Most Worthless Rifle Caliber

[ftierson]

I couldn't vote because you forgot all the WSM and WSSM cartridges... and other really short, short, fat, fat, catrtridges.

How much more worthless can you get than those...?



There, that should get me some hate mail.

 

[peteyru]

444 .... yes I totoly agree with you 100% .... maybe I took your first reply the wrong way .. thanks for the clarification

 

[Berek]

rbernie : I can justify ALMOST anything on the list except the WSM's, so that's my vote.

I have to say that my .300WSM is one of the most accurate in the .308" projectile class. Flatter shooting, farther shooting, and harder hitting than even the .300 WM. Just IMHO.

As for the .17, I can't justify it's existance. The .22LR is cheaper and everything the .17 can take, so can the .22LR and then some. That was my vote.

 

[crewsr]

wow

the 17hmr is the greatest rimfire bullet made period. The 17 mach is a waste of time.
The 30-30 is a classic for a reason. Check out www.chuckhawks.com and click the guns tab. Great write up on this classic bullet. Its my option that More deer have been killed by the 30-30 than any other. Most people overkill.....overkill on scopes for thier guns and overkill caliber size for thier game. IMHO.

 

[No_Brakes23]

I would have to list the 7.62x39mm M43 as one of the most useful rounds ever made.

The reports of its inaccuracy are greatly exagerrated, (It is no Sniper weapon, granted,) but inside 300m, it works just fine. Plenty of SKS and AK owners have made clean kills on deer with that round, (And no doubt it functions just fine in the CZ572 as well.)

It is probably the most inexpensive round that is still viable for self defense. Good, relatively expensive, boxer primed ammo for it is still cheaper than .30-30, and more user-friendly weapons chamber it, as well.

The SKS and AK, the two main weapons that chamber it, (Let's not sully our comparo with talk of sell-out Ruger's Mini/Ranch,) have unquestionable reliability.

It is probably the best "kurz post-.30" round availible with the possible exception of the .308, (There is also 6.8SPC and 6.5 Grendel, but they are not "established" like the .308 and M43.)

But, doesn't the 308 do a better job than the 7.62x39?

Well not for all. Some would point out that the .308 is a "battle rifle" round and the M43 is a "carbine" or Sturmgewehr round. That line is apparently drawn somewhere between a 43mm case length and a 51mm case length.

But the .308 is not as approachable in all forms for all people. In the rest of the country, CETMEs, FALs, Saiga .308s, Valmets, AR10s, etc are legal to own. For a subject of the PRK such as myself, autoloading .308 carbine choices are scant indeed. Other than a rebarreled Garand, the cost prohibitive M1A from Springfield is about my only choice. And a behemoth it is. No pistol grip, big fat expensive lo-cap magazines, and a Mall Ninja after thought version, (SOCOM16) that is slightly less unweildy. All for $1500+? No thanks, comrade. This serf will stick to the SU-16CA and M59 Yugo SKS, which together don't equal half the cost of the M1A.

Granted, the .223 is a better Varmint round. Granted the .308 is a better match round. But for the yeoman's work, I take the 7.62x39mm.

 

[GunGoBoom]

I just stumbled across this thread and the title made me LOL, so I had to vote & bump. I voted weatherby mags, though the .30 carbine, 7 rem ultra, 7 STW, and WSMs are certainly in the running.

I don't think the .22 mag (.22 WMR) should even be under consideration, as I love this round. Can NOT believe it got 20 votes! Also, the .458 winmag and .338 winmag seem to have a place, but I'm no expert as I've never been to Africa. Most of the ones in the poll do deserves to at least be questioned, it would seem. For some reason I have a .17 HMR, even though the cartridge doesn't make just a lot of sense for having a raison d'etre (*especially* in light of the fact that I have and love the .22 mag). If the .30-30 were rimless, AND chambered in cheap new AKs, milsurp AKs, and SKSs, then there'd be no use for the 762x39, as the .30-30 is a ballistically better round, but it is rimmed and not chambered in these, so 762x39 is useful (I used to think it worthless, but came 180 degrees on that).

