what cartridges have you become disenchanted with over the years ???

[Bob Wright]

Here are the ones that have worked for me:

.22 LR: great for plinking, informal target shooting, small edible game, such as squirrels.

.38 Spl/.357 Magnum: The .38 Special loaded with 148 gr. Wadcutters in a mild target load for larger edible game, such as the big swamp rabbits (canecutters). Magnum loading for distant shots at crows, small varmints.

.44 Magnum: for medium game (deer) and long shots at groundhog, etc.

.45 Colt: Never got to use this on some big heavy game. Once contemplated taking buffalo, but never came to pass. Had a good 350 gr. load for one, though.

Bob Wright

[bacardisteve]

Hhhmm well about 3 years ago I sold off all my handguns that were not chamberd in 22lr 45acp or 41 mag. Not because other calibers were not effective but beacuse it made buying ammo much easier and those 3 will do anything I need done with a handgun.

[Seaman]

38 spl - would not shoot it at all if not for J-frames, but they feel great, shoot very accurately.

.357 Mag - can't explain it, have got to the point where it has become preferable to shoot 44 Mag.

9mm - has become just like 22 LR, just plain boring, and there aren't any exciting 9mm handguns out there anymore, and the ones I really like (ie CZ 75, Beretta 92, HK P2000, Walther P99) I can't shoot accurately.

[jimbob86]

Not disenchanted, but I don't shoot .45 ACP much at all anymore: can't afford to. 9mm is so much cheaper.

I REALLY wanted a .260 Remington rifle for awhile ..... but got a 7-08 because the price was right. Now could care less about the .260.....

[wayneinFL]

I really like the 32 H&R. Probably the largest caliber that is fun to shoot in an airweight J frame. And I shoot it far more accurately than 38. The only drawback, IMO is the dearth of factory ammunition. I carry a 432 from time to time, and it's easier for me to find 32 S&W Long than it is to find a box of 32 H&R hollow points. And when I do, it's better than a dollar.

My only reason for any level of "disillusion" is that everyone else was disillusioned.

[TheBear]

For me its the .22wmr, i used to love this cartridge, for more then 1 year a cz455 in .22wmr was my nr. 1 gun but with ammo prices going higher and higher i just felt like selling the rifle one day, and i did. It wasnt only the insane ammo prices, i just stopped liking this cartridge...
Now its .22lr, .223rem and .308win all day long (kind of boring right but they are the best)....

[Peter M. Eick]

I agree with Mike. All are unique in a certain way. That is the fun of reloading!

[PT-92]

Interesting thread with lots of angles I hadn't thought of. For me, however, it came down to simple economics. Back in the day, I had a diversity of different calibers (much more disposable income available at the time) and today I have narrowed my collection of firearms down to just specific models that correspond to said ammo. So it's not that I became "disenchanted" per se due to poor performance but solely to practicality.

[bamaranger]

I used to load and shoot .38 spl in my mag revolvers, and the Marlin Carbine too, but no longer. Just more brass to have around the place. The only .38 I shoot now is thru the M36, which is my only .38, and I don't shoot it all that much. If I want mild loads in the others, I simply download mag cases.

I've never loaded a single ctg in .40 S&W, though I've owned a HiPower so chambered for about 10 yrs. My supply of factory .40 is about done, so that may change. I've got a fair amount of brass and slugs about the place, but again, not shot the pistol that much.

[iraiam]

I gave up on .45 auto, .40 S&W, 10mm auto, 38 super auto. Mostly because the considerably higher ammunition cost does not buy much more "bang for my buck", punn intended.

I pretty much stick with 9mm, .357 mag, .44 mag, 45 LC.

