Under rated cartridge

[Texas by God]

I'm going with the 358 WCF. Never had a chance from the beginning, saddled in a lever, which isnt all bad in itself, but, never was able to let its true potential shine because of it.
Crash87

They chambered the model 70 in it but those who could afford one chose other longer cartridges for big game. It deserved a chance in Remington's rifles but never got it. A great cartridge.

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[Texas by God]

I will add one that I am sure many will disagree with. The 410 shotshell , I have used 410's all handloaded for many applications. Many believe they are only for rats and clay targets but it can be loaded to do any things well.

Jedman

Sitting under a shade tree by a pond shooting incoming dove with a .410 is splendiferous.

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[DDriller]

Sitting under a shade tree by a pond shooting incoming dove with a .410 is splendiferous.

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I agree. Pheasant, quail ,ducks, dove -- it will kill them all.

[Texas by God]

I share the affection for the .30 carbine(and the Magnum version-.300 BO)
Actually I've always been drawn to the underdog cartridges. Just now I shot groups with my 44-40 and 38-55 carbines. Another couple of under rated ones. My favorite revolver cartridges are .32 H&R, .38Special, & .41 Magnum. As far as the 30-30 goes, I know two unrelated young hunters that use 30-30s and they have their pick of their father's battery but that's what they like so there is hope!

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[FergusonTO35]

I'm a big fan of underrated cartridges. I spent more money to rebarrel a rifle to .257 Roberts than I would have spent on a new Remington 700 ADL. I have five .30-30's and always looking for another one. Even though the 6.5 Creedmoor is the trendiest and most overrated cartridge since the WSM's, I have one and load it down to essentially .250 Savage power level.

[rking22]

I dearly love 22LR and the 410, but I think the 20 ga is more “under rated” in general. Called “sub gage” by choke makers and kids gun in general. All trap shooters just KNOW that it isn’t any good for other than a rank beginner. For the “home defense” crowd, “well if you need something for kids or the infirm” yeah really, most homes have maybe 30ft range!!! Fact is the 20 can do most anything that is asked of the 12, steel shot excluded. Don’ t even get me started on the 16ga, probably the best of all in a M12. Unless you need factory ammo, that’s underrated for sure. The 16 can do it all and is light and handy in the small frame guns it was common in. So , I vote the 16 gage, hits like a 12 carries like a 20! Make mine a M12 or M37, I’m fickle.

[Kylongrifle32]

The 7mm08 gets my nod. After seeing what my little 5 pound short action rifle was capable of doing in the deer woods I've converted all the big 7mm mag guys in deer camp to trade down to the little 08.

[Walks]

Another vote for the .257 Rob'ts
I like the .250-3000 Savage
.300 Savage & .25-06 Rem

And another vote for the .222 REM and It's ignored Big Brother the .222Rem Mag.

[bruce drake]

Another couple of rounds often overlooked by many for its reloading/cast bullet potential are:
Rifle:
The 7.62x54R with either its tight Finnish/Western European .308 bore or the original Russian barrel that would measure from .310 - .316 or higher depending on the rifle's condition. Cast bullets definitely helps match bore diameter with the proper bullet for optimal accuracy. Cartridge power is on par with .308 Win with same weight bullets.
The 2nd rifle cartridge that is often overlooked for its accuracy potential and ability to put a decent weight bullet (140-160gr) into the target as well is the 6.5 Japanese. Brass can be storebought or reformed from 35 Remington or 220 Swift brass. its actually easier to find 6.5 Arisaka brass than the 35 Remington or 220 Swift brass in my city. Prvi sells a new 6.5 Arisaka cartridge and brass that I need to get a package up for testing.

For pistols, I also have two overlooked cartridges that are very efficient at stopping "bad guys"
9mm largo - spanish designed ammo that can be fired in many economical Spanish Star surplus pistols and carbines with about 10% more powder and velocity than 9x19 PArabellum.
The other overlooked cartridge is a wildcat but could easily become mainstream if folks realize that there is a significant advantage in feeding and ejection of the bottlenosed cartridge versus the straight barrel of the 45APC. A 170gr bullet in .400 CorBon goes at 1100fps usually which is 10% faster than than a 45ACP with equivalent weight bullet.
That said, it will beat a 40S&W without beating up the pistol like a 10mm Auto.

[Hickory]

Back to the 30 carbine.
The 30 carbine is pretty much dead and under powered for use on anything bigger than a coyote, and lacks the flat shooting ability to be useful as a medium to long range varmint round, but, could do short range garden duty if needed. It would make a wonderful bedside gun and house defender if called upon to do so.
And, would make a good plinker, if the brass was easy to find.
No gun can do it all, and the 30 carbine falls into a narrow nitch that it can't get out of.

