Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Handguns Best handgun cartridges that aren't popular

As a stand alone cartridge, when it came out; it was pretty bad. The idea was to take a 9mm pistol and put a cartridge that's much bigger into the same pistol...and then everyone was surprised when it didn't work out too well.

But the .41AE did help push the creation of the .40 something the market was clamoring for and has become pretty much the ideal LE handgun cartridge. So for that, the .41AE did some good.

I only reed what I red.

jwp475-

You are correct! My Bad.

Title of the thread is "Best Handgun cartridges that aren't popular""

You are talking about " Handgun cartridges that are the best because I have one"

45 Super. No thanks, been there done that. Like most that shoot the 460!

We like our guns too much!

Like I said, I do not want to derail this thread.



PS: I do agree with you on the Linkless. It has it's merits.

The 460 Rowland requires a compensator to help control slide velocity, the 9mm and the 10mm loaded to the same pressure do not require a compensator to control slide velocity at the same pressure. To me a 1911 is ideally suited as a carry pistol and a compensator adds bulk and weight. Not my cup of tea, what can one accomplish with a Rowland that can not be done with a Super in the field. Both will work In spades on deer sized game and 2 leg attackers. I see nothing practical gained.

I've always wanted to play around with the 357 Maximum in one of the Ruger super blackhawk.

The 460 is not all that. It is a carry pistol for the farm. Not everyday carry. It took 3 rounds to take down a charging sow wild pig with a 45ACP. After that my sons and I started carrying "more gun" when we work the property. One carries a Delta Elite with hard cast. The other carries a 686 Plus with 170gr Gold Dot flat points. I carry the 460 with hard cast.

These pigs run in groups of 20 to 30. Here we go-read every word--
There is nothing else that can put out that much power ACCURATELY with QUICK RECOVERY than a compensated 460. Again - Read every word!!!

41 mag power (4" or 5" NOT 6" or longer-Think Carry) 8 shots then quick reload. Read every word!

There is no way (especially when you have shot the 1911 all your life) that you can control that much power with out the comp. This a two "chamber" comp designed by Jonny Rowland, Clark Custom and Bill Wilson. It is amazing how fast you can accurately with controllability put that much power down range. I was skeptical too at first. You have to try it to believe it.

20# recoil spring, long lock up time, great match fully supported barrel. Change back to 45ACP (that can shoot the Super) in five minutes. It only kicks out the cases 4 to 5 feet.

You can pick and choose your argument points and drag this argument out forever. But the Super AND the 460 both have their good qualities.

I am just saying. The super- heavy springs, slide velocity, the possibility of loading the Super in your other 1911's that are not set up for the Super and "linking out of battery @ 28,000psi, not good. Those are the reasons behind the development of the 460. New and improved 1911 thumper.

I, like you, have many guns and many uses for them. But for me, being able to put out that much power that quickly and accurately in a gun you can carry all day long while working the farm. There is no better. Like I said, I have tried the Super. If I am going to carry a gun with that much power and recoil and long follow up, I am going to spare my 1911's and shoot my 629's or 57's.

Now- lets get back to Kevin's post!

Possibly one of the best Contender handgun chamberings ever.

A 45 Super can be shot out of a standard 45 ACP as long as you do not shoot a bunch then no harm no foul. Bullet selection in paramount for top terminal performance. Have killed hogs and deer with standard 45 ACP without drama. Just for the record my Supers use an 18.5 pound spring.

Bullet selection--

XTP's do not work very well in the Super or the 460 when deep penetration is needed (HOGS). They just turn into pancakes. Good for deer.

Regular 45ACP's can be shot out of the 460 chamber also in a pinch. They are held by the extractor. I would not want to shoot Supers that way. Even +P's for that matter. This is what I have read. Have not done it myself.

I do like to use Starline's Super brass in my +P loadings for some of my other 45's that do not have a good case support but will feed anything reliably. They seen to work better than +P cases from Starline. Just have to make the load adjustment and make sure the ammo box is marked real good.

