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6 dead, dying or obsolete handgun cartridges. An article by Field n Stream.

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  • candcallen

    Crotchety, Snarky, Truthful. You'll get over it.
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    Not exactly an authority on guns, Field n Stream has this article.


    Their list includes;
    32 ACP
    25 Auto
    41 Mag
    32 H&R Mag
    40 S&W
    45 Gap.

    I would add 357 Sig at least. I like 41 mag but agree it's an unneeded compromise today.

    What say you. I cant really disagree with their list except to say technology has ways of resurrecting the dead and tossing dirt in the face of the newest thing.
     

    Moonpie

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    Gunz are icky.
    32acp? Nope. Its quite popular. If modern guns would chamber it, it would be more popular.
    Imagine a Ruger LCP or SIG P238 in it. Additional round capacity to boot.
    Look what happened to those Beretta 81’s from the Italian prison system that came in about 2 years ago. POOF! Naaaa nobody wants .32’s.

    .25auto? Yeah. Its dying.

    .41mag? Yeah. Its dying. Good round but ammo makers never really backed it. Few guns chambered for it around.


    .32 H&R mag? Good round but then again it never really had a chance with few guns chambering it and practically zero ammo maker support. S&W should of made a seven shot j -frame in this ib the airweight line.

    .40S&W is a loooong way from dead. There are bazillions of guns out there chambered for it.

    .45GAP died on the launching pad. It was a dumb idea. Funny thing is I’ve recently begun to buy and shoot it in the .45acp moonclip revolvers because it was more readily available and less expensive than standard .45acp. LoL
     

    HawkeyeSATX

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    Not exactly an authority on guns, Field n Stream has this article.


    Their list includes;
    32 ACP
    25 Auto
    41 Mag
    32 H&R Mag
    40 S&W
    45 Gap.

    I would add 357 Sig at least. I like 41 mag but agree it's an unneeded compromise today.

    What say you. I cant really disagree with their list except to say technology has ways of resurrecting the dead and tossing dirt in the face of the newest thing.

    Like you, I like the .41 Mag.
    I believe it still has a niche, and is a better hunting round than the .357 Mag.
    I own a Ruger Blackhawk in .41 Mag, and actually enjoy shooting it. The .41 has a cult status, and I don’t foresee it going away anytime soon.
    Now, for the .32 ACP, and the .25 ACP, I think they’ve outlived their usefulness.
    I don’t foresee the .40 S&W going away anytime soon either.
    .45 GAP was moot from the get go, unfortunately.
    I foresee the .357 SIG going away sooner than the .45 GAP.
    But as someone once said, it ain’t over until the fat lady sings!


    Hawk


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    Texasjack

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    As long as Sig is healthy, the 357 Sig will remain. It's a great cartridge, but in a limited number of pistols. I would also disagree about the 40 S&W. Yeah, it got dropped by the FBI, but they have yet to make a rational decision about firearms. That's what keeps getting them in trouble. The 40 is a decent cartridge and there are tons of pistols in that caliber on the market and in shooter's hands.

    As for the little 25 and 32s, those were really associated with the old Saturday Night Specials, and most of them are gone. Everything today is either 380 or it's big brother 9 mm, and both seriously outperform the tiny cartridges. I think the article nailed the exact problem with the 45 GAP, it's a cartridge nobody really wanted or needed. It does nothing new or different. And the 41 Mag is a compromise that nobody wanted. People who want BIG BOOMs want the biggest one they can get their hands on. 50 AE probably outsells the 41 Mag by a lot. People who don't want to feel like their shooting hand was hit by a sledge hammer will stick with much tamer stuff.
     

    Axxe55

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    Read the article. Heard much of the same opinions a couple of decades ago, saying pretty much the same things! And.....they are still around!

    Personally, the wife and I both love the 40 S&W, and much prefer it over the 9mm. Some of it's detractors call it the 40 Short & Wimpy, but you have a few grown men that complain about the sharp recoil of the 40! So which is it? Short and wimpy, or snappy?

    The 41 Magnum is one pure pleasure to shoot. Never have owned one, but I have shot a few over the years. I think of it as reloaders cartridge, so a person can fully realize it's potential though. I think it suffered primarily from the success' of the 357 Magnum, and the 44 Magnum.

    The 45 GAP? Now that one might have been a solution looking for a problem to solve IMO. I can't ever even recall seeing a gun in that cartridge, or ever even shooting one.
     

    Sam7sf

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    As much shit as .40sw gets its always shot well for me. I’m not a fan boy of the cartridge but I’m a fan of hitting what I’m trying to shoot. I do it well with .40

    little glock27 surprised me how good I shot with it. My sig 229 puts it right where I want. Every Glock 22 I had shot better than any 17.

    .40 ain’t going anywhere.
     

    bbbass

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    I owned a S&W Model 57 .41Mag with a 4" barrel. It had SFPD logo engraved into the side of it. A wonderful shooter that I'm sorry I sold. If I had it, I'd carry it on every woods hike. We got bears, cougars, and wolves in these woods. And on the other side of the Nat Forest there are camps of homeless tweakers.
     

