Oddballs

[Ivan the Butcher]

In the thread about range brass, the reoccurring term was "Oddball". If you can't walk into the discounter (Wal-Mart, K-Mart and the like) or a small gunshop, and buy ammo for your gun, that would qualify as Oddball.

What are the Oddballs we are loading these days, I'll start:

Rifles:

22 K-Hornet

221 Fireball

8x56R Mannlecher Hungarian (uses .330 to .333 bullets!)

6.5 Carcano

6.5 x 54 MS

6.5 & 7.7 Japanese

45-90 Winchester (45 2 1/2" Sharpe's)

50-50 Carbine

450x 3 1/4 Nitro Express

264 Win Mag

6mm x 284 Winchester

6mm PPC

22 Bench Rest (Remington chamber as opposed to Norma)

Pistols:

32 S&W Short

38 Short and Long Colt

9mm x21 Largo

9mm x23 Mauser

357 Remington Max.

44 Russian

45 Scofield & 45 Army

45 Auto Rim

These are some of the 117 cartridges I reload.

What do you reload to keep the old gun's running?

Ivan

 

[colt_saa]

Not necessarily old, but definitely odd ball (I like Odd Ball) and most likely not on the Walmart/K-Mart shelves

22TCM

300 Weatherby Magnum

38/357 B&D

356TSW

9x23 Winchester

357/45 GWM

357 Maximum

10MM Magnum

414 SuperMag

45-70

50AE

50BMG

There might be others that I hand load, but they do not come to mind at the moment

 

[THE PILGRIM]

Have loaded 218 Bee and 45 Auto Rim.
One more - 22 Jet, you bet!

 

[Hairtrigger]

Mine are
22-454
7int-x
225 win
6mm ppc and 22 ppc
Rem model 8 marked 25-35rem later called 25 rem

 

[glowe]

I reload to give myself the ability to vary charges and bullets without having to search for what I need online or in stores. I also reload because it is a much less expensive option to feeding my revolvers and rifles, but not because they are not available. Online offers practically any caliber ever made, but the prices can be outrages. One of your picks, 45-90 is readily available online, but prices are way to high for me at $65 shipped for 20 rounds at Buffalo Arms.

My list is short, but am finding this ammo is almost impossible to find even online. For example, several sites list 45-75 Winchester for example, but none show it as available. Even the brass is almost all gone, so one needs to re-form 50-90 in order to shoot the rifle.

32 Rimfire
38-44 Target
45-75 Winchester

 

[colt_saa]

I reload to give myself the ability to vary charges and bullets without having to search for what I need online or in stores.

I agree, the Primary reason that I hand load is because I enjoy it, the bonus is that it allows me to shoot cartridges that are not easily available.

Hand loading has allowed me much experimentation outside of the customary projectiles for an individual cartridge.

For example I recently worked up a subsonic, 240 grain JHP, 10MM Auto loading for use in the Governments next generation of integrally suppressed 10MM Auto SMGs. These are the prototype projectiles that I am working with

If I did not find hand loading and Internal/External/Terminal Ballistics enjoyable then it really does not matter how much money I am saving or how many odd ball cartridges it allows me to fire, I would not do it

 

[steelslaver]

22 Jet
22 Harvey Kay Chuck (wildcat)
350 Remington Mag
30-338

 

[george_lehr]

I hand load:
.32 Long
.32 H&R magnum
.327 Federal magnum
.41 Special (Starline cases)

 

[LoboGunLeather]

The "oddball" category is where the fun begins! Sources for brass, bullets, primers, reloading dies, and lots of other stuff are like a big global treasure hunt!

.45-90 Winchester
.45 Sharps Express
.401 Winchester
.351 self-loading
.33 Winchester
.218 Bee
.25-20 Winchester
.25-20 Single Shot
.30 Remington
.35 Whelen
.22 Savage High Power

and a dozen others I have piddled around with over the years. Then there are the non-standard (wildcat) rounds:

8mm-06 (moderately popular after WW2 when returning GI's had captured German rifles in 8X57 but no source of brass, so the rifles were rechambered to accept .30-06 cases necked up to 8mm).
6.5-.257 (captured Japanese rifles rechambered for the .257 Roberts case necked up to 6.5mm).
.35-30-30 (popular conversion of lever action rifles during the 1950's and 1960's, rebored to .35 caliber and using necked-up .30-30 brass).

and a couple of my own concoction:

6X45 (.223 Rem necked up to 6mm, a fine lightweight rifle for deer and antelope).
8.5X51 (.308 Win necked up to .338. I did mine about 24 years ago as a lightweight elk rifle. Federal later came along with the standardized .338 Federal, which is the same thing).

