The most versatile cartridge ever invented.

[peterg7]

For a cartridge to earn the title of most versatile one must make his choice based solely on factory ammo because far more gun owners buy ammo than roll their own.

Overall best of show goes to 12gauge.

Best SD cartridge 9mm (CC)

Best sidearm cartridge .45 acp

With .45C as first runner up.

Best kids cartridge to have fun and learn with .22lr


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[amprecon]

Most versatile overall? 12 gauge shotshell in all it's variations, no question.

[ShootistPRS]

Any cartridge becomes more versatile when it can be reloaded. A 30-06 with 12 grains of Unique and a 110 grain bullet is neither loud nor over powered for small game. That said all cartridges have their upper limit and the shotgun is no exception. The smooth bore has a practical accuracy limit of about 125 yards and shot has closer limits based on accuracy and the size of the shot.
It has long been my contention that the combination of a 22 rim-fire rifle, a magnum revolver, a 30 caliber bolt rifle and a 12 gauge pump shotgun gives you as much versatility as you normally would need in the American continents. The rest of my guns are accessories to that versatility. Some are for recreational shooting and others are for specific situations outside the norm. I am certain that other folks have other ideas on the matter. In most cases additional firearm are not unwanted or unnecessary.

[jonnyc]

Another vote for the .22LR/12g crowd.

[mack59]

22lr probably has more pistols and rifles chambered for it than any other single cartridge. Certainly it is a great round to learn on and fun to shoot. Taken a lot of small game and varmits over years. Though it has been used for self defense it is far from optimum in that role, neither is it the choice for medium or larger game. Also limited range.

12 Gauge - most versatile by far, it's only failing is that its effective range is limited to around 150 yards give or take.

50 BMG - never be undergunned for sure - but very heavy and not so usable as a personal weapon - more a tool for war or long range shooting where it shines.

30-06 - perhaps the greatest overall hunting round in American history - can reliably take all but the largest of game, has excellent range and is configured in just about any hunting rifle one might buy.

308 - a light version of the 30-06, but more semi-auto's and military firearms are configured for it.

223 - about as ubiquitous a round as you could find short of 9mm and 22lr. Good for small to medium game and used by the military.

357 lots of revolvers and lever guns chambered for it. Not so much pistols or semi-auto rifles. It is a good all round cartridge for self defense or small to medium game at short range.

9mm - tons of pistols, lots of submachine guns, some carbines and semiautos. Limited range and not known as a hunting round.

45ACP - hey it's 45ACP.

44 Magnum - similar to 357 but a little more punch

338 Lapua - like the 30-06 and the 50 BMG had a baby

So the obvious answer is the 300 Blackout - supersonic to subsonic - bullets from 110 grains to 240 grains from 2200 fps to 900 fps - pistol configurations - effective as a rifle - pistol - or subgun.

[Sure Shot Mc Gee]

And so I predict the 357 magnum will continue to be as popular in 80 years as it is today!

That's a bold observation. And one I can't agree with.

Most all 357 cartridge shooters in time. {Those I've observer over the years.} Yup! switch their preference too shooting the ultimate heavy thump-er cartridge. > 44 Mag.

[Scorch]

Most all 357 cartridge shooters in time. {Those I've observer over the years.} Yup! switch their preference too shooting the ultimate heavy thump-er cartridge. > 44 Mag.

Yep! While I too started out as a 357 fan, I moved to 44 mag and quit shooting my 357 altogether.

The 357 mag has a lot going for it, but that goes double for the 44 mag. Let's see:
- Light loads for target or small game. 357? Yes. 44? Yes. Been there, done that.
- Medium loads for target work? 357? Yes. 44? Yes. Been there, done that.
- Heavy loads for hunting big game? 357? Yes. 44? Yes. Yes, both work.
- Heavy loads for dangerous game? 357? 44? Never done it, but I would never intentionally take on a grizzly with a 357. Would it work? Maybe. But maybe isn't good enough when you might wind up as road kill.

Don't get me wrong, if you like it, shoot it! But don't try to make it out to be something it isn't. Remember, even the most powerful handgun isn't as powerful as a low-powered rifle.

[mavracer]

It's been well known for 80 years or so (to some at least) that the 44 special will do anything that the 357 will and with less pressure (less blast and noise).
And the 44 mag will do more.

[kmw1954]

Very interesting topic. Surprised no one has mentioned the 41Mag. Is that just because it's not as widely popular as the 357 or 44?

[FrankenMauser]

Most versatile cartridge?

HP 951.
It is the most common variant of ink cartridges on the market, and prints up to 700 pages!


Oh, you mean boom-boom, bang-bang type stuff...

I'm with Scorch.
.44 Mag all the way.
.45 Colt sounds great, but it's limited by weak original frames and questionable imports. Good in modern (domestic) frames, but not reliable in other stuff.

.357 Mag is just too offensive to most shooters.
Weak stuff is okay, but "full-house" loads are too much for most shooters. No good.


Then again, there's always a wrench to throw into the works...
.480 Ruger.
No one that has fired mine has complained.
Last June, my petite, light-weight, recoil-shy niece fired my .480 Ruger for the first time.
7.5" Ruger Super Redhawk.
Full power 375 gr WFN handloads.
She doesn't even like .38 Special.
Response: "Ooooh. How much ammo did you bring? Can I do that again?"....

[osbornk]

To me, versatile means availability and cost. The cheapest and most available are what I have and shoot most often.

rimfire is easily 22LR (I shoot it most often)

Handgun centerfire is easily 9mm (I shoot 2nd most often)

rifle centerfire is 223 (most people seem to have at least one)

shotgun is 12 gauge (available and most affordable)

[FrankenMauser]

osbornk, I would pair your definition with the word "accessible".


