Favorite "obsolete" cartridge?

[ole_270]

My vote is for the .250 Savage, or as it is also known,.250-3000 Savage. I am very fortunate to have had several accurate bolt action rifles in this cartridge.
Currently I have a Savage model 16 and a Ruger 77 in .250 Sav. Both are very accurate with cast boolits.

I've also got a M77 250-3000 as well as a M99 Savage, Haven't gotten around to trying them with cast. I've got the Lyman 257420gc, a group buy 80 gr. gc and the NOE 260283 88 gr plain base. Need to find a "round-to-it" and get started.

[aap2]

41 Swiss Vetterli. Looks totally cool, light recoil and the 330gr boolit whacks the target nicely. Easy to form from 8mm Lebel brass and lots of fun to shoot.

[Shuz]

I've also got a M77 250-3000 as well as a M99 Savage, Haven't gotten around to trying them with cast. I've got the Lyman 257420gc, a group buy 80 gr. gc and the NOE 260283 88 gr plain base. Need to find a "round-to-it" and get started.

I've found that the Cramer 55A and the RCBS 25-100FN and the Saeco 100g FN all work well in mine with Reloder 7.

[texasnative46]

rintinglen,

The Largo is FAR from obsolete in several Latin American nations & QUITE POPULAR TOO, as 9x19mm is prohibited there as ammo for "weapons of war".
(The "weapons of war" prohibition is why the Colt's .38 Super is so popular South of the Border.)

In the LA nation where we are planning to retire, I can lawfully carry a Colt's .38 Super, .380ACP, 9x21mm, .38SPL or .357 Magnum concealed but NOT the "relatively puny" 9x18mm Makarov.
(5.56NATO, 7.62NATO & 8x57mm Mauser are UNLAWFUL there but 7x57mm & .30-06 are OK, for some unknown reason.)

yours, tex

[texasnative46]

dragon813gt,

Here in South TX the .300 Savage (my favorite center-fire cartridge, btw) is available in 150 grain JSP all the time (including at Wal-Mart) & sometimes in 180 grain JSP too.
(Cabela's & Academy has the 180 grain in stock most of the time.)

yours, tex

[dragon813gt]

dragon813gt,

Here in South TX the .300 Savage (my favorite center-fire cartridge, btw) is available in 150 grain JSP all the time (including at Wal-Mart) & sometimes in 180 grain JSP too.
(Cabela's & Academy has the 180 grain in stock most of the time.)

yours, tex

It's only available at Cabela's by me. It's also a seasonal run. The amusing part is that I cannot buy 308 at the closest Walmart. They show it on the shelf tags but they never have any in stock. Ammo availability is very regional.

[texasnative46]

dragon813gt,

The "ammo guy" at Cabela's said that, "You're about one of 3 or 4 men, who ever buys .300 Savage around here."

I've NOT checked for .308 at Wal-Mart, as I no longer own a rifle in that caliber.

yours, tex

[dragon813gt]

That's not surprising. Unless you have a Savage 99 or a Remington Gamemaster it's unlikely you shoot the cartridge. Arisaka conversions were sort of common but w/ the death of their owners I doubt many know if one was even rechambered for it.

[texasnative46]

dragon813gt,

No argument. = Around SATX, about 90% or more of Model 760 owners (that I know of) are LEFT-handed, too.
(NOT that many of us "wrong-handed" folks. - Probably 2/3 of the 760 owners have .30-06 rifles around here, too.)
Note: About 4% of Model 780 rifles were sold in .300 Savage.

Personally, I know of exactly ONE gentleman around here who shoots a Model 99 & it's in .250-3000 Savage.

yours, tex

[bjordan]

I guess my two odd ball calibers would be .43 Egyptian (I own 5 rolling blocks in .43E) and .41 Colt for a 1977 Thunderer I shoot from time to time.

I have been VERY pleasantly surprised at how accurate both of them have turned out.

I also load for .577/450 Martni Henry and .45/90. Both tons of fun too.

[missionary5155]

Greetings
Well we shoot several of those items from above... but so far the 50-95 seems absent.
Always wanted a caliber 50 lever rifle so when the repros went for "cheep" on CDNN we jumped on the model 1876 in 50-95 and a Monty in 45-60. Already had a real 1876 in 45-60 so that one is somewhat semi-retired. The 50-95 will toss a 350 grainer at 1460 fps with about 79 grains of 3F under it. Have never found a smokeless load to equal the accuracy but 5744 comes close at 200 yards.
I think the 50-95 threads we posted here in Leverguns is still about.
Mike in Peru

[Wayne Smith]

I guess my two odd ball calibers would be .43 Egyptian (I own 5 rolling blocks in .43E) and .41 Colt for a 1977 Thunderer I shoot from time to time.

I have been VERY pleasantly surprised at how accurate both of them have turned out.

I also load for .577/450 Martni Henry and .45/90. Both tons of fun too.

Wow! Who made a Thunderer in 1977? Mine is the Uberti Lightening.

[17nut]

11.4x41R Danish Remington m1867 rimfire.
Last rifle made 1887 and last rounds was made around 1896.

Cases made from 45-70, rimmed and trimmed loaded with a short Lee .459-405-HB.

The original:


The donor:


The result:



The bullet (modified Lee 405-459-HB):

[ulav8r]

10.?-11mm German Commission Revolver. Based on info from PO Ackley, use 44 Special brass trimmed to length and light loads of Unique. Loaded 50 rounds with black, shot about 12 of them. What a mess to clean up.

[am44mag]

It's a toss up between 44 WCF and .303 British

[Texas by God]

I'll have to add the .30 Army to my list.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I547 using Tapatalk

[Bent Ramrod]

I mostly shoot obsolete and obsolescent cartridges. Being able to buy factory loads reduces the interest for me.

Probably, the one I shoot the most (now) is the .25-20 Single Shot. Versatile (in a strong rifle you can go from .25 Short Rimfire to approaching .256 Magnum performance), cases are as easy to get as the .25-20 WCF nowadays, and it looks certifiably Cool.

But I am going to start a new campaign with the .44-77 pretty soon....

Fickle, aren't I?

[HABCAN]

.44-40, 7x57, .303 Brit. 'Obsolete' by modern standards, but they'll 'work' very effectively with a wide variety of loads. What's not to like?

[mazo kid]

OK, I understand about "obsolete" in that they have been eclipsed by the modern stuff like the myriad of short mags introduced to sell more rifles. However, I still think of an obsolete cartridge as one that is not currently in production, period, whether or not it is a "seasonal" run. I like making obsolete ammo for my obsolete rifles and handguns from brass that is still available. Where are you gonna buy 41 Swiss, 43 Beaumont, 11mm Swede, Montenegren, Remington, and others, etc?

[fgd135]

I have a few favorite obsolete rifles that I reload and shoot--.42 Russian Berdan, aka 10.66x57r; 11.3x52r (.43 Beaumont), 577/450 Martini Henry, and .577 Snider. All are fun and accurate! Also I would mention that I shoot the .45-70 loaded with black powder in an original trapdoor Springfield--even though the cartridge itself continues as a modern one in more modern firearms...