What would they be and in what order? Please exclude the 7.62x39 which is surely everywhere.

Whew! Lets see the 303 British is still all over the UK, 30-06 and 270 of corse. I expect the .22lr is extremly popular by now as is the .22 Hornet. The 8x57 would be a good candidate and as much as I hate to say it the 30-30 still has a considerable following. The 6.5X55 should be included and maybe the H&H mags.

Those may begin to scratch the surface, Im sure someone can add to those. Good luck getting them in order, Your gonna need it!

[ 06-29-2002, 04:06: Message edited by: Wstrnhuntr ]

Here are the top cartridges for the 2001 year, based on the loading die sales from RCBS. This list is published every year, and has become the accepted method of ranking the popularity of rifle and pistol cartridges.

Top ten rifle cartridges:

1) 30-06 (always has been, may well always be!)
2) .223 Remington
3) .270 Winchester (Oh yeah! )
4) .308 Winchester
5) .45-70 Government (imagine that!)
6) .243 Winchester
7) .22-250 Remington
8) .300 Winchester Magnum
9) .300 Remington Ultra Magnum (No kidding!)
10) 7mm Remington Magnum

I'm a bit surprised that the 300's are ahead of the 7mm Mag. That is, I believe, a shift in popularity of years past. But the aught-six, the .270, the .223, .243, and the .308 are always in the upper part of the count. As far as I'm aware, no cartridge is even close to the 30-06 in popularity. Since we own and shoot more guns in America than any other nation on the planet, that would tend to make the 30-06 the most popular rifle chambering in the world. Maybe there's good reason for that...

Dan Newberry
green 788

Green, for sure you hit some of the nails on the head but I'm not sure about half of these cartridges would have a worldwide following and availability

Also, I don't think anyone has mentioned the .375 H&H yet. It's a pretty universal cartridge, even if not every kid on the block owns one.

OH, I just noticed this little challenge didn't specify "rifle only" so we can toss in candidates like 38 Special, 357 Magnum, 9mm luger, and the .45ACP. Right?

#1 has got to be .22 Rimfire.

Globally, ya say....hmmm...wel to be honest, i think alot of those calibers that Green posted have a fairly wide distribution across the world. but here are my top 10 in no particular order:

1) 7x57 Mauser
2) 9.3x62
3) 6.5x55 Swede
4) .308 Winchester
5) .30-06
6) .243 Winchester
7) .22RF
8) .300 Winchester Magnum
9) .270 Winchester
10) 7mm Remington Magnum

I know I left out quite a few of the more popular .22 cals, but i don't particularly like .22s anyway...

[ 06-29-2002, 06:36: Message edited by: Curtis_Lemay ]

Not sure what the answer is, but I like Green 788's response. Surely the 22LR has to be the most popular round worldwide, and I think ammo sales correlate pretty closely with the popularity of different caliber reloading dies, with the notable exception of the 30-30 which remains among the top selling centerfire rifle calibers. My top 10 rifle rounds are (1) 22LR (2) 223 (3) 30-06 (4) 7x57 (5) 270 (6) 6mm Rem (7) 375 H&H (8) 8x57 (9) 308 (10) 416 Rigby. I also reload several other big bore calibers (45-70, 458 Lott, 460 Wby, 510 Wells) but I don't reach for them very often. Handguns are another thing: (1) 44 Mag (2) 45 Colt (3) 357 (4) 45 ACP (5) 32-20 (6) 9mm occasionally.

Hi guys! You can�t look at last years most sold reloading dies to decide what calibers are the most videspread och common.

I belive Curtis had the right answer, just think of how many mausers there are in the world outside of the USA. Those guns are in 8*57, 7*57, 9,3*62 or 57, 6,5*55 and a whole lot of other more or less obscure chamberings.

Personally I have only seen a 30-30 chambered rifle on a picture so my world is at least a bit different from yours..
No offence intended just a presentation of a slightly different prespective..

Chris..

1) 30-06
2) .308
3) 7x57 Mauser
4) 6.5x55 Swede
5) .300 Win Mag
6) .338 Win Mag
7) .30-30 Winchester
8) .280 Rem/ 7 mm Express
9) .223
10) .458 Win Mag

In my opinion, in a worldwide list, the .303 British, the 8X57mm Mauser, 5.56mm NATO (.223 Rem.),7.62X51 NATO (.308 Win.), .30/'06, and the.375 H&H would have to appear...

I haven't got any statitics but here the three most used is 30-06, 308win and 6.5x55. Pluss the 22Lr of course. I don't know the rest of the list. And the 6.5 may be more popular than the 308.

Johan

The "Thirty caliber ball cartridge of 1906" the most popular rifle chambering in Norway?

Cool!

I would have suspected a more traditionally European or Scandanavian cartridge.

green 788