What do you think is the most underrated handgun/rifle cartridges?

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As a couple others have said, 22 is probably the most underrated ... no one I know wants to see how much they hurt!
CB's, sub-sonic, long & LR ... of course shot placement is more critical with the smaller less powerful round.
 
8x57 mauser. Easy argument for the round that started it all....30-06 and all its successors based off of it. The USA tried to improve it by enlarging the case and making it a .30 cal. but that is questionable. It gives in modern loads performance surpassing the .308, arguably equal to the 30-06 in a shorter cartridge. Tens of thousands of homecoming GIs and mauser surplus shooters knew what it can do. The one indispensable rifle in my gun case. so many Johnny Come Latelys over the past several decades talk the talk, but cant improve on what it has been doing for over 100 years.
 
243 Winchester. My favorite round for whitetails.

My favorite round for just about everything. The 243 is darn near a do it all cartridge in the right hands. Light bullets for varmints/predators, heavy bullet for every thing else. Barnes X bullets really make a difference.
 
270 Win.

I get it. My appreciation for it came later in life. It seemed neither fish not foul, too small for a big game rifle, too big for varminting. I thought it was all fuss over Jack O'Connor boosting.

I was, and remain, a partisan of the Swede. 6.5x55 is great. But maybe something a little faster... So, I was looking at the many 26 caliber options and, eventually to the 6.5-06. And I was interested. As a 30-06 fan, the idea of a 6.5-06 seemed spot on. And I researched. And I envisaged a custom rifle. And then, I did math. And .277 is, as most of you already realize, only 0.013" larger diameter than 0 .264"

So, I got a rifle in 270 Win. And I realized that at any ranges I would hunt, it does everything a 30-06 will do (though I still insist on the 06 and 180s for elk). And it's pretty much ideal for deer, pronghorn, and coyote.

There are lots of great cartridges that it overlaps with. It's not a target cartridge. Some people can't get their heads around a standard action cartidge. It has more recoil than the 7mm-08. Okay.

But it is an amazing workhorse, capable of covering all hunting needs from predators through elk. It's underappreciated. But I get it. It's old and ubiquitous. I don't know that it's under-rated. Maybe just underenthused.
 
the Greater East Asia Co-prosperity Sphere.

WHOAAAA!!!!

Speaking as an historian I am impressed! I have never...and I mean never...seen anyone make that reference in any online (or in person) discussion of the Pacific War. It's not mentioned anywhere in any high school or even 1st/2nd year college history texts. I didn't even learn until I took a senior year college course that really focused on the Pacific War.

Kudos.
 
221 Fireball, 222 Rem, .444 Marlin, 7 Mauser, 9.3x62 and many others.

Most overrated, a toss up between 9mm and 5.56.
 
I have often thought 1/4 bores are not really appreciated. The only one that is really out There now is the 25-06 and it is not high on the ammo sales list. I have a pre 64 Winchester Model 70, that belonged to my Grandfather, in 257 Roberts. It is one of the sweetest shooting rifles i have ever shot. I also bought one of the Kimber 84Ms, a classic select, in 257 Roberts, because I liked the way it looks and handles. It is a very sweet rifle. It is light, very handy, won't kick you in the ground and won't wear you out carrying it. I also have a Savage 99R in 250-3000, 250 Savage now, it is a neat rifle to shoot and hunt with, with the right bullets. It think, for myself and in my part of the country a 1/4 bore is just right. I don't understand why they don't have more of a following. The .243 put the nails in the coffin of both the .257 Roberts and the 250 Savage. When the .243 came out it was talked up heavily in the magiznes, at the time, as a do anything round, from varmints to big game. I know a lot of people love the .243 but I think it is on the light side for even deer. I have seen good shots, and good bullet placement on deer, with the .243 and still have to trail them for a long ways. Sometimes, not even a bloodtrail. Even with high end ammo. The .25 calibers are just a better hunting round, imop. I know I may take flack for this statement. I have hunted with all three of the above calibers and shot game with all three. I speak form experience with these rounds and the .25 calibers just out shine the .243. As a deer round and it will even do good work as a varmint round.
 
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I know this sounds crazy as it was one of the most popular hunting cartridges. Today in the world of magnumitus I hear people underestimating the 30-30. Often even lumping it in with 7.62x39, or calling it anemic.

P.S. 38-55 could have become an awesome middle ground between 30-30 and 45-70 if it had higher commercial support for high pressure loadings and modern guns
 
WHOAAAA!!!!

Speaking as an historian I am impressed! I have never...and I mean never...seen anyone make that reference in any online (or in person) discussion of the Pacific War. It's not mentioned anywhere in any high school or even 1st/2nd year college history texts. I didn't even learn until I took a senior year college course that really focused on the Pacific War.

Kudos.

Things have changed. I learned it as a sophomore in high school. But, my teacher was a Marine who was on Dougout Doug's planning staff.
 
I'll go for this one too - especially if a rimless version were truly standardized. With the right bullets the 9mm bore diameter benefits quite a bit from added velocity.
Honestly I think the brass differences and the need for different extractors is why this is doomed. There would have to be a company making the guns and the ammo for it to work, and it’d still be a big gamble.

I’d really like a SA XDs in 38 super. All the benefits of more speed without the reloading headaches and loss of capacity that comes with 357 Sig.
 
WHOAAAA!!!!

