6 Dead, Dying, and Soon-To-Be-Obsolete Handgun Cartridges. Agree?

[Knob Creek]

What about 45 long Colt?
There can't be that many Governors or Judge's out there?

I guess you don’t get out to Cowboy Action Matches very often.

 

[MAGA99]

This is nothing more than a list of 4 easy one and .40 being tossed in to make it seem like there was a purpose to writing the piece

IMO, field and stream is dying/dead. Used to read it religiously.

 

[Randy Lahey]

What about 45 long Colt?
There can't be that many Governors or Judge's out there?

A lot of single action revolvers still chambered in it. For the cowboys.

 

[PatMcD]

Hating on the .40 because it's shorter, weaker version of the 10mm is the same as hating on the 308 because it's a shorter, weaker version of the 30-06.

 

[fencer]

Hating on the .40 because it's shorter, weaker version of the 10mm is the same as hating on the 308 because it's a shorter, weaker version of the 30-06.

Or 380 because it's... wait everyone hates 380

 

[Mesatchornug]

Hating on the .40 because it's shorter, weaker version of the 10mm is the same as hating on the 308 because it's a shorter, weaker version of the 30-06.

I like it. But I wonder - is it a distinction without a difference to note that 308 was developed* to match black powder 06, then more modern loadings were developed, while 40 was developed specifically to be less powerful than 10mm?

*in my understanding...

 

[teamRR]

Really, the obvious counter to the statement about .40 is looking at the inventory in a typical gun shop. You see a lot of 9mm, you see a handful of .380 and .22lr, but outside of that you are as likely to run across a .40 as a .45, and they may not even have a 10mm in the case.

.40 is fun to bullshit about but it's not going away, not for a loooong time. Really to the contrary it's kinda popular.

 

[whacko]

I like it. But I wonder - is it a distinction without a difference to note that 308 was developed* to match black powder 06, then more modern loadings were developed, while 40 was developed specifically to be less powerful than 10mm?

*in my understanding...

I don't think that's accurate. 30 06 was never a black powder cartridge.

308 was developed as powder technology improved and allowed similar ballistics to a 30 06..... in a slightly smaller case. Had nothing to do with black powder vs smokeless....30 06 was always smokeless

 

[Mesatchornug]

I don't think that's accurate. 30 06 was never a black powder cartridge.

308 was developed as powder technology improved and allowed similar ballistics to a 30 06..... in a slightly smaller case. Had nothing to do with black powder vs smokeless....30 06 was always smokeless

Thank you for clarifying.

 

[Rob Boudrie]

There are some calibers that have evolved into specialty status - dedicated followings, but not generally found on store shelves.

38 Super has been around for a long time, and was all but dead until resurrected by the action shooting crowd. It's rarely seen in gun shops, though some manufacturers are picking up up, and brass is readily available though you can't get it cheap on the used market lie 9, 40 and 45. It spawned a new caliber that is taking over part of the niche the niche - 38 super comp, which is a 38 super without a traditional semi auto rim rather than the semi-rim case of the super. It only takes sufficient demand to get a mainstream manufacturer to offer the brass to keep a caliber alive. Winchester, Armscor and Starline all make 38 Super brass; Starline and possibly others make 38 SuperComp as well.

But, there are other calibers that come into existence only to die. 45GAP, 25Dillon, and the newer 45 rimmed ammo all come to mind.

 

[kalash]

I've shot .40 and 9mm back to back in the exact same gun (G35 conversion) and on target the .40 hits so much harder than 9mm.

Wtf does that mean? It has more felt recoil? Because that's a horrible way to judge calibers.

 

[moojpg2]

This guys referring to retail stuff. Like when you used to be able to go into Woolorths and pick it up. Not what you reload. Not what we reload.
Whens the last time you heard someone say "I just picked up a brand new .32 mag?" That thing went the way of the dodo one .327 fed mag came out, and even that things a footnote.
Yes, 38 spl fits into pocket revolvers. So does 9mm. S&W even makes a 7shot snub L frame
Who buys 300 gr .44 mag? Whens the last time you saw someone walk into giant-sport-box-store-x and say " Boy I'd really like to spend a paycheck on a a box of 20 silhouette loads"
Can you stuff 10 of em in a tupperware framed bottom feed?
.38 super is obsolete, still saw a metric ass-ton of it at shoots.