    Axxe55

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    @HawkeyeSATX mentioned the 41 Magnum as being a better hunting cartridge than the 357 Magnum. I agree with that, and I'm a huge fan of the 357 going back many, many years, but IMO, the 41 can be a better hunting cartridge than the 357.

    Personally, I wished there were more pistols offered in 41 Magnum. If there were, there also might be a even a few rifles offered in 41 Magnum. Now that would be pretty cool!
     

    Hoji

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    Personally, the wife and I both love the 40 S&W, and much prefer it over the 9mm. Some of it's detractors call it the 40 Short & Wimpy, but you have a few grown men that complain about the sharp recoil of the 40! So which is it? Short and wimpy, or snappy?
    Round was made because some limp wristed glory hole service technicians in fed.gov could not handle the Americanlike recoil of 10mm and asked S&W to make them a sissified commie faggot version of the 10mm:clown:
     

    Sam7sf

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    I was always suspicious of federal funding but I guess it’s no surplus the biggest budget of all goes into federal glory hole services.
     

    Mike_from_Texas

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    The 40 may well die. It only survived because of the LE agencies that propped it up.

    I don’t see the 41 mag dying off completely but it will continue to be an enthusiast round.



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    TexasRedneck

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    Funny - I actually have several 25 acp an' 32's - handy little gut buster when you need something really deep cover. Stick it in an ear an' pull the trigger - I doubt the object of your attention is gonna go anywhere.


    RS.jpg
     

    HawkeyeSATX

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    @HawkeyeSATX mentioned the 41 Magnum as being a better hunting cartridge than the 357 Magnum. I agree with that, and I'm a huge fan of the 357 going back many, many years, but IMO, the 41 can be a better hunting cartridge than the 357.

    Personally, I wished there were more pistols offered in 41 Magnum. If there were, there also might be a even a few rifles offered in 41 Magnum. Now that would be pretty cool!

    Don’t get me wrong, I like the .357 Mag a lot too.
    It’s reputation as the #1 man stopper didn’t happen because it’s a slouch.
    To me, it’s a little light when you have to go after big game.
    It has a hard time getting enough velocity when you have to use 180 gr bullets.
    With the .41, serious hunting bullets come in 210 gr bullets, and those can be hand loaded to velocities that the .357 158gr bullets move along.
    A lot of people are using 10mm in autos, but the 10mm is only slightly more powerful than a .357 round. I know quite a few people who pack in a 10mm for bear protection, which is fine, unless you have a huge mama sow protecting it’s Cubs. Throwing more lead down range doesn’t make a better bear stopper.
    If I had my choice, and I do, I’d rather use my Ruger Blackhawk .41 Mag! I know I can hit milk jugs with it at 30 yds, and explode them on the spot. Just imagine what that can do to a bruins skull?!?
    I can get 3 well placed shots off before the bear would be on top of me, and I know it won’t like the ft-lbs it’s being hit with.
    I too wish there were more rifles chambered for .41 Mag, because it’s just that good of a cartridge to use. 18 - 20 inch barrels make it even better.


    Hawk


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    Axxe55

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    Round was made because some limp wristed glory hole service technicians in fed.gov could not handle the Americanlike recoil of 10mm and asked S&W to make them a sissified commie faggot version of the 10mm:clown:

    Even the factory ammo for the 10mm is watered down. 10mm is another one that needs handloads to realize it's full potential. Awesome round too. Definitely on my short list of pistols I would like to have.

    Dame guys that complain about the recoil of the 40, would probably pee their britches if they shot a 10mm! Handloaded 10mm would probably break their delicate wrists too.

    I have long thought the 40 would be a interesting cartridge to use in fully-auto submachine gun!
     

    Axxe55

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    Don’t get me wrong, I like the .357 Mag a lot too.
    It’s reputation as the #1 man stopper didn’t happen because it’s a slouch.
    To me, it’s a little light when you have to go after big game.
    It has a hard time getting enough velocity when you have to use 180 gr bullets.
    With the .41, serious hunting bullets come in 210 gr bullets, and those can be hand loaded to velocities that the .357 158gr bullets move along.
    A lot of people are using 10mm in autos, but the 10mm is only slightly more powerful than a .357 round. I know quite a few people who pack in a 10mm for bear protection, which is fine, unless you have a huge mama sow protecting it’s Cubs. Throwing more lead down range doesn’t make a better bear stopper.
    If I had my choice, and I do, I’d rather use my Ruger Blackhawk .41 Mag! I know I can hit milk jugs with it at 30 yds, and explode them on the spot. Just imagine what that can do to a bruins skull?!?
    I can get 3 well placed shots off before the bear would be on top of me, and I know it won’t like the ft-lbs it’s being hit with.
    I too wish there were more rifles chambered for .41 Mag, because it’s just that good of a cartridge to use. 18 - 20 inch barrels make it even better.


    Hawk


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    Totally agree. 357 is a great cartridge, but in many places where pistol cartridges are allowed for hunting, it's right at the edge of the minimum allowed to be used for game animals. And hunting deer at 50 to 75 years, and getting a clean kill shot is much different that stopping a person up close and personal. For Hunting, if a person handloads, the 41 IMO is better cartridge.
     
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