What was the last extinct caliber?

[wlewisiii]

Talk about living dinos - saw a shop this weekend with two boxes of .41 rimfire and 12 boxes (!) of 6 mm Lee-Navy. The 6mm is simply very rare, but I've never seen .41 rimfire in the box before and doubt I ever will again.

 

[shotgunjoel]

Talk about living dinos - saw a shop this weekend with two boxes of .41 rimfire and 12 boxes (!) of 6 mm Lee-Navy. The 6mm is simply very rare, but I've never seen .41 rimfire in the box before and doubt I ever will again.

Was it all new production? Who made it?

 

[Cougar]

Not seeing a lot of 10mm guns or ammo these days, either!

 

[Fleet]

9mm Win Mag, .45 Win Mag, .357 Maximum, .256 Win Mag.

 

[jdh]

Witness 10mm
Glock 29, 20,and the SF versions
S&W 310 and 610
Dan Wesson 1911
There are others.
Ammo is plentiful, it may not be stocked in every shop, but it is readily available.

 

[wlewisiii]

Was it all new production? Who made it?

No, old stuff. If it were new production, esp. the rimfire, I'd be shouting from the rooftops. Still, even as collectors items that's the most of either I've ever seen in one place.

 

[Eric F]

Well, all mentione.......9x23 and 38 super will be around for decades atleast. there are 38 super guns turned out every year more and more, many forign countries use 38 super as a sporting round of sorts. 9x23 will die out well before 38 super ever will. Any heavy caliber rimfire will/is dead. I think all else factored in 38 S&W will go next, no guns made in it for almost 100 years and those that were made in it are looking more and more unsafe.....

 

[sansone]

.351wsl (winchester self loading)

 

[Millwright]

Not too many, given that periodic runs of various "low use" calibers are still being made by various speciality mfgs ! Offhand, I'd say there's probably a handful of pistol cartridges in the 9mm range simply because the guns chambered were of minimal quality and limited production and have pretty much fallen apart over the years.

OTOH, few - if any - of the really "big bore" black powder cartridges/rifles intended for dangerous game hunting still enjoy the availability of "factory ammo" these days ! A "modern" cartridge that might be classed with these is the .222 Rem. Mag cartridge. Sold as an "upgrade" of the very popular "triple deuce" varmiter/benchrester it never seemed to "catch on" and ammo production waned. Sadly, there's no way to "roll your own" I'm aware of .

On the "plus side" is almost any cartridge enjoying any degree of popularity is available -if sporadically - in today's market ! >MW

 

[zxcvbob]

Sadly, there's no way to "roll your own" [.222 Rem. Magnum] I'm aware of.

Couldn't you form it from .204 Ruger brass?

 

[lizziedog1]

I know, technically it is not a caliber, but what about shotguns?

The ten is available, but barely. I don't think any new guns in 8 gauge are being made and finding ammo would be a challenge. 16's are on life support. Twenty Eight gauge seems to be in some sort of limbo.

 

[Kendal Black]

9mm Federal Rimmed was around from the late eighties to perhaps mid-nineties, I think. It wasn't a bad idea but I suppose no one saw the point of it at the time. It was to 9x19 what .45 Auto Rim is to .45 ACP.

 

[Erik M]

a joint attempt by Marlin and Hornady to build a lever rifle that could match the ballistics and power of the .308 Win, and the .338 ME to the .30-06

That made me chuckle, because I have a Browning model 81 in my safe...a take down .308 lever action.