Speaking as an historian I am impressed! I have never...and I mean never...seen anyone make that reference in any online (or in person) discussion of the Pacific War. It's not mentioned anywhere in any high school or even 1st/2nd year college history texts. I didn't even learn until I took a senior year college course that really focused on the Pacific War.

Kudos.

Thank you.

I did some graduate courses in World War II history, but in terms of my education on World War II those were far secondary to the value of listening to the veterans I grew up around. When I'm gone, and a few like me go, those stories, for the most part, will disappear.

The last time I talked to a veteran of World War II was at a friend's funeral. My childhood friend was on the riverboats in the Mekong Delta in Vietnam, and he had finally succumbed to Agent Orange. One of the men giving the twenty-one gun salute had been on a carrier in the Mediterranean in World War II. He was in his nineties. It was sad.

But then I looked over to the young, serving officers, a man and a woman, who presented the folded flag to my friend's widow, and I realized in that moment that we weren't hurting. The tradition carries on.
 
WHOAAAA!!!!

Speaking as an historian I am impressed! I have never...and I mean never...seen anyone make that reference in any online (or in person) discussion of the Pacific War. It's not mentioned anywhere in any high school or even 1st/2nd year college history texts. I didn't even learn until I took a senior year college course that really focused on the Pacific War.

Kudos.

Thank you.


I did some graduate courses in World War II history, but in terms of my education on World War II those were far secondary to the value of listening to the veterans I grew up around. When I'm gone, and a few like me go, those stories, for the most part, will disappear.


The last time I talked to a veteran of World War II was at a friend's funeral. My childhood friend was on the riverboats in the Mekong Delta in Vietnam, and he had finally succumbed to Agent Orange. One of the men giving the twenty-one gun salute had been on a carrier in the Mediterranean in World War II. He was in his nineties. It was sad.


But then I looked over to the young, serving officers, a man and a woman, who presented the folded flag to my friend's widow, and I realized in that moment that we weren't hurting. The tradition carries on
 

I agree. I did some reading about 270 a few months back and wondered why I don't see many rifles chambered for it at box stores. For awhile it seemed the only centerfire bolt guns I found were 243. The lack of love for 270 is why I prefer to have a bolt gun in 308 on hand when ammo starts getting scarce.
 
I agree. I did some reading about 270 a few months back and wondered why I don't see many rifles chambered for it at box stores. For awhile it seemed the only centerfire bolt guns I found were 243. The lack of love for 270 is why I prefer to have a bolt gun in 308 on hand when ammo starts getting scarce.

I dunno. As I understand it, it's time like now (ammo scarcity) that owning an underrated, less desirable caliber comes in handy. No one is rushing to clear the shelves of 270 Win ammo; they're all focused on those "other" calibers.
 
Handgun: 357 Sig. A 9mm on steroids, super reliable feeding, can repurpose your handgun chambered in the ‘dead’ 40 S&W with just a barrel swap.

Rifle: 358 Winchester. Great cast bullet cartridge, brass can be easily made from surplus 308, powerful enough for even the big bears in a pinch. A reloader who wanted to get lots of trigger time with full-power centerfire loads can cast up a batch of 250 grain bullets and drive them to the full potential of the cartridge.
 
I dunno. As I understand it, it's time like now (ammo scarcity) that owning an underrated, less desirable caliber comes in handy. No one is rushing to clear the shelves of 270 Win ammo; they're all focused on those "other" calibers.

Just a reason I would rather have both. But I got the 308 first.
 
My "two cents" opinion. I will say the 44 Special is way under rated for the handgun. And for the rifle I am going with the 300 Savage.
I could ramble on and on why I believe this. But I don"t want to bore you. :D
 
I know it's been wildly popular elsewhere but I wish that the 7.62x25 had been taken a bit more seriously here in the sporting and defense market.

In that vein, I feel the 7.62 x 39 has been underrepresented until rather recently in the sporting market as well.

Both of the above deliberately ignoring bleed-over from milsurps into sporting use.

Todd.
 
the start of a new era where the .277 bore isn't the retarded cousin of the 7mms any more.

But it is. And that it joined the Army is of no great surprise.

That Sig chose that caliber, instead of the myriad sizes that already have wonderful bullets, is a suprise.

But, every socially deficient cousin has family, I guess...:D
 
For rifle cartridges, toss-up between 7x57 Mauser and 7mm-08 Remington. The second surpasses the first slightly, but both are outstanding cartridges. Had I known then what I do now, my first hunting rifle would have been a 7mm-08 instead of a .308.

For pistols, .44 Special. Eclipsed by magnum-itus, this cartridge is sadly overlooked. Glad it is seeing a bit of a renaissance.
 
Had I known then what I do now, my first hunting rifle would have been a 7mm-08 instead of a .308.
Ha! Ha! Ha! There you go, Legionaire - you've gone and made me feel old!:D My first hunting rifle would have been a 7mm-08 instead of a .308 too, except for the fact I started big game hunting and killed my first deer in 1963 - about 17 years before the 7mm-08 was commercialized.
I agree with you though. And if for some reason I have to go back to using a smaller rifle someday, it will be a 7mm-08 Remington instead of a .308 Winchester.
BTW, I'll bet my wife feels sort of the same way - she started off with a .243, but as soon as the 7mm-08s hit the market, she traded up. She still has (owns) two 7mm-08s, but our oldest daughter kind of laid claim to one of them, and her oldest son (our oldest grandson) kind of laid claim to the other. My wife uses a semi-custom 7mm Rem Mag now, but she only loads it with what might be considered "+P" 7mm-08 loads.:)
 
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