Which Rifle Calibers Should Everyone Own

[Dr.Midnight]

I was curious what folks think about this. If you're only going to own a few rifles, which calibers would be considered "must haves". I'm not too concerned with a set number of calibers since different individuals have different needs. I just wanted to see what peoples thoughts were. I'll give a short list of what I could get by with.

22lr-For plain old plinking fun
.223-Plenty of ammo out there and good for critter control
Either .308 or 30-06-Good for long range shooting and ammo is plentiful

 

[huntall50]

Add 7.62x39 and .270 as options.

 

[Tula47]

7.62x39
.223/5.56
.22lr
.308/7.61x51

 

[mk2ja]

Add 7.62x39 and .270 as options.

7.62x39
.223/5.56
.22lr
.308/7.61x51

Can you guys give the reasons you would say everybody should own a rifle in those calibers?

 

[686 Shooter]

22lr-For plain old plinking fun
.223-Plenty of ammo out there and good for critter control
Either .308 or 30-06-Good for long range shooting and ammo is plentiful

For me, you pretty much nailed it. I wouldn't see a need for changing a thing.

And before mk2ja puts me on the spot and ask "why", because those 4 calibers seem to be the American standard, not plentiful right now, but hopefully, soon, they will be again. (All 4 have served us well, for many years)

 

[hrearden]

I really dont see any caliber as a "must have". All caliber considerations must be made with what the gun will be used for in mind. Not only that, the shooter's ability must be taken into consideration. It wouldnt make any sense to give someone who is blind in one eye and cant see out of the other a .50 because they must have it for 1000 yds.

 

[Kedric]

Well, I don't speak for everyone, but I stick to:
.22lr
.223/5.56
.308/7.62x51

 

[Bunnykid68]

at least 22LR

 

[__Doc_]

22lr
5.56
maybe a 308, but for me 7.62x39

 

[rcwill]

.22lr and .223 for me.

 

[gunman41mag]

The 308 can do it all

 

[ctbreitwieser]

Unless you want the .223 to be an AR, I would skip over the .223, and just have the .22 and .308/30-06. But that's only if you're wanting to keep your amount of guns to a minumum.

ETA- I forgot the thread title. And I believe every American should own a .223 AR

 

[Hohn]

I've been pondering this very question because I want to get a couple long guns-- I've never owned my own. I always just shot either what I was issued or what a friend had.

A .22LR goes without saying. It's the most popular caliber in the world for a reason. I'm not sure what that reason is, but you can't fight it so you better go with it.

Beyond that, I tend to think in terms of parent cases. If you own a rifle of the parent caliber, then you can often adapt/adjust to derived calibers somewhat easily.

So even though I'm not a fan of any particular .30 caliber (sacrilege!), I think a .308 is the first long gun caliber I would buy. In a modular platform, you could shoot anything from .243 to .338 Federal with the same bolt face and lower. I'm looking closely at AR-10s or DPMS type guns.

The other natural parent case is the .223 Rem and all the AR15 derivations. Between .223 and 300BLK you'd have a LOT of versatility.


Bolt guns are obviously far less versatile (though I believe with a Savage you can barrel-swap rather easily because of how the barrel is mounted to the action with that lock ring). So, I'd choose the caliber based on the actual purpose of the rifle.

For most of what I'd want to hunt, I'd choose a .260Rem or 7mm-08. Great ballistics, reasonable recoil. I have no preference for any .30 cal bolt gun. Anything a 7mm RM can't do, I'd have to skip over .30 and up to .338LM anyway

 

[rob63]

Practice, practice, practice.

The common calibers mentioned are the best choices simply because they are the cheapest to shoot.

I have a 7.7mm Jap T99 rifle that I love; light, accurate, and well balanced, but I almost never shoot it because ammo is too expensive.

 

[LANShark42]

.22LR and 7.62x54r (which satisfies most folks .308 requirement)

 

[Bennettjh]

.22LR, cheap and fun for the whole family.
.223/5.56, plenty of guns in this caliber (especially AR). Good general purpose round IMHO.
7.62 of some sort, serious knock-down power.

 

[VN Vet]

Post #1 and #2 covered it all for me. Have you two been snooping in my garage?

 

[BehindBlueI's]

.22LR and any common .30. (.308, 30-06, 7.62mm, etc.)

 

[tiretrack]

for me
.22lr for the critters and the squirrels... and new shooters
.223 because in my obviously flawed logic I assumed there would always be ample supply
7.62 x 39 inexpensive mid range... that is becoming my fav
.308 to be able to reach out and touch someone.......just a little bit further
but in the minimalist sense,I wonder which are "must haves"

 

[flashpuppy]

My personal must-haves are:

.204 Ruger - Squirrels, bunnies, skunks, possums, plinking, etc
.308 Win - Yotes, Longer range target
.270 Win - My favorite mid range, deer size and bigger, hunting round. Cheap to shoot and flat.
.300 WinMag - Sometimes you just need to make some noise.