plexreticle
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7.62x54R and 8mm
Maxim machines guns and Russian and German rifles are my guess
Maxim machines guns and Russian and German rifles are my guess
What caliber has killed the most people?
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leadcounsel
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Actually it's not hypocritical. Guns are not an ideology, they are a tool. Guns don't cause people to kill and killing has gone on long before guns were invented.
Religion is an ideology and ideologies cause massive bloodshed on a global scale. Guns are simply the tool used by ideologies to inflict death and impose viewpoints. Before guns it was fire, knives, spears, arrows, swords, rocks, etc.
And conversely, guns have been used to fight off these religious zealots and their viewpoints in defense of nations and religious persecution. In this manner, guns have effectively been used to fight off oppression. Religion has never really been used to fight off oppression successfully.
Religion is undoubtedly the primary cause for the wholesale slaughter of billions of people in the history of the world from the Crusades to present day. People with conflicting views on GOD attack each other - kinda ironic if you think about it.
macp
Member
I'm none too sure about the order:
1. 8 x 57 Germans' main round in both wars; high kill ratio. Used by Chinese against Japanese before and during WWII and in Chinese Civil War, and again by Chi Coms in Korea.
2. 7.62 x 54 Russians' main round in both wars; notable use in WWII. Used by North Koreans and Chinese in Korean War. Used by Vietcong and NVA.
3. 30-06 USA's main round for part of WWI, in WWII and Korea, and saw some use in Vietnam. Also used by South Koreans in Korean War. Some usage by Chinese against Japanese before and during WWII.
4. .303 British and Commonwealth forces' main round in both world wars and Korea.
5. 6.5 Arisaka Japanese; used extensively before and during WWII. Presumably used in Chinese Civil War; used by Chinese in Korea.
6. 7.62 x 39 The AK-47. Pol Pot and Vietnam put it up there, as well as other third-world usage.
7. 7.62 x .25 Ppsh-41 and Ppsh-43 chambered this round; used extensively by Russians in WWII and by North Korea and China in Korea. Was also chambered in pistols used by Russians and Chinese.
8. 9mm The ubiquitous Nine. Also, don't forget the usage inside USA.
I'm going to stop there.
1. 8 x 57 Germans' main round in both wars; high kill ratio. Used by Chinese against Japanese before and during WWII and in Chinese Civil War, and again by Chi Coms in Korea.
2. 7.62 x 54 Russians' main round in both wars; notable use in WWII. Used by North Koreans and Chinese in Korean War. Used by Vietcong and NVA.
3. 30-06 USA's main round for part of WWI, in WWII and Korea, and saw some use in Vietnam. Also used by South Koreans in Korean War. Some usage by Chinese against Japanese before and during WWII.
4. .303 British and Commonwealth forces' main round in both world wars and Korea.
5. 6.5 Arisaka Japanese; used extensively before and during WWII. Presumably used in Chinese Civil War; used by Chinese in Korea.
6. 7.62 x 39 The AK-47. Pol Pot and Vietnam put it up there, as well as other third-world usage.
7. 7.62 x .25 Ppsh-41 and Ppsh-43 chambered this round; used extensively by Russians in WWII and by North Korea and China in Korea. Was also chambered in pistols used by Russians and Chinese.
8. 9mm The ubiquitous Nine. Also, don't forget the usage inside USA.
I'm going to stop there.
eflatminor
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Calibers don't kill people, people kill people.
cracked butt
Member
8mm mauser followed by 7.62x54r and .303 tied for a distant second.
scrat
Member
hands down if im saying what caliber bullet. thus the bullet tip. it would be.
.308
as how many rifles use a .308 bullet. 30-06 being number 1, but then so does 30-30. 30 carbine. Remember the browning 30 caliber machine gun. Thus my vote is .308 the bullet. though there are several variations and grain sizes flat nose round nose boat tail. the .308 has probably killed more than any other caliber.
.308
as how many rifles use a .308 bullet. 30-06 being number 1, but then so does 30-30. 30 carbine. Remember the browning 30 caliber machine gun. Thus my vote is .308 the bullet. though there are several variations and grain sizes flat nose round nose boat tail. the .308 has probably killed more than any other caliber.
44-40... No question
I wonder why it wasn't listed... A good case could be made for the .50 cal as it was used in many past and current conflicts.
EDIT:
Anyone here ever seen a Bible and a Koran or Torah get in a fight?? Ever seen a gun walk down the street looking for a victim?? No, no one ever has.
What you do see is people using every trick, every device, every possible chink to gain power and hold it. I very much resent thoughts such as the one quoted above, as the only thing they highlight is more of the same.
I wonder why it wasn't listed... A good case could be made for the .50 cal as it was used in many past and current conflicts.
EDIT:
leadcounsel said:
Anyone here ever seen a Bible and a Koran or Torah get in a fight?? Ever seen a gun walk down the street looking for a victim?? No, no one ever has.
