6 Dead, Dying, and Soon-To-Be-Obsolete Handgun Cartridges

[Koda]

Disagree on the .40S&W but the rest sounds about right. Whats interesting is the 45GAP might be the shortest lived of them all. What other calibers do you think are dying out?

1: .32 ACP
2: .25 auto
3: .41 magnum
4: .32 H&R magnum
5: .40 S&W
6: .45GAP

6 Dead, Dying, and Soon-To-Be-Obsolete Handgun Cartridges

Some of these cartridges began as a good idea—some were doomed from birth. But all of these old handgun cartridges are waning in popularity.

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[Dinglenutz]

I think the 32 ACP has a place. The 40 isn't bad, but It's sort of filling a niche that's almost invisible. THe 41 I actually always liked but I'm basically the only one. If people realized the 44 was actually a 42 maybe it would have been different. The 25? No hard feelings.

The other 32 I don't care.

I wanted to like the 45 GAP but it never caught on. Honestly it seemed a reasonable idea.

 

[41mag]

THe 41 I actually always liked but I'm basically the only one.

not hardly

 

[nehalemguy]

Too many guns in circulation in .32 ACP and .40 S&W for this to be true.

-E-

 

[SPSharpshooter]

40 will never go away. Haters been hating for many years. Yes it may not be quite "as good" as 9 but lots of people love it, including me.

 

[Will_White]

I think the 32 ACP has a place. The 40 isn't bad, but It's sort of filling a niche that's almost invisible. THe 41 I actually always liked but I'm basically the only one. If people realized the 44 was actually a 42 maybe it would have been different. The 25? No hard feelings.

The other 32 I don't care.

I wanted to like the 45 GAP but it never caught on. Honestly it seemed a reasonable idea.

The 45GAP solves a problem that nobody knew was an issue and doesn't have any practical advantage over the more common 45 ACP slightly smaller frame but that's not an issue for most people.

 

[Dinglenutz]

40 will never go away. Haters been hating for many years. Yes it may not be quite "as good" as 9 but lots of people love it, including me.

I think it's better than 9mm myself, but it's essentially the 45 GAP to the 10mm. Daddy is just sooo much better in most ways. I love the 357 Sig but I think it's going away faster than the 40.

 

[Koda]

6. The .45 GAP: A case of drunken engineers.

(from the article....)

 

[Koda]

THe 41 I actually always liked but I'm basically the only one.

Im not really a revolver guy but Ive always liked the 41 over the 44 after shooting the 44, its recoil just never was practical for me. The 41 still has some impressive ballistics for what one would want a magnum revolver for.

 

[Knobgoblin]

Im not really a revolver guy but Ive always liked the 41 over the 44 after shooting the 44, its recoil just never was practical for me. The 41 still has some impressive ballistics for what one would want a magnum revolver for.

.41 lever gun is a rare bird.

I want one , even though I don't own a .41 revolver.

 

[Longwalkhome]

I remember a lot being written by the gun rags about the 41, they tried to talk it into popularity. One story was the 41 came out with a lower speed less powerful police load and a magnum hunting loading. I read later that the cops just didn't like the 41 power load and the guns were too big for every day carry. N frames are heavy.

I owned a 41 Ruger as a young man but found the 44 mag did everything better and was cheaper to shoot in the old days. 41 Smiths were really hard to find too.

 

[The Heretic]

40 will never go away. Haters been hating for many years. Yes it may not be quite "as good" as 9 but lots of people love it, including me.

I saw that article a while ago. I noticed the inclusion of .40 S&W. It is far from obsolete - according to NSSF (IIRC), it is the second most popular handgun ammo being sold. I believe it is better than 9x19, by quite a bit.

Now .357 SIG - why didn't they include that instead of .40? Not very popular and only a bit faster than 9mm +P+.

 

[CLT65]

1: .32 ACP
2: .25 auto
3: .41 magnum
4: .32 H&R magnum
5: .40 S&W
6: .45GAP

1. .32 ACP - the 32 auto has been a niche round for a long time already. It's heyday way a long time ago. Compact, lightweight .380s have made the 32 obsolete, but there are still millions of guns out there so it will never really go away.

2. .25 ACP - same as #1 but more so. Not really a practical round but there are a lot of them out there.

3. .41 Magnum - really? Never was a very popular round, but personally I think it has it's place. The 41 has a hard-core following of people who love it. It will never be popular, but it will always be around.

4. .32 H&R Magnum - much the same as above.

5. .40 S&W - the comparison I make whenever I read an obituary for the .40, is the .38 Special. 50 years ago the 38 was the KING. It was absolutely ubiquitous. It's use has fallen dramatically, and that may be an understatement. Is it dead though? Hardly. There are so many 38 revolvers out there that it will always be around, just not prominent like it used to be. Same for the .40 S&W. They're both still as good as they ever were, even if they're no longer popular with the cool kids.

6. .45 GAP - well, this poor thing never really caught on from the start. It's not really a has-been, more of a never-was.

Personally I like some of the more obscure, unpopular rounds, but then again I don't rely on being able to find a box of ammo on the store shelf when I need one. I cast and reload, and can usually make whatever I need.

You want an obsolete, hard to find round? Try finding a box of .44 Webley ammo. My latest project involves trimming down some .44 Russian brass and working up a black powder load for an 1880s "British Bulldog".

 

[Knobgoblin]

Because .357 sig is the issued sidearm caliber for all of wakanda.

You just don't know that because wakandon't exist.
Or does it ?

 

[Koda]

Now .357 SIG - why didn't they include that instead of .40? Not very popular and only a bit faster than 9mm +P+.

these kind of articles are never ending though and always with a flaw, of course. Putting the 40SW in there was a big one and agree the 357sig would die before the 40 will. Technically ive always liked the 357sigs ballistics better.

 

[Knobgoblin]

Way out in left field here, but are 9x18 and 7.62 x 25 tok already considered dead?

 

[Provincial]

One poster on NWF pointed out that it took 100 years for the industry to replicate the ballistics of the .38 WCF (30-40) cartridge with the 40 S&W. But it is indeed a rimless cartridge! And doesn't make as much smoke as the black powder original.

 

[The Heretic]

The article smacks of someone who just picked the cartridges they didn't like and then wrote something about how they are "obsolete".

I am not a fan of most of the cartridges, but most of them still seem to have a following.

 

[Longwalkhome]

As far as the 32 magnum goes, it my worthless opinion the gun companies totally missed the boat on 32 revolvers. I don't know how many women bought J frame 38 special and didn't like them but the gun companies quit making easier to shoot 32 long caliber guns. Women would have bought 32 longs like crazy if offered in a J frame but men told them 32 isn't enough gun and pushed 38 specials on them.

I watched women struggle over the years with little 38s including my wife. She finally got fed up with her model 36 Smith and bought herself a model 26 Glock.

 

[ZA_Survivalist]

They are dying.. if you've got 32acp or 25acp Ill take them for proper disposal.