Utilitarian Reasons to Own Similar Rifles in the Same Caliber

[Just a dude in BC]

I have a couple 308's and 270's that are more or less similar, and quite a few other calibers that are all close enough that most animals would not notice:
2 x 270
3 x 7x57
2 x 308

There are 4 reasons why I have duplicates:
1) As mentioned, wet weather. I hunt in the Kootenay's and in costal BC. The mountains are not bad, but on Vancouver island it can be wet wet wet! So one go to is a 308 in stainless, in am aluminum chassis, with a carbon barrel (to make up for the extra weight of the chassis). Great gun, and very rugged.
2) Loaners, I have brought a lot of people into hunting, and while I do so freely to grow the sport, there is no way in hell they are getting some of my nicer stuff right off the bat! So I keep a functional and accurate - but easy and cheap to replace - rifle ready to lend out to people.
3) Length, some guns are just handier. One of the 7x57's above is a ruger no.1 with a 22" pipe. That rifle is light, short, and very maneuverable. If I am hunting from a vehicle, or not expecting myself to shoot at game, as I am there supporting someone else's hunt, it is a great functional gun that does not get in the way.
4) It looked nice... This one is completely impractical, but another one of my 7x57s is a zkk600 with a peep sight. I did not need it, but the metal work was in great condition, and it had the peep, so I bought it, made a custom stock for it out of New Zealand walnut, and not it is a real show piece. because hey, you don't always need a practical reason to have another gun!

 

[coreydb]

apples and oranges, but still fruit. I have same caliber/different rifles for different shooting disciplines (excluding military collectibles). But, a Sako 85 375H&H and a Win 70 375H&H as an example? no.......not yet

 

[Hififile324]

I love having lot's of long guns. But one must be careful if you are a reloader and have several of the same chambering. Every chamber is different dimensionally. If you fire a cartridge in Gun #1, neck size it and reload it, it may not chamber in guns #2 or #3. You would need to "Full Length" resize all ammo. I have had it happen to me out in the field. I had 2 .270 WBY rifles. I tried to bolt in a round and it was a no go with a stuck bullet in the bore.

My solution..I have a coffee can labeled for every rifle. When I return from the range or field, all fired cases go into the correct can.

Just a heads up to avoid a possible headache!

 

[cajunchefray]

Excluding pistols and shotgun platform and caliber overlap.

It would be AKs and ARs. I don’t want to state a number. Just in case the Leftists ever form their own version of DOGE. And we know the Leftist won’t be searching for waste, fraud and abuse with their DOGE.

Good point!

 

[cajunchefray]

I have had three 30-06 rifles.
Ruger 77 RSEX , true African Express style milled quarter rib, etc, made in 1994, nicer wood than most guns.
A Ruger #1 , 131 series, very smooth.
Husqvarna 640 with 24” barrel.

As I am a serial gun philanderer, I sold the #1, rebarrelled the Husky to 35 Whelen, kept the Ruger.

The Husqvarna 640 .35 Whelen has 22” barrel, all metal Cerakoted , NECG Masterpiece front sight, red fiber optic bead, barrel band sling swivel and XS ghost ring aperture rear sight. This is my closer range , whatever condition 35 Whelen.

It compliments my first semi custom 35 Whelen, 1912 Steyr Mauser 98, 23” barrel , barrel band sling swivel, nice blue, set into a custom refinished Whitworth Mauser stock. Mounted with a Leupold VX-R 2-7 30mm scope German #4 lighted reticle.
Both rifles shoot well with the same same moderate load of Varget and 250 grain Hornady RN.

I like the ability to pick the rifle I want to hunt with for the situation, grab some reloads and go.
I don’t chase the last.25 MOA in load development, just consistent hunting accuracy across different rifles.

 

[dailordasailor]

I made an effort a few years ago to limit the varied calibers in the safe. So we have a fistful of 30-06 and 22s. Stainless models for bad weather, light weight model for hiking, pretty ones that are keepsakes, etc. I have a similar number of guns that i used too, just many less calibers and larger stockpile of ammo.