 

[Gib]

32 Special

Goon hit the nail on the head with the .32 special. The intent was that when smokeless ammo caught on and the loading data, componets and technology became available for loading smokeless cartridges (30-30) the .32 special was supposed to go away. Back then the ability to reload a cartridge was a big selling point. For some reason consumers refused to let it go. Sales were brisk enough up to the early 1970's before it was finally dropped. There were alot of people who swore that the .32 was the best. And alot who swore at it.
My bad. I overlooked Verns post too. It has more information on the .32. Pretty much says it all.

 

[coyote204]

What is an unneeded caliber? I like to have a variety.

 

[rick_reno]

I voted for the 204 Ruger - but if I could vote twice I'd toss any of those 17 caliber rounds out too.
Gun and ammo makers have to develop new rounds - let's face it, they make a product that lasts generations with minimal care and most of us are reluctant to buy multiple rifles in the same caliber. Hence, the birth of new "exciting" rifle rounds.

 

[Brother in Arms]

"7.62x39 -Inaccurate, 30/30 power, short range, barely a deer caliber, problem with bore diameter and ammo"

I got to disagree here the 30-30 is a good deer and so is the 7.62x39mm.

I personally do not have many of the calibers listed in the post.

Brother in Arms

 

[adaman04]

17 HMR? What!? Are you all smoking something other than gunpowder? :banghead: The HMR has brought life back to the rimfire market! How many of these things have sold in the last few years? Before the Hummer, you bought a .22, and if you were wild, a .22 Mag. The .17 gives you a 200 yard recoil free rimfire. Great for fun plinking and GREAT for giving new and young shooters a chance to shoot past 50 yards with their old .22 LR. Once you see the look on a kids face when they hit a can of water at 150+ yards, you won't ever call it useless again.

My vote goes to the Weatherby Mags. Expensive shells for ballistics that don't impress me much more than the good old .300 Win Mag. Just my .02

 

[Deer Hunter]

Every bullet can kill someone or something, it just depends on how you use it. I find that every one of those bullets are useful, and it all comes down to personal preference. Some people like the WSSM and WSM, some people like the .308, and again others will stick to their 30-30s. I could use all of those weapon calibers, and they all, in a sense, do the exact same thing. They put meat on the table, or put insurgents in hell.

But for me? Favorite caliber weapons would be 30-30 and the .308.

Also, I can't believe people don't like the .17. Great little round, very fun to shoot. I'm not sure what I'll vote, though. If I vote at all, that is.

 

[rangerruck]

I was thinking about unneeded rounds that are still made, I thought we could make a poll to see which is the most unneeded!!!
My reconmendations:
22 Mag and 17 HMR- $7/$8 a box, 22 LR is cheaper for targets, 223 is a better round for varmints
30 Carbine,- costly Plinking round, not enough power for deer, too much drop for varments, would have been obsolete without the gun
7.62x39 -Inaccurate, 30/30 power, short range, barely a deer caliber, problem with bore diameter and ammo
ALL MAG loads- Too much recoil, most people cannot hit the broadside of a barn with them, because they kick like a mule, they flinch like a semi coming head on at you, also a price per box that would make you bankrupt if you shot it every week. I would put 458, 375 H&H, 7STW, 7mm Ultra Mag, Winchester Short Mags, Weatherby Mags and others in this category, good only for big bear, elephant, and rhino, and anything else over 1000 lb critter
204-What kind of niche this is supose to have? between the 22 mag and 223?
What is your opinion?

the 204 has more range,b.c. and s.d. than the 220 swift or the 22 250. the 17 is for varmints in a suburban setting, low noise, longer range than any 22 gets near the 22 centerfires without the noise, also if you have a bull bbl and big scope, you can fire and still look through the scope to watch the impact
now the 22 hornet...

