The tytle of this thread fooled me. You guys are just listing your own favorite 12 (or more) cartridges. Nothing to do really with "TOP 12 CARTRIDGES OF ALL TIME"

If I were to make a list of TOP cartridges of all time I would look at how useful they were. How much they have been used in different areas and applications. If they were a significant NEW and inovative developemant.

1. Pound for pound I think the .22may probably haveput more food on the table around the world than any other cartridge. (Not sure how I'd seperate the usefullness of shot, long, long rifle types)

2. Of the centerfire .22 cals, The .222 rem. has been around a long time. Was king of the benchrest target shooters for many years and maybe could be the fathert of benchrest competitions. Probably has and still does take a lot of chucks and coyotes and prairie dogs. The Eskimos used to like it for seals, caribou and even polar bear. the .22 mag. amd .22 hornet are a little less useful and the .223 and 22/250 are a little more powerful but really how much more useful?

3. The 30/30 was an early smokeless cartridge and a big step up in speed and power in its day. For many years it was top deer rifle in North America and deserves special mention. Even today with so many "better" cartridges avalible, many choose to buy and hunt with a 30/30.

4. 7X57 mauser was developed as a military cartridge and was widely used throughout the world as such. It has not been as popular in N.A. as in some other countries as a sporting round but still has a following world wide. When a cartridge as old as the 7mm mauser is still being chambered in many rifles and is still comercially loaded by several ammo coumpanies it must be among the greats.

5. 375 H&H. Here is a round that is fadding away in recent years. But not so long ago if you went to Africa you probably had a .375 in your battery. If you went to India to hunt Tigers, it was a popular round. If the big brown bears of Alaska or polar bear was your goal,a .375 was probably in your hands.

6. Not sure if a .243 really belongs here. It was developed for the American who wanted to shoot chucks and foxes and coyotes and would still be able to use that same one rifle to hunt deer and maybe antelope. A fellow would not need a .222 and a 30/30 if he had a .243. Most hunters in N.A. dream of hunting elk, moose and bears but end up hunting deer and chucks in reality. The .243 is just right for many. It is avalible in many rifles andpretty well allcoumpanies load for it.

7. Again not sure if it belongs in this list but long life and service in a couple or more wars do count for something. If not for the next two rounds it could have been much more popular today (as would the old 30/40 krag). The .303 british is another military cartridge that was adopted by several countries (vertually all the British Commonwealth). It was then used as a sporting round in much of the british commonwealth. Still in use in Canada, Australia, and parts of Africa and India. It is still loaded commercially by a few companies, though it is very hard to find any new rifles made in .303.

8. When you look at lists of loadings avalible from ammo makers you will notice that often the .308 has the highest number (or tied for high) of loads commercially avalible. Again it was and still is a military cartridge in many countries (pretty much a .30 cal, 7X57) It has also become a very popular hunting round world wide. Several rifles were designed for it to take advantage of its shorter length. When people talk about an allaround big game cartridge, the .308 is standing right in the shadow of its slightly bigger (longer) brother.

9. I wasn't sure where I would put in the 30/06. It is another cartridge that was originally a military journyman. Not as popular world wide as such. It has graduated into probably the top "all around" big game cartridges all over the world. It would suprise me very much if there is some animal in the world, that people regularlyshoot, that has not been shot with a 30/06.

10. I don't hunt with a handgun and don't really shoot them much. I own a Ruger .22 and a S&W .357 mag. The .22 in a handgun has probably put many tons of meat in the pot and on the table. Probably those who hunt bigger game with a handgun would list the .44 Rem. mag. as most popular, for most years. Handgun hunting seams to me to be a fairly specialized pastime and there are a good number of speciallized opptions for it that would not fall into an "ALL TIME" list at this time.


Robin down under