Dead and Dying Cartridges...

[PRichardson87]

That reminds me, a neighbor gave me an old tool bag, loaded down to busting with various brass, bullet heads and even a few ancient loaded rounds of "thurty-thurty". But MOSTLY .41 mag brass and heads. Since I don't HAVE a .41 mag anything, I'll want to trade those off for something...

As far as "old timey" "obsolete" cartridges go, HA! Try to find a decent supply of .375 Winchester! I bought a mint Marlin in that caliber, intending on making it a fine black bear rifle, until I couldn't find any ammo for it at all. (Okay, the tiny amount I DID find was so outrageous, it was hopeless!) That was, of course, until JUST after I sold the rifle for a 45-70, THEN I couldn't go through a gun show without tripping over some... (my luck!) It would have stayed like that had I kept that .375 for 20 more years, too!

My cartridge that I love that everybody calls "obsolete" is that darn .357 Sig, I LOVE that round in both my G32C and a KKM barrel converted G35, best compensated gun I've every used for the 32C and crazy accurate in both. Luckily, I bought a bunch of .357 Sig from TSUSA years ago.

I have an old Winchester 94 XTR in 375. It's an excellent round that was designed to compete with the 30-30 but just never caught on. If I'm just out shooting with it I run 38-55 and works excellent. It's easier to find but not cheap at around 3.50 rnd.

 

[4896worker]

The .357 Sig was the darling of may LEO organizations, then someone must have complained about the volume or recoil and it was gone. Down here .357 Sig brass was ankle deep after LEO's finished training at a local outdoor range.

The sig is a near perfect round... higher cap than a .45, unbelievably reliable feeding, enough power to outclass other 9's like the super and 9mm.

As long as the 10mm stays alive this time, I can make .357 Sig. Too bad even Sig dropped the round.

I always thought that if the .357 sig came out before the .40 S&W there never would have been a .40 S&W .

 

[krw]

The older I get, in rifle cartridges, I cood make do with 308 an 223. In Pistol 9mm and 45LC. And always let me keep several cs's 22LR

 

[daveag.]

I have my Grandfather's 1892. .25-20 that still shoots great. 120 years old. Brass is hard to find, Starline has .32-20. I neck that down when I need fresh brass.

 

[BULL'S-EYE]

Been making 25-20 from 32-20 for my 1894 CL for far too long now. I had been petitioning Starline regularly to make brass for quite some time, and was finally contacted saying they were "working on it."...Then 2020 happened

 

[the_leper_colony]

I always thought that if the .357 sig came out before the .40 S&W there never would have been a .40 S&W .

Could be right! But there are lots of folks who like "wildcats", and other folks who hate bottle-necked pistol cartridges, so I think a '10mm/357SIG' wildcat would have been pretty inevitable. Or maybe the .41 AE would have filled the gap, and been way more popular!

 

[SteveSt]

For me, it seems that some people must have the latest and hottest cartridge on the shelf. It doesn't matter if the ballistics are only 1fps faster, or the drop is 3ft farther out, they must have it and it is sold like hot biscuits for a couple of years. Then is slowly fades away when the "newest and better" comes out.

I don't have a 40, but I hope it stays around. From what I have read it is a little softer shooting than a 10mm, and it fills a gap between the 9mm and 45 ACP.

One of my favorites is the 41 mag and I hope it hangs on too. It's hard to get so I may start reloading just to have some to shoot. I probably have 1000 41 empty cartridges that I have shot out in case I wanted to start reloading. And I have 44, 45, 357 and 38 empties to play with too.

 

[vlavalle]

For those of us who reload, and particularly for those of us who reload and cast our own bullets no cartridge really dies until brass, or donor cases that can be reformed, disappears. For those who do not reload once ammo production ceases the cartridge is effectively dead.

This seems to be more of a statement of definition, as opposed to anything currently going on in the industry.

 

[bobski]

22 long. i mean...why?

 

[eveled]

The older I get, in rifle cartridges, I cood make do with 308 an 223. In Pistol 9mm and 45LC. And always let me keep several cs's 22LR

.357 would cover all my needs. From a pocket revolver to a lever action rifle.

But what fun would that be?

 

[eveled]

I've often wondered if the single six convertible's popularity is the reason .22magnum is still around?

I mean it had to help sell a lot of .22 mag rifles.

 

[Actnbill]

The 40 S&W has seen the biggest drop recently that I have noticed.....Just about every law enforcement agency I can think of has dropped it....

I still have a Smith Smegma 40 that I keep around till I clean out my stash of 40's.....other than that I can't hardly give it away....

 

[Threespears]

50-70
348 Winchester
30-40
32 Colt long and short
Just a few that are hanging around in my safe

 

[375hh1973]

Bought a new production Win 1895 in .405 in October because I want to kill a deer with a wood blue gun with no scope. I have never killed a deer without using an optic, whether rifle, handgun, or muzzleloader. I had a Williams receiver sight added.

I knew going in that ammo was gonna be iffy.

Good thing I work a lot of OT is all I can say, LOL

 

[Pál_K]

Easily once a year at least one of the gun magazines has a headline story: ".41 The Forgotten Magnum." I've been seeing that since 1988.

Regarding wildcats, having seen the success of the 6.5-284, I have some ideas for what would be great wildcats:

7.62-35 Krammer (.35 Whelen necked down to .308)

7.62-270 Krammer (.270 Winchester necked up to .308)

These might be the greatest cartridges of all time.

 

[6GUNSONLY]

[Quote: 7.62-35 Krammer (.35 Whelen necked down to .308)

7.62-270 Krammer (.270 Winchester necked up to .308)

These might be the greatest cartridges of all time. Quote]

Wait, wouldn't that be... oh, I see what you did there....

Personally, I wish the ammo companies would focus on increasing the supply of needed items like primers, powder, and brass instead of inventing new new, useless cartridges that will mostly die a fairly quick death when everybody figures out they don't do anything some existing cartridge doesn't already do. But I guess that doesn't sell new rifles, ammo, and related equipment. Latest American Rifleman (which I've already tossed) has some new short 6mm concoction (I've already forgotten the name of it and couldn't care less) that I'm sure is just the cats meow for something I'm not even aware that I need.

 

[eveled]

I've gone down the rabbit hole researching Contender barrels. It always brings old obsolete wildcat cartridges to light. Highlighting a very interesting time in firearms history.

Seems they made a barrel for everyone.

 

[bobski]

they were a smart company.

 

[wwb]

I've gone down the rabbit hole researching Contender barrels. It always brings old obsolete wildcat cartridges to light. Highlighting a very interesting time in firearms history.

Seems they made a barrel for everyone.

Oh, yeah.... the T/C Contender. The heroin of firearms. After two frames and a half-dozen barrels, you're hooked. Next thing you know, you're making deals in a back alley with a shady character. You keep telling yourself, "Just one more and I'll quit."

 

[kickingandscreaming]

Oh, yeah.... the T/C Contender. The heroin of firearms. After two frames and a half-dozen barrels, you're hooked. Next thing you know, you're making deals in a back alley with a shady character. You keep telling yourself, "Just one more and I'll quit."

Hook me up bruh….