Saw this SOTI (somewhere on the Internet):
Nice sentiment, but not ambitious enough. Consider these options:
Or, if we’re going to “own them all”, let’s look at some other cartridge options, grouped together for the sake of convenience:
You see, I don’t want anyone to be constrained in their thinking… think big, people. Own them all.
And remember National Ammo Day on November 19th.
I’ve long had a dream of having two (obviously overlapping) collections:
An example, original or repro, of every long-arm issued to American troops from the Revolutionary War to now (semi-auto for the modern ones, since I couldn’t afford a full-auto).
An example of every regular-issue rifle used during World War 2.
I doubt I’d be able to amass them all, if for no other reason than cost, but it would be fun trying. Ammo might be an issue too (because of course I’ll want to SHOOT them!)
I didn’t even consider it while living in NJ because I’m sure buying that number of rifles would put me on a list somewhere. Maybe after I move to PA I can at least get a few.
I’ve been reading some interesting things about the 450 Bushmaster cartridge, especially since it’s usable in the AR-15 (bringing to reality Jeff Cooper’s (RIP) Thumper concept) and in bolt-action rifles (for states that require a straight-walled cartridge for hunting). Seems it would work great for woods hunting and for when things go bump in the night.
Needs more cartridge pictures. Rimmed cartridges are woefully underrepresented.
In my collection alone, I have .38 Special, .32 S&W Long, .30-30 Winchester.
Good God, Kim, you left out the .30-06. Any self-respecting American has to include that one in the collection!
He mentioned .30-06 with the picture of the M1917 rifle. However, there is an important one that he did miss. How can you properly implement Rule .303 without any bleedin’ .303?
I was just considering the pictures for my comment, but you make an excellent point about the .303!
“An example of every regular-issue rifle used during World War 2.”
I essentially have that. It’s quite doable (though it’s gotten expensive – the glory days of cheap milsurps are gone), and great fun to shoot and compare. I’ve always found fascinating how all the major powers, prior to the turn of the last century with the new advances in technology (smokeless powder and the spitzer bullet), raced to build a .30 caliber battle rifle – bolt action, the “assault rifle” of its day – yet came up with a number of quite different solutions to the problem. The Russians and British adopted rimmed cartridges, with quite different bolts. The Germans adopted the M98 system, with its rimless cartridge. The Italians went small, to 6.5, and were in many ways ahead of the game with a superior rifle, yet never came around to the spitzer bullet.
And the Americans came late to the party, adopting a bolt action that proved inferior to the Mauser (the Krag), and so just stole the Mauser action for its replacement – the 1903 Springfield. Yet in between the wars, only the Americans developed a semi-auto for general infantry use (in the midst of the great depression, amazingly enough – and the great depression hit the rest of the world even harder than the US, probably why the rest of the world didn’t do so).
All I really need to fill out the collection is an Arisaka Type 38 in 6.5 Jap. Anybody want to help a fellow out?
I have 7×57 Mauser- sweet shooter and big enough for Mr. Bell to drop a few pachyderms.
A 8×57 Mauser that kicks like a mule (mostly a safe queen).
Various 5.56s.
A bench rest .308 that waighs 13 lbs but puts five in the same hole.
Fun at the range.
Damn you, Kim. I have drool all over my keyboard.
What, no 38-55? Vapors I tell you, simply vapors.
Nice arrangement of .243 and 257 Roberts above their respective parent
cartridges of .308 and 7×57 Mauser.
Love the #1 RSI Ruger…..but unfortunately, the Mannlicher stock is only offered on the 10/22 now.
One of my more recent firearm related purchase controls has been ‘no, not another caliber’. I don’t want yet another caliber firearm that needs to be fed, and likely reloaded.
That didn’t stop me getting a .224 Valkyrie upper but there were extenuating circumstances (really!)