If you could have only one caliber, what would it be?

[opos]

I thought about the 12 ga but settled on the 357/38 special....12 ga shells are too bulky to carry many where 357 or 38 ammo is compact and relatiely lighter in weight...38/357 works for pistol or rifle where 12 ga is pretty much all long gun...Hope it never comes to this

[rosewood]

.357mag for sure. Cheap to reload for, easy to find factory fodder. Can be loaded down for plinking and small game or heated up for deer hunting. It is available in revolver and rifle. Sure hunting range is limited, but it will easily take a deer at 100 yards, and that is all you need for survival. It is a proven man stopper also.

Rosewood

Rosewood

[Skooterr]

So many variables for what the usage could be.
In the end went with the 357.

[Certaindeaf]

9x19. It's a handgun (!) so you don't have to fight yo sef to it and it'll drop hogs and humans handily. And you always have it on your person. 15 shots + at 500fpe/each'll pretty much do it easy.

[1187Shooter]

I'm not a 9mm hater by any means, but I'd have to disagree with the 9mm as a reliable hog stopper. I have seen it fail miserably more than once. Not saying a well placed shot or two with the right load wouldnt do it just fine but definitely not something I'd want to rely on in a stressful situation for a one shot stop.
If I were to choose an all around handgun caliber it would be either the .357 or .44... just my opinion, but based on experience and observation.

[Certaindeaf]

I'm not a 9mm hater by any means, but I'd have to disagree with the 9mm as a reliable hog stopper. I have seen it fail miserably more than once. Not saying a well placed shot or two with the right load wouldnt do it just fine but definitely not something I'd want to rely on in a stressful situation for a one shot stop.
If I were to choose an all around handgun caliber it would be either the .357 or .44... just my opinion, but based on experience and observation.

Then choose a .357 or .44 magnum. I've shot plenty of deer and hog with the 9mm (and the .357 and .44 magnum) with body and neck shots. The 9mm can be a pretty handy killer.. for over a hundred years now.

[JWT]

30-06 will serve for hunting anything in North America and it makes a darn good battle rifle in an M1 Garand.

[unclemikeinct]

One caliber..For Me the 243W...In a bolt gun I can make it deal poker hands under the right conditions...Fitted to an AR platform..It will protect anything...mike in ct

[lolbell]

I voted "other". I would go with my favorite, 327 Fed Mag. It'll shoot 32acp, 32 SW, 32 SW Long, 32 HR Mag, and 327 Fed Magnum. I've taken squirrels, rabbits and deer with a Single Seven and carry a SP101 for social work.

[destrux]

After playing around with what a 7.62x39 can do in a bolt action I'm pretty well sold on it's versatility. I chose it over any of the rimmed cases because it will happily work in autoloaders like the SKS and AK too. .300 Blackout and 9mm were close runners up for me.

[Camba]

For me it's got to be all 35 cal (35 rem, 358 win, 38spc/357 mag, 35 whelen... Etc)

[JWFilips]

As a Cast Boolit shooting rifle 30 WCF! It would be the best for every style 30 cal boolit if it were in a bolt or falling block action ( single shot only) Best a bench rifle!
(I'm not talking lever action here)

[hpbear101]

45-70
It is kind of like an old John Deer tractor, you can burn just about anything for fuel (powder), and depending on how hot you load, it is good for about any game animal on the planet.

[GhostHawk]

Slowly getting setup to reload 12 ga here which puts it even more firmly in my "If I had to choose one".

Setup with a Lyman easy loader, lee 7/8ths oz slugs, 2 sharpshooter molds and thinking about a couple more.
Waiting for my SS to drop into my account before my next order to BPI.

[Idaho Sharpshooter]

call me old fashioned, but it would have to be my Old Model 70 Winchester in 300 H&H. There are about one hundred different J-bullets for it, and twice that many 30 caliber molds out there.

A close second would have been my Rem700 in 308 Winchester. Close, but anything it will do, the H&H will do 400+fps faster.

Rich

[pinztrek]

OK, I'll be the oddball newguy: .280 Remington- Can go light (100-120g) for plains type game with decent downrange ballistics, medium, and still go up to heavy 175g for bigger game. Brass can be made from 270 or 30/06. Shoots CB's with reduced service rifle loads accurately and powerful enough to get small game with. And 7mm bullets fly well in the weight range I'd be interested in.

If I had to pick a single caliber multiple guns rifle and handgun, it'd probably be 357 or 44 mag. (Sorry, 41 mag, no bolt actions available, just lever actions). With a revolver & Lever gun or M77 combo.

7mm/08 and 308 would come in close in versatility, but I can only have one... so 280 it is. 270 gives up a bit on the heavy end, and 30/06 BC not so hot in the lighter end.

[bradley.moss72]

I've thought about this within the constraints the OP has provided. Although the shotgun option is the best answer in my opinion, it has already been done. I am suprised no one mentioned the 410, as it also can use shot to slugs and can also be had in a handgun. With the custom gun option a fully rifled version could be made to breathe new life into "hot-loaded" 410 slugs.

