What is a "common" cartridge?

[ATLDave]

That said, Remington generally makes a batch of 41 mag only once or twice a year (it seems).

Maybe so, but Hornady and numerous other manufacturers also crank it out. Starline and others have brass available for it continually (Starline even makes a non-SAAMI variant - .41 Special, which is cut-down in length). It's at a different level of availability than 9mm Ultra, which appears to have one (infrequent) mainstream source.

 

[ATLDave]

But it is still a proxy for a set of numbers we don't have easy access to.

Agreed.

I also would conjecture that what counts as "a lot" is materially different for pistol versus rifle cartridges. Between the greater expense, the barrel life issues, recoil fatigue, need for volume practice to stay competent, etc., I would suspect that civilians go through more handgun ammo than rifle ammo. I suspect the 20-round versus 50-round box size norms for ammo in rifle versus (non-SD) handgun cartridges is probably about the right ratio. IOW, I know plenty of people who might go through a couple hundred rounds of 9mm or 45ACP in a non-all-day range session, but I don't think there are that many people who routinely do so with 30-06 or .270. Maybe with 5.56, but that would be about it.

But, lacking the data, that's just a guess.

 

[LoneGoose]

I'll admit, I started skimming rather than reading halfway down page two. So maybe my questions are moot.

Where does the .44 Magnum go? .32 H&R Magnum?

Will we see a revised listing from OP.?

 

[CoalTrain49]

No, Walmart is not a good gauge on "what's available". But if it sells well, Walmart will carry it and that makes it generally common. The 10mm comment at Academy above struck me as well. I don't feel it's common, but it's certainly not uncommon. Academy also sells 475 Casull, but that doesn't make it common.

I look at it this way. Almost everyone has an address where they get mail and packages.

Almost everyone has a computer or knows someone that does.

Given those two things it's possible to order ammo delivered right to your doorstep. You don't even have to have a car to drive to Walmart or Cabelas or whatever store is in your area.

How can a cartridge be uncommon when hundreds of people order it online everyday and get it in a matter of a week or 10 days.

Why does a cartridge have to be purchased at a store to be common? The only reason some of those cartridges are not stocked is because they take up shelf space that could be used to stock cartridges that sell faster and thus generate more profit. Most large retail chains profit is based on volume sales. No volume sales, no profit. Doesn't mean the product isn't popular or common because the big box store can't reach their profit goal by selling 400 boxes of a certain cartridge in a month.

I believe that a test of a common cartridge is if it shows up in a recent reloading manual. That means the bullet company who published the manual is testing the cartridge with their bullets because they know there are plenty of people who shoot those cartridges. If you don't see it in the latest Hornady manual it's probably no longer a common cartridge.

 

[ATLDave]

Where does the .44 Magnum go? .32 H&R Magnum?

Will we see a revised listing from OP.?

I struggled with .44 magnum as to whether it is ubiquitous or common. I put it in common, but could be persuaded that it is even more widespread than that. Since I don't own or shoot one, I'm not that attuned to where it's available.

I put the .32 H&R magnum in uncommon.

Open to feedback on the placement of either.

 

[ATLDave]

How can a cartridge be uncommon when hundreds of people order it online everyday and get it in a matter of a week or 10 days.

Well, I'm not sure that hundreds of different people are ordering these cartridges every single day. Hundreds would mean a minimum of 200, and every day is a minimum of 365. That would work out to 73,000 separate orders every year...

Also, the very same dynamic that you note - the ability of the internet to make all kinds of previously hard-to-find items easily accessible - makes it perhaps too low a bar for something being truly common. All kinds of things that are fairly rare and nichey (not just gun stuff - any area) are readily available online.

Again, just because the internet will let you ship all kinds of exotic foods and drinks to your door (perhaps packed in dry ice) does not make those items as common as McDonald's.

Now, where you and I would likely agree is that it rarely makes sense to limit oneself just to the "common" or ubiquitous cartridges if one is otherwise interested in something else. Yet some people very vocally insist on just that approach. To each their own.

 

[TheSquire]

.17 is getting more popular over here as it ricochets less than .22 for 'fieldwork' (even though its not much use in windy weather so I'm told) so the local police forces who issue firearms licences like it as they think that makes it safer.
22-250 is not so popular as it was, mostly due to expensive ammunition and lack of availability.

 

[ATLDave]

Interesting!

 

[Sig Bill]

Maybe we should say popular instead of common.

 

[ATLDave]

I don't think that would cause any less disagreement!

English language words often have a variety or range of meanings. That's why I wrote paragraph-length descriptions of what I was using the word to mean.

If people don't like the words, they could just use the numbers.

 

[CoalTrain49]

Well, I'm not sure that hundreds of different people are ordering these cartridges every single day. Hundreds would mean a minimum of 200, and every day is a minimum of 365. That would work out to 73,000 separate orders every year...

Also, the very same dynamic that you note - the ability of the internet to make all kinds of previously hard-to-find items easily accessible - makes it perhaps too low a bar for something being truly common. All kinds of things that are fairly rare and nichey (not just gun stuff - any area) are readily available online.

Again, just because the internet will let you ship all kinds of exotic foods and drinks to your door (perhaps packed in dry ice) does not make those items as common as McDonald's.

Now, where you and I would likely agree is that it rarely makes sense to limit oneself just to the "common" or ubiquitous cartridges if one is otherwise interested in something else. Yet some people very vocally insist on just that approach. To each their own.

Your premises is based on sales volume of commercial ammo, not availability. It's also based on comparisons. It's not uncommon to find a McDonalds in any town with 20,000 people. But there are of a lot of towns that have fewer people. So it could be said that a McDonald's hamburger is uncommon in NV.

You are defining common by sales volume and I define it by availability. If I live in Ely NV and I can't get a McDonalds hamburger I would have to say it isn't a common commodity. On the other hand if I can order your "uncommon cartridge" online and get it in 7 days from any of 5 different sellers I would have to say it's still a common cartridge. Honestly, I don't really think it matters much if sales of 7 mm Mauser are only 5% of 7.62 NATO, it's still a common cartridge.

 

[ATLDave]

Coal', I think our disagreement is simply about whether "common" or "available" is a binary condition. You think something either is or is not common/available. I think there are degrees of commonality/availability. That's why my OP laid out 9 (now really 10, with two sub-levels of #9) different degrees of commonality/availability.