Does this mean I don't like the rounds? No, I like the rounds fine, their great engineering achievments in their own right and I respect them.
-Rob
I have to agree. It's not that I don't like these calibers, but I don't have the time (or the money) to spend on every caliber out there. I started reloading ammo for .308 Win, then .380 ACP, then 9mm, then .38 Special, then .223 Rem, etc, etc, etc... Most of the caliber/gun combinations I have chosen over the years have been carefully selected after a lot of research and consideration about where they will fit and what they will do for me.
Some people I know have to have the latest caliber/gun no matter what. They'll fire a few hundred rounds through it, maybe like it, maybe not. Sometimes they'll sell it, but more often than not these guys will have one gun in every caliber they own. I'm the opposite. If I buy a gun in a specific caliber, I'll tend to buy several more guns chambered for the same cartridge.
At this point I have several guns in the calibers I have sort of fallen into, and it represents a big cost to me to buy into another caliber. For example, I recently purchased a Winchester Model 70 chambered in 270 WSM. Rifle, scope and rings set me back a good bit, but that's just the start. Then I had to buy a couple of boxes of several brands of factory ammo to start seeking the potential of this rifle/cartridge, which at $30/box is not cheap. Once I'd found the level of performance I could strive for, I bought reloading dies, an assortment of likely bullets, and of course I had to buy 3 different powders over and above my current inventory. I'll be working up test loads and chronographing them to the tune of 5 to 10 hours per week for the next month or so, at which point I will hopefully have several satisfactory loads chosen, which I will then have to reload in quantity. Investment in components & caliber-specific equipment probably has run me $300 or so, and that doesn't even begin to cover my time. Good thing I enjoy this process so much!
Same process applies to handgun calibers. I tend to stick with 9mm (which I no longer reload for, since factory ball ammo is so cheap and so good), .45 ACP, and to a lesser extent .40 S&W. In revolvers, I've got my hands full with .38 Spl/.357 Magnum, .44 Magnum, and .45 Colt. Oh, and .32 H&R Mag now, since my daughter started shooting cowboy action.
I need a new handgun caliber like I need a poke in the eye with a sharp stick!