lends itself to creating oddballs and obsolescence.

I think one can accomplish anything with a good 22, a 6mm Remington, a 270/308/30-06 ( your choice), and a 375 H&H which is a handloaders dream. Just my .02

7X61 S&H is just about the same as 7mm Remington Mag. but several years earlier. I tried to buy a set of used dies, thinking they were worth $10 or $20, as they were unmarked and that's what I get used dies for all the time! The guy was very firm and rude about the price: $75! At the time I could get them brand spanking new from Fred Huntington for less than $70!

Your comments about only needing a few rifles is something I have pondered many times. I came up with a three rifle group that can go after anything in the world: ALL IN RUGER NUMBER 1 RIFLES

218 Bee (or Hornet if you don't reload)

7x57 but use 275 Rigby ammo

375 H&H with 300 grain Spitzer bullets

You can hunt from Squirrels to Elephants and reload to match the game!

We just don't want this thread to become a, If I can only have 3 thread!

Ivan

 

[rockquarry]

I've had a couple of 7x61 Sharpe & Hart Magnums and still have a New Ultra Light Arms in that chambering. My favorite elk cartridge. There is slightly less powder capacity with the 7x61 than in a 7mm Remington Magnum, but ballistically, there's little difference between the two. Brass remains available.

 

[2152hq]

I like the old and odd caliber firearms.

The odd ones, or maybe not so odd but just hard(er) to find on a shelf :

401 WSL (brass made from 7.62x39)
455 Webley (I make brass from 45Colt)
470 Nitro Express
500x3in BPE
9.3x74R
9.3x72R
6.5,,8mm,,9.5mm Mannlicher Schoenauer
25, 30, 32 Remington Auto Rifle (35Rem too but it's not too odd, yet)
9x57 Mauser
6.5x53R Mannlicher (from 303Brit brass)
7.5 Swede Nagant revolver (cut down 218, 25-20, or 32-20 brass)
35-303 (Worn 303 Brit rebored to 35cal, neck opened for35. Have 2)
256 Newton (from 270Win brass. Actual groove dia is a .264.
280 Ross (from 300 H&H brass) 1910 Ross sporter.
25acp (very occasionally when I feel like the challenge)

But I seem to have accumulated a bunch of 30-06 caliber rifles over the years as well. Nothing wrong with those either.
I load for them as well as all some usual old school suspects.
8x57
7x57
303,,ect
Several common pistol calibers. 32,38,44, 45
Several die sets from guns and calibers I used to own and reload for like
30CArbine and 7.62Russian.
Never know when another deal will pop up!

I've never loaded for anything that's been tagged as 'new' since WW2 that I can think of. No 223, 40's, RUM's, Short Whizbang Magnums, ect.
Never owned any either!

Finding the time to reload is usually the problem.
Sometimes it's just finding the correct box with the dies in it that can be time consuming.

 

[Jellybean]

I have no idea what is available locally as I don't buy loaded ammunition, except for rimfire. which I haven't needed to buy in a long time. All the centerfire ammo I shoot I load myself, for now.

Most of my rifle ammo is pretty common, I do load .22 Hornet, .221 Fireball, 303 British and 8mm Mauser.

In revolvers I shoot .32 S&W, shorts and longs, .32 magnum, .32-20,.38 Short and Long Colt, .38 S&W. .41 Long Colt, .41 magnum, .44-40,.44 Russian and Special, .45 S&W, Colt and Auto Rim.

I don't shoot my semi auto's much due to health reasons, but do take them out once in a while. The less common ones are .25ACP, .32ACP, 9mm Makarov, .41 Action Express and .50 Action Express.

I do have a .400 Cor-bon barrel I picked up but never bought any dies for. While I'm not a big fan of bottlenecked pistol ammo I'm sort of building up an itch to shoot this one.

 

[MrG5122]

My .458 SOCOM has never had a factory round through it. At $3.25/bang I couldn't afford it. I load it for around 65 cents.

 

[Ivan the Butcher]

My .458 SOCOM has never had a factory round through it. At $3.25/bang I couldn't afford it. I load it for around 65 cents.

The only factory 338 Lapua I've fired was from Bitterroot Arsenal, it is horrid! About 3 to 4 MOA at 100 yards! My current loading is .25 MOA (1/2" at 200 yards) but I haven't been to a real range for a long time! This junk was $4.25, Most new ammo I've seen was $8.50-$10.00 a round. The last batch of Lapua brand brass was listed at $235/100, bullets are about 85 cents and uses 94.0 grains of Retumbo and a Federal 215M primer, so about $4 with vergin brass, and about $1.50 a reload. My previous load would do 2.5-3 inches at 500 yards, with the new load I'm looking to get that 1000!

Ivan

 

[Muddyboot]

The .41 Long Colt is what started me in reloading. Through the years I've adopted a few more oddball rounds.

.41 Long Colt
.351 Winchester Loading
.401 Winchester
6.5 x 54 Mannlicher Schonauer