20 cartridges to rule them all

[filmjunkie4ever]

In the same vein of Blkram's thought-provoking posts, I submit the following to the collective for discussion.

If you could, which would be the 20 cartridges that could stay, and the rest were ended in the name of standardizing production and materials for availability? Although this is only a hypothetical, current conditions apply. What I mean by that, for example, is there is no time machine to go back and make the US Armed forces adopt the 6mm Remington to make it more popular and available.

Such a concept would never fly, but if you potentially could, which would make the cut and what is your justification for it?

Ideally for me these would be the 20:

1) .22 Long Rifle: This earliest of self-contained cartridges is still far and away one of if not THE most popular cartridge to ever exist. Of course it is number one.
2) .223 Remington: Accurate and deadly with little recoil, it is a staple in the NATO community and with hunters alike. And you can find guns/ammo everywhere!
3) .22-250 Remington: For when you need more reach than a .223 but not appreciably more recoil, enter the .22-250. Sorry .220 Swift, you just aren't as popular.
4) .243 Winchester: A top ten seller since inception, this combo varmint/deer round is a perfect gun for cheechako and veteran shooters alike. Everyone should have one!
5) .25-06 Remington: Recoils like a .243, hits like a .270 Winchester. Perfect antelope and mule deer cartridge. The .270 could just as easily go here instead.
6) 7mm Rem Mag: If one must have a magnum for hunting, this one is it for me. It checks a lot of boxes; ballistics of the newer 7mm's with easier to find components.
7) .30-30 WCF: Lever gun guys all have a deep love for this wonderful 1895 vintage hunting cartridge. Long live the thutty-thutty.
8) .30-06 Springfield: The ultimate all-around hunting cartridge and World War champ it ought to be standard issue for every citizen when they get their driver's license.
9) .300 WSM: Basically any .30 magnum spitting a 180-grain bullet to 2900+ fps could go here but this one seems to kick the least.
10) .338 Win Mag: Keeping muzzle brake companies in business since 1958, it kills on one end and cripples on the other. Accept no substitutes.
11) .38 Special: The choice of backup, C.C. and purse guns since the 1890's, its a great cartridge even today. AND you can shoot them in a .357 Magnum!
12) 9mm Luger: Ditto the .38 Special attributes but with a higher magazine capacity. +P loads make it better yet.
13) .357 Magnum: Forget +P in your .38, if you need more juice get the original engine block busting, crime spree stopping, polar bear killing, .357 Magnum!!
14) .375 H&H Magnum: Going to Africa? Don't forget to take one of these along. Make sure to load it accordingly, there isn't anything it can't handle on this planet!
15) .44 Rem Mag: If you can't get it done with a .357, you likely won't be able to shoot a .44 worth a darn but the .44 is a darn good handgun/carbine cartridge. Yeet!
16) .45 ACP: Like the .30-06, the .45 ACP has kept the 20th century fascism free worldwide. If you don't want a 9mm, this is your baby.
17) .45-70 Govt: Sorry .444, but the .45-70 does mostly what you can do and is easier to get components for. Be careful how you load it, it can have some mean recoil!
18) 20 gauge shotgun: While not the success that is the 12 gauge, it is a good option for uplands, trap shooters or anyone wanting a bit less punch than the 12 gives.
19) 12 gauge shotgun : An obvious best seller, the 12 gauge can be used for a lot of different stuff with small shot and large, steel, and of course slugs!
20) This one is a three-way tie for me, 6.5x55 Swedish, .270 Winchester and 7mm-08/7x57mm Mauser. All have merits but I just couldn't decide so its a tie!!

Lets have yours!!!!

 

[Horsethief]

That is a good list. Trading out a similar cartridge of the same caliber can always happen such as in general hunting scenarios a 300 Win will mostly do what a 300 Wby achieves.

