I have a feeling whoever put together that list did so in a very haphazard manner. 45 ACP outsells 22lr? 12 Gauge is listed multiple times. "50 Black Powder" is listed at #18 overall along with 45, 54, 44 Black Powder whatever those are. You've got 45 Long Colt & 45 Colt, 40 Cal and 40 S&W...
Top 10 Handgun Calibers in the U.S.by Sales
- Thread starter tipoc
- Start date
From Kozak6:
Well you can look here:
http://knowledgeglue.com/what-are-the-most-popular-calibers-in-the-us/
On this list it would have been #3 right after 9mm and the 45. That list covers all handguns and long guns. But I believe that that figure is low. The chart shown covers, as someone else pointed out, on line sales and possibly sales from other sources that Lucky Gunner, as is implied in the article. But does not and can't account for all the sales in your local gunatoriums and gun shows.
I think 22 l.r. is #1 for both handgun and long gun.
tipoc
Well you can look here:
http://knowledgeglue.com/what-are-the-most-popular-calibers-in-the-us/
On this list it would have been #3 right after 9mm and the 45. That list covers all handguns and long guns. But I believe that that figure is low. The chart shown covers, as someone else pointed out, on line sales and possibly sales from other sources that Lucky Gunner, as is implied in the article. But does not and can't account for all the sales in your local gunatoriums and gun shows.
I think 22 l.r. is #1 for both handgun and long gun.
tipoc
precision_shooter
New member
Cant reload 9mm for as cheap as I can buy it right now and as long as 10mm stays available at decent prices I’m happy. I’ll just keep buying and stockpiling it while I can then back to reloading when needed.
See post #17 above for a possible clue to that.
Not haphazard just not drawn from all sources as has been said. The main sources were Lucky Gunner's report on what they sell on-line and possible a couple of others on-line retailers. So that skews the figures some. They are what they are...a rough idea.
tipoc
The list seems pretty accurate to me based upon the frequency of range brass I find on the ground at my gun club. I don't even bother picking up 9mm (or 223) anymore as I have a 5 gallon bucket filled of 9mm, and 2 buckets filled with 223. Next most common brass is 45acp, then things get randomly mixed. I seem to find a fair amount of 38 special too.
Recoil spring
New member
I worked at an Austin, TX Academy store as a cashier over the holidays and observed the types of ammo we sold as I rang up the sales. In center fire ammo 9 mm was total king, very little 40 S/W was seen, some 45 ACP but only a fraction of the 9.
Of course .22 RF was sold but not sure what gun it was intended for.
Of course .22 RF was sold but not sure what gun it was intended for.
I do find this list interesting, but it also frustrates me a bit because it gives only a small angle of a snapshot and it leaves me asking more questions than it answers. I don't mean to sound like I am complaining at the information you've shown, but this is how it hits me.
The fact that it's a couple years old means that we see no evidence of the fall of .40 S&W and we also see no evidence of the fast rise in the popularity of the 10mm cartridge.
Also, and there is basically no way whatsoever to compile an accurate list, but I would argue that a huge share of passionate, high volume shooters that eat through lots of ammo are handloading, and we couldn't possibly get any way to measure that impact.
When it comes to factory ammo, handloaders can save money rolling their own 9mm and .45 ammo, but handloaders can save a monthly car payment worth of money when they roll their own magnum revolver ammo. .357, .41, .44, .454, .460 and .500 Magnum have stupid prices on factory ammo.
Again, I am coming off like a whiner, not my intention. But I see the list posted and I wish to see cartridge popularity, but what I actually see is what sells best in cheap factory FMJ, which isn't representative of cartridge popularity. That leaves me wishing for better or different info.
Even still, this is interesting stuff and makes for quality discussion!
The fact that it's a couple years old means that we see no evidence of the fall of .40 S&W and we also see no evidence of the fast rise in the popularity of the 10mm cartridge.
Also, and there is basically no way whatsoever to compile an accurate list, but I would argue that a huge share of passionate, high volume shooters that eat through lots of ammo are handloading, and we couldn't possibly get any way to measure that impact.
