This is more out of curiosity than anything else brought about by reading the thread on the International Rifle

In the countries that forbid the use of military calibers; are obsolete military calibers banned or just those commonly in use today?

Ex of obsolete military calibers:
6.5 Carcano, 6.5 Swede , 7x57, 8x57, .45-70, .30-40 Krag, .30-06.

ex of currently used military calibers:
5.56x45(.223 Rem), 7.62x51 (.308 Win.), 7.62x39, 7.62x54R

Or more simplistically; is a caliber forbidden if a cartridge was ever chambered in a military arm?

If it was officially adopted by some military.
Not if it was ever chambered in a military arm.
example: US Army marksmen team chambers rifle for 300 Win mag not for war time use, but for long range targets. The 300 win mag is not banned.
But you might wonder on how far back they will go on their list.
45-70? 50-70? To make sure, you would have to contact the country that you might want to visit and ask for an inclusive list if they have one.
This is probably one of those laws that only affect law abiding citizens.
I hate stupid politicians. Always making rules that mess with the people who don't need to be messed with.

I will have to check to be certain but I believe in France it has to do with before and after a certain date (which I think is 1873). For instance, the 45-70 is legal to hunt with but the 30 Krag is not. It is not really a question of obsolete under French legislation but whether it was used by a military organization after that date. Basically it means that it would have to have been a military cartridge which survived the transition to smokeless powder for it to be legal to hunt with today. Anything invented or adopted since 1873 by an army or a police will be a controlled caliber and illegal to hunt with.

From what I have read about "bans on military calibers" in Central and South America, they seem to focus on banning ammunition used by militaries or paramilitaries in that region. Like 9mm Luger and 45 Auto are banned, but 45 Colt is not, even though it was conceived as a martial cartridge elsewhere and long ago.

There is no universal rule of thumb, but bear in mind that Adolf Hitler's father was a minor customs official. I'd rather breeze through the airport with a 7x64 than lose precious field time arguing fine points of firearm law in a foreign language.


Okie John