Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters Ammo you can find anywhere - what cartridges?

I see mentions of certain centerfire cartridges you can find anywhere that ammo is sold. I'm guessing they fall into tiers based on what I've seen. For those of you who pay attention to such things (I know at least a couple on this board make a point to look at the ammo selection in remote places), what are those cartridges you can always find?

Here's my guess at tiers
Everywhere in World (where legal)
.30-06
.270 Win
.308 Win
.300 Win Mag
7mm Rem Mag

Everywhere in U.S. add
.30-30
.243 Win

Most places in U.S.
.25-06
7mm08

In the varmint arena, I'm guessing .223 Rem in some form (where legal) can be found everywhere and .22-250 can be found most places.

In Africa and Alaska, I'm guessing .375 H&H and .338 Win Mag are also very easy to find, with 7x57 also easy to find in Africa.

Corrections/additions/comments?

What about handguns? Most places in U.S. I'd guess .45, .45 ACP, .44 Mag, .357, and 9MM(maybe)

In the US 223

Africa 9.3X62 and perhaps 300H&H

Don't forget .22LR and 12 gauge in various sizes.

I was thinking and talking about hunting rifles, but I would guess with handgun ammo 9mm would be most common, with .45 Auto, .40 S&W, .38 Spcl, .357 Mag available everywhere in the U.S. with the other couple you listed (.44 Mag and .45 Colt) available most places along with probably .380 Auto and .25 ACP.

Add the following to cartridges to be found around the world:

7.62x39
7x57mm
6.5x55mm
375H&H
9mm

But can you find them at every rural mom&pop gas station/grocery store in the middle of nowhere in the U.S.? That's the question. I'm guessing a lot of places won't have the 6.5x55 (some won't have 7x57 or 7.62x39 in anything other than FMJ), and good luck finding 375H&H anywhere but a gun shop in the South, Midwest, or East. Those are great and widespread cartridges, but I don't think they are in the top tier.

I haven't hunted all over the world, but have hunted in a few places. If I end up anywhere near a store where ammo is sold I make some notes on what's there.

In North America (including Alaska and Canada) the .22 Long Rifle, .223 Rem., .243 Win., .270 Win., .30-30 Win, 7mm Rem. Magnum, .308 Win., .30-06 and .300 Winchester Magnum are almost always available, as are 20- and 12-gauge shells.

I haven't paid much attention to handgun rounds, because most people don't really care about picking up some .357 or .44 Magnums, especially in Canada.

In Europe the .243, .270, 7mm RM, .308, .30-06 and 300 Winchester Magnum are also quite common, though in Europe the selection depends on whether the country allows "military" ammo. In some countries in Europe the 6.5x55 and 9.3x62 are common, but a lot depends on the country and the game. The 7x57, 7x64 and 8x57 are common in Germany, but no more so than the standard American cartridges.

When I hunted in Norway with two different groups of hunters the most common cartridge among my companions was the .308. In fact in one of the local sporting goods stores in Bergen I found a barrel full of a cheaper version of the Remington 700, all in .308.

In Alaska and Africa the .30-06 and .375 H&H are everywhere. In western Canada and Alaska the .338 Winchester Magnum is also common, but spotty in the western U.S. In Canada, of course, .303 British ammo can be found just about anywhere. In Inuit Canada, the .22 Magnum, .223 Remington and .243 are universally stocked in stores, though you'll also find some .25-06 and .270 as well.

In sporting goods stores in Namibia and South Africa there's always almost always some 7x57 and 9.3x62 ammo, but also .22-250, .243, .270, 7mm RM, .308, .30-06 and .300 Winchester Magnum. Africans seem to jump right over the .338 to the .375, probably because the .375 is legal for buffalo everywhere and the .338 isn't.

Wow! Did not expect the .243winchester to be so popular worldwide!

Any ideas as to why the 243win is so commonly widespread?

Because it works on "deer-sized" game, the most common size of big game hunted anywhere. Also, America has been the center of rifle manufacturing and cartridge development since World War II.

That question can re-light some lively debate.

The short answer is that it's an effective killer for a large variety of game found around the globe.

Muledeer, yes but us american have other cartridge that we "invented" and they haven't been adopted worldwide. so was curious as to why in particular the 243win caught on. Was Warren Page that influential?

I think the reason the 270win is so popular is to Jack's championing the cartridge

Just grasping at straws as puzzled as to why some cartridge are successful even though they are not necessarily superior.

Popularity of a cartridge doesn't just depend on ballistics. It also depends on the rifles it's chambered in, especially their price and availability.

No doubt O'Connor had something to do with the .270's popularity, but the big reason it became a world-wide round is that it worked--and was available in some reliable, affordable rifles. An awful lot of hunters in other countries are big-time .270 users...and have never heard of Jack O'Connor.

This is an interesting thread that takes me back several years when the short mags and ultra mags came out and the discussion then was about how available ammo would be for them as they matured. They are painfully absent in all comments. As well, I shoot two calibers that were developed in the U.S. nearly a century ago, yet at times are tough to find, 250Sav and 300Sav. Another caliber that I've rounded up plenty of ammo for but which must have been an orphan out of the gate is 338RUM. For me, a trip into a sporting good store is always a bit of a scavenger hunt.

Its easy to shoot and hit with because it don't kick much. If you hit the vitals, it will kill the animal that took the round. 270 just works for a lot of people. Same with 243 on deer sized game or smaller. But I didn't know it was that popular world wide. KDJ

I've found that the 7mm-08 isn't that easy to find down here.

In Australia it would vary between large towns and small vllages.

Where I live with a pop of 1,300 I can get:
.22Hnt, .222, .223, .243, .308 and .303

Two hours away in a rural city of 50,000 + you can get just about everything.

The .243 is very popular here because the game is soft and not that large. Feral pigs and goats would be the largest averageing around 40kg though of course they can get much larger.

.223 and .243 are the most common.

Deer hunters tend to be a very specialised here so they usually reload or live in large citys and hunt away once a year.

They likely haven't received their latest issue of American Rifleman yet, be my guess? ;O)

As for ammo, I've been in a fair number of rural shops and have been suprised a few times at the variety of rifle ammo to be found. Especially close to a big game season.

I've also been in a Gander Mtn. or Dick's prior to deer season and there generally seems to be one guy bitchin' because 30-06 and 30-30 Core Lokts are "on sale", everything else isn't and the poor devil cannot figure out why that is?

I feel your pain. I like the 250 Savage too. I also like the 225 Win and the 303 British.

Rumour has it the 30-06 is making a comeback. It's kicking the collective butts of all those Short/Compact/Ultra/Super/Extremely and Utterly Magnums. I'm told that a lot of people are desperately trying to trade in their nouveau-magnums for something more useful.

Oh well, they also said the Edsel was the car of the future...

Certain cartridges get pushed off the shelf and are hard to find for a while. Some bounce back, like the 45-70, 22 Hornet and the 303 British to name a few. The 250 and 300 Savage will fight their way back!

Keep the faith.

Steve,

Good that you mentioned the .22 Hornet. It's been making a comeback in the past few years due to much better powders and bullets. In effect, now it can do what the .222 did 50 years ago. And the .30-06 can now easily reach what used to be thought of as "magnum" ballistics before WWII.

This is all part of a historical trend. Since the beginning of hand-held firearms, the trend has been toward small v]calibers, lighter bullets and higher velocity. Today's powders and bullets continue this trend even in cartridges many shooters now consider antiquated, such as the Hornet and .30-06.