coosbaycreep
Member
If I had to guess, this would be my list;
1. 7.62X39mm
2. 7.62X54R
3. .303 british
4. 9mm
5. .308
6. 8mm mauser
7. .223
8. .45acp
9. .30-06
10. .30 carbine
11. 22lr
1. I would guess 7.62X39mm first, simply because of how prolific AKs and SKSs have been the past six decades, even though they missed out on being used in both world wars, which were by far the bloodiest conflicts in history. I'm sure the popularity of rifles chambered in that caliber being used by gangs, guerillas, and third world nations probably helps close the gap though.
2. 7.62X54R has been around for ever. Mosins killed a boatload of people in WWII, and there's still people being killed with Mosins and Dragunovs.
3. Even though it's not nearly as common today, .303 british has been killing people since the beginning of time.
4. 9mm has been around over a century, and is still the most common handcun caliber in the world today. It's been a common caliber for sidearms and SMGs in almost every conflict, by almost every nation, and it's killed a lot of people in civillian murders too.
5.. .308 has been used by NATO for a very long time. It saw action in Vietnam and Korea with Americans, and has seen action worldwide by all kinds of third world folks using G3s, FALs, etc.
6. 8mm mauser, simply because of how many people were probably killed with it during both world wars. It was also adopted by other nations, and is still used today.
7. .223 because it's been the main cartridge of NATO for a long time, even though the conflicts it's been involved with haven't been as bloody as the conflicts that most of the older .30 cal. cartridges were involved in.
8. .45acp just because of longevity, and the fact that it was chambered in 1911s, thompsons, etc. It's killed a lot of people in the civillian world too, although still not as commonly used as 9mm.
9. .30-06 because of the M1 Garand, 1903, and BAR, all of which saw a ton of service. It was used by lots of other nations as well, and is still one of the most common hunting calibers, even though not too many people get killed while hunting.
10. .30 carbine because of it's use during WWII and Korea. The M1 carbine is the most highly produced small arm in American history.
11. .22lr because of how cheap and common it is, even though it's never been the official caliber of any nation's standard weapons, it's been killing people across the globe for a long time, and will never become obsolete.
Again, I'm just guessing about all of this, but am curious if anyone has a better idea of what small arms caliber has caused the most death and destruction throughout history.
1. 7.62X39mm
2. 7.62X54R
3. .303 british
4. 9mm
5. .308
6. 8mm mauser
7. .223
8. .45acp
9. .30-06
10. .30 carbine
11. 22lr
1. I would guess 7.62X39mm first, simply because of how prolific AKs and SKSs have been the past six decades, even though they missed out on being used in both world wars, which were by far the bloodiest conflicts in history. I'm sure the popularity of rifles chambered in that caliber being used by gangs, guerillas, and third world nations probably helps close the gap though.
2. 7.62X54R has been around for ever. Mosins killed a boatload of people in WWII, and there's still people being killed with Mosins and Dragunovs.
3. Even though it's not nearly as common today, .303 british has been killing people since the beginning of time.
4. 9mm has been around over a century, and is still the most common handcun caliber in the world today. It's been a common caliber for sidearms and SMGs in almost every conflict, by almost every nation, and it's killed a lot of people in civillian murders too.
5.. .308 has been used by NATO for a very long time. It saw action in Vietnam and Korea with Americans, and has seen action worldwide by all kinds of third world folks using G3s, FALs, etc.
6. 8mm mauser, simply because of how many people were probably killed with it during both world wars. It was also adopted by other nations, and is still used today.
7. .223 because it's been the main cartridge of NATO for a long time, even though the conflicts it's been involved with haven't been as bloody as the conflicts that most of the older .30 cal. cartridges were involved in.
8. .45acp just because of longevity, and the fact that it was chambered in 1911s, thompsons, etc. It's killed a lot of people in the civillian world too, although still not as commonly used as 9mm.
9. .30-06 because of the M1 Garand, 1903, and BAR, all of which saw a ton of service. It was used by lots of other nations as well, and is still one of the most common hunting calibers, even though not too many people get killed while hunting.
10. .30 carbine because of it's use during WWII and Korea. The M1 carbine is the most highly produced small arm in American history.
11. .22lr because of how cheap and common it is, even though it's never been the official caliber of any nation's standard weapons, it's been killing people across the globe for a long time, and will never become obsolete.
Again, I'm just guessing about all of this, but am curious if anyone has a better idea of what small arms caliber has caused the most death and destruction throughout history.