What you do see is people using every trick, every device, every possible chink to gain power and hold it. I very much resent thoughts such as the one quoted above, as the only thing they highlight is more of the same.
Last edited:
nwilliams
Member
Sadly I agree....
But lets not turn this very thread into a religious war among ourselves, lets keep it gun related why don't we.
pbearperry
Member
The reason I stated the 9mm as possibly killing more people is based on the fact that it was used in most German sidearms in both World Wars,plus the fact in WW2,there were an awful lot of sub-machine guns issued in 9mm as well.Also keep in mind that all of Europe armies use it along with modern day Gangbangers plus most Police Agencies throughout the world.
Absolute peanuts compared to the casualties of war.
I recall hearing somewhere that there are more people alive today than have ever lived and died in the history of the world. I don't know if this is strictly true, but as a corollary, you may conclude that World War I & II saw more war casualties and deaths by firearms than all the wars of humanity combined to that point.
That said, I have to agree then, that the 8mm Mauser and 7.62x54r would be the #1, and #2 for firearms deaths in wartime, which is far beyond anything else in terms of sheer numbers.
The 8 mm killed more British, French, Russians, Poles, Danes, Dutch, Greeks, Yugo's, Czech's, Romanians, Bulgarians, Spanish, Italians, Americans, than any other round. It was adopted by a bunch of middle European nations, Egypt, Iran, Iraqi, probably more than I can think of.
What comes next, that's tough. It is either the 303 or the 7.62 * 54.
What comes next, that's tough. It is either the 303 or the 7.62 * 54.
I would agree. It was the German 7.92x57mm Mauser which was used both in the machine guns (MG-42) and K98 carbines.
Think of the einsatzgruppen alone in Russia, it was very common to use machine guns to mow down victims near pits. They shot over 1,000,000 between summer 1941 and Nov 1942 (non-comabt). And many of the human wave assaults by the Soviets were decimated by MG-42s. Soviet military and civilian deaths were 20 million plus, obviously not all shot... but a lot were.
7.62 x 39 killed a lot, but overall, but as much as 7.92 x 57. Hopefully, the world will again never see the intensity or level of combat of the dark years of the Eastern Front.
On a side note, some of you guys are getting up on the soap box in huff about if guns or people kill. This is merely a historical question, not a "we need to ban this caliber because of how many people it killed" argument.
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nwilliams said:
That is like me saying, your a fat putz, but let's not get into a name calling fight...
EDIT,
I took out the response, but leave you with this.
How can a gun owner on this forum say:
When all of us know that it isn't the guns that kill people, somewhere down the line they made the choice to kill. No matter how little input they had, they chose to depress the trigger, stab or whathaveya. Ideas are no different.
brighamr
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What car make/model has killed the most people?
PercyShelley
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Indeed. The Eastern Front was so huge that it's just surreal.
divemedic
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75 million people were killed in the two World Wars. How can anyone say that any weapon made after that can even come close to those numbers?
The .223 is not even a contender. Not even close. Same goes for .22, 9mm, or any other handgun round. I think the Mauser is the one.
The .223 is not even a contender. Not even close. Same goes for .22, 9mm, or any other handgun round. I think the Mauser is the one.
Funderb
Member
yep, 76.2mm was the russian tank round.
pbearperry
Member
This thread has had a lot of guess work as too which calibur has killed the most people.An interesting note is that supposedly more soldiers on both sides during WW1 were killed by the Flu than by bullets.
longdayjake
Member
7.62X39 wins it. Every militia, guerrilla group, para-military, pseudo military, mostly military, and even actual militaries use the AK to kill millions. Though the world wars ended with the loss of millions and millions of lives, this conflict was only about 6 years long. The AK has been the choice of murder, genocide, ethnic cleansing, and communism and the like for over 60 years. Sadly I believe that most deaths with this round are not recorded so there would be no real way to find out. So, my guess is just a guess, but I feel that it is a pretty good guess. 60 years of continual murders and conflicts pile the bodies pretty high.
mr.trooper
Member
Most WWI casualties were from rampant disease and massive waves of chemical weapons bombardment. the Maxim would have to take the back seat to that, but every side had them so i don't see that being a boon to any sides caliber.
Most WWII casualties were from artillery, and massive carpet bombing campaigns.
ID say the top 5 are:
* 303 British
* 7.62x54R
* 7.62x39
* 9mm Luger
* .22 Long Rifle
Trying to order them would be a moot point, and pure conjecture.
PeteRR
Member
Gas as a general rule was not lethal during WWI. It caused a lot of casualties, but not so many deaths. And the reason 8MM Mauser gets the edge during the war is because after the initial advances, Germany was on the defensive in the West and inflicted many more deaths then they took using the Maxim in 8MM.
As a military "tactic", carpet bombing was employed sparingly. I can think of only a handful of instances.
There's no way in the world 9MM and .22LR have killed more than 8MM Mauser.
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