I guess I'm feeling nostalgic........

michaelcj

New member
I still have a couple thousand rounds of .22WRF for my granddad's 1890 Winchester… still shoots like a champ.. Although "obsolete", as I'm not aware of any new rifles chambered for this in decades, ammo is still available once in a while.

Not "obsolete" at all, but about as old as you can get in a CenterFire/Rimless/ Bottleneck cartridge 7x57 / .275 Rigby is still my favorite to load and shoot.
 

lefteye

New member
I have my grandpa's 1890 .22 WRF but very little ammo. I don't really have a favorite obsolete cartridge.
 

44 AMP

Staff
I don't know if I would consider cartridges that are still produced, even if only in "seasonal" runs as obsolete, but the word has different meanings and uses depending on context.

Some folks consider the revolver obsolete. I have actually heard people say it.

The way it is usually phrased is the ______ is obsolete for ________ use.

This applies to many things, sadly, myself included.:rolleyes:

Nostalgia has revived many "obsolete" rounds. Wish it could do that for me..:D

I'd pick .45-70, it has been "obsolete" since the 1890s, but is still in production today, possibly at higher levels than anytime in the past century!
 

GM1967

New member
.41 Action Express

Big bore bullet in 9mm sized frame, the guns could be easily converted from 9mm to .41 in a minute with no tools, and back again.

Killed by the power of big corporations, S&W and Winchester, when they brought out the .40 S&W after the FBI decided the 10mm was really more power than they needed.
 

kilimanjaro

New member
My safe is full of obsolete cartridge shooters, too.

Current favorite is .416 Rigby. Previous favorite was .310 Cadet, literally a rainbow trajectory with lots of loitering time before hitting the target.
 

wogpotter

New member
None of the above!
I go by what I want to use it for.
As my needs vary the "collection" is pretty eclectic.

A pest/hiking gun
Ruger 10-22.

Hunting
Lee-Enfield No5 Mk1 (sporterised).

Target
Lee Enfield No4 Mk2

Action/steel
Metric FAL

Nostalgia
.50 Hawken Percussin
Remington NMA in .44

Shilouette
Dan Wesson 15-2
 

natman

New member
348 Winchester.
The last of the big rimmed cartridges, there's nothing to recommend it from a technical standpoint. The case is a hangover from black powder days, it has tons of taper to transfer lots of case head thrust, the bore size is unique. It just works and happens to be chambered in the finest lever action ever made, the Winchester 71.

310 Cadet.
It's so old fashioned it uses a heeled bullet like a 22 in a centerfire cartridge. Ballistically it's certainly powerful enough to go clean through a piece of paper. But the Martini rifles it comes in are neat on a stick.
 

72-cj5

New member
348 Winchester.
The last of the big rimmed cartridges, there's nothing to recommend it from a technical standpoint. The case is a hangover from black powder days, it has tons of taper to transfer lots of case head thrust, the bore size is unique. It just works and happens to be chambered in the finest lever action ever made, the Winchester 71.

310 Cadet.
It's so old fashioned it uses a heeled bullet like a 22 in a centerfire cartridge. Ballistically it's certainly powerful enough to go clean through a piece of paper. But the Martini rifles it comes in are neat on a stick.
Are these the rounds your talking about?
48da8968f10b13fdb991370b9a8b93ca.jpg
 

2ndsojourn

New member
I have a Savage 99 chambered in 303 Savage. Talk about hard to find factory ammo. I always have my eye out for it, and I have 2 boxes of factory reloads. At a gun show about a month ago, a guy had an old box of original Remington 303 Savage that he wanted $45 for. Ouch. I passed.
 

natman

New member
I'll go ahead and throw in my 250 Savage in the mix. Not in the grave, but far from current.

The 250 Savage isn't obsolete yet, but it's getting there. Not even Savage makes a production rifle any more. Remington is the last major ammo company to make any and it's a seasonal item. It's a shame.
 
As someone alluded to, there are many levels of "obsolete."

Guns no longer being chambered for a round, but ammo is still made.

Ammo no longer being manufactured, but components still available for handloaders.

And multiple variations thereon.

Even some truly obsolete rounds have had amazing comebacks.
 
Neither of these are obsolete, but many fellow shooters seem to believe that .45 Colt and .38 Special are relics that don't deserve respect. Most of the people I shoot with don't like wheel guns, so maybe its more of a gun style than a caliber thing.
30/30 and .45/70 are also looked down upon.
 
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Mike40-11

New member
Lately I've been kind of halfway looking for a Martini in .577 or .577/.450 . I've only shot one once but I find it an interesting old rifle and cartridge. Favorite old shooter currently is the .30-40 Krag.
 

745SW

New member
The 300 Savage is the odd cart. in my dinky collection. Rifle is a Savage 99, one of three long guns I got because the owner/friend got a court order to rid. The 300 is still produced but the 308 is a much improved cart. Otherwise I would not know/have.
 
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