Anybody like not so common calibers? Whats your favorite?

[Greenbug]

I do like the oddball cartridges myself.... I have owned guns in:
20 VargTarg
222 Remington Mag
25 Souper (308 necked down)
7mm TCU
9.3x74
405 Winchester

I currently have guns in these not so common calibers:

17 Remington
221 Fireball
222 Remington
300 Whisper (shoots 300 AAC Blackout also)
6x45 (223 Rem necked up to 6mm)
260 Ackley Improved
338-06 Improved
41 Remington Magnum
45 Super

 

[Silver Hand]

unklekippy I purchased this tool wile living in NYC and hunting in the Green and white mountains, Catskills, and the Adirondacks. I was a young buck my self back in 1969 the date of purchase. At the time the gun was advertised and Misrepresented as a killer kicker with a Mussel blast that would almost knock a good man down. It went bad for Remington as far as sales were concerned. Therefor the short four year history of this fine weapon, TWO YEARS for the 660 in a .350 sporting a 20'' barrel if my memory serves me correctly. I was working in a gun shop at night. Doc Bart's I think he had something to do with the bic ball point pen, I was told he did. Shooting the pen through a board on B&W TV and then righting the word BIC. It was the first successful Ball Point about 1962 or three- the end of the ink well and the wet ink cartridge.
Anyway, at night I was polishing and bluing gun parts and making springs and test firing a lot of big noise. After I or someone whom helped me putting things back together in the basement of the gun shop.
Nothing was going to stop me from spending ''$142.00 - Retail'' if Doc wasn't around to sell me this gun. I went three blocks down and paid it forward to a friend in another shop. It is a Mod 660. Find a good one pay for it wile you are young [ or not ]
as with most any good fire arm, It will never be worth less.

 

[DEADTIME]

7.62x54R .....hugely underrated.

 

[ZA_Survivalist]

^ What he said.

 

[KONE KILLER]

KK: isn't the Newton just a variation of a .25-06?? (Perhaps the FIRST variation.) Forming cases should not be a huge issue. I know the forming die set has been done, because I've seen a set. Ackley talks about it too. I hope you are not allowing the gun to languish simply because factory ammo is not available.

The Newton is a necked down, rimless 30-06 Springfield round.
It is sad, but yes, it is just sitting. I do not have the means to reload, nor do I know anyone that does it. I am sure the die sets are out there, I just really dont know enough about what I would be doing to do it right. When it comes to something that could blow an arm off, I would want to know. It was one of the many guns that was passed down to my wife when her dad died.
Maybe when I am older and have free time again, I will get into reloading and learn what I am doing the right way.

 

[Spitpatch]

A sound approach, KK. With this website, you may well find someone who would do careful experimentation and loading for you. I'm not sure the forming die set would even be absolutely necessary. Once you have brass formed, nearly ANYONE could handload for you (using .25-06 dies to do the seating).

Keep the old girl clean and ready.

Regards.

 

[KONE KILLER]

She is clean and sharp looking for sure! I wipe it down and run my .22 bore snake through anytime I rummage around the guns.

 

[del_and_bones]

I'm going to get a 338-06 and a 358 win someday... I'll just play with me 300BLK until that day comes.

 

[Gunnerboy]

Not really too common but has a following, the King of small calibers 6.5x55 swede

 

[Spitpatch]

KK, some preliminary experiments that wouldn't cost too much: Try (gently) chambering a factory .25-06. If it works, you may be in business sooner than you think. (from there, a mild handload from a trusted source would fire-form the brass to your Newton chamber, and you're off to the races).

A more scientific (and proper) procedure would be to obtain some "Cerro-safe" (Midway and Brownell's sell it). It is a light alloy, sort of zinc-aluminum like. It has the curious properties of low melting point, contraction during cooling, then finally, expansion to precise dimensions of the container it was poured in (such as a rifle chamber). This material gives an exact model of your chamber dimensions, with the added display of your throat and leade (to see if rifling there is good). You plug the barrel just ahead of the chamber, pour in the melted CS, allow to cool, it contracts, so extraction is easy. Then when completely cool it is back to chamber dimensions. You can stash this casting for a later date when you want (Huntington, Redding, or such) to make a set of dies. We cannot be certain-sure that your .25 Newton is precisely chambered to what is written for a .25 Newton, so this is a good proof.