 

[Muskox]

I have two 10,3x68 RWS rifles.

Mostly because I didn't realize I was bidding on two separate auctions for the same thing.

When I was younger I had multiples of everything.

A guy probably build a good system and then built a duplicate of it. then have a practice rifle of the same system with the same scope in something cheap to shoot like 223 and 308.

So by my example.

Blaser r8

416 Remington barrel primary big game hunter

416 Remington barrel primary big game hunter back up

300 Winchester barrel primary hunter

300 Winchester barrel. primary hunter backup

223 barrel (I never liked the 223 in a Blaser so, I'd have a 6.5 CM barrel). trainer for 300 winchester

308 barrel training rifle local truck gun

Except my actual system is this:


10,3x68 RWS primary

10.3x68 RWS back up (short barrel)

8x68S primary

6.5 CM truck gun

Probably have 9.3x62 and 308 or 8x57 barrels for in the future year.

 

[franzfmdavis]

Franz, you didn’t grow up hunting or around firearms as a part of every day life, did you?

I didnt, unfortunately. The first time I shot a gun was in 2009.

However, growing up in a city, I had came across 6 dead people before starting high school (a pistol
in the mouth suicide, an alcohol related drowning, a knife brawl outside a restaurant where both brawlers died, a stabbing victim, a gunshot victim, and a victim who had died in the bushes from a cause that I never found out).

As added bonus experiences, I was mugged at age 11 (I traded my bike for a black eye), at gun point when I was 19 (I didnt have anything to trade but they still gave me banged up face and bruises on my ribs from a pistol), and again at gun point when I was 35 ( they got my wallet, blackberry phone and car keys).

So I suppose the more accurate answer is I did not grow up hunting, but I did have exposure to the unfortunate side of guns.

 

[franzfmdavis]

I have two 10,3x68 RWS rifles.

Mostly because I didn't realize I was bidding on two separate auctions for the same thing.

When I was younger I had multiples of everything.

A guy probably build a good system and then built a duplicate of it. then have a practice rifle of the same system with the same scope in something cheap to shoot like 223 and 308.

So by my example.

Blaser r8

416 Remington barrel primary big game hunter

416 Remington barrel primary big game hunter back up

300 Winchester barrel primary hunter

300 Winchester barrel. primary hunter backup

223 barrel (I never liked the 223 in a Blaser so, I'd have a 6.5 CM barrel). trainer for 300 winchester

308 barrel training rifle local truck gun

Except my actual system is this:


10,3x68 RWS primary

10.3x68 RWS back up (short barrel)

8x68S primary

6.5 CM truck gun

Probably have 9.3x62 and 308 or 8x57 barrels for in the future year.

I like the “back up” system!

 

[franzfmdavis]

I have a couple 308's and 270's that are more or less similar, and quite a few other calibers that are all close enough that most animals would not notice:
2 x 270
3 x 7x57
2 x 308

There are 4 reasons why I have duplicates:
1) As mentioned, wet weather. I hunt in the Kootenay's and in costal BC. The mountains are not bad, but on Vancouver island it can be wet wet wet! So one go to is a 308 in stainless, in am aluminum chassis, with a carbon barrel (to make up for the extra weight of the chassis). Great gun, and very rugged.
2) Loaners, I have brought a lot of people into hunting, and while I do so freely to grow the sport, there is no way in hell they are getting some of my nicer stuff right off the bat! So I keep a functional and accurate - but easy and cheap to replace - rifle ready to lend out to people.
3) Length, some guns are just handier. One of the 7x57's above is a ruger no.1 with a 22" pipe. That rifle is light, short, and very maneuverable. If I am hunting from a vehicle, or not expecting myself to shoot at game, as I am there supporting someone else's hunt, it is a great functional gun that does not get in the way.
4) It looked nice... This one is completely impractical, but another one of my 7x57s is a zkk600 with a peep sight. I did not need it, but the metal work was in great condition, and it had the peep, so I bought it, made a custom stock for it out of New Zealand walnut, and not it is a real show piece. because hey, you don't always need a practical reason to have another gun!

