Does caliber effect enjoyment

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Jimminy234
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Does caliber effect enjoyment

#1 Post by Jimminy234 »

Bear with me, I. Hope this question makes sense.

I’ve been lucky enough to shoot a fair few rifles during my time shooting but I can’t decide how much caliber contributes to the amount of fun a rifle is. I’ve mainly shot 22lr and 38 special with club guns as that’s all they have but lots of club members have let me shoot theirs.
I pretty much love shooting any 22lr unless the rifle isn’t reliable.
I haven’t really enjoyed shooting 38special through lever actions (the club guns are very gritty when racking) but enjoy it with a really heavy single shot rifle the club has.
But I have enjoyed shooting 45long colt through a lever action.

This makes me think it’s the rifle that matters and the caliber does not. But a couple of guys have lent me 300 black outs which I love shooting even though I’m really not keen on using ar15’s while having to use the charging handle every shot.

The maximum muzzle energy is 1490 foot pounds at one club I shoot at and less at the other.

So what it basically comes down to is how much do different caliber effect the enjoyment of shooting or does it come down to how enjoyable the firearm is to shoot?
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snayperskaya
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Re: Does caliber effect enjoyment

#2 Post by snayperskaya »

I have shot a fair few different calibres in different types of rifles etc over the years and apart from one .22lr all my other rifles are chambered in 7.62x54r but the one that never fails to put a smile on my face every time i shoot it is the little single shot bolt action .22lr Tula TOZ-8M Russian cadet rifle that was made in 1969I that cost me £150, is laser accurate and an absolute pleasure to shoot.

From a personal point of view I would say it comes down to how enjoyable a rifle is to shoot rather than the calibre......that said i do have a bit of a penchant for 7.62x54r!
"The only real power comes out of a long rifle." - Joseph Stalin

Give a man a gun and he can rob a bank.....give a man a bank and he can rob the world!.

More than a vested interest in 7.62x54r!
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Alpha1
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Re: Does caliber effect enjoyment

#3 Post by Alpha1 »

I guess it depends on how sensitive you are to recoil and the type of shooting you lean to wards. I am not keen on .22 Caliber rifles of any description I have owned lots over the years but I have moved them all on. I have one rifle left in .22 it lives in one of my cabinets it of historical interest. I have put at the most 20 rounds through it I don,t suppose it will ever get used again by me. I have a .22 long barreled pistol that I bought on a whim it doesn't get used. I will probably move it on at some point and use the slot for some thing I can re load for or another project.
I shoot regularly and enjoy:
A No4 Lee Enfield.
A Mas36.
A AIA 7.62x39 with cast bullits.
A Steyr SSG P1 .308.
Ruger Precision 6.5 Creedmoor.(Messing about with some cast bullet loads at the moment I have shot it indoors at 25 yards. That was fun.)
Carl Gustaf 6.5x55 Swedish Mauser.(Its been converted to a sporting rifle for deer stalking. It was done properly its not a bodge.) I have plans. (Its a future project.)
.222 Thingy. Cheap as chips to run and good fun reloading for it is a doddle. I made a set of neck bushing dies for it.
38/357 Winchester 94AE. Good fun and easy to reload for. I had an interesting debate going on with some new FAC holders who had started reloading using bought hard cast bullets. I watched them struggle to get there new toys to group over 3 weeks then I sat them down and explained why hard cast bullets wont work in a underlever. I then gave each of them 10 bullets cast with No2 Lyman alloy and let them shoot using the same rest they used for hard cast the groups shrunk from scattered all over the paper 8 or 9 inches to a average 2" group. So now I have there attention we will take them on a journey.

Projects
Two 6.5x55 rifles(Barreled Actions)
Nagant 7.62x54R Still gathering parts before getting under way.
I have others but these are the main go to ones. Part of the reason for the above list is the fact that I can hand load ammo for them. I love hand loading The main reason I shoot is to provide empty cases to re load.
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Pete
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Re: Does caliber effect enjoyment

#4 Post by Pete »

I dropped .22LR and 308 a couple of years ago..........the jury is currently out on 6.5x47, but 6BR, 6x47, and 223 are keepers. They'll do everything I want to do.

Pete
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Blackstuff
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Re: Does caliber effect enjoyment

#5 Post by Blackstuff »

Its more the type of shooting that puts a smile on my face than the calibre of the gun I happen to be using to do it with. My ammo staples are 12bore and .22lr, but that is more because of legislative/rulebook restrictions but I also use .223 and .308, and soon 9mm and .22WMR.

If there weren't the handgun and self-loading rifle bans in place i'd likely be using 9mm and .223 the most.
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Dellboy
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Re: Does caliber effect enjoyment

#6 Post by Dellboy »

6.5 creedmore accurate low felt recoil
308 because everyone says the cant match a 6.5
223 in bolt and straight pull (must get back to CSR ) Cheap and fun to 600 yards


303 7.5x55 swiss and 7.62x39 because i like the guns

22 because its the only way to have a semi auto

oh and 38 and 44 lever action because we are all cowboys at heart .....
2020 GOOD DEALS WITH

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Enjoy today as tomorrow might not come .

Noli pati a scelestis opprimi.

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Chapuis
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Re: Does caliber effect enjoyment

#7 Post by Chapuis »

The chambering (not calibre) is irrelevant to me, its always shooting a particular firearm that gives me enjoyment. Some guns be it pistol, rifle or shotgun are just so much more a pleasure to shoot than others, provided that I'm not shooting a big old thumper like a .460 Weatherby. I can really get pleasure from putting a few shots through my .22 rifle and also from my 9.3x74r.
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Vossie
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Re: Does caliber effect enjoyment

#8 Post by Vossie »

When I first started I had a grand plan of what I wanted, whacked them all on my new ticket. I soon realised after the excitement died down that other things factor in. Price of ammo is a big one, frequency of shooting including where.
A great lesson in very enjoyable sport well learnt, and now my choices are exactly what I want, and can manage budget wise, especially enjoy both in practise and competition.
I really enjoy the older stuff, and have 2 Martini Henry's in both full bore and .22lr.
Try a variety whilst with your club and check out the bigger picture of sundries and ammo costs, and above all if your still smiling after finding one, buying it, shooting it, cleaning it, and cant wait to get it out again then it was a good choice.
The members on here have a passion and there is always a great variety of advice to read and digest.
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Vossie
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Re: Does caliber effect enjoyment

#9 Post by Vossie »

Oopps did a double post wallhead
FredB
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Re: Does caliber effect enjoyment

#10 Post by FredB »

I enjoy making and shooting obsolete calibres. One major advantage is that the rifles, being antiques, are going up in value as you use them and you can always take them off ticket and sell them.
At the moment I am loading and shooting: 300 Sherwood, 310 cadet, 360 no5, 8.15 x 46R, 360 x 21/4, .43 mauser and a few muzzle loaders.
My new development project is in 450 no1 carbine.
Even with "modern" calibres, such as 44-40, 22LR etc, my rifles are all older than I am and I am 79.
Fred
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