 

[Vern Humphrey]

the 204 has more range,b.c. and s.d. than the 220 swift or the 22 250. the 17 is for varmints in a suburban setting, low noise, longer range than any 22 gets near the 22 centerfires without the noise, also if you have a bull bbl and big scope, you can fire and still look through the scope to watch the impact
now the 22 hornet...

The .22 Hornet is the reason I don't own a .17 HMR. All the good things you can say about the .17 HMR apply to the Hornet, plus 20% more velocity, 100% more bullet weight, and it's reloadable.

I love to watch a crow explode in my scope when that 35-grain Hornady V-Max hits him at around 3,000 fps muzzle velocity.

 

[itgoesboom]

Most useless rifle round? Anything that isn't the .30-06.

Someone had to say it on it's 100 year anniversary.

I.G.B.

 

[texasguy]

Most useless rifle round? Anything that isn't the .30-06.

Someone had to say it on it's 100 year anniversary.

I.G.B.

ehh, as it's adoption into the military anyway...

 

[spooney]

People comparing the .223 to the .22mag are way off base, I'm not going to shoot a skunk at the end of my yard with something that has an effective range of up to 350+ yds. .22 mag is perfect for varmint control in a cramped enviroment such as mine. Now if you live in more open country then no the .22mag doesn't have much use.

 

[Vern Humphrey]

People comparing the .223 to the .22mag are way off base, I'm not going to shoot a skunk at the end of my yard with something that has an effective range of up to 350+ yds. .22 mag is perfect for varmint control in a cramped enviroment such as mine. Now if you live in more open country then no the .22mag doesn't have much use.

I used the .22 WMR as a turkey rifle when I lived in Virginia -- it's ideal for that purpose. It's also a nice long-range squirrel rifle when the leaves are off the trees. And I've taken more than one crow and groundhog with it.

In my book, the step up from the .22 WMR is a .22 centerfire, rather than another rimfire.

 

[Duach Laidir]

I voted the Weatherby Magnums.
My personal choice for an all around cal. though is the 7.7x54 which suits me fine for pig and deer. Can't say about Kangaroos as it's illegal to shoot them

 

[Gewehr98]

Wow, such an old thread, revived!

In retrospect, as I read through this thread from start to finish again, I have to insert a counterpoint to 444's diatribe against the 7.62x39 round. This is something he may not have considered, but that I noticed since my exposure to the round beginning in the early 1990's - the cheap surplus ammo, and relatively cheap rifles for which it was chambered, namely the Chinese SKS, then Russian SKS, and now Yugoslavian SKS, plus all the AK variants and Mini-30, served perfectly to introduce a new generation of shooters to the world of the centerfire rifle.

Think about it. I can't count how many times as a range officer I saw a father bring his son or daughter to the range with a new SKS and a big supply of surplus ammo. While I cringed at the thought of having to pick up and separate all those steel cases littering the floor and grounds, it was nice to see that the shooting fraternity would not die of old age anytime soon. Were the kids upset that the rifle was a Communist invention, or that the cartridge didn't have the best terminal effects against deer or even people? No, not at all. They were with their Dad, going shooting in the big scheme of things. They were running up to the range officer with their fired targets, which they took home to show Mom. To me, at least, that has a value all of it's own.

Reminding myself to pack an AK or two for my stepsons tomorrow during our frequent Sunday morning church services at the range...

 

[MCgunner]

Agree with most of what you said. Exception is 7.62 x 39. I can keep it within a 4" circle from my SKS (on a really good day), and it's cheap cheap cheap. Don't even have to pick up the 'brass'.

.

I can keep 'em inside 6" at 200 yards with my scoped SKS and my 135 grain Sierra handloads are still around 1000 ft lbs at that range. With that handload, it's a 200 yard deer rifle round. I don't call that useless, and as you say, the cheap plinking ammo, that's why I bought one.

I don't see ANY really useless rounds in that list except the .30 carbine is about the most useless, so it got my vote. I don't shoot small critters at long range like prairie dogs because there is no such thing down here, but just because a .223 is useless to me, don't mean it's useless to a varmint hunter.