 

[RL338]

I agree on most of your list , but I would change a couple.
4) 243 Win I would scratch. Having both the 243 and 6mm Creed , I would choose the Creed. Shorter brass allows longer bullets not seated deep into case. The 10 twist barrels on the 243 are a thing of the past.
10) 338 WM would get the boot in favor of a 340 Wby. Again I have both but if you’re a magnum you need the full length case.

 

[salmonchaser]

Great list, I love the 338 wm as well as 340b class cartidges. Really don’t understand how they never became popular. Actually I do, every 338 I’ve owned kicked more than my 375 HH. Regardless, I think 338 is nearly as perfect a round as the 375 HH.

 

[Blkram]

I am going to limit my list to rifle and shotgun as we cannot use handguns here north of the border...

1. 17 HMR - safer as the frangible bullets don't result in ricochets like the 22 does, and I would choose over the 22 Mag for trapping and smaller varmints
2. 22LR - no firearms battery is complete without a 22LR!
3. 204 Ruger - less pelt damage with less recoil
4. 22-250 Rem - as stated above
5. 257 Roberts - just a well balanced cartridge with an edge on the 243 - personal preference here between this cartridge and the 25-06 Rem with an edge in velocity for the longer case (we'll have to wait and see how the 25 Creedmoor fares...)
6. 6.5 Creedmoor - while I am big fan of the 6.5 Swede, there is just no denying that the CM has a larger following and the advantage for the higher BC bullets - honestly one wouldn't be wrong with the older cartridge if that was your choice and you're not ringing steel way out there _ and I am enjoying the CM and how it is working on game with the Federal Terminal Ascent ammo!
7. 270 Win - tried and true - performance-wise, not a lot of difference between this and the 6.5 PRC, with the PRC having the edge with higher BC and SD numbers in its 130 gr bullet vs 136 gr .277 bullet
8. 7mm-08 Rem/7x57 aka 275 Rigby - choose your poison - as close as the 6.5 Swede vs CM - great performing cartridges
9. 280 Rem - just a little better than the 270 Win in modern rifles loaded to 65K, and has the ability to shoot the heavier bullets (16/162/165 gr) - again my personal opinion
10. 7mm Rem Mag - tried and true, and should be the first magnum one uses when needing more than a 270/280/30-06 - one could just as easily choose the 7MM PRC here today
11. 30-30 WCF - cause everyone should have a Model 94 or a Marlin!
12. 30-06 Sprgfld - Not a bad suggestion that one should be issued to every responsible man when they achieve the age of adulthood
13. 300 Win Mag - tried and true - another personal choice between the WM, H&H or WSM - but of they were to limit to just one, the WM would pass on popularity alone - I prefer the WSM
14. 338 Win Mag - tried and true - for North America, one could handle even the biggest bears with this one - as much as I like the 338-06 and 338 Federal, the Win Mag will pass due to history and overall effectiveness on the largest game we have in NA
15. 358 Win - very effective on big game - handy brush rifle in the BLR, Model 99 or 88 for moose, elk and grizzly bears
16. 9.3x62 - another tried an true that is gaining in popularity here in North America, but has a proven track record on the Dark Continent
17. 375 H&H - tried and true
18. 416 Rem - if one needs more than the 375 H&H for Africa's DG (and has the PH with his "stopping" rifle for back up)
19. 20 Ga - for upland birds (although I have a soft spot for the 28 ga here, the 20 will win on popularity)
20. 12 Ga - for personal defense and waterfowl

If I could use handguns in the field here:
Revolver:

1. 357 Rem Mag - just because you can use the 38 Spcl in it too
2. 41 Rem Mag - while the 44 Mag is more popular, with the same weight bullets (240 gr) the 41 has better SD for penetration and less felt recoil - but this is just my personal opinion

Pistol:

1. 40 S&W - while the 9mm is more popular, I like the extra power of the 40 and honestly found the recoil more manageable as it is not as "flippy" as the 9 with the lighter bullets
2. 10MM - big, bad medicine for personal protection - if it can cleanly take Black Death at 15 yards with BUffalo Bore's 220 gr Hard Cast bullets, it will handle any nasty critters we have here, whether it be 4 legged or 2

 

[SJB358]

In the same vein of Blkram's thought-provoking posts, I submit the following to the collective for discussion.