When it comes to factory ammo, handloaders can save money rolling their own 9mm and .45 ammo, but handloaders can save a monthly car payment worth of money when they roll their own magnum revolver ammo. .357, .41, .44, .454, .460 and .500 Magnum have stupid prices on factory ammo.
Again, I am coming off like a whiner, not my intention. But I see the list posted and I wish to see cartridge popularity, but what I actually see is what sells best in cheap factory FMJ, which isn't representative of cartridge popularity. That leaves me wishing for better or different info.
Even still, this is interesting stuff and makes for quality discussion!
I'm with you on all of those points and to reiterate, I would love to see the charts from 10 years ago and 20 years ago. The comparison makes all of the info that much more meaningful.I do find this list interesting, but it also frustrates me a bit because it gives only a small angle of a snapshot and it leaves me asking more questions than it answers. I don't mean to sound like I am complaining at the information you've shown, but this is how it hits me.
The fact that it's a couple years old means that we see no evidence of the fall of .40 S&W and we also see no evidence of the fast rise in the popularity of the 10mm cartridge.
Also, and there is basically no way whatsoever to compile an accurate list, but I would argue that a huge share of passionate, high volume shooters that eat through lots of ammo are handloading, and we couldn't possibly get any way to measure that impact.
When it comes to factory ammo, handloaders can save money rolling their own 9mm and .45 ammo, but handloaders can save a monthly car payment worth of money when they roll their own magnum revolver ammo. .357, .41, .44, .454, .460 and .500 Magnum have stupid prices on factory ammo.
Again, I am coming off like a whiner, not my intention. But I see the list posted and I wish to see cartridge popularity, but what I actually see is what sells best in cheap factory FMJ, which isn't representative of cartridge popularity. That leaves me wishing for better or different info.
Even still, this is interesting stuff and makes for quality discussion!
--Wag--
Waspinator
New member
Going by my personal wallet, my top 4 calibers that get my sales are...
1: .22LR (by far the most used caliber I use)
2: .38 Sp (+p included, my main carry caliber)
3: 9mm (mostly range toy)
4: .357 mag (for the bigger revolvers)
1: .22LR (by far the most used caliber I use)
2: .38 Sp (+p included, my main carry caliber)
3: 9mm (mostly range toy)
4: .357 mag (for the bigger revolvers)
The .40 will move down the list eventually. A lot of people are replacing it with the 9MM. There are still a lot of .40 cal guns out there and many people who own them aren't shooters, they have them for self defense or stuck in the safe. I traded mine for an LC9.
A bunch were sold before people realized they's rather have a .45 or a 9MM.
A bunch were sold before people realized they's rather have a .45 or a 9MM.
Go back and read the early posts. I did not list the 22 because it's already known to be the most popular handgun round out there and because it's the most widely sold long gun round as well. It's also rim fire.
The data is 6 years old.
The 10mm did not make the top 10 list on the original data. It is included in the original data though but well below the top 10. In fact it's below both the 38 Super and the 44 Spl. Which was about right for on-line sales a few years ago. 10mm being the 61 on the list of most ordered on-line.
http://knowledgeglue.com/what-are-the-most-popular-calibers-in-the-us/
A different view here...
https://www.americanrifleman.org/articles/2014/12/3/americas-top-5-handgun-cartridges/
tipoc
The data is 6 years old.
The 10mm did not make the top 10 list on the original data. It is included in the original data though but well below the top 10. In fact it's below both the 38 Super and the 44 Spl. Which was about right for on-line sales a few years ago. 10mm being the 61 on the list of most ordered on-line.
http://knowledgeglue.com/what-are-the-most-popular-calibers-in-the-us/
A different view here...
https://www.americanrifleman.org/articles/2014/12/3/americas-top-5-handgun-cartridges/
tipoc
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This does give a snapshot of ammo sales from large online sources but it is a stretch to say that reflects the most popular handguns. If I was told that more 357 Sigs are being sold than 10mms for example, I would be surprised but okay that may be right. But to say 32 ACP, 25 ACP, and 44 Special guns outsell 10mm, that does not reflect what I see in gun stores, at the range and read on forums. YMMV