I like the concept of loaner guns for friends!

 

[franzfmdavis]

I love having lot's of long guns. But one must be careful if you are a reloader and have several of the same chambering. Every chamber is different dimensionally. If you fire a cartridge in Gun #1, neck size it and reload it, it may not chamber in guns #2 or #3. You would need to "Full Length" resize all ammo. I have had it happen to me out in the field. I had 2 .270 WBY rifles. I tried to bolt in a round and it was a no go with a stuck bullet in the bore.

My solution..I have a coffee can labeled for every rifle. When I return from the range or field, all fired cases go into the correct can.

Just a heads up to avoid a possible headache!

Thats a smart system!

 

[Muskox]

I always full length resize brass. I don't know anyone that neck sizes only anymore.

 

[Grumpy gumpy]

I always full length resize brass. I don't know anyone that neck sizes only anymore.

You don’t own any military 303 rifles, obviously. I neck size a lot of my brass to extend its life.
Gumpy

 

[Safari Dave]

We are very fortunate here in the US, where there is, literally, no limit on the number of guns you can own, without ANY government oversight.

I also live in a rural area, where I am able to shoot any time I want to, as much as I want.



For me:

.22 Long Rifle -
I have several rifles (bolt action, lever action, semi-auto), set up, specifically to do several different tasks (competition metallic silhouette - bolt-action, "steel challenge" - semi-auto, "plinking" - semi-auto, squirrel hunting - bolt-action or lever action.

I also have 3 pistols, that I use for various "tasks" - "steel challenge" & plinking hunting - semi-auto, "home utility" - revolver (loaded with a regular bullets and 3 shotshells), "tractor" - revolver (loaded with regular bullets and 3 shotshells). The shotshells are used on venomous snakes and rats.


.223 (5.56 NATO)
- A couple of AR's. (one outfitted for CQB, and another with a scope for longer range use)
- A Bolt-Action for hunting

.308 (7.62 NATO)
- A bolt-action for hunting
- A scoped, semi-auto that could be used for both hunting and longer-range self-defense


.30/06 Springfield

- my primary hunting rifle (scoped, bolt-action)
- my short-range, Southern "stopping rifle" (open-sighted bolt-action) - sometimes you have to crawl through Mountain Laurel thickets here in pursuit of wounded bears and hogs. 220g round-nosed bullets have their place.
- "the greatest battle implement ever devised" - (semi auto) - It is, also, apparently, the best implement ever devised to kill the largest Great White Shark ever devised by Hollywood.


.375 H&H

- Of course, CRF, but one with a scope (variable up to at least 9X)
- Another with open -sights and a detachable LPVO

 

[Flbt]

I have 4 6mm Remington and I am looking at a few more.
Different setups for different game and one for long range shooting. Or should I say coman long range for here in the 00s

But one reason is I have multiple kids to leave guns to.
And they all seam to like the 6mm even the one that wants all the .35 s ( good boy there)

 

[thi9elsp]

I have 2 CZ Safari Magnums: 375H&H and 404 Jefferey. Having them both function and feel the same helps when switching from one to the other.

 

[Muskox]

You don’t own any military 303 rifles, obviously. I neck size a lot of my brass to extend its life.
Gumpy

This is a wives tale from the old days.

 

[Sabre]

@franzfmdavis - I feel like a lot of people are answering sort of specifically for their own purposes, which fits. But I will answer more generally.

I think two things factor into why people don't have a bunch of 416s, or the like, while they do have a lot of 308s and ARs.

One, would be cost. The cost of one nice double rifle could often buy you multiple 308s or ARs. And the cost of the ammo for many very large calibers is often also going to keep most people from stock piling those guns and the ammo associated.