That hog sow I was talking about had piglets with her. Her adrenaline was at its highest it could be. Could happen again. After taking two to the head (made mush out of her head) and one near miss in the shoulder she still almost ran over me. She went down when she turned to come after me again.

7.62X25

It was doing what a .327 Federal does a long, long time ago.

I make my cartridges out of cut down .223 brass and shoot them through a very accurate Yugoslavian Model 57.

1450 fps from a .312" Speer JHP is no problem.

Just add a copious quantity of 2400 and squeeze 'em off.

Kevin-

I have always like the idea of the Win 9x23. I have a couple of 38 supers.

Being that I am 1911 poor. I need some other project to work on.

Who makes a good 9x23 barrel/slide to be fitted?

Is it that much better than the 38 Super in the field? Much longer range for smaller pests.

Nickle cases? For the longer case extraction.

You sparked my interest again.

I know I am spitting hairs over the 38 Super. Is it worth it?

Hard cast with GC?

How could you overlook the venerable .256 win mag?
Ever seen a Ruger Hawkeye? ... single-shot Blackhawk
Now your talking bastard-child cartridge ... a .357 mag case with a .257 neck & a 25* shoulder. Really a sweet shooter once you spend the time to work up loads. Not a man--stopper, but all guns don't have to be for personal defense, do they?
I hunt, therefore I am.

The 9x23 is an excellent cartridge. Is it better than the .38 Super in the field? I really don't know.

It moves the same bullets, but with about 150fps more velocity. Personally, I would limit its use to deer sized game. The extra velocity mostly helps to flatten the trajectory to make longer shots easier, but personally I'd limit shots on deer sized game to 100 yards and under. Since I don't care for scoped handguns, I'd probably keep it to around 75 yards, but that's just me.

What I'd use it for is long range plinking. The .38 Super is a great long range handgun round, so the 9x23 just extends the range.

The only maker I know of for 9x23 barrels is Nowlin; but I happen to think Nowlin barrels are first rate, so I'm not sure you need other makers (I'm sure there's someone else who makes a 9x23 barrel, I just don't know who).

If I were choosing BETWEEN 9x23 and .38 Super, I'd always take the Super just for the added ammunition availability. I don't have a 9x23 but I plan on adding a 9x23 barrel to my LW Commander. I'll probably buy a barrel for a full sized Government and fit it to the LW Commander, but keep the barrel full length. The whole idea is ballistic performance, so why not get all you can get? I'd go with a 6" barrel, but I don't have a holster that would be suitable...who knows, maybe I will.

I always liked the .256 Win-Mag in a carbine. Got to shoot a rebarreled Winchester 92 in .256 and it was a hoot.

Oooh good one. I always liked the round....not sure why, not sure what it's good for. But there's just something about it that's cool.

The PPSh 41 was the best sub-gun of WWII in many ways.

255/260 grain hard cast out of a 45 ACP loaded to +p pressure have penetration in spades.

The 45 ACP and the 45 Super have exactly the same outside case dimension, so no problem shooting acp's in the Super. My cousin killed a 250 pound boar with a rib cage shot with 230 grain Remington JHP's. No exit but took out the ribs and this was about a 50 yard shot.

Bullet selection and shot placement are the keys

I owned a Ruger single shot in .256 Magnum. It would darn near blow ground squirrels in half and make quite a mess of the insides of a Jack Rabbit.
Very accurate pistol, BTW. The only reason I sold mine was I just wasn't comfrontable in the field with a single shot handgun.
Good list Kevin. E

I'm just think'n.

When I was attacked by that one sow. I did not mess my under wear up but, there might of been a prairie dog stick his head out of my a$$!

With the possibly of multiple hogs at once. I would like to drop all that attack. I know that is unlikely, but I am distracted a lot while I am working on the farm.

I'm clocking 225gr Hard cast at 1300fps at about 34,000psi. I could go up to 1450fps at 38,000psi but choose not to.

Gun longevity and the possibility of bullet setback are the primary reasons not to load hotter.

Kevin thanks!

I'll do my research.

460 Rowland any factory ammo available?