World's largest small arm cartridge?

[brigadier]

This has always been a point of curiosity for me though I have suspected from the beginning that it'll turn out to be some recoilless rifle round.
The question here is, what is the largest cartridge that is ever fired from small arms. By small arms, I mean something that is designed for human beings to fire off-hand. Keep in mind that I am talking about the gun. The cartridge doesn't necessarily have to have been designed to be fired off-hand. Take the .50BMG for instance.

 

[General Geoff]

If by "largest" you mean most powerful generally available (non wildcat) cartridge used in a firearm which can be fired off hand, I'd say .50BMG.

There are a handful of dangerous game cartridges which may contest that, and they are typically designed to be fired off-hand, as opposed to .50BMG rifles which are usually designed to be fired from support (either a bipod or sandbag, or whatever).

 

[Rachen]

If you exclude the .50 BMG,

well, I am probably going to say .500 S&W. Certainly the largest pistol cartridge ever built.

But the definition of "small arms" is quite kinky from what I heard. Anything can be a "small arm", from a sword to an RPG. Depends on who defines it. For example, in the Chinese military, anything smaller than a ground based missile launcher is a "small arm". Me, personally, would classify a Barrett as a "small arm". It certainly can be handled by just one person. Fired by one person, and toted in a back-sling harness by one person. Therefore, it can be called a small arm.

 

[ieszu]

I know a guy ( a former instructor of mine) who built a version of the Remington 100XP... using a P17 Enfield receiver, new barrel and chambered it in .338 Lapua... wouldn't shoot the thing, but thought it should be used to prove to students, that just because you can do something, doesn't mean you should.

Oh, and yes he did the proper paperwork for an SBR =)

 

[Eyesac]

20mm?

http://www.anzioironworks.com/

 

[hankdatank1362]

I'd agree... 20 mm Vulcan is the largest I know of.

 

[General Geoff]

Until I see someone wielding a 20mm Vulcan rifle off hand, I won't consider it to be a small arms cartridge.

 

[Redd Flynt]

The Lahti could be fired offhand although designed to be fired off the bipod. It fires a 20m/m round.

 

[Funderb]

according to the military, small arms goes all the way up to 105mm howitzer.
soooooo..

 

[Conqueror]

The words "largest" and "small arms" are too vague. Large in terms of caliber? Muzzle energy? Velocity? Small arms that are fireable with one hand? With two? Simply man-portable?

 

[DoubleTapDrew]

Until I see someone wielding a 20mm Vulcan rifle off hand, I won't consider it to be a small arms cartridge.

Ask and you shall receive (guy weilding a Lahti)

The XM109 from Barrett is bigger at 25mm, but I think bigger yet are the english 4 bore and 2 bore rifles (not sure the exact bore size of those).

 

[highorder]

dont forget the .729 Jongmans, the largest caliber wildcat possible based on the .50BMG. the shoulder is vary small, but holds headspace.

 

[Titan6]

Well really the 40mm is the largest the US military has that is designed to be fired from the shoulder, that is not rocket propelled. If you go into rocket propelled (anti-tank/ anti-air) than they are considerably larger. The 40mm is fired out of rifled tube so I guess it loosely qualifies as a rifled round.

 

[VA27]

My vote goes for this: Winchester's 70/150/900 http://britishmilitariaforums.yuku.com/topic/1953

Seems like Winchester developed this in the late 1880s and may have actually built one, but never made any for sale. I want one!