Please help me understand something

Simple answer:

For the same reason we don't all drive minivans.


Sure, they'll do just about everything you need them to do... But they lack the ability required at the edges of the envelope. And when it comes down to it, many folks don't place practicality over style/performance/capacity/uniqueness, etc.
 
It would be like a child receiving a toy a Christmas. Plays with it for a time then it's like OK now I want something different, but you don't want to get rid of the original toy because it has sentimental value....hence the creation of gun safes....big ones....that hold many previous toys...but still have room for new toys......
 
As others have said, some guys have to be different .... my buddy shoots ten gauge, 10 mm and a 444. He still buys ammo at brick and mortar stores instead of online and then complains that it's hard to find ammo. However, his ten gauge will shoot goose further away than a 12 ..... you can always find an advantage to the oddball cartridges.
 
I see it as a mixture of just BS of people wanting new and exotic things and a genuine push for perfection. To me there's no one answer to a question like this. Some people want as many guns as they can and love learning different traits of cartridges like .280 or some other exotic type, and some want to master a couple of calibers they see as perfect. A great example is the evolution of .308 to 6.5 CM, both are good cartridges, but the 6.5 is gaining in popularity because it does so much so well.

But like Xipper said, there are certainly people who just want another expense. Lucky (crazy?) SOB's who can afford it.
 
p.Rundle said:
I see it as a mixture of just BS of people wanting new and exotic things and a genuine push for perfection. To me there's no one answer to a question like this. Some people want as many guns as they can and love learning different traits of cartridges like .280 or some other exotic type, and some want to master a couple of calibers they see as perfect. A great example is the evolution of .308 to 6.5 CM, both are good cartridges, but the 6.5 is gaining in popularity because it does so much so well.

But like Xipper said, there are certainly people who just want another expense. Lucky (crazy?) SOB's who can afford it.
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And I see your answer as probably the correct one!
I'm of the " pick a few popular rounds and keep the inventory tight" category.

I was just curious as to what the motivation was for someone to have so many different calibers and to be able to master them.
But I get it. Variety is the spice of life!
Enjoy!
 
Still alive said:
And I see your answer as probably the correct one!
I'm of the " pick a few popular rounds and keep the inventory tight" category.

I was just curious as to what the motivation was for someone to have so many different calibers and to be able to master them.
But I get it. Variety is the spice of life!
Enjoy!
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I don't know a ton of people that have obscure and/or wildcats, but many of them seem to have fewer guns, of a higher quality. For some, they will have a single rifle that is their go-to gun in 975 Whambang Magnum, using that one gun for all their hunting needs, unless they are hunting different types of game, or shooting different disciplines.
 
Papaclaude said:
I don't know a ton of people that have obscure and/or wildcats, but many of them seem to have fewer guns, of a higher quality. For some, they will have a single rifle that is their go-to gun in 975 Whambang Magnum, using that one gun for all their hunting needs, unless they are hunting different types of game, or shooting different disciplines.
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I think guys who do own obscure calibers are ones who really, really enjoy tinkering, shooting tight groups and chrono-ing loads. Patience of Job type guys.
Another group would be extremely avid hunters going after very specific dangerous game.
I have one hunting rifle and for my needs, that's just perfect!
 
Still alive said:
I think guys who do own obscure calibers are ones who really, really enjoy tinkering, shooting tight groups and chrono-ing loads. Patience of Job type guys.
Another group would be extremely avid hunters going after very specific dangerous game.
I have one hunting rifle and for my needs, that's just perfect!
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yeah, pretty much my experience.
 
Why do some people buy red cars, and some people buy white cars. Some people buy blue cars. And yellow, brown, grey, orange, green, and so on. There is no good reason to have multiple colour cars. And yet - there they are. :)

That's why.
 
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Sometimes the answer is in the history. The 223 evolved from the existing 222 rem because the military wanted an increased case capacity. The Ackley Improved all milk better performance with minimum alteration. 308's took over from the proven 30-06 because a shorter action was desired. This is also the case with the wave of short mags. Ballistics are not static. Someone always has an idea for making something shoot faster and flatter with less powder. While this may seem to make for an absurd number of choices, I am personally happy that we are all not stuck hunting with 30-30s, as venerable an old cartridge as it may be.
 
Marketing and advertising got the magnum craze started 50-60 years ago. 99% of people who bought belted magnums didn't need them.
10 years ago, advertising told us the short magnums were faster and more efficient, and people liked that idea and bought them.

Remington introduced the 7mm Express to capitalize on their earlier success with the 7mm Rem mag, but it didn't sell well. They remarketed it as the .280 Remington and it sold better.

Gun buyers are like crows - we are attracted to new, shiney things that we have no use for because we like the name, or our friend bought one. There doesn't need to be a "need".
 
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This I agree with. I

If it new and shiny it catches peoples attention. How much marketing went into selling the 26 Nosler ( just an example).

jethunter said:
Marketing and advertising got the magnum craze started 50-60 years ago. 99% of people who bought belted magnums didn't need them.
10 years ago, advertising told us the short magnums were faster and more efficient, and people liked that idea and bought them.

Remington introduced the 7mm Express to capitalize on their earlier success with the 7mm Rem mag, but it didn't sell well. They remarketed it as the .280 Remington and it sold better.

Gun buyers are like crows - we are attracted to new, shiney things that we have no use for because we like the name, or our friend bought one. There doesn't need to be a "need".
Click to expand...
 
There is has always been a massive "invent a caliber" craze in the hunting world, right from the start. The larger manufacturers getting into it themselves over the past 50 years certainly has added to all of the confusion.

Everyone has their different reasons as to why they like what they like. Personally, I'll be paring down to one hunting rifle once that one gets rechambered, and that will be in 7x57. Am I trying to be different? Well, one could argue that this caliber is the original modern rifle round and they got it right from the start... maybe I'm just going back to the start of the craze. If I needed a second rifle? .338-06.

Each caliber has its own balance of range, power, penetration, recoil, trajectory, and machismo. The shooter can get what fits him and his scenario best.

Why not a "normal" caliber? Because no matter what it is, I'll be loading it myself anyway and will make sure I have enough. Some people aren't in the same situation and go for something that is easy to find because they don't want to bother making it or looking for it or because it might be cheap, or maybe because they want something they can replace in camp after the airline loses it. But for a lot of us, having a pile of it on hand is all we care about, and want something optimized for our particular use. Hence all of the ".272x59mm Esoteric Magnum" calibers out there.
 
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