Bill DeShivs
New member
They made millions of 32 acp, 25 acp, and 44 Special guns before the 10MM even came out!
Top 10 Handgun Calibers in the U.S.by Sales
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There was substantial reason Jeff Cooper, the de facto father of the 10MM, returned to a 1911-A1 .45 ACP after introducing the 10MM to American shooters.
In terms of self-defense, the 10MM offers zero above the .40 S&W. The dirge has begun for the 10MM. It's requiem is on the dead cartridge agenda.
In terms of self-defense, the 10MM offers zero above the .40 S&W. The dirge has begun for the 10MM. It's requiem is on the dead cartridge agenda.
Aguila Blanca
Staff
I think both the title of this thread and the premise of the opening post are pointing at something that's too general to quantify. "Top" or "most popular" is another of those things that depends on how you measure it and what you measure. Are we talking about most popular in terms of firearms owned, new firearms sold in the last year (or in the last five years), popular in terms of commercial ammunition sold in the last year, or most popular in terms of total rounds fired in the last year?
Some people may own a lot of guns (even in one caliber) but not shoot them that much. I hardly qualify as owning "a lot" of guns (except to those who think one is too much and two or more constitute an "arsenal"), but I own a couple of 1911s that haven't been fired for several years.
Other people buy ammunition in relatively huge quantities as a hedge against inflation, shortages, or their estimation of when Armageddon will occur. Does having a stockpile of more ammunition than they can shoot in a lifetime make that round more popular? I don't know.
If ammunition sales is your metric for determining popularity, how do you account for reloading? I haven't purchased .45 ACP ammunition for years, because I load it. I have 9mm dies, brass, bullets and small pistol primers. I can (and have) load for 9mm, but I don't shoot it a lot and it's sometimes more convenient to just buy a box rather than change my press over for a small batch. I also have dies and some fired brass for .40 S&W, but I don't think I have any .40 S&W bullets and I can't remember ever having loaded for it.
In short, I think if we're going to discuss "most popular" cartridge or caliber, we first have to be clear what metric we want to discuss as the basis for measuring popularity. The opening post for this discussion mentioned ammunition sales, so IMHO that's the metric we should be discussing. If you want to discuss most popular in terms of firearms sales, that's perhaps a topic for a separate discussion.
Some people may own a lot of guns (even in one caliber) but not shoot them that much. I hardly qualify as owning "a lot" of guns (except to those who think one is too much and two or more constitute an "arsenal"), but I own a couple of 1911s that haven't been fired for several years.
Other people buy ammunition in relatively huge quantities as a hedge against inflation, shortages, or their estimation of when Armageddon will occur. Does having a stockpile of more ammunition than they can shoot in a lifetime make that round more popular? I don't know.
If ammunition sales is your metric for determining popularity, how do you account for reloading? I haven't purchased .45 ACP ammunition for years, because I load it. I have 9mm dies, brass, bullets and small pistol primers. I can (and have) load for 9mm, but I don't shoot it a lot and it's sometimes more convenient to just buy a box rather than change my press over for a small batch. I also have dies and some fired brass for .40 S&W, but I don't think I have any .40 S&W bullets and I can't remember ever having loaded for it.
In short, I think if we're going to discuss "most popular" cartridge or caliber, we first have to be clear what metric we want to discuss as the basis for measuring popularity. The opening post for this discussion mentioned ammunition sales, so IMHO that's the metric we should be discussing. If you want to discuss most popular in terms of firearms sales, that's perhaps a topic for a separate discussion.
I guess no one let Ruger in on the secret, they just released the PCC in .40 S&W
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Not surprised by the 9mm tally. As was pointed out, not real cost effective to reload. It does have it's attributes as well as being a LE favorite. Even though a .45 ACP fan very surprised as the other guys it came in second.
I am surprised by 38 Special coming in that low. Might have got lost in the shuffle as with 22LR
...Thanks for the heads up.
I am surprised by 38 Special coming in that low. Might have got lost in the shuffle as with 22LR
...Thanks for the heads up.Bill DeShivs
New member
Over the past 110 years, there have been many millions of .25 and .32 autos made. Most are still out there, and they still do the same thing they always did.
.40 cal is what? 25 years old? There are nowhere near as many .40 guns in existence.
.40 cal is what? 25 years old? There are nowhere near as many .40 guns in existence.
In my area I have shot at several privately-owned indoor ranges, a public outdoor range, and a couple of private outdoor shooting clubs over the last few years.
I tend not to see a lot of revolver brass which makes sense since revolvers do not spit empty cases all over the place. Of course, the revolver caliber cases I find are nearly always 38 Special or 357 Magnum. Very occasionally I see a 44 Special or 44 Magnum case.
As for pistol calibers, not counting 22 lr, far and away the most commonly found spent cases are 9 mm Luger. I think part of this is due to the fact that even some of those who reload no longer bother to pick up their 9 mm brass, but there is no doubt that it is the most commonly-found center fire pistol cartridge case.
After that a fairly distant second place goes to .45 ACP but running almost neck and neck with .45 ACP is .40 S&W. Behind that a moderately distant fourth place goes to .380 Auto. I occasionally spot a 9 mm Makarov or a Tokarev case or a 357 SIG case.
As for .25 and .32, there might be a lot of pistols out there chambered for those but for what it is worth, I have never found an empty case. Nor have I found an empty 10 mm case, although I accept the possibility that this could be due to the fact that many who shoot 10 mm reload.
Of course, these are only my observations and could be somewhat unique to my locale.
I tend not to see a lot of revolver brass which makes sense since revolvers do not spit empty cases all over the place. Of course, the revolver caliber cases I find are nearly always 38 Special or 357 Magnum. Very occasionally I see a 44 Special or 44 Magnum case.
As for pistol calibers, not counting 22 lr, far and away the most commonly found spent cases are 9 mm Luger. I think part of this is due to the fact that even some of those who reload no longer bother to pick up their 9 mm brass, but there is no doubt that it is the most commonly-found center fire pistol cartridge case.
After that a fairly distant second place goes to .45 ACP but running almost neck and neck with .45 ACP is .40 S&W. Behind that a moderately distant fourth place goes to .380 Auto. I occasionally spot a 9 mm Makarov or a Tokarev case or a 357 SIG case.
As for .25 and .32, there might be a lot of pistols out there chambered for those but for what it is worth, I have never found an empty case. Nor have I found an empty 10 mm case, although I accept the possibility that this could be due to the fact that many who shoot 10 mm reload.
Of course, these are only my observations and could be somewhat unique to my locale.
Aguila Blanca
Staff
I have a friend who shoots 9mm in IDPA competition. He reloads, and is set up to load 9mm, but he says he can buy new ammo in bulk for not much more than it costs him to reload, so he would rather spend the extra couple of cents per round and have more time for family and other things.pblanc said:
I shoot mostly .45 ACP, and I can't buy ammo for anything near the cost of reloading my own.