Under rated cartridge

[charlie b]

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.

And here I thought my 24ga was just about perfect A bit rare but at least I can get brass shotshells for it.

[Thundarstick]

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.

The only shotgun I own any more is a 28ga, it patterns better than a 20ga or the 410 bore. Most are on the same frame as the 410 bore as well.

[John Boy]

The 22lr is the most underrated cartridge of all time...

* J. Stevens Arms & Tool Company introduced the .22 Long Rifle cartridge in 1887
* Winchester around 1894 came up with the Winchester Rim Fire (WRF) - a bit longer and faster, 1530 fps
* Then Winchester again introduced the Winchester Magnum (WMF) in 1959 -was my Ruger Convertible Single Six caliber for wood chucks

[shdwlkr]

The real challenge with underrated firearms is in a **** situation just how much ammo do you have for said underrated firearms and how easy will it be to acquire more if needed.

[Alan in GA]

250 Savage and 358 Win. Own both as well as several higher powered rounds, but these are favorites that most pass by.

[Chev. William]

Underappreciated, Underrated, and Underdeveloped is the .25ACP!
Out of a 2" barrel it is still effective for close self Defense use.
Out of a 6" barrel it is quite effective in killing animals.
Out of a 8" barrel it will reach out and touch bullseyes.
Out of a 12" barrel it does a nice job on bulls Center spots.
Out of a 20" barrel, loaded for it, it is good to go to 100 yards and beyond.

But 'everyone' says it is too weak to kill anything.
However 4000 plus Dead by one German Officer in WW2 sets that to rest.
At least one State allows it to be used for hunting.

Anything that can kill a 170 lb Human should be useful in killing anything of that weight or below, IF the shooter Does there Part FIRST!

Any Weapon can kill 'humanly' IF the Hunter Does their Stalking Properly FIRST!
The 'Lazy' ones use Big Booming 'overkill' Cartridges to make up for their lack of Stalking skills.
Just my Opinions,
Chev. William

[Petrol & Powder]

The title to this thread is Under Rated Cartridge but it should really be, "What's your favorite cartridge"

OK, I'll play.......

I believe most people appreciate the excellent all around performance of the .308 Win, so I'll pass on that one. The 7mm-08 is based on the 308 Win and is a superb cartridge that takes advantage of the excellent traits of a 7mm projectile; but again - I think it is well received by those in the know. The one that comes to mind as currently being under rated, is the 7mm Mauser.
The 7 x 57 was a historical game changer and was held in high esteem for many decades but recent generations have all but forgotten it.
I feel that the 7mm Mauser was revered but has become under rated.

But that's just in the field of rifle cartridges, how about revolvers and pistols?

If you listen to some fools you will hear them talk about the 38 Special as if a sheet of typing paper would stop the bullet. But most knowledgeable folks recognize the greatness of the 38 Special, so I will not put it in the under rated category (it is, however, often unfairly maligned).
The 32 S&W Long is a fine cartridge but has its limitations so I will not say it's under rated. The 327 Federal Magnum has eclipsed the 32 H&R Magnum and that's a shame because the 32 H&R Mag corrected all of the deficiencies of the 32 S&W Long. I'm going to say that the 32 H&R mag has become under rated the same way the 7 x 57 was eclipsed by other cartridges.

Then we have the rimless pistol cartridges. The 45 ACP and 9mm are well respected, so they're safe. Others have commented on this thread that the 25 ACP is under rated and I can see that logic. The 32 ACP gets its share of rejection despite its potential but the pistol cartridge that I think is most under rated is the 7.62 Tokarev. It doesn't enjoy the popularity of the 9 x 19 and it doesn't have the Browning name but that little 30 cal. pistol cartridge is surprisingly effective.

[OldBearHair]

Thule Greenland 1962 in the BX I bought my Ruger convertible 22LR/ 22mag. pistol for $37. 00 and change. 6 1/2 inch barrel. Longest 22 LR witnessed shot at coyote on a mound of dirt at the end of a long narrow 15 acre field. Held the front sight blade high and at the shot the coyote started spinning and biting itself in the chest.
222 rem. Model 600 bolt action, 50 grain J reload running coyote held 10 inches high, 10 inches left fired and DRT through the head. exit hole small like entry, 437 yards measured with range finder two times. Measure to a cottonwood tree half way and then back to where the shot taken. Unwitnessed. Some say pshawww others say puredeeold luck, others say, well you were aiming right at it weren't you?
357 mag police service six. One pig running at 67 yards. THS (Texas Heart Shot) broke hambone joint and into the vitals. Several jackrabbits same distance.

250/3000 Savage hand loads one jackrabbit 325 yards Heart shot. Several coyotes less range.
22LR Bersa Thunder stainless pistol. one jackrabbit at 30 yards through the heart. One trapped coyote on a 15 foot chain,
through the lungs at close range. It didn't make it to the end of the chain.
I have a model 12 16 guage pump and Lee loader
And a bolt action .410
Marlin 30-30 336 several deer Hand loads 170 gr. FP wheel weight boolit 1800 fps. good accuracy.

[FergusonTO35]

Mind sharing your 170 grain .30-30 load?

[doghawg]

I'd go with .41 Mag in handguns and .257 Roberts in rifles. With all the hype of the 6.5 Creed on every magazine cover I'll stick with a Roberts loaded to it's potential with 120's in a Mod 70 or a 7-08 with 140 Sierra's loaded 100 fps short of max. Both duplicate the Creed.