Some (like the .45-70 Gov't and .44-40) are older designs than any of the above, but have remained in general production so they don't require nearly as much effort or expense to keep shooting).

Still hoping to find a .318 Westley-Richards one of these days, perhaps some of the other fine British rifles made for the India and Africa hunters. Fascinating stuff!

 

[brucev]

Odd balls? Have loaded for 7.92x57 Mauser (8mm) b/c I liked the M-98 rifle series and wanted to have ammo loaded to the full potential of the round. Loaded by domestic companies, the round is about like a .30-30 Winchester. Loaded ala European style, it is a fire breathing thumper suitable for anything in North America. As I loaded it, it was very useful for anything in the southeast United States. Sincerely. bruce.

 

[rockquarry]

How about the .22 Long Snapper, .219 Zipper, .22-30/30 Improved, .375 Whelen Improved, and .411 Hawk? I've loaded for these and maybe that many more other weirdo cartridges and had no regrets in parting with any of the guns, brass, or dies.

The odd stuff was all fun to work with at one time. However, the "time" just didn't last long. Sort of like swaging jacketed handgun bullets.

 

[fredj338]

I have always had a love for the oddball stuff with guns, mostly rifles.
260AI
6.8spc
7mm tcu
7mm Dakota
280 rem
338-06
338-74K
375 Win
404 Jeffery
41mag just because it is a stepchild

 

[walnutred]

While I don't presently load for these in the past the list would have included:

32 Long Rimfire, 50 Government Carbine and 7x57 Ackley Improved.

 

[HKSmith]

I reload .25 ACP (not an Oddball, but few people bother with it), .32 S&W, .38 S&W, .45 Auto Rim, and .455 Webley. This is in addition to all the "usual" handgun cartridges. The Webley is probably the oddest of the lot, but nowhere near as some of the cartridges the OP and others mentioned.

 

[Just another 22 shooter]

22 TCM
221 Fireball
222 Rem
38 Super

 

[k22fan]

In the thread about range brass, the reoccurring term was "Oddball". If you can't walk into the discounter (Wal-Mart, K-Mart and the like) or a small gunshop, and buy ammo for your gun, that would qualify as Oddball.

What are the Oddballs we are loading these days, I'll start:

Rifles:

50-50 Carbine

Pistols:

9mm x23 Mauser

These are some of the 117 cartridges I reload.

What do you reload to keep the old gun's running?

Ivan

Your thread about range brass asked what oddball military cartridges we still load for. That made my list short, .303 British, 8x57mm, and 7.5x55mm. The list of cartridges Wally World does not stock that I reloaded for in the past and mostly still have dies for would be long but not as long as your list. Not in Wal-Mart is a pretty low hurdle to jump.

Two cartridges on your list caught my eye, .50-50 carbine because I'm not familiar with it and 9x23 Mauser because the only gun I know of being made for it was the rare Broom Handle Mauser. Do you own that pistol and please describe the .50-50 carbine cartridge.

Rather than trying to remember my list again I'll ask if a member has a die set they'd sell for a revolver that I bought without researching how hard it is to get dies for, my .375 Super Mag. It is a left over from when long range silhouette matches were popular. The brass is made by shortening .375 Winchester cases.

 

[Nevada Ed]

Years ago I had a brother in-law that had a custom rifle made
that was called the .264 Newton.

Great looking design for a wild cat and it was quite accurate with
a 140gr Sierra bullet.

 

[Kurusu]

Mmm. My oddball ammo are.

7,65 Parabellum
7,63 Mauser
7,62 Tokarev
9mm Browning long.

Good luck finding any of my brass after I leave the range.

 

[SMSgt]

Do or have reloaded .30 Herrett, 9mm Makarov from 9mm Parabellum cases, 6mm Mongoose (.223 altered to 6mm wildcat).

 

[Walter Rego]

I load for the .22 Remington Centerfire Magnum (.22 Jet), .256 Winchester Magnum and 7.5 Swiss Ordnance Revolver.