ORPHAN CALIBERS

Hunting rifle ammo if you use OTC ammo is a couple boxes likely. Not a case of each caliber.

You hit the nail on the head. There are lots of us on forums that brag about having the foresight to buy cases and cases of 9mm, 223 and 22 LR. In my 40 years of being a gun enthusiast I have never once heard of anyone buying more than a few boxes of 30-30 or other ammo for their hunting rifle. And the people I know that enjoy oddball cartridges reload.

When ammo is flying off the shelves at high prices it makes sense for manufacturers to produce cartridges people will buy by the case, not the box.

Once the price of 9mm gets down to the point it is more profitable to have production runs of 38 Special, 357, and 30-30 than keep cranking out 9mm and 223 as fast as they can they will.
 
in 1985 i bought a remington 700 custom classic in remimington 350 magnum. they use to make the custom classic in a different caliber every year.

remington was the only company that loaded said round and they have since discontinued it. they loaded a 250 gr in the 60s but only the 200 in the 80s.

i have enough to hunt with forever. even picked up a box of the 250s at a gun show years ago. i don't hunt it anymore and have been thinking about letting it go.

if you find any for sale it's gonna go $100 and up. don't know what i'm going to do with it. kenny :(

I don't think anyone other then Remington ever made 350 mag ammo. Unless you need to buy food, I'd keep that bad boy. That is just a really cool caliber. Plus, if you've hunted with it, you probably have some good memories that pop up when you look at it. I can never part with guns that I've hunted with.
 
That computer that was suppose to expand your purchasing choices did exactly the opposite. It counts the boxes of Xcaliber ammo sold. That determines if it is kicked back to limited run or dropped altogether. The old classics like 30/30 and 270, ect will be limited runs. Good luck if you are shooting a 257 or 35Rem. Even worse 25/20 or 30/40. Don’t worry if the big boys don’t figure it’s profitable small companies are going to supply your ammo at $3 to $5 per round.
In this time of panic and civil unrest they can sell all the para military ammo they can squeeze out. SD, HD and CCWs have kept the shooting industry afloat for last 30yrs. Every panic is worse than the last. Most that are caught short are what I call sociable hunters and shooters. In other words it’s not a everyday or major pursuit for them.
 
Was at the range today for a class. Ended up sitting next one of the owners of one of the largest LGSs in the area. Ammo was a hot topic of conversation. He has contacts at the major ammo makers. He said that certain calibers are just not being made. Classic calibers, 30/30 Win, 30.06, .38spl. .357mag. etc. are not high on the list for production. Only 2 days per month are dedicated to the production of such calibers. Just blows my mind. He gets a few cases and they are gone in 2 days. But he has 9mm, .223/5.56, 308 by the pallet. Did not ask about prices. If you are looking for such calibers, call the stores often and be ready to jump in the truck with some $$$$.
You suppose it is coincidental that those are cartridges/calibers used by the military arms? Anybody with a P92 (or any other 9mm pistol, as far as that goes), an AR or M1A is good to go.

Try finding .44 Special ammunition. It is easier to find gold nuggets in the streams than .44 Special ammunition. I'm okay because I reload, but factory ammunition is unobtanium.
Try finding .41 Magnum, it's just as rare. But like you, I reload, and have saved up a crapton of brass, and bullets can be found. Oddly, I found a bag of 100 new .44 Spl. brass at my LGS the other day; I should have bought it, because I do have a gun I can shoot it in (M29-2), but it's also a gun I won't shoot due to its NIB condition.

In this time of panic and civil unrest they can sell all the para military ammo they can squeeze out. SD, HD and CCWs have kept the shooting industry afloat for last 30yrs. Every panic is worse than the last. Most that are caught short are what I call sociable hunters and shooters. In other words it’s not a everyday or major pursuit for them.
As I mentioned, as well.

I decided about 15 years ago that I wasn't going to get pigeonholed into one or two cartridge/calibers, so in times of ammo shortages I might have a better chance to find something I could use. I now reload for ten different handgun cartridges and three rifle cartridges, and so far, I can visit the local range about any time I want with one or two of them. .308 (7.62x51, actually) and 9mm are two of them, but they seem to be the ones I shoot least.
 
