Military Cartridges

Guy Miner

Master Loader
Apr 6, 2006
17,453
4,514
Not surprising I suppose, but dang, I do seem to have a real attraction for using cartridges designed for, or adopted by, the military...

223/5.56mm, I do shoot my AR-15 quite a bit. Great little cartridge, mostly I think of it as my "coyote" rifle these days.

308 Win/7.62mm, My most accurate rifle and the most-fired of all my center-fire rifles over the past couple of decades. What a sweetheart of a cartridge! Easy to load, easy to shoot, and very effective the few times I've used it on game.

30-06, ya sometimes folks forget this was our standard military rifle & machinegun cartridge for decades! What a great hunting cartridge it has proven to be.

45/70, oh my... Yes the old warhorse was a military cartridge, and along with many others, I've enjoyed handloading, target shooting and hunting with the big ol' beast of a cartridge.

9mm pistol - I carry one often. A nice little compact pistol that literally fits in a pocket. I'm content with it for much of my personal defense needs, and wasn't long ago that ol' Phil Shoemaker clobbered a big Alaskan brown bear with his! Yikes!

45 pistol - my most used center-fire pistol. I've loaded and fired tens of thousands of 45 ACP rounds. Goodness. What a great cartridge. Mellow. Easy to load. Easy to shoot. Still formidable a century later.

Apparently I gravitate towards those cartridges, perhaps because of my military history? Perhaps because I like the well-proven, well-tested aspect of those cartridges? Who knows. They work, and I like 'em.

Do I like other? OF COURSE!

Who else shoots military cartridges?

Guy
 
Those who use the 7X57 or the 8X57 are using military cartridges, though they weren't adopted by the US. The 6.5 Swede was a military cartridge before it was a civilian round. Here in Canada, it would seem that the old warhorse, the .303 British is well-nigh ubiquitous. I occasionally see people posting about their experience with the 6mm Lee and the 7.5 mm Schmidt-Rubin, both of which were military cartridges. The .300 Savage (.30 Light Rifle Ball) was the forerunner of the T65 when the Army was endeavouring to build a small cartridge with ballistics to match the venerable .30-06. Some of the heavy hitters that have become popular in the hunting fields are employed as sniper rounds by various armed forces (think 338 Lapua, Browning 50 cal., etc.). It is not uncommon for cartridges used by the military to find their way into civilian hands sooner, rather than later. I have, or have shot, almost all these named at one time or another.
 
When I was younger, I gravitated toward military cartridges through simple economics. For instance, I picked the '06, .223 and the .308 over something like the .270 simply because I could buy inexpensive military ball or surplus ammunition for a fraction of the cost before I got the reloading bug. Indeed, it wasn't that long ago that a lot of folks got into the SKS and Moisin Nagant military surplus rifles simply because there was so much dirt cheap ammo flooding the market for them. I think at one time in the early 90s I bought a Chinese SKS and a whole spam can 7.62x39 for a $100 bill. Other than a .22, that was about as cheap as shooting got for a young guy starting out.

I still have a fair bit of military ball ammo floating around in the locker in 7.62x51, 9mm and 5.56.
 
6.5x55 Swede, 7.5x55 Swiss, 7.62x54R, 7x57, 8x57,303 British, 7.62x51, 5.56, 30-06, 45-70, 9mm Luger, 45 ACP, 38 Special, 7.62x39, 30-30 Win. are all rounds that militaries around the world have used that I currently load for and shoot.
 
M1 Granad was my first issue rifle Marine Corp and had old BAR back then, guess reason I have couple 30-06's. I have bolt action 223 that I use for varmints and 45acp.
 
There's a reason the old battle rifle rounds are so popular. A lot of engineering and testing went into the cartridges and the rifles designed for them. In the time where 1000+ yard capability was deemed necessary in an infantry rifle, the resulting cartridges were flat shooting and powerful...ideal characteristics in hunting rounds. Shoot most any rimless "standard" cartridge? Thank the Mauser brothers and the 7,92 for your basic case design, going strong since 1888. Love the pre-64 Winchester? Also Mauser.

Another reason they've found widespread commercial acceptance is the engineering behind them is already done, making them attractive from a cost/benefit standpoint for sporting rifle makers to offer, often in a civilized version of their original military action. The various mauser patterns, as well as the Mannlicher Schoenaur, M1917, and others have been civilized in this manner. Also many unique commercial actions were developed as military prototype or trials rifles or borrowed heavily from existing military designs. Even the Savage M99, more at home with buffalo plaid wool than olive drab canvas began it's life as a rifle designed to sell to military customers.
 
My dad used an French 8mm Label for deer in my early years, not any mention of that one here. I had the rifle up until a couple of years ago when a friend thought he would like to have it so I gifted it to him. Like most here, I have fired all of the most popular American military rounds, including the 50.
 
I was going to say that the 6.5 Swede was my only military cartridge...
But my left handed Sako L691 Carbine with factory full length stock in 30-06 is in transit to me as we speak. Also found an original Sako peep for it!
I was unaware that the 30-30 was actually a military cartridge...

Learn something new everyday! LOL
 
Not to mention the host of highly effective and popular cartridges that were wildcatted from some of those originals and have been standard-bearer's now for decades. Particularly from the 308 and 30-06. Some of the offspring like the 270 are nearing 100 yrs old now.

If ever there were cartridges that deserved an award for their contributions to the shooting and hunting world, both as stand alone cartridges and for what came out of them, it's those 2.
 
I really like my sporterized M91 Mauser, action is as smooth as silk. 7.65 X 53. Very effective round for a lot of game..
 
I have had or have many former and current military cartridges in my stable. 45-70, 45 LC, 6.5x55, 7x57, 30-40 Krag, 30-06, 45 ACP, 38 SP, 308, 223, 9mm. in order of age.
 
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