Fun Questions

I would say the most under rated cartridge is the 5.7x28mm. A lot of people try to down play how powerful it really is.

Most over rated would be the 45ACP. It doesn't do anything the 9mm and the 40 S&W don't do just as well.

Underrated = .327

Overrated = .40 I only say that because some people say they will not use anything that doesn't start with a 4. Personally, if something works for you then it is hard to be overrated.

Shawn

Under-rated: 32 ACP, because it's dismissed as weak cartridge whereas it can be very potent in a BUG.

Over-rated: 40 SW, because it is my opinion that in presence of 10mm and 45 ACP, I dont see role for it, especially when there is also 9mm.

That said, I like variety and for that even some odd ball purpose specific calibers.

Underrated - .327 Federal

Overrated - .40 S&W

.22 is definitely underrated, I find it interesting that a lot of you think the .40 is overrated, please someone explain your position.

.32 H&R Mag is definately under rated! And 500 S&W is definately over rated!

A case could also be made for the .22 WMR being under rated. I use it quite extensively for yote control on down to p-dog.
Anything over .41 Mag that has painful recoil is just no fun to shoot. I do like .45 ACP however, .460 Alaskan is just not fun!

What do you think is the most under rated handgun cartridge?

.327 Federal or .41 Magnum. In the case of .41, underrated just because of lack of usage. Those that use it recognize it.

What do you think is the most over rated handgun cartridge?
.45 ACP.

Under-rated: .380 Auto.

The round has plenty of punch when it's properly placed on the target, and it has been getting the job done for decades. It's often compared to the 9mmx19 in terms of power, and since it can't match the 9mmx19, it gets poo-pooed. People say that unless you need a pocket gun, everything that shoots .380 can be size-matched by something in 9mmx19. Yes, probably so. But some of the classic carry guns (the PPK comes to mind) have never been chambered in anything bigger than .380, and never will be.

Over-rated: All the "super" rounds like 460, 500, 454 Casull, etc. that kick so hard and produce so much muzzle flip you'll probably never get a follow-up defensive shot. YMMV. As for me, if I can't stop it with a .44 Magnum, I get a long gun.

I don't get why so many people are down on the .40S&W. The gripe we hear most is it's a cartridge in search of a purpose, but we hear it from people who have rifles chambered in modern cartridges that are so close in performance to classic cartridges you'd have to look at headstamps to know which was which.

Under -.22lr

Over - 9mm

But the cartridge is only one piece to a varying puzzle.

Underrated - .327 Federal magnum.........

Overrated - .40 S&W or 9x19 NATO..........

Underrated: I think that the most underrated is probably the .25acp because it is crapped on by virtually everyone despite having very similar performance to the .22lr cartridge when fired from pistol length barrels. It has at least two major benefits over .22lr because it uses centerfire primers which are more reliable then the highest quality rimfire ammo and it also has the benefit of having a FMJ bullet which makes it feed more reliably.

Overrated: I think that extremely large revolver calibers are overrated because the muzzle blast and recoil make it hard to get a follow up shot in. In low light situations it is especially blinding.

underrated 10mm

overrated 380acp

It has a lot to do with purpose. So I'll do mine for SD...

Underated: 9mm. Of course, no one wants to get hit with one but acting like it is not "enough" is still fairly common.

Overrated: .44 Mag. It will not actually "blow your head clean off".

Renegade Ziggy said:

.22 is definitely underrated, I find it interesting that a lot of you think the .40 is overrated, please someone explain your position.

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+1 on the .22
as for the 40S&W ,I'll say overrated, as there will never be a +p load for it , we have the 10mm , witch is a 40cal, so there is no reason for the 40S&W not that it's a bad round , it's just not as good as the 10mm, and load data shows useing the same bullets

Here's my shocking contribution: the .357 is overrated, _as a cartridge for snub-nosed revolvers_.

Don't get me wrong - I consider the .357 just about ideal when fired from anything with more than a three-inch barrel. From a two-inch barrel, the 9mm delivers almost identical performance, with much less recoil and blast. With three-inch barrels or less, the .40 works just as well.

http://www.ballisticsbytheinch.com/357mag.html
http://www.ballisticsbytheinch.com/40sw.html
http://www.ballisticsbytheinch.com/9luger.html

Underrated? For anything other than self defense or hunting large game, nothing beats the .22lr.

I have to agree with the poster who said the 5.7x28mm is underrated.

Overrated, IMO, is the .22 LR. I absolutely cannot stand shooting a gun in that cartridge, but everyone talks about it like its the holy grail.

Edit: changed my overrated answer

What do you think is the most under rated handgun cartridge?

Click to expand...

That's a bit tough. I'd probably say the .380ACP is no where near as bad as some people make it out to be.

What do you think is the most over rated handgun cartridge?

Click to expand...

I'd say the .40S&W. IMO it just doesn't do anything that a 9mm or .45ACP can't do just as well so I don't see much reason for it to exist.

Most under rated - .40 S&W

Lots of people like to hate on this round, and very little does anyone back up their claims with any sort of logic or proof. When compared to 9mm, that childhood saying of "anything you can do I can do better" comes to mind.

Most over rated - .45 acp

"If you hit a man in the thumb it will knock him on his butt" This, and many other tall tales about the .45 are spread from idiot to idiot like some sort of manly gospel, and that get's old.

Overrated handgun cartridge: 5.56x45, 45acp.

One is "a rifle round in a pistol!" going too slow out of that pistol barrel to do anything it was designed to do...the other has been eclipsed by more efficient cartridges, yet no other cartridge has as many fanboys as the 45acp.

Underrated handgun cartridge: 22lr, 38 spcl.

You can shoot anything on this continent in the right spot with the 22 and it will die...eventually. $2 worth of ammo that takes up a cig pack worth of space and weighs nothing = ten years worth of meat if you use it right.
the 38 doesn't get the credit it deserves these days. It will do anything. Its just not tacticool anymore.

The .32 revolver cartridge is not underrated; it only has 1 1/2 times the energy of a .22 LR. Yes, it's very accurate, but so?

This sounds like fun, I'll play!

Under-rated: 9x19mm and .22LR. 9mm because so many look down on it as a weak sister. And many people regard the .22 as something only for teaching new shooters that should be housed in cheap firearms.

Over-rated: 10mm. No matter how many times it is read or written, it isn't in the power class for the .41 Magnum and bigger wheelguns.

Underrated = 22WMR
Overrated = 9mm

Most over-rated to me seems to be the .45ACP. Awesome round, but not sitting as high on the hill as it once was, or as some still make it out to be.
Most under-rated: any round fired from a so-called "budget" gun, such as a Taurus, Kel-Tec, Bersa, or Charter Arms.