I made it policy to never sell dies. Early on would let dies go with rifle. It never failed I would get another rifle next day and have to buy same dies.
Until two years ago there weren’t very many cartridges I didn’t load. Many that are near impossible to get today, even brass.
Many handgun and small rifle can be loaded as cheap as buying in 22Lr if you cast your own bullets.
Cost of shipping is killing ammo sales/ trades between individuals. I know many guys like me who have several boxes of off the wall cartridges that don’t make sense to sell when shipping is factored it. I took some factory Norma Jap 7.7 and 6.5 to show recently. People were so stupid they were trying to deal price down to 1/2 cost before panic. Same with 30/30 ammo.
 
I'm cursed to have a preference for calibers not being produced. Why can't I learn to love 9mm? :( I do have a good supply of it, but it's not my first choice. Now because of all the tactical lemmings out there, it's my only choice.
 
When those are sold, wait till the next time.
30-40 Krag is getting like that, so is 300Savage and 35 Remington.
30 Remington has been on that list for a while and getting further to the bottom of importance.
You can make most any case from something else, but finding some of them OTC is getting scarce and expensive when you do.

Reload, you'll never be without as long as you plan ahead. Way ahead.

Reloading and case forming is the answer (assuming you can get primers and powder). I have formed my own brass for .30 Rem (from .30-30) and .300 Savage (from .308) for many years. Along with several other (now) very scarce calibers. You can form many different cases from .30-'06 brass using nothing more than a FL resizing die.
 
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The primer shortage of the '90s made me paranoid, but the ammo glut around 2000 lulled me back. I seriously thought that I would not reload ever again, but I kept my supplies and equipment.
In 2009 I saw the light and really stockpiled supplies, including rimfire.
I never have to buy a factory cartridge again if I don't want to.
My friends that shoot boutique cartridges owe me many favors.
For me, right now, life is good.
 
I think there are different degrees of cartridge orphanhood. :(

.30-'06, .30-30 and .38 Special, etc.? Just a temporary lull in production. They'll be back but not at the same prices before 2021.

.218 Bee, .32-40, WSSMs? Not as long as you can find brass and components for reloading. I would guess those who shoot these a lot went down the reloading route a long time ago.

True orphans to me would be no recent ammo production, no plans to ever make them again and no way to reload it. .32 Rimfire comes to mind but there are others.
 
A manufacturer of consumer goods in a competitive market with small profit margins needs volume to make a worthwhile return on investment.

My guess is that there have been very few retail purchases by the case of .257 Roberts in the past 10 years. And as mentioned above, even the popular hunting rounds, like .30-30 and .270 Winchester, are often only one box every year or so. Can’t say the same for 9mm, .40 S&W, .45 ACP and 5.56 NATO.
 
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Just yesterday was down at Cabelas.
No 30-30, 30-06, 270, 7 Mag, etc.
They had 35 Whelen and 280 Ackley improved.
And lots of 22- Shorts.
 
I'll always take any .22 Shorts. I have two handguns and two rifles that will handle them just fine. Growing up, I used nothing but .22 Shorts. I have in the neighborhood of 2000 rounds of them in my ammo inventory.

22 short has a pretty good following in the bullseye leagues. It's always been harder to find so the people who shoot it tend to be bulk buyers.
 
22 short has a pretty good following in the bullseye leagues. It's always been harder to find so the people who shoot it tend to be bulk buyers.

I do not shoot in competition, but for my Walther OSP, I have about 10 bricks on hand. Considering I shoot about 100 rounds a year through it, it ought to last me until my shooting days are over.
 
I have never been a bullseye shooter but growing up I loved to hunt squirrels with a 22. Don't let anyone tell you a 22 short hollow point is not a great squirrel round. Quiet and deadly on head shot and body shots too. I always bought them by the brick. A real brick of 10 boxes of 50 rounds.
Sitting under a hickory tree waiting on a shot with a box of short hollow points in your pocket is pure fun.
 
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