[HawkeyeNRAlifer]

I haven't giving up on any cartridge, instead I've grown to start appreciating the 9mm more. Way back when I first started shooting handguns and reloading for them, it was the 44 mag and 45acp. It was a macho thing, I guess. Loved the recoil, the muzzle blast the whole nine yards. I was even disapointed with my first 357, didn't kick like the 44 mag did. I've since matured a little and now own handguns in about every caliber. And while I've always owned a 9mm or two, I just never thought they could hold a candle to the bigger 40+ caliber guns. And while I almost always carry concealed a 45, I've been known to slip on a 9mm and even a 380 LCP. At the range I'm shooting almost as much 9mm as 45. I still shoot some 44 specials in my carry revolvers, but the super redwawk rarely gets out to the range anymore. I've finally come to appreciate the 9mm for the cartridge it is.

[PT-92]

HawkeyeNRAlifer

I haven't giving up on any cartridge, instead I've grown to start appreciating the 9mm more... I've finally come to appreciate the 9mm for the cartridge it is.

Bingo!

I think the "awakening" so to speak of more and more shooters to the 9mm in terms of overall practicality is now more evident than ever. Always has been the case in Europe but in the U.S. it has taken a while not necessarily to sell but to achieve the "respect" it had been lacking for a some-time now (maybe climaxing with the heavily criticized Miami FBI/Bank Robber shootout which resulted in revolutionary changes to its very core load designs).

Personally it suits my taste in several respects 1) price for such a practical caliber 2) pistol/carbine compatibility of which I utilize in my planning 3) Incredible advancements in ammo design IMO culminating, for example, in Hornady's Critical Duty line of ammo specifically designed to meet or exceed all of the mandated FBI ballistic testing.

YMMV but I say if you have been on the fence with respect to the 9mm, reconsider by doing some contemporary research as things have changed perhaps since the last time you took a gander...

[Gunnut17]

The only calibers I have ever fired in a handgun were 9mm and .45, I liked the 9mm for the capacity and lowish recoil, and the .45, with it's undeniable coll looks and fun factor, put a smile on my face that shows back up when I hold one of the shell casings that I have acquired.

So, none. Unless by 'hate' you mean, 'really, really like'. I can't wait to get an opportunity to hate some more cartridges

[FloridaVeteran]

Disenchanted with : .22LR and .38Spl. Shot .38 a whole lot in the '70s for Police Practical, then again many years later for CAS. But I found that with steel targets, spotters sometimes listen for the ping instead of watching for the dirt and I would get misses that I thought were unfair. Reloading cost difference with .45LC is not that great and a nice 200 or 250gr. bullet will give a much more satisfying and hearable sound off a steel.

Favorites: .45LC and .45ACP. Also like .22WMR in place of .22LR if I am buying ready-made fun ammo. The .22LR is for when the grandkids visit.

[Edward429451]

9mm and 22 Mag. A couple of my buds had 9mm's back in the day, one a BHP and the other a 5906. I was liking them very much and always thought that I'd buy a BHP for myself. As soon as I bought my 45 ACP I forgot all about the 9mm.

My first rifle was a 9422M and I had so much fun with that rifle that I once thought I would have a collection based on them. I was the king of all my shootin buds who had 22 LR's and I was the one with a Mag. It didn't take long for them to jack up the price of 22 Mag ammo to almost the price of 45 ACP ammo. That disenchanted me a lot.

[kcub]

I don't like the .40 in pocket pistols because of recoil.
My SP101 .357 is much more tolerable and at least as effective.

[mrt949]

I have over the years
autos
22 lr .22 mag ,32 acp, 380 acp, 9 mm ,40 sw ,45 acp,
revolvers
22 lr, 22mag.38 sp ,357 mag, 44 mag, 454 casul.
TODAY
22lr 32 acp,357 mag, 40 sw.
I could live with only 2 calibers 22lr ,357mag.

[22-rimfire]

I feel pretty much the same today about the various calibers that I own handguns for as I did when I first bought them. My interest in a particular caliber has come and gone and come back again. The 38spl and 357 mag are perfect examples of this.