Its a 15 year market analysis. Those 6 cartridges listed are niche cartridges. A pallet of 9mm will sell faster than half a case of .38 spl or .44 mag.
All thousand rounds of my 38 spl ammo, obsolete. Doesn't mean I'm not going to shoot and reload it.
All two thousand rounds of .45 acp, borderline obsolete. Don't care.
300 rounds of .357- ob-so-leet. Doesn't mean I'm not going to launch them out of my obsolete levergun.
250 rounds of .45 auto-rim, gone the way of the dinosaur, but they run out of my 625.

.44 Mag is not obsolete at all, it is probably still the most popular big bore revolver round amongst hunters and sportsman. I regularly carry and use 300gr hard cast .44 mag in a 4 5/8" super blackhawk when I'm spending any length of time in an area where I can run into moose or a big black bear. I've literally been hiking in Maine and had a cow moose and her calf pass on the other side of a tree I was behind to take a shit. Had a pretty decent sized black bear casually run up on me while I was taking a piss up by the Quabbin one time, had my dick in one hand and quickly had that .44 mag cocked in the other lol luckily he took off once he looked up and saw me and I yelled at him. Soon realized my dumb ass had ducked off into the bush to piss in the middle of a well worn game trail lol

 

[T-Unit]

Wtf does that mean? It has more felt recoil? Because that's a horrible way to judge calibers.

Oh, the .40 has more recoil than 9mm, it's on par with .45 ACP, but how much harder and faster it would knock down steel plates it was surprising how much better .40 did it than 9mm.

 

[Knob Creek]

There are some calibers that have evolved into specialty status - dedicated followings, but not generally found on store shelves.

38 Super has been around for a long time, and was all but dead until resurrected by the action shooting crowd. It's rarely seen in gun shops, though some manufacturers are picking up up, and brass is readily available though you can't get it cheap on the used market lie 9, 40 and 45. It spawned a new caliber that is taking over part of the niche the niche - 38 super comp, which is a 38 super without a traditional semi auto rim rather than the semi-rim case of the super. It only takes sufficient demand to get a mainstream manufacturer to offer the brass to keep a caliber alive. Winchester, Armscor and Starline all make 38 Super brass; Starline and possibly others make 38 SuperComp as well.

But, there are other calibers that come into existence only to die. 45GAP, 25Dillon, and the newer 45 rimmed ammo all come to mind.

Nice caliber that evolved from the Colt .38 ACP.

 

[jasons]

It's not even really the cartridge that is hated the most (its just another cartridge, it's actually not that bad, even if its reason for existing is 110% stupid, you could carry many worse things) it's more about the GSC type .40 acolytes that are still living in the 90s, clinging to their marshall and sanow test pdf and that Strasbourg goat test paperwork (for the thing withe the goat shootings that never happened)

Basically most of them are like that kid at the bus stop who keeps punching himself in the nuts because his friends told him it'd make his junk bigger... and the kid actually believed them. He only stopped when he woke up and noticed his nuts hurt but his thing wasn't actually bigger. But that takes years, or even a decade for a typical gsc .40 fornicator.

"Hurr durr knockdown powar!!!!!"
"Hurr durr usin a caliber dat starts with FOAR!!!!"
"Hurr durr pooooleece and effbeeye!!!! Use it!!!!!!!!!"
" 40 si bettar!!!! Even tho I don’t care if it was all based on junk science! Durrrrrr!!!! Pppppppppppbtttttttt!!!!!!!"
".40 is better because cuck nanny state 10rd capacity excuse!!!!!!!!!!!! You're just a POOP HEAD if u disagree!!!!! even tho im a self proclaimed fag for getting rapt about capacity!!!!"

"Gun Shop Commando m Odoyle, Lover of 40 SW, also smelled own farts and got high from it"


View: https://youtu.be/1eXSIsNS4tw

Eta: if they had survived that, all those kids would have owned a 40. And carried it in a nylon gun shop holster.

The only thing worse than those guys are the NES cool guys that hate on 40 but don’t actually know why, probably while carrying a 9mm loaded with mixed plinking rounds. (But nothing in the chamber of course.)

 

[DW357]

The only thing worse than those guys are the NES cool guys that hate on 40 but don’t actually know why, probably while carrying a 9mm loaded with mixed plinking rounds. (But nothing in the chamber of course.)