[jonp]

Thule Greenland 1962 in the BX I bought my Ruger convertible 22LR/ 22mag. pistol for $37. 00 and change. 6 1/2 inch barrel. Longest 22 LR witnessed shot at coyote on a mound of dirt at the end of a long narrow 15 acre field. Held the front sight blade high and at the shot the coyote started spinning and biting itself in the chest.
222 rem. Model 600 bolt action, 50 grain J reload running coyote held 10 inches high, 10 inches left fired and DRT through the head. exit hole small like entry, 437 yards measured with range finder two times. Measure to a cottonwood tree half way and then back to where the shot taken. Unwitnessed. Some say pshawww others say puredeeold luck, others say, well you were aiming right at it weren't you?
357 mag police service six. One pig running at 67 yards. THS (Texas Heart Shot) broke hambone joint and into the vitals. Several jackrabbits same distance.

250/3000 Savage hand loads one jackrabbit 325 yards Heart shot. Several coyotes less range.
22LR Bersa Thunder stainless pistol. one jackrabbit at 30 yards through the heart. One trapped coyote on a 15 foot chain,
through the lungs at close range. It didn't make it to the end of the chain.
I have a model 12 16 guage pump and Lee loader
And a bolt action .410
Marlin 30-30 336 several deer Hand loads 170 gr. FP wheel weight boolit 1800 fps. good accuracy.

Sweetheart's dad was in Thule in that timeframe. He never mentioned coyotes present. That's a very good story you have and one for the memory books.

[Blammer]

45 colt lever gun, very under rated.

[sharps4590]

The 7 X 57 and 8mm Masuer, (8 X 57), have been mentioned. I don't know how underrated they are but they're both certainly ignored by the shooters of today who evidently think it has to have been developed in the last 20-30 years to be of any worth. The hoary 6.5 X 55 Swede has been mentioned also and it suffers the same fate as the two Mauser rounds, and as equally undeserved. Anything the vaunted creedmoor will do the Swede will do at least as well as if not better. Two cartridges equally ignored are the 9 X 57, better than the 358 WCF, and the 9.3 X 57. The latter nearly completely ignored except for those of us who jumped on a good Husqvarna when we got the chance.

Truly underrated, the 30-30 certainly has dibs on first place. Others in the same class share the same fate if not as well known, such as the 32 WCF, the 35's, the 25-35 WCF and 25 Remington. The 32-20 and others of its ilk are also underrated....almost at the same rate as the 30 Carbine.

The 45-70 in its original guise is underrated. Those who think it has to be loaded with 300 or 350 gr. bullets to something north of 1800 fps couldn't be more mistaken.

[charlie b]

Any Weapon can kill 'humanly' IF the Hunter Does their Stalking Properly FIRST!
The 'Lazy' ones use Big Booming 'overkill' Cartridges to make up for their lack of Stalking skills.
Just my Opinions,
Chev. William

Yep. Wm Bell was successful in Africa with a 7x57. 99.9% of the rest of us would not be.

If you get close enough for a brain/spine shot just about anything will work. If you are good enough to shoot between the ribs to hit the heart that works too. Knowing where to shoot at different angles is extremely important on some animals. Takes a lot more skill than almost all the hunters out there. Which is why you see so many with larger, more powerful bullets that will break a shoulder or shred the lungs.

[Idaho Mule]

303 British. JW

[fatnhappy]

A couple spring to mind. One of the dumber moves I pulled was letting go of a 6.5 x55 Remington 700 classic. I’m torn between the swede and the 7-08 as the perfect deer cartridge. Reasonable to light recoil. Kills out of proportion to its size. Flat shooting. Good bullets. Very accurate.

The Swede is relatively unknown outside the circles in which we move.

[uscra112]

30-30 is heading the same way as a hunting cartridge. Some say it is barely good enough for deer.

Some people will go out with a .300 Blackout.

[northmn]

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.

In shotguns the 16 gauge was pretty much under rated. It was a victim of magnums. At one time is was the second largest seller in ammunition but went down due to the hype over the 3" 20 ga. It seemed the manufacturers and marketing did everything they could to kill it off. I loved the 16 and can state that it can do anything better than the 20 ga mag. The advent of steel shot crippled it also. It can handle 1oz of steel shot better than the 3" 20. I have handloads out of high capacity European cases that do that. American manufacturers developed higher capacity cases for steel loads in the 12 and 20 but not for the 16. It was the best upland gun in its day and with lead still is, if one can get one in a light weight frame.

DEP

[greenwart]

6.5x55 Swede. An old-timer told me it was the only rifle and caliber he wished he had never sold. Why make the same mistake twice. I own 5 rifles in that caliber and always keep looking for more. It is great to see the enthusiasm for the creedmoor which tells you the swedes were on to something over a century ago.

[Old Coot]

I think that you have missed the most underrated cartridge of them all: the 22 Hornet. Punches way above its fight weight. We have all fallen victim to the advertising of the gun and ammo companies at one time or another. Just think about all those old mil-surps we passed up in the 60's and 70's. They were 8mm , 7mm, and 6.5 but most of us wanted a true "American" cartridge like the gun writers told us.

I killed my first grouse and goose with a little 410 single shot of unknown manufacture. When I was guiding waterfowl hunters I killed a Canadian honker with a little 410 Stevens Fox double. It killed just as far away as a 12, but doesn't throw the same weight of shot. My current elk rifle is a 7x57 Mauser (Ruger M77) with a 6.5x55 as a backup. Both work fine. Like a warden said to me: "They kill elk up here all the time with a 22lr.". I just recently bought a BRNO full stock Manlicher in 8x57 (ok it is really 7.92x57mm) and I can't wait to get it tuned up with loads to suit me. This has been a good thread. Brodie