I have been wondering about the "why" of that 17 HMR. Someone enlighten me as to why they like the cartridge. I know guys big into .22 mag, to, but that's another one I've never found a reason to buy. I've got .22 rimfires out the gazoo, but no mags.

 

[ZenMasterJG]

I vote for the .222 Remington. .223/5.56 is better, cheaper, and much more common.

 

[VirgilCaine]

This is another of my post that's gonna get "edited" by the moderators. Oh, well, here goes.

Atherd said, "7.62x39 gets my vote.

Dosen't [sic] kill people well..."

Excuse me, but having been on the receiving end of these little bast@rds, believe me, they are quite effective at killing people. I can think of a lot of people I was with at one time who'd voice their agreement with me, but they didn't return.
Detachment Charlie
RVN '68 - '69

Ditto that. Silly thing for a person to say, 7.62 won't kill anyone...

 

[f4t9r]

oNE THING IS FOR SURE WE HAVE MORE THEN WE NEED

 

[Meplat]

22 Mag and 17 HMR- $7/$8 a box, 22 LR is cheaper for targets, 223 is a better round for varmints

I know you and I are BOTH gonna catch flack on the .22 mag, but I agree with you on both calibers. Have NO IDEA why I'd want a .17 HMR, unless it was so that I could have a caliber to equal the 5mm Mag. Rimfire I couldn't find ammo for should I ever feel the need for one anyway.

30 Carbine,- costly Plinking round, not enough power for deer, too much drop for varments, would have been obsolete without the gun

We are two for two.

7.62x39 -Inaccurate, 30/30 power, short range, barely a deer caliber, problem with bore diameter and ammo

ALMOST 3 for 3. If the price of an average SKS goes up sixty three more cents, we'll be a FULL three for three. Hmmmm....maybe we already ARE, come to think of it. The only reason I ever saw fit to buy them was because I used to be able to get a good plinker for seventy five bucks, and my kids wouldn't break the bank (or my reloading arm) shooting it.

ALL MAG loads- Too much recoil, most people cannot hit the broadside of a barn with them, because they kick like a mule, they flinch like a semi coming head on at you, also a price per box that would make you bankrupt if you shot it every week. I would put 458, 375 H&H, 7STW, 7mm Ultra Mag, Winchester Short Mags, Weatherby Mags and others in this category, good only for big bear, elephant, and rhino, and anything else over 1000 lb critter

Dang! Knew it was too good to be true. I have a 7 Mag I wouldn't trade for any rifle I know of. Recoil? Not much more than a .30-06 (at least as far as my fairly educated shoulder can tell). Cost to shoot? I reload. Catch the Federal Red Box Cheapo's on sale at Wally-World at the end of deer season (asked the guy behind the counter "how much for the now-useless-to-you 7 Mag on the shelf? It had been marked down to three bucks a box. They had fourteen boxes left. Buggy was heavy, but the brass was CHEAP!!) .338? One of the most versatile calibers around, if you ask me. .375 H&H???? Not MY baby. Found a bunch of bullets from a hunting/fishing store going out of business who didn't sell too many .375's in Dixie. Found brass in the form of loaded ammo at a gun show for $18 bucks a box. Not "break the bank" bad...and I LOVE shooting that rifle. Useful? It's dispatched a couple of deer with applomb (kinda like cracking a walnut with a sledgehammer - fun if no one sees you doing it) without doing much more - if any - tissue damage than a .270 and 130 grain bullet. AND should that dream hunt in Alaska ever materialize, hell, I'm ready! As to the broad side of a barn, haven't shot too many barns lately (pisses off our farmers), but do know for a fact that a five gallon bucket at six hundred fifty yards is gonna take a hit - gernerally dead center - if I lay crosshairs of that 7 Mag on it...and at three hundred, a five inch group isn't hard at all to get out of the .375. Better if I'm having a good day.

204-What kind of niche this is supose to have? between the 22 mag and 223?
What is your opinion?

Ahhh....back on track. Oh well, three out of four (if you don't count the ALMOST that might be more than an ALMOST) ain't bad.