40 still remains relatively popular in USPSA to meet major PF so it most likely will never go away. But that’s meaningless to like 99% of NES members

 

[Mark from MA]

A lot of single action revolvers still chambered in it. For the cowboys.

What lever guns are left are also chambered in it too.

I've souped it up into 44 mag territory speeds, its no slouch if you want to hunt with it.

 

[Mark from MA]

40 still remains relatively popular in USPSA to meet major PF so it most likely will never go away. But that’s meaningless to like 99% of NES members

This..... 40 will be around for a long time, no way in hell is it becoming obsolete.

 

[drgrant]

40 still remains relatively popular in USPSA to meet major PF so it most likely will never go away. But that’s meaningless to like 99% of NES members

That's basically the only thing it's "great" at, and the brass availability complements that.

 

[Mark from MA]

I think the .41 mag has a dedicated following (me included), with that said it was pretty much dead from the beginning.

I agree, I think there is one Henry lever with no side feed port that is made to take it.

I have an old Ruger 3 screw that takes it. There might be one or two Smith or Ruger revolvers around that are still chambered for it.

Someone gave me an assload of 41 mag ammo for free, and I wanted to buy that Henry, but now I can't find one.

 

[Mountain]

Hating on the .40 because it's shorter, weaker version of the 10mm is the same as hating on the 308 because it's a shorter, weaker version of the 30-06.

Well yeah- 7.62/.308 was invented because all the Nancy-boys were intimidated by .30-06 plus they kept whining, "My ammo is heavy, waahh!" Then we totally gave up on society's ability to produce he-men and punted with the 5.56. Once one understands this progression for modern military rifles it's easy to understand why NES-ers get so defensive about their 9mm's. "Round count. Just as effective. Blah blah blah..."

 

[drgrant]

The only thing worse than those guys are the NES cool guys that hate on 40 but don’t actually know why, probably while carrying a 9mm loaded with mixed plinking rounds. (But nothing in the chamber of course.)

Yeah but that's not a well defined archetype like the .40 SW gun shop commando is. although one doesn't witness as many of them these days, but they still exist. In the early 2000s it was really bad.

 

[5 DOLLAR FOOT LONG]

Came to check if this included the .475 wildey magnum - its a shorter version of the african big game cartridge and it makes a real mess.

 

[Mesatchornug]

Well yeah- 7.62/.308 was invented because all the Nancy-boys were intimidated by .30-06 plus they kept whining, "My ammo is heavy, waahh!" Then we totally gave up on society's ability to produce he-men and punted with the 5.56. Once one understands this progression for modern military rifles it's easy to understand why NES-ers get so defensive about their 9mm's. "Round count. Just as effective. Blah blah blah..."

not our fault, y'all raised us on television and microwave dinners.

 

[1903Collector]

I agree, I think there is one Henry lever with no side feed port that is made to take it.

I have this rifle and I love it, it's on of my favorites but I ordered it before things went screwy. S&W still makes the mod 57, I got that one too but it has the lock unfortunately. I have my eye out for a 657 that I don't need to mortgage my house for.

 

[jkelly1229]

As a .45 GAP owner I'm not sure it ever lived.

For the record, I bought mine during high COVID and then bought 3,000 rounds of 45GAP cheap to train with since I had let my 9mm reserves get down to a few thousand. No regrets, it served its purpose but it's a lame round.

Where did you even find that much gap lol

 

[Nick Fury]

To put all those other mainstream calibers in the lineup with 45 GAP is the most face flat obsolete comparison I think I have ever seen.

 

[JRT]

2000 from Target Sports and believe it or not my LGS ordered 1000 rounds thinking it was 45ACP lol. I took it off his hands for what he paid for it. He claimed he bought so fast that he didn’t pay close enough attention, my win!

 

[Dennis in MA]

They should add .357 SIG. Quite rare now.

Very late to the party. That was my first thought. "Where is 357Sig?"

I've still got 3-4 40S&W guns, so I'm not having them go anywhere. 41Mag - can't see how anything isn't obsolete already. Ditto for 25Assippee. And 32 H&R.

 

[Road_Clam]

Good stuff, i was getting worried, its been almost a month since we had to endure 200+ post thread of caliber fanboy arguing .