Just a few words about "one for everything" lines of thought. My Dad, God rest his soul, was a very tall guy and was as such a pretty hard fellow to fit, clothes wise. He always laughed when he saw anything labeled "one size fits all". He used to say, "One size fits all, but not very damn well."

So in this thread there have been several trade-offs, and my solution is no different.

I would have to say 45-70, and here is why:

1. You can load it up or down.
2. Plentiful components, although this was not a stipulation of the OP.
3. As it stands presently it is chambered in a couple of different types of rifles and at least two handguns. (Mag Research BFR and can you believe a Derringer?) I definitely wouldn't feel under-gunned with a lever action. As stated before, since money is not a barrier, anything you want can be chambered for it so a smooth bore long gun is easy enough as well as an auto-loader.

4. You could load 45-70 brass to mimic 410 brass shotshell. This way you could have the versatility of a shotgun for wingshooting also.

An argument could be made for 444 Marlin in place of the 45-70 as outlined above.

The next closest option, as said before, was 460 S&W, although the OP seems intent on not allowing 45-410 crossover, and rightly so, as his constraint was only one cartridge (I'm taking this as only one type of case available) and no mod to something different, although an argument could be made for having a custom smooth bore in 460 and making shotshells with them.

3rd (or 4th) runner up was the 357 Maximum, as you can shoot 38 special, 357 Magnum and Max from the same chamber. Although you could build a smooth bore 357 Max, there wouldn't be much of a shot payload in my opinion.

There you have it! Those are my thoughts on the whole situation. Now Fire Away!

BW



Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

[Earlwb]

12 gauge. Very versatile, Birdshot, buckshot and slugs even. You can also get barrel inserts for other caliber cartridges too. Plus the liberal progressives might leave it alone until last with their anti-gun garbage.

[Artful]

Yea, I might have killed this thread by allowing combinations. The combinations must be able to be shot out of the same gun though. A 45 Long Colt and 410 Shotgun are single gun compatible, but the 45ACP is not.

https://www.americanrifleman.org/art...colt-revolver/
Review: Ruger Redhawk .45 ACP/.45 Colt Revolver

by B. Gil Horman - Thursday, October 22, 2015

In the late 1970s, Ruger hired Harry Sefried (formerly of High Standard Manufacturing) to design the company's first big bore double-action revolver. Taking many of its cues from the successful Security-Six, the Redhawk debuted in 1979 and has been in production ever since. Built to withstand the pressures generated by full power .44 Mag. loads, the Redhawk has been a favorite with handloaders who like to shoot extra hot ammunition. Various configurations include blued and stainless-steel models with barrel lengths ranging from 4.20” to 7.50". This year Ruger released a new dual-caliber model chambered to fire .45 Colt and .45 ACP.


This latest version of the Redhawk features an all stainless steel construction with a satin finish. The 4.20" barrel is topped with a solid serrated rib along the top for added rigidity while the barrel outline tapers towards the muzzle with a shortened under lug to keep the revolver from feeling muzzle heavy. The front sight is a removable blackened ramp with an orange insert that can be quickly swapped out for a fiber optic or night sight. The rear sight is fully adjustable for height and windage with a white outlined square notch.
Several revolvers, including the Colt and Smith & Wesson models, are built with a removable sideplate for installing and maintaining the firing mechanism. The Redhawk, like other modern Ruger double-actions, has a single piece frame with the firing mechanism attached to a removable rounded trigger guard which provides access to it through the bottom of the frame. This monolithic design provides consistent support on both sides of the barrel and cylinder for added strength and durability.
The 1.77" wide fluted 6-shot cylinder features cylinder bolt notches that are offset from the chambers (the thinnest part of the cylinder) for added chamber strength. The cylinder release is located on the left side of the frame. Like other Ruger revolvers, the button-like release is pressed into the frame instead of sliding forward (Smith & Wesson) or pulling to the rear of the frame (Colt). The cylinder yoke contains a spring-loaded wedge that locks in place to provide added support to the cylinder. The yoke showed no signs of binding or roughness allowing the cylinder to swing out easily to the left side of the frame when released. The cylinder spun freely in the open position and the ejector operated properly.


Most of the grips to grace the Redhawk series over the years have been smooth hardwood with an outline reminiscent of some single-action revolvers. The advantage of this configuration is that it allows the revolver to roll back in the shooting hand to help manage recoil. Some of the 4" barrel models have shipped with finger grooved rubber grips manufactured by Hogue. Last year Ruger teamed up with the TALO group of distributors to release a special edition Redhawk with a round-butt grip frame fitted with compact laser checkered wood panels. Ruger opted to bring back the round-butt grip frame for the .45 ACP/.45 Colt version, which is an excellent choice. The wooden panels are checkered along the sides for improved purchase but smooth along the rear to allow the grip to roll back in the hand like the models fitted with the larger grip. The reduced grip profile is comfortable to shoot with while making the revolver easier to pack around.

[NoAngel]

9mm will do everything I ever want to do. In my handgun or my carbines.

It is damn tough though to let go of my .358 Winchester.