Least useful modern caliber?

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I suppose usefulness is defined by one's situation and desires for the most part.

I have two of the calibers listed. One is a 10mm G20 with an M6. Seems like the perfect house gun to me. Auto loader with the whack of a 41 mag.

The other is a CZ .204. I already had a .223, .22-250, and .25-06. The .204 lets you see the hits on critters. Low recoil and flat shooting. Doesn't heat the barrel like the .22-250.

Both of those filled a niche. The new crop of super mags are the ones I can't see. They do nothing that existing stuff won't, cost WAY more to shoot, are hard to find ammo for, and resale is squat.

Had a car stopped on our county road. Girl had hit a deer and broken both it's back legs. Guy stops and is going to put it down with a .25 acp. Walks up and shoots it point blank in the head four times. None penetrated. We ended up using a knife.
YMMV
 
After seeing this I'd say the 9x19, but that would cause a lot of controversy.

Look how many times they shot him! And he was still able to grip his gun and maneuver?
 
Most useless? Or safest to mock online?

There are a lot of rounds that are safe to rip into online. .25ACP? Not going to get a lot of argument here. Any of the modern manufacturer-specific rounds (.45 GAP, .32NAA, .480 Ruger) are pretty safe as well. Does that mean they are useless?

I personally know only one person who carried a .25ACP. A little Beretta pocket gun from the 1950s. He used it -- successfully -- many times. How can it be useless if he used it successfully? If it was so useless, why did he choose to use it when he had other handguns available?

The key is that his use was different from yours. For him, a small, light, and fairly accurate pistol that could be forgotten in a pocket and then pulled out to kill a poisonous snake with minimal fuss and neighbor-bothering on his tiny "farm" was a way to protect his livestock and family from the most common threat he faced. You? Assuming you are an average person you don't own livestock and haven't seen a poisonous snake outside of a zoo in your life.

The .45 GAP, .327 Federal, and so on aren't useless either. They may have been a bad idea (I'm convinced on the GAP, not sure on the Federal) and they may be redundant or more expensive but they aren't useless.

I have no use for the really bruising heavy-recoil guns, especially ones that throw brass. A .585 Nyati bolt gun is pretty high up my list of useless...a .50BMG semi-auto even higher. Also have no use for the sub-caliber long range rodent killers (I try not to kill things I don't want to eat)...but all that means is *I* have no use for them.
 
It's funny 30-35 years ago, 9mm would have been at the top of the list. Of course, back then, mm was part of that "New Math" and metric system everyone was complaining about.
 
I noticed that the OP was intelligent enough to use the expression, "least useful". I have also noticed the internet experts continually exhibit a need for the use of the words "useless", "pos", "crap", "toy", etc.

Until one is ready to stand and take 2 or 3 bullets from any of the above classifications to prove his point, I doubt his credentials are valid for using those words toward any gun. Least useful is subjective, but at least leaves room for intelligent discussion.

(Of course, I tend to be negative and disbelieving towards a lot of things, such as dogfoof companies telling me that a certain dogfood has the taste of sirloin or other delicacies. Unless they have a homeless person or starving senior citizen as a taste-test expert!)
 
Add my name to the GAP and .25 list. only use for the .25 to me is adaptor kit i installed on my T/C Endeavor allowing me to use the .25 acp small rifle primers instead of the 209x50 primer and that was just because i was bored at the time.
 
I would have to qualify the title of the thread, because I can't speak for everybody: "least useful modern caliber TO ME."
I'll restrict myself only to one that I've had experience with: The .40 S&W.
The only added benefit that I see is that it has a "4" in the name. Otherwise, there seems to be little or no terminal advantage over either the 9mm or the .45. (And certainly not the 10mm.)
 
.950 JDJ makes a nice paperweight, I imagine, but I can't see much other use for it. Same for many other ultra-large rounds.
 
least useful, yeah, I gotta go w/ the 25 acp
and I (we) own one, too, a Beretta

I bought it for milady, way-back-when she 1st got serious about handguns, because I knew she was reluctant to carry in the 1st place, and I knew it was either that or a Hi-Std DA derringer (22 or 22 WMR, and I could not find one of those in 22WMR at the time)
the teeny-weeney-itsy-bitsy tiny purses she was most prone to carry would not have held larger, so it was was a "something vs. nothing" thing... "better than a loud shout for help (?)"

Proof Positive that women are smarter than men...
she never did carry that thing
she just switched to a 3" SP101 size purse :)

go figger
 
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This might not fit the thread, but I saw an ad in a magazine the other day for a .308 Marlin Express that 'fills the gap between 300 Savage and .308 Win'. Has anyone ever noticed this gap? Have you ever went hunting and wished you had a rifle just a touch over a 300 Savage but not quite as powerful as a .308?
 
Walks up and shoots it point blank in the head four times. None penetrated. We ended up using a knife.
Click to expand...

where did he shoot the deer in the head? that is important. most animals have quite bullet proof skulls if you shoot them in the forehead. I have heard stories of guys who have shot cape buffalo in the forehead with big calibers like .458 lotts and 444 marlins, and the thing kept on chuggin along because the bullet bounced off. part of this is because of a nutso thick skull, and the other part is because the skull is angled.
 
I think there's too much nit picking of the word "useless." I believe the intent of the OP was to say which cartridges didn't need to be developed in the first place. Obviously once it's in production and people are buying guns to accept said cartridge- it's no longer useless. Correct me if I'm mistaken OP.
 
All the anti 25 folks probably havent shot one and carried something this small with 6 shots. PSP-25InHandS.jpg
 
6,35 APC makes sence, but no one tried to design pistol for it within last 50 years.. about power..just recently was one guy instatnly killed by it in local pub - shot placement is what metters!


.22 WMR - is useles - its powerfull 22lr that is more expensive than 9mm L - whats the point of it? generaly any rimmed cartrige that isnt cheap is useless:)
 
Anything can be least useful, if not used as it should be...We butchered hogs last year, and forgot to bring a .22, so I grabbed my .38, that was loaded with .38+P aluminum defense rounds, all five shots point blank( I think the hog was injured more from powder burns), and just kinda pissed it off. Went and got the .22, 1 shot deader than 'ell. The .25 is pretty useless, but like before mentioned, I still would rather try one than a knife, if it down down the bad guy, try throwing it...my .02 worth...
 
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