I think it makes sense in times like these to have a hedge against panic in the form of an old-school (but hopefully reasonably common) chambering. Usually, such firearms aren't too costly. Yes, you can point out reloading as an option, but for various reasons that's not for everybody

Any of y'all gone to the stores and seen a run on .30/30s? 16 gauge shells? Granted, not every place stocks .250 Savage, but I bet not many people are in a frenzy to buy it, right now.

That said, if you were going to pick a chambering that is reasonably common and unlikely to be affeted by panic buying, what would it be?

5.45x39

.300 Savage, 7mm-08 Rem.(seeing a popularity spike), 7.92x57mmJS Mauser, 7.62x54r, .303 Enfield.

I do however have dies and components for all of them.

Seems to me that if nobody wants a particular unpopular round, then the stores won't carry it, except for maybe Bubba's hardware and BBQ in West Leroy and they have that one box of 250 Savage they've had since 1967. And yes, maybe the panic buying will bypass Bubba's. Just sayin...

when the last ammo panic happened 2008 it seemed like it was next to impossible to find any pistol ammunition...except for 357 sig...i remembered going into Cabela's in Fort Worth back then and i could find pretty much all the 357 sig ammo i wanted....i even had a guy come up to me while waiting in line to get checked out asking where i found 357 ammuntion..he was told they didn't have any so i explained what 357 sig ammo was and he thats when he realized there is more than one kind of 357 ..saw the same thing happen a few weeks later at a Gander Mountain...some dude picked up several boxes of 45 GAP because thats all the pistol ammo they had...i asked him what did he shoot that caliber with and he answered a Colt...i laughed and told him that GAP ammo is not 45acp...the guy got ticked and was cursing on his way out the store ..

260 rem

As hard as it is to find 300wsm in Wichita Falls, I guess I am covered.

35 Remington, 358 winchester,

I have never had a problem finding 7mm International Rimmed.

Rusty

7.5x55 Swiss for me. CTD doesnt carry it. Sometimes Cabela's has it, sometimes they dont. I have a reloading set up for it. however, military ammo, even though it is brass, is berdan primed. On the plus side, it takes standard .308 bullets and brass is available online from midway.

For the life of me I can not understand why the .260 Remington is not a lot more popular...

comparing ballistics
270 muz vel. 2925
energy ft.lbs 2659
@ 300yrd 2193 vel
1495 engy
.260 muz vel.2750
energy 2351
@ 300yds 2185
1484
I think I would choose the .270

I'm with GriffGruff. The 260 is a great caliber. I have that and a 270 and I take the 260 to the woods most often. As for ballistics, figure the 270 for a 130 grainer at 3000 and you can get the 260 to 2900 with a 120 grain bullet. There is a difference, but it isn't a big difference. I think the real comparison should be the 260 versus the 25-06. Not much difference there.

That said, finding 260 ammo isn't that easy. I reload, so it isn't a problem for me.

I've got a an old .30/30. I'll probably buy a few boxes and dust it off. Is it an AR? no Nor is it a long range nail driver but if the fecal material hits the preverbial wind machine it will get the job done.

Boolitz on Hand to Roll My Own With...

350-400 pcs of 9.3 for my 9.3x62 mostly in 285 gr'ers...can reform brass from 30'06 or is better from 35 Whelen. Possibly a lifetime supply of boolitz unless I take up PDog Shoots with the Ol Mauser.

900/K of 270's in 130, 140 & 150 gr'ers. 250-300 pcs of used 270 brass. Could use some more 270 brass prolly.

450+ 264's in 120's, 129-130's & 140's & 200 rnds of new 260 brass...can reform brass from 243 & 7-08

3-400 pcs of 308 dia in mostly 165's & 180's & 250/300 pcs of 300WSM brass. Could prolly use some more 30 cal boolitz though.
Cheers Ya'll
Ron

It is extremely popular with tactical match shooters, it and the 6.5 Creedmore. Those are the top two, but I forsee the Creedmore outrunning the 260 since Hornady is doing a very good job at producing factory ammo.

.260 is my all time favorite cartridge and I'm married to if for life!

If ur talking handgun ammo....357 Sig and 9mm Makarov were easy to find last time there was a run on ammo. For rifle ammo, anything besides 223, 308, and 7.62x39 should be easy to find.

Didnt see anyone having problems finding deer rifle ammo except for guys that were looking for .308 for their favorite bolt action....man were they ever S>*& OUT OF LUCK!

I know a 70yo man who drove 100mi so he could buy 1 box(all they had) of .308 to take his grandson hunting.....the store owner said it would be put aside for him.

HE GOT THERE AND ONE OF EMPLOYEES HAD SOLD IT! lololol

He had never reloaded and we sat down and I showed him how to load and he used my press & components; couple of hours later we had the test loads fired and he loaded 30rnds for his grandson.

He said "Thats all there is to loading!"....He bought a LEE LOADER and sat down the next week and loaded 300rnds one at a time like he was cracking pecans!

30-378

I shot .280Rem for years through a Rem700 Mountain Rifle. Kicked like a mule.... Got recoil shy and decided to find something smoother to shoot. Read an article about the Ruger77 compact in .260 - liked what I read, bought one and fell in love. As previously mentioned, the .260 gives up very little ballisticly to the .270 but the muzzle blast and recoil seems much less to me. Love it. I've shot 4 deer with this rig using the 140 gr Rem Core-lokt bullet with perfect results. (The 140 gr bullet seems odd to me - must be something about the length vs. wt or something.... Why not a 120 gr.? But, that's all Remington offers other than the p/o/s ballistic tips that I wouldn't trust at all. Accurate, but... shot osme plywood. Bullet blows up.

Seems like 9mm 44mag 45acp and 223 fly off the shelf the quickest....i faced the same problem, bought two presses and alot of primers powder and lead!

Some are too obsolete to find ammo any more like my 6.5X54 Mannlicher, but that is ok I have dies and 100 pieces of brass. For the oddball calibers I own I have at least 100 pieces of new or once fired brass and components to last a while. 350 Remington, 7X57, 22 Hornet, 22-243, 6.5 Grendel, 38-55, 375 Winchester, 45-70, surely I cam find a little ammo for some of them as well.

Cabela's in Allen ran out of 30-30 ammo tonight, at least on the shelf.

hardest one for me to find ammo is that 7mm Mauser.

I would take a .25-06.

This. ^^

I've got a .250 Savage....don't know that I'd want to shoot 45 almost 46 year old ammo.