If you could, which would be the 20 cartridges that could stay, and the rest were ended in the name of standardizing production and materials for availability? Although this is only a hypothetical, current conditions apply. What I mean by that, for example, is there is no time machine to go back and make the US Armed forces adopt the 6mm Remington to make it more popular and available.

Such a concept would never fly, but if you potentially could, which would make the cut and what is your justification for it?

Ideally for me these would be the 20:

1) .22 Long Rifle: This earliest of self-contained cartridges is still far and away one of if not THE most popular cartridge to ever exist. Of course it is number one.
2) .223 Remington: Accurate and deadly with little recoil, it is a staple in the NATO community and with hunters alike. And you can find guns/ammo everywhere!
3) .22-250 Remington: For when you need more reach than a .223 but not appreciably more recoil, enter the .22-250. Sorry .220 Swift, you just aren't as popular.
4) .243 Winchester: A top ten seller since inception, this combo varmint/deer round is a perfect gun for cheechako and veteran shooters alike. Everyone should have one!
5) .25-06 Remington: Recoils like a .243, hits like a .270 Winchester. Perfect antelope and mule deer cartridge. The .270 could just as easily go here instead.
6) 7mm Rem Mag: If one must have a magnum for hunting, this one is it for me. It checks a lot of boxes; ballistics of the newer 7mm's with easier to find components.
7) .30-30 WCF: Lever gun guys all have a deep love for this wonderful 1895 vintage hunting cartridge. Long live the thutty-thutty.
8) .30-06 Springfield: The ultimate all-around hunting cartridge and World War champ it ought to be standard issue for every citizen when they get their driver's license.
9) .300 WSM: Basically any .30 magnum spitting a 180-grain bullet to 2900+ fps could go here but this one seems to kick the least.
10) .338 Win Mag: Keeping muzzle brake companies in business since 1958, it kills on one end and cripples on the other. Accept no substitutes.
11) .38 Special: The choice of backup, C.C. and purse guns since the 1890's, its a great cartridge even today. AND you can shoot them in a .357 Magnum!
12) 9mm Luger: Ditto the .38 Special attributes but with a higher magazine capacity. +P loads make it better yet.
13) .357 Magnum: Forget +P in your .38, if you need more juice get the original engine block busting, crime spree stopping, polar bear killing, .357 Magnum!!
14) .375 H&H Magnum: Going to Africa? Don't forget to take one of these along. Make sure to load it accordingly, there isn't anything it can't handle on this planet!
15) .44 Rem Mag: If you can't get it done with a .357, you likely won't be able to shoot a .44 worth a darn but the .44 is a darn good handgun/carbine cartridge. Yeet!
16) .45 ACP: Like the .30-06, the .45 ACP has kept the 20th century fascism free worldwide. If you don't want a 9mm, this is your baby.
17) .45-70 Govt: Sorry .444, but the .45-70 does mostly what you can do and is easier to get components for. Be careful how you load it, it can have some mean recoil!
18) 20 gauge shotgun: While not the success that is the 12 gauge, it is a good option for uplands, trap shooters or anyone wanting a bit less punch than the 12 gives.
19) 12 gauge shotgun : An obvious best seller, the 12 gauge can be used for a lot of different stuff with small shot and large, steel, and of course slugs!
20) This one is a three-way tie for me, 6.5x55 Swedish, .270 Winchester and 7mm-08/7x57mm Mauser. All have merits but I just couldn't decide so its a tie!!

Lets have yours!!!!

I could easily attach myself to your list. Any change is purely between my ears. The 223, 270, 7 Mag and 338 cover a lot of ground for me.