Favorite revolver cartridges

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.22 Long Rifle
.38 Special
.357 Magnum
.45 Colt

I hope to call 9mm and .45 ACP “favorite” revolver cartridges within 2021. :cool::D
 
Since all but two of my handguns are firing projectiles 0.355 to 0.357 which rounded up to have two digits would make my favorite THIRTY SIX caliber. :what:
IOW 9mm and 38SPL/357MAG. The two not 36 caliber are 22LR and 44SPL.
 
.38spl +p 12gr JHP very accurate with 686 snub, 130 -158 gr FMJ does well with M19-2.
 
In normal circumstances, .22 LR and .38 Special; I haven't shot any .44s in ages and don't own a .32 revolver.
But my S&W M25 .45 ACP will see use in the coming months. I have more large pistol primers than small and the clips get my empties back six at a time, shooting IDPA Revolver.
 
Hmm...how many to list? Well, I'll start with my favorite and work down the list in order of affection:

1. .45 Colt
2. .45 ACP
3. .41 magnum
4. .44 magnum
5. 10mm auto
6. .357 magnum
7. .40 S&W
8. .38 special
9. 9mm Parabelum
10. everything else
 
Howdy

I have lots of revolvers chambered for lots of cartridges, but I am not going to list them all here.

Generally speaking, I do two different types of revolver shooting.

At my club, it is all Smokeless, and the two most common cartridges I shoot are 38 Special and 22 Long Rifle. No idea which one I shoot more of. Usually in Smith and Wesson revolvers.

For Cowboy Action, all my shooting is with cartridges loaded with Black Powder.

Although my rifles are chambered for a few different cartridges, for my pistols (we always call a revolver a pistol in CAS) in descending order, I shoot 45 Colt, 44 Russian, and 44-40. The 45 Colts are always fired in 2nd Gen Colt Single Action Army revolvers, the 44 Russians in antique Top Break Smith and Wessons, 44-40 in an antique Merwin Hulbert.

More than you wanted to know, huh?
 
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I shoot the .45 AutoRim in my Webley, so no critique there. (yes, I load it myself to Webley pressure) A 260 grain Webley bullet in a .45AR case looks very cool.

I’m looking forward to loading up .45AR cases myself, also for a Webley. I’m really only lacking a proper bullet for the oddball throat/bore diameter combination. Which do you use? And have you ever tried hp-38/w231 for a powder?

Staying with the topic, though I have several calibers of revolver and more than one in the classic .38 Special chambering, the older and slower .38S&W has proven to be more enjoyable to shoot and reload for. It’s also seeing a lot more use in my carry rotation these days in my every day “small” guns.

It’s strictly enough cartridge for defense, low recoil and noise to shoot and slightly lower impact on valuable reloading components, and also has lots of historical relevance. It may be an unusual choice but the .38S&W is certainly my favorite revolver cartridge.

I’ll also add, there’s no reason why the same cartridge case couldn’t be loaded to near-or equal to modern 9x19 or .357 magnum pressure levels if a modern handgun handgun designed for the pressures involved was around to use it in.
 
The ones I own are:
.22lc
.22 tcm
.32 acp
.32 sw .32 swl
.32-20
.38 spcial
.357 mag
9mm
.41 mag
.44 special
.44 mag
.45 acp
..45 colt
The 22tcm,.32-20 and all of the forty calibers get the most use with the .45 colt being my favorite
 
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