Two, would be purpose. While a person might have a few purposes for a very large caliber, they just aren't quite as versatile as a moderate sized caliber. So, a person could set up an AR or a 308 in a lot of different ways to fit a lot of different purposes and functions. While a very large caliber rifle might be set up a few different ways, it isn't usually going to stray far.

Additionally, I think an argument for having many different guns like ARs, pistols, or medium/moderate calibers like 308, would be to limit the amount of ammo you need on hand. If a person picks a few favorite calibers that aren't terribly expensive. Say 5.56, .308, 9mm. The vast majority of guns produced in a genre, are going to be available in those calibers. So, if a new hunting rifle comes out, there is a good chance it will be available in .308. If a new AR pattern rifle comes out, good chance it will be in 5.56. If a new pistol comes out, good chance it will be available in 9mm. So a person could stock pile just a few calibers of ammo and get the vast majority of new guns that hit the market if they liked it when it came out.

Those are the reasons I can think of why a person would have multiples or many of the same calibers in their safe.

One last reason is tyranny. I know a lot of people would find that far fetched or not realistic. However, it is the entire reason for the existence of the 2nd amendment in the states. One person with a large number of ARs is a force multiplier in the event of catastrophe. If 10% of the population has 1 rifle each, then 10% of the population might be armed in a catastrophe. If 10% of the population has 10+ rifles each, well, now that is an entirely different ball game in a catastrophe.

 

[Grumpy gumpy]

This is a wives tale from the old days.

Actually, no it’s not. 303’s have sloppy chambers that fire form factory spec brass, each time you resize it it work hardens the head area, which can’t be annealed, necks can. The brass life will extend with only neck sizing. My 25-35 chamber is quite different from the dies I have,(CIP vs sammi ) neck sizing only meant I went from 2-3 reloads max to 10+ at this stage with no shoulder separations since only neck sizing
Gumpy

 

[franzfmdavis]

@franzfmdavis - I feel like a lot of people are answering sort of specifically for their own purposes, which fits. But I will answer more generally.

I think two things factor into why people don't have a bunch of 416s, or the like, while they do have a lot of 308s and ARs.

One, would be cost. The cost of one nice double rifle could often buy you multiple 308s or ARs. And the cost of the ammo for many very large calibers is often also going to keep most people from stock piling those guns and the ammo associated.

Two, would be purpose. While a person might have a few purposes for a very large caliber, they just aren't quite as versatile as a moderate sized caliber. So, a person could set up an AR or a 308 in a lot of different ways to fit a lot of different purposes and functions. While a very large caliber rifle might be set up a few different ways, it isn't usually going to stray far.

Additionally, I think an argument for having many different guns like ARs, pistols, or medium/moderate calibers like 308, would be to limit the amount of ammo you need on hand. If a person picks a few favorite calibers that aren't terribly expensive. Say 5.56, .308, 9mm. The vast majority of guns produced in a genre, are going to be available in those calibers. So, if a new hunting rifle comes out, there is a good chance it will be available in .308. If a new AR pattern rifle comes out, good chance it will be in 5.56. If a new pistol comes out, good chance it will be available in 9mm. So a person could stock pile just a few calibers of ammo and get the vast majority of new guns that hit the market if they liked it when it came out.

Those are the reasons I can think of why a person would have multiples or many of the same calibers in their safe.

One last reason is tyranny. I know a lot of people would find that far fetched or not realistic. However, it is the entire reason for the existence of the 2nd amendment in the states. One person with a large number of ARs is a force multiplier in the event of catastrophe. If 10% of the population has 1 rifle each, then 10% of the population might be armed in a catastrophe. If 10% of the population has 10+ rifles each, well, now that is an entirely different ball game in a catastrophe.

Those are very rational and utilitarian reasons! If you were going to have several say .416 Rigby rifles for example, what variations would you choose for practical uses?