[725]

I guess this question could be answered by class of cartridge vs the intended purposes. .22 / .22WMR, .30 carbine / .30-30, .38 / .357, ...... I'll just toss in one of my favorites - the .308 Win. An acknowledged good one for whitetails that I've taken for elk, mule deer, kudu, impala, blesbuck, gemsbok, warthog, & razor backs. Most of my partners thought I was going undergunned, but they all fell with one shot. They underestimated the .308.

[richhodg66]

I have always thought the .30 Carbine under rated as well. I like the little M1 Carbine, and is loaded with bullets that expand, it becomes an extended range .357. I sure wouldn't feel under gunned in a bad situation with one (talking gun fights, not real combat). Sure beats any pistol and outside of 40 yards or so, any shotgun.

Wife's grandpa was a WWII vet and deer hunted with an M1 Carbine. I have the rack of a huge one he killed with it about the time we started dating, '86 or '87, which would be a good deer for Kansas, a true monster for S.C. I personally wouldn't use it for deer, but it certainly can be done.

[mikwat]

Popular in Europe, but not appreciated that much in the US. The 6.5x55 Swedish. Flat shooting and easy on your shoulder. Perfect for deer. Probably good enough for elk to. Hundreds of moose have been shot with them in Norway and Sweden.

Have to agree too, that the 30-30 really seems to be falling out of fashion. Was once considered the unofficial deer gun of the US. Still a great adequate, economical and fun cartridge to shoot.

One of my favorite current hunting rifles is a 6.5 Swede that I built on a old Turkish mauser action. That thing is phenomenal. I haven't tried it with boolits yet, I'm sure that'll be coming soon.

[goryshaw]

Back to the 30 carbine.
The 30 carbine is pretty much dead and under powered for use on anything bigger than a coyote, and lacks the flat shooting ability to be useful as a medium to long range varmint round, but, could do short range garden duty if needed. It would make a wonderful bedside gun and house defender if called upon to do so.
And, would make a good plinker, if the brass was easy to find.
No gun can do it all, and the 30 carbine falls into a narrow nitch that it can't get out of.

Fun to shoot is a good niche.

[Thundarstick]

.17 Mach 2. Accurate, flat trajectory, quiet, and minuscule ricochet potential. The perfect pest control round for the Urban Farmer or Ranchette lifestyle.

Tragically unappreciated and fading fast.

Absolutely one of the most underrated for sure! It's a shame firearms manufacturers have all but abandoned the Mach 2, too bad it didn't work out in semi autos very well.

If you like the 30 carbine, you should love the 327 Federal Magnum. It's basically a 30 carbine with a rim. Shooting it out the Henry lever action reminds me of shooting the old 30 carbine, but in a pistol, it's a banshee!

[jonp]

Popular in Europe, but not appreciated that much in the US. The 6.5x55 Swedish. Flat shooting and easy on your shoulder. Perfect for deer. Probably good enough for elk to. Hundreds of moose have been shot with them in Norway and Sweden.

Have to agree too, that the 30-30 really seems to be falling out of fashion. Was once considered the unofficial deer gun of the US. Still a great adequate, economical and fun cartridge to shoot.

+1 on both. The dozens of deer me and my relatives have shot with the Win 92 had no idea they were hit with an inferior round. 100yrds or so (maybe more) and nothing works much better.

As for the Swede, it's history says it all. Great first rifle for smaller frames.

[WRideout]

In pistol, it is the 7.62X38R, Nagant. Factory loads are anemic, but with my handloads of 100 gr boolits, it is the only handgun I own that will reliably hit a piece of copy paper at 100 yards.

Wayne

[Shawlerbrook]

If we are talking shotshells, the 16 and 28 gauges. The 16 is a great 12-20 compromise and the 28 is a better 410-20 gauge.

[shdwlkr]

No one mentioned the .264 wm which we all know is a barrel burner so must be one of those one should never own. I had one on a remington 700 action that a cousin an I used to hunt woodchucks at a quarter mile. He used his 7mm mag and we had a blast with them. He has been gone for a long time and so has the .264 wm. Wish I still had that rifle.

[dk17hmr]

45acp....... From a rifle. Easy to suppress with subs and extremely devastating on small varmints with supers at close range. Ammo is everywhere and if your rifle is strong enough you can use 45 Super or 450 SMC and get more of a top end velocity wise.