I have never been a fan of the 25 ACP, 380 ACP, or 9mm and have been pretty neutral about the 45 ACP. I like the 40 S&W.

Some have become disenchanted with the big boomers (I define as 41 mag up). I would have to say that my interest in shooting them comes and goes. But I don't get rid of the guns and I will often shift interest and begin shooting them again. The 41 mag is in fact my favorite big boomer.

Never wanted to shoot rifle calibers in a handgun. But if I owned a Contender, it would be in 30-30 win.

[Malamute]

I've pretty wel lost interest in the 45 auto. I carried and shot them years ago, but ho-hum performance on game with ball ammo (contrary to popular belief), and the general higher level of utility of revolvers as field guns has me pretty apathetic about 45 autos for any purpose. That I generally shoot revolvers, both SA and DA, better than the 1911 has some bearing as well.

I never became a huge fan of the 357. Once I got shooting much, I liked larger calibers better, especially the difference in muzzle blast between the 357 and larger calibers, and the end result performance. It took less velocity and muzzle blast to get decent results on game with larger calibers like the 44 spl, 44 mag (with medium loads mostly) and 45 Colt than it did with the 357. I think it's a fine cartridge, I just dont care for the muzzle blast aspect.

[Sharpsdressed Man]

.40 S&W and .38 Special. I don't use them anymore.

[testuser]

For me...

- .22 LR. I own one a rifle for practical reasons (pest control? I don't know). I probably haven't fired it in 3 or 4 years. Handgun wise? I'd rather fire 50 center fire cartridges than 500 .22 LR...teaches you trigger control, but teaches you nothing about recoil managment. Boring to shoot.

- .380. Not very powerful, small powder charges, cases can be crushed easily my press, etc. Dropped this one completely. I like .38 Special better, or 9mm in a heavier gun.

-.40 S&W. I load this one for a G20 with a conversion barrel because the brass is cheap, but it can't do anything the 10mm won't do the same or better. If it disappeared tomorrow I wouldn't care. This cartridge exists only because of it's short case dimensions.

- .45 ACP. It's cheaper for me to buy 10mm projectiles than .45 and there is no difference in power. I load it for an antique revolver, which I like better than the cartridge, sometimes as .45 auto rim. I rarely shoot this one.

- .45 Colt. I load this for a friend. Dislike this cartridge, doesn't work well at standard pressures, unless I'm using heavy bullets with fast burning powder. I'm not a fan of the grip of the single action army, either. I'd rather just stick with .44 special/.44 magnum. I might fire 50 cartridges a year.

Ones that I really love...

- .38 Super/.38 Super comp. Great power and versatilliy. Same cost to load as 9mm.

- 10mm Auto. Again very versatile and provides magnum power from an automatic.

- .357 magnum/.38 special. Cheap to reload in my revolvers, fun to shoot.

- .44 magnum/.44 special. Excellent in lever action carbines or revolvers.

Indifferent to, but shoot a lot of...

-9mm. I shoot a lot of it, because it's cheap to load and chambered in a lot of different weapons. If I could get the same pistols in .38 super with a slightly longer grip, then that would be my choice.

[rep1954]

The 30 and 32 calibers just don't do anything for me. The 22LR/22Mag or the 38/357 cover anything that I would use either of those calibers for. I tried them but they ended up just laying around.

[Cheapshooter]

327 Federal. Really thought I wanted one, and in something very small, and light like maybe a beefed up Ruger LCR. Just seems that it is a cartridge that never really caught on. I doubt if anyone will develop anything new for it.

[Vespasian]

I've become disenchanted with anything larger and/or more powerful than .380 ACP.

Tom

[PT-92]

Vespasian

I've become disenchanted with anything larger and/or more powerful than .380 ACP...

Interesting--Can we ask why (outside of the fact that the cartridge was developed and designed by the legendary JMB which for many in and of itself is good enough )?

-Cheers