top 10 greatest cartridges ever

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The most common rifle cartridge in the world, save for .22LR, the 7.62x39, didn't even make his list. Sigh. Love how he lists random obscure cartridges like .22PPC and such though!
 
Kinda surprised we didn't see anything like 38spl (lead to 9mm and 357mag) or the 44spl or 44mag. At least they got the 375 H&H.

-MW
 
Everyone should make their own List...


I doubt anyone would agree with that List..!


Too...'Greatest' need not mean 'most popular', either.


Greatness...is...well...'Greatness'.


Handgunwise, a few I'd definitely have on the List-


.44-40

.45 LC

.44 Russian

.38 Special

.38 ACP



Rifle wise -

50-90-110

45-70

38-55

44-40

30-40 Crag
 
+1 on the 45lc i do belive that the 22lr has earned its place on the list to most people if you own a gun or several guns there is usualy a 22lr in there some where.
 
inda surprised we didn't see anything like 38spl (lead to 9mm and 357mag) or the 44spl or 44mag.
Click to expand...

I noticed that too but I read the intro paragraph and I found that he says he's only talking about rifles. I was like "no .38? you gotta be kidding"......
 
His criteria is somewhat strange.

When he talks about the 30-30, and please, this is not a 30-30 bash, he says he includes it also because it's so "popular" and because "you can't think of lever actions without thinking of the 30-30".

Good criteria for a popularity contest, but not neccessarily for "greatest cartidges of all time".

If I were to throw one into the mix, I'd probably add the Swedish 6.5x55.

Great accuracy in just about any rifle it's used in, light recoil, and more end range power than you would suspect just from the numbers.

A true "more than the sum of the parts" cartridge.
 
I agree with him on .45-70, .30-30 and .22 Rimfire (not L.R. exclusively) But I think he truly missed the boat for the other 7 listed. I love my .220 Swift, but wouldn't consider it to be one of the 10 greatest cartridges ever. .22 PPC? Seriously??? Most don't even know of it's existence. And the .30-06, while one of the most Useful cartidges, is neither the first of it's kind nor the only one in it's class.

And why there are no handgun cartidges listed is beyond me. The .357 Magnum should definitely be on that list.
 
I feel like he should have included 7.92 Kurz, the round used in the STG-44. The STG-44 was the first Assault Rifle, and as far as I know, the 7.92 Kurz was one of the first intermediate cartridges used in a military weapon. You could also make a case for 5.56 NATO, for a similar reason.
 
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That list is 90% garbage based on only 10% of the listed cartridges. That being the 22 PPC. Must be a favorite of the authors and that was better than just a simple signature.

The 220 Swift is weak but that is to be expected in any different authors opinions. I can respect all the other ones on that list but the 22 PPC.
 
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Overall, not too bad for a list of 10. I do agree with most of the objections already noted above.

If you surveyed 10 firearms experts and/or famous writers and asked them for their list, I doubt any two would be the same. However, there are probably 4 - 7 cartridges that would be on most, if not all, of their lists.
 
I think the 220 Swift was a marginal pick. 22PPC? Seriously
Substitute the 7mm Rem mag for the 22ppc and throw in a 50bmg.
 
...it appears the list is limited to rifle cartidges... so...

I don't see anything wrong with the .22 PPC being on the top 10 list.

.222 dominated benchrest until the .22PPC came along and set the sport on it's ear, and fueled the current BR cartridges and WSSM's.

The .270 and .257 WbyMag are the one that make me go hmmmm...
 
Top Ten in no particular order:
1 9x19
2 7.62x39
3 .30-06
4 .45 Acp
5 .50 BMG
6 .22 lr
7 12 ga shotshell
8 .308
9 .38 spcl
10 .357 magnum

that is my list of top ten "modern" cartridges.
 
Obviously the intent was to exclude handgun and shotgun cartridges.

For rifles I would strike the .22 PPC, .220 Swift, and .257 WM (too specialized) and add the 7X57 Mauser and .303 British (both very widely used world-wide in different periods) and possibly the 6.5 MS (long gone, but once very popular) or maybe the .243 Win.

Personally I'm a .257 Roberts and 6.5X55 man, but that doesn't have lot to do with greatness.
 
.22 LR
.44 Henry
.30-30 Winchester
8mm Lebel
7.92 Kurz
.222 Remington
.300 Savage
7.62x54 R
.45-70 Government
.375 H&H

I know there are a few in there that may seem odd, but all of these cartridges were revolutionary in their design and spawned many of the most popular cartridges available today. The only exception may be the 7.62x54R. It's just old (1891) and still used by the Russian military today, gotta give props for that.
 
I would definately consider the 7.62x54R to be one of the top 10. Am I correct in understanding that it is the oldest UNCHANGED round still available/in use?
 
Here's my list in no particular order

22 lr
30-06
7.62x39
.300 Savage
8mm. Mauser
30-30
.50 Bmg
5.56
.308
.30 carbine
This is not a deffinitive list but I feel these rounds are important for many reasons.
 
How can you have a list without a mention of the .357 mag? Here's my list, in no particular order.

45 Colt
38 Special
357 Magnum
44 Magnum
9mm Luger
22 rimfire
30-30
30-06
308
223
 
If such a list was to do justice...it'd have to be one's top 25 'Greatest' Cartridges of all time.

'Ten' does not leave enough room at all...especially with Rifle being inluded!
 
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