To me, versatility is the ability to handle a wide variety of situations with little to no compromise or loss of efficacy.

An 'extreme' analogy:
One can plink and target shoot with a .458 Win Mag.
But one will find it much more difficult (and almost universally illegal) to hunt big game with .22 LR.

[Husqvarna]

6,5,x55

useful on everything from smallgame (with FMJ) and better ammo anything in Europe/America

not what I would want when facing a charging grizzly, but jsut hunting grizzly it would be fine, we hunt browns with 6,5 all the time, most moose taken in Sweden throuout history in Sweden have been taken with 6,5, probably bear to
ours are not as big as yours thou but still.

most versatile rifle is a combination rifle in 12/6,5

[Oldman11]

The .32 family

[kraigwy]

After going over these post a couple times, and thinking back on my experience, and comparing several of my calibers i shoot, I'm gonna half to agree with the OP on the 357. But in considering the 357 you have to add in 38s, I likd go keep my light loads in the shorter cases.

I shoot it in both rifle and revolvers. Loaded for 38 velocities to full blown 357 Magnums, its hard to beat.

I've killed everything from snakes/rabbits to moose and buffalo with my Model 4" 28 Service Revolver. My 6.5" Model 27 is a bit more accurate, or at least I can shoot it better due to the longer sight radius.

If I want to reach a bit further I have my Marlin '94.

But what makes in versatile is the ammo. With cast bullets I can shoot it for about half the price of the average 22 RFs I'm finding around here. 357s take a bit more powder then 38s but still cheaper then 22s.

Brass last and can be reloaded several times. From my police days I have more they I will wear out in my life time.

With 148 gr wadcutters its hard to find a more accurate round, and SWCs are hell on bowling pins.

Not saying I'm gonna give up any of my other guns, but I could get by if all I had was the 357s.

[Don Fischer]

I'm pretty fond of 6.5's, especially the 6.5 Sweed. But I think the 7x57 would trump it for the heavier bullet's.

[Sure Shot Mc Gee]

If I had to guess on a rifle cartridge. Only one center-fire caliber that I know of that has out sold everything else.> 30-30.

[2damnold4this]

I have to go with the 12 guage as the most versatile cartridge. I can shoot birds out of the sky or kill a large animal like a bear.

[Husqvarna]

I have to go with the 12 guage as the most versatile cartridge. I can shoot birds out of the sky or kill a large animal like a bear.

only at short range, even a long range rifle round can do the job at close range

as long as you don't use varmint grenades, shooting small game even at close range is fine because regular ammo most often will not have mushroomed

[ThomasT]

rc I have to agree with you. My Marlin 357 rifle is my favorite of all the guns I own. If I had to grab one gun and run it would be my 357 rifle. And all the stuff to reload for it.

I have round ball loads in 357 cases that will shoot a little over 1" groups at 45 yards and those will work for small game. And I have loads in all ranges of power up to full blown original magnum loads, not the watered down factory 357 loads.

Ross Seyfried wrote about using a BPCR to kill a cow elk at 70 yards. The rifle shot a .360 diameter lead bullet that weighed 160grs and went 1600fps. That bullet shot through the elk and made a clean kill. That load mirrors the 357 loads from a rifle. And the 357 can be loaded past that.

So with the right loads I can go from small game to large as long as I keep the range suitable for this round. Add a 4" revolver in 357 and I am pretty well armed.

Forgot to add but I can also do about the same thing with a 30-30. If I couldn't have my 357 rifle my Marlin 336 would be my second choice. And I have loads from .310 round ball up to regular hunting rounds. Pretty versatile too.

[ibfestus]

The OP heading was "The most versatile cartridge ever invented..."

If we are talking cartridges in general, The venerable 30-06 has it hands down. Think about the .25-06, .270 Win, .280 Rem, .30-06, .35 Whelen... they are all commercial cartridges based on the 30-06 case.

Then you have the shortened 30-06 case used for the .243, 7MM-08, .257R, 260 Rem, .308, .338 Rem, and the .358.

Just how many of the top 10 selling rifle rounds are found in those calibers?

Then you have the 1,000’s of wildcat calibers using cases of the same proportions. And if my old brain remembers right, aren't the the .223 and 5.56MM cases proportionally the same???

Just my .02

[2damnold4this]

only at short range, even a long range rifle round can do the job at close range

as long as you don't use varmint grenades, shooting small game even at close range is fine because regular ammo most often will not have mushroomed

Sure, a rifle can outrange a shotgun. But a 12 gauge shotgun with saboted slugs can give most folks all the range they'll ever use for medium to large game and it's a lot easier to hit a flying bird with a shotgun than it is a rifle in 7-08 or .357 magnum. I don't think there is any game animal in my area that I can't legally or ethically take with a 12 gauge but I'll get into trouble if I take one of my deer rifles to the dove field and start blasting away.

[ThomasT]

Interesting thread and a subject I bet we have all given thought to. It seems pretty clear that the most versatile round is many different things to each of us. And I agree that a shotgun makes a lot f sense. I just like rifles better.

[mavracer]

It seems pretty clear that the most versatile round is many different things to each of us.

Only problem is
Availability, economical and favorite are not synonymous with versatile.

[ibfestus]

I wouldn't try to change a truck tire with a screwdriver and I wouldn't try to hit a flying quail with a .458 win mag. I like the .357 and have a Ruger model 77 with a ultralite Leupold 2.3X in the factory rings. I can hit a beer can offhand at 50 yards with it and it is a lot of fun, but I wouldn't try to shoot everything with it including antelope at 300 yards.

But each to his own. If you prefer a flintlock and wear buckskin that's great fun too, what ever trips your trigger.