There seem to be many disagreements on THR that either center around whether a given cartridge is "rare" or not or, worse, do not center on this question, but involve posters with unspoken disagreements about what constitutes a "rare" cartridge. Since rare-ness of a cartridge isn't a binary thing, I thought it might be interesting or useful to lay out a sort of continuum of different levels of commonality/rarity that cartridges might fall into. There may be better ways to break up these tiers, and people might reasonably disagree about whether a cartridge should move up or down a tier... maybe that will be a fun conversation for us to have...
- .22lr. The most-consumed and most-made cartridge. Except for extraordinary circumstances (which involve tens of thousands of individuals all simultaneously attempting to build stockpiles of tens or hundreds of thousands of rounds), every store that carries any ammunition at all will carry multiple types.
- Government-subsidized cartridges. These are cartridges that are acquired in such vast quantities by the military and/or LE that there are vast supply chains devoted to feeding the plant lines that make these rounds... and they are comparatively cheaper than similar rounds as a result, and have the broadest level of availability barring temporary runs/panics or government consumption spikes. Any gun store will stock multiple options of each of these, and any general store that carries ammunition (such as a Wal-Mart or a Dick's Sporting Goods) will carry at least one option of each. Examples: 9x19; .223/5.56; .308/7.62; .45ACP; .40 S&W (perhaps moving out of this category over the next decade); 12 gauge.
- Ubiquitous commercial cartridges. These are cartridges that are almost as universally available as #2, but do not presently have the vast economies of scale that current, widespread government use affords. A majority of full-line gun manufacturers (that makes an appropriate platform - i.e., rifles for rifle cartridges) will have one or more guns chambered in each of these. Any decent gun store will have multiple options in each of these cartridges, and any general store that sells ammunition will stock at least one option. Examples: .380/9x17mm; .38 special; .357 magnum; .30-30; 7.62X39 has moved into this category, probably; 30-06; .270 Winchester(?); 20 gauge.
- Common commercial cartridges. They are slightly niche-ier, but still readily available. These are cartridges that any "gun person" will have heard of and likely will have personally experienced at some point. Some of them are former members of #2 or #3 and are past their heyday; others are on their way up from further down the list. Guns are currently being produced by mass manufacturers (as opposed to custom makers) in these calibers. A test for being a "good gun store" might be that they stock more than one option of each of these regularly; some general retailers who carry ammunition will carry an example (or perhaps two) of these, but will often not have a wide array of choices, and may not always stock the cartridge. All or substantially all of the major ammunition labels makes the cartridge, typically in many varieties, and all can be had at-will online outside of panic times. Examples: .25 auto; .32 ACP; .32 S&W long; 10mm auto; .38 super; .44 special; .44 magnum; .45 Long Colt; .243 Winchester; 6.5 Grendel (maybe); 6.5 Creedmore (just recently); 7mm Rem Magnum; .300 Win Mag; .375 H&H (maybe); .45-70; 20 gauge; I tend to think .410 shotgun used to be in this category but has moved to #6 over my lifetime.
- Foreign/recent milsurp. Sometimes will be more available than #4, but usually with a narrower range of choices. Examples: 9x18 Mak; 7.62x39 (if not in #2); 5.45; 7.62x54R; .303; 6.5 Swedish; 7mm Mauser; 8mm Mauser.
- Uncommon cartridges. Most ammunition makers routinely make these, though there may be some gaps between runs and, once a retailer (even online) is out of stock, it may be a while before they get more stock. More than one gun manufacturer is chambering guns in their regular catalogue in each of these, powder and bullet manufacturers almost invariably develop and include load data for them in manuals, and multiple sources exist for all reloading components. Most good gun stores will keep at least one option in stock, though many general retailers will not. Online availability is extremely good, and ammo and components can be ordered at-will. Examples: .41 magnum; .32 H&R magnum; .327 Federal (maybe should be in category 4); .454 Casull; .204 Ruger; .222 Rem; 22-250; .300 BLK (maybe now up to category 4, and seems headed that way); .25-06; .444 Marlin; .458 Win Mag; (a LOT of other hunting cartridges); 16 gauge; maybe 28 gauge per comments; .410 shotgun.
- Current project/proprietary cartridges. A cartridge that has been released to the market relatively recently, usually with the backing of one ammo maker and one (or sometimes more) gun manufacturers. Selection of ammo and components will generally be narrow (only a handful of loadings from the sponsoring/branding maker), but they will push to ensure good availability at their stocking dealers and online. The maker hopes to move up into category 2-4, or at least be able to hang on in category 6. Some will end up in #9. Examples: 5.7 FN; .480 Ruger; .204 Ruger; .26 Nosler.
- Dominant niche cartridges. These are cartridges that do not have wide application in the broad firearms community, but are so good at one particular thing or so well suited to a particular game that they occupy a third to virtually all of the volume in that niche. Ammo in these chambering/configurations will almost never be available at general retailers who sell ammo, and will rarely be available even at good gun stores except by special order (if then). Many ammunition makers will not routinely make these cartridges, though some do. Handloading components, however, are readily available at-will by order and from multiple makers. Guns are manufactured in these calibers by some mainstream mass-manufacturers, but would generally not be found in your local gun store unless they happened to specialize in the relevant niche. Most shooters of these are handloaders. Examples: .38 super comp; .32 S&W long wadcutter; various 6mm rifle cartridges used for benchrest; .338 Lapua.
- Legacy cartridges. These are cartridges that have (or had) SAAMI specs (and/or the euro equivalent) but that have largely and apparently permanently lost out on filling a given role. Guns chambered in these are not currently offered as standard items by any manufacturer, except perhaps in small numbers as historical reproductions. Most shooters will never have touched one of these guns, much less fired one. Finding these cartridges in any brick and mortar store is a bit of a surprise, and even online sources can be a bit scarce. Reloading components are similarly spare, and long-term shooting in volume may require some degree of manufacture (such as fire-forming brass from other cartridges) or diligent planning and scrupulous retention of empties. Some reloading manuals/powder websites will have data, but others will not. Examples: .41 Long Colt; .41 Action Express; .256 Newton; many black-powder rounds; many British cordite big-game rounds; 28 gauge (or maybe not per comments). NOTE: Legacy status (or any other status on this availability/commonality test) is not an insult nor is it praise. It's just an assessment that the primary reason the ammo is available is simply that there are old guns out there for it. -- EDITED TO ADD: This category can be broken down into: 9A (Legacy Supported) cartridges that are still made (often in small batches and only periodically) by one or more major manufacturers and are supported by one or more major brass maker (such as .32 S&W short); and 9B (Legacy Unsupported) that are not made by any major manufacturer at all, and that no major brass manufacturer supplies (such as almost all the old large-caliber rimfire cartridges). With 9B, you're pretty much on your own.
- Wildcats/customs. You won't find pre-loaded ammunition for these except, perhaps, from small, speciality manufacturers. You won't find active SKU's for guns in these among any of the big manufacturers. You will have to order the gun from a custom maker and he will likely sell you the dies to make the ammo for it. You may have to manufacture your own brass from a parent case, but there may be occasional runs of brass for the most popular of these by specialty brass makers.
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<flame suit on>
