What do you think is the most underrated handgun/rifle cartridges?

38-45 Special said:

Title speaks for itself. Nearly everyone knows about (or has heard of) the 9mm, 40 S&W, .45 ACP, etc.; and .223/5.56, .308, 30-06, etc. But the world of firearm cartridges is massive and continues to grow. So I wonder what you guys think is the most (in your opinion) underrated handgun and/or rifle cartridges still being manufactured today. (I would say "excluding wildcat cartridges", but I understand that that would pretty well wipe out a great majority of the ones that could be listed)

Click to expand...

There are so many that overlap older cartridges. That being said, most are similar. Pick a trajectory or energy level you need, and many fill the bill. There is nothing I can think of that is "underrated". Just cartridges that do the same job as others. Curious what others think.

There are so many cartridges available today you would think there would be no more gaps to fill. And yet we constantly see new stuff being introduced that supposedly fills some new gap they discovered. Often if we look hard enough there are older cartridges that have been around for a long time that do a very close approximation of the latest wonder cartridge.

For me personally, in the rifle category, I have always been a big fan of the .257 Roberts. It can do the work of a lot of the newer mid range cartridges.

The 22 LR. A single shot with a suppressor will do me for a survival rifle.

In my opinion the 221 Fireball is way underrated.

With little 40gr bullets you get 95% of a 223s power. Less powder, noise, recoil, and heat. On the other end it beats the heck out of the beloved .22 Hornet.

My favorite critter gitter.

I'll agree with the .257, but I prefer it in '06. Great cartridge.

Gumby0961 said:

In my opinion the 221 Fireball is way underrated.

With little 40gr bullets you get 95% of a 223s power. Less powder, noise, recoil, and heat. On the other end it beats the heck out of the beloved .22 Hornet.

My favorite critter gitter.

Click to expand...

It's too bad there weren't more firearms chambered in the 221.

243 Winchester. My favorite round for whitetails.

The Remington 7mmBR family of cartridges which really helped explode the short/fat concept for great accuracy

I think 30 carbine is under appreciated.
I don’t have any experience besides reloading them, and blasting various things with my carbine, so I can’t prove anything....
But I do like it a lot and think it’d be a mighty fine home defense cartridge

.220 Swift, .25-06, .257 Roberts, .280 Rem

Golfanaticshooter said:

I'll agree with the .257, but I prefer it in '06. Great cartridge.

Click to expand...

To quote the late, great Townsend Whelen, "The .30-06 is never a mistake."

Do times change!

I remember when the 38 Special was a hugely popular cartridge. I could go to the range and pick up coffee cans of brass. That ended by the 1980's. Police went from 38 Special revolvers to high capacity 9mm's and the 38 Special just sort of faded away.

It is still a great cartridge, low recoil, great accuracy, mindlessly easy to reload, but it is still a revolver cartridge. Based on everything I have read, I consider it a minimum for self defense, but shooting people is not everything!!! It is still my favorite for practicing offhand at my gong targets, or paper. I can work on controlling my flinch, for one thing!

At one time this was a popular law enforcement pistol



this was a law enforcement pistol





I think this was a security guard pistol before I purchased it, and I have shot the heck out of it.

Pistol- .38spl.
Rifle- .243

NIGHTLORD40K said:

Pistol- .38spl.
Rifle- .243

Click to expand...

It seems odd to me that people consider .243 underrated since it's insanely popular around here for coyote hunting and not even legal for deer. Its definitely mainstream in southern Ohio.

In my opinion, .357 SIG is underrated.

It's nipping at the heals of the mythical 125gr .357 Magnum hollow points (from a 4" barrel), but with all the advantages of a double stack semi-auto.

Under rated:
Pistol - 357 Sig
Rifle- 30-30

I know it's not part of it but...
Over rated:
Pistol- 9mm
Rifle - 223/5.56

I have my dead's old Remington 760 in .257. I'm pretty sure he bought it just because a pawn shop happened to have it. But he always said it made him look like a really good shot. I have to handload for it because pretty much all of the ammo I see for it on the shelf is +P, and I don't dare run it in that action.

I just built an AR-10 in .243, and I use it for everything smaller than an elk. But I know plenty of people who hunt elk with 6mm and 6.5, it does just fine.

For pistol I will throw out the .22 TCM. It's for mostly selfish reasons. I have one, and I wish it would catch on so that more companies will start making ammo for it.

It's a .223 casing cut short enough to fit in the mag well of a .38 Super 1911. Then necked down to .22. It will push a 40 grain bullet 2000 fps out of a 5" barrel. It's loud and fun with very little recoil. I have one because I wanted an Armscor/RIA 9mm 1911. They were only selling TCM pistols that can convert to 9mm. It's fun, and I like it, but I never would have bought one otherwise.

222 and 22 hornet