 

[Da Duke]

ejmpnu92 beat me to the .41 Mag.

The other "oddball" I shoot is the .375 Ruger. Should be more popular than it is...

I used to have a Ruger SRM in 357 Max. That was an oddball and was a hoot to shoot!

I have a Max and it is the bomb.

 

[vtzenov]

Hi there. I have a bunch of old rifles in 11.15X58, 8x50, 8X56R- there all straight pull steyr's. Lattely, I am having the most funn with 7mm Gibbs and good old 458 Win mag. In handguns, I have about 7 callibers, but nothing beats 41mag for me to reload.Val

 

[BANE]

I had a 6.5 gibbs very flat shooting and fast.

 

[1911er]

416 rigby....that's an express rifle cartridge. That had to be a real ground pounder.

Will stop cape buffalo in africa. I got to go on A safari hunt with my CPO when I was A 1st class back in 86, that gun hurts.

 

[1911er]

My favorite small game round is A 22 hornet but its good out past 200 yards.

 

[OEDub]

7mm-08. It's my favorite deer rifle that I've ever shot. I wouldn't classify it as 'rare', but its by no means as common as 5.56

 

[Hook686]

6mm Remington

 

[Bigfoot]

KK: isn't the Newton just a variation of a .25-06?? (Perhaps the FIRST variation.) Forming cases should not be a huge issue. I know the forming die set has been done, because I've seen a set. Ackley talks about it too. I hope you are not allowing the gun to languish simply because factory ammo is not available.

BGD: Okay, what's your .254 SRE? (I'm a sucker for anything .25). I had a Mini-Mauser rebarreled for .25PPC. (6PPC necked up). I call it the .25 Pronghorn Pursuit Cartridge.

256 Newton is a 6.5mm cartridge so it's closer to the 6.5-06. Newton measured it European style, at the lands. .264 at the grooves, .256 at the lands. Even without good slow powders that we have now it was a heck of a good performer. It took most everybody quite awhile to come around, he was WAY ahead of his time.

I just bought a new Savage 260 Remington (1:8 twist, 6 1/4 lbs, 2lb Accutrigger) cheaper than I could rebarrel and restock this action that I have. Not exactly uncommon but try and find loaded ammo. I did find a couple boxes to get me going, not with the bullets that I want to load but the brass is the same brand as the 100 rds of empties that I have so it'll do for now.

 

[Spitpatch]

256 Newton is a 6.5mm cartridge so it's closer to the 6.5-06 wildcat. Newton measured it European style, at the lands. .264 at the grooves, .256 at the lands. Even without good slow powders that we have now it was a heck of a good performer. It took most everybody quite awhile to come around, he was WAY ahead of his time.

I just bought a new Savage 260 Remington (1:8 twist, 6 1/4 lbs, 2lb Accutrigger) cheaper than I could rebarrel and restock this action that I have. Not exactly uncommon but try and find loaded ammo. I did find a couple boxes to get me going, not with the bullets that I want to load but the brass is the same brand as the 100 rds of empties that I have so it'll do for now.

Yes. Since my earlier posts, I've looked into the 256 Newton to find that it is indeed a .264 caliber (much like my .276 Ackley Magnum, which is .284 caliber: measured at the lands instead of the grooves as is the standard today). Jameson actually makes brass for the .256 Newton (Heads up, Kone Killer!).

 

[cedarstrip]

.348 Win, .33 Win, 6mm x.284, 25-20, 25-35, 405 Win, in rifles
41 Long Colt, 44-40, 38 S&W in pistols

I go for old Winchesters and Colts, with an occasional accurate wildcat thrown in for good measure
I enjoy using old bullet molds and working up loads to keep the old guns in action