What 100 year old cartridges do you use

[Bhoesl]

The only 2 center fire rifles I own are both cartridges that have been around over 100 years.
300 savage
30/06

 

[Cemetery Sling Blade]

303 British. 137yrs old. Geez!

 

[Zellhouse]

Finally, someone listed a .300 Savage my first rifle. Hard to find brass for these days...

 

[MS 9x56]

308 is my go to

The 308 is not a 100 year old cartridge.

 

[Wilderland]

Shrapnel always wins the 'coolest firearms award', here and on the 'Fire.

Hunting for me:
.22
.270
30-30
30-06

 

[adoc65]

I have a Savage model 99 in .300 savage. The gun is a hundred years old this year.

 

[MS 9x56]

7x57, 8x57, 9.3x62,250-3000, 30-06, 9x56 MS, 30 remington, 35 remington. The only 2 rifles I own in calibers that are less than 100 years old are a savage99 in 308 and a Howa 1500 in 350 legend.

 

[grizzly63]

Just bought a Marlin CB 45 LC and a Ruger New Model Blackhawk 45 LC so that should qualify. Looking forward to shooting them.

 

[SCW]

9.3x62,45/70,22 lr,10,12&20 gauge and 50 cal muzzleloader.

 

[Dan O]

22lr
30 luger
9mm
38 spec.
45 ACP
45 LC
270
30-06
8x57
300 H&H
40-65
45-70
45-100
MZ 50 TC
MZ 54 Lyman GP
MZ 58 GRRW
410
12 ga

 

[shootbrownelk]

30/06, .375 H&H magnum, 32 Winchester special, .22 LR.

 

[6mm Remington]

380 ACP
30-06
25-20
38-40
8mm Mauser
22 LR

 

[tkhuntsman]

250 savage for me I have a few others but have been reloading and shooting this one most recent. I forgot how much I enjoyed it. Will probably start shooting and loading for my 7x57 again kinda got a hankering to carry it for bear this spring.

 

[Boarmaster]

30-06, 270, 30-30 and .22

 

[kiwi hunter]

Although it didnt confront the public until 1930, it was developed in the twenties
22 hornet

 

[MS 9x56]

250 savage for me I have a few others but have been reloading and shooting this one most recent. I forgot how much I enjoyed it. Will probably start shooting and loading for my 7x57 again kinda got a hankering to carry it for bear this spring.

I would recommend loading up the 7x57 with 175 grain round nosed bullets for bear. You will be as they say “loaded for bear”.

 

[44hunter45]

.22 Short (only)
.22 LR
.380 ACP
9mm Para
.38 S&W Special
.45 ACP
.45 LC
6.5x55mm
30/30
.30-'06
.35 Whelen
.54 T/C Hawken
12 Gauge

Have had the past:
32 S&W - an old nickel plated H&R Third Model my dad kept in his sock drawer. Last I saw of it, my former BIL took it to shoot.
45-70 Govt. - A MIJ WRAC 1886 RMEF Life Member Commemorative. I didn't like the tang safety the lawyers put on these. I sold it unfired.
.410 Bore - A Winchester Model 41 which was on long term loan to our family when I was a kid. I would love to have another of these.
16 Gauge - We had an Iver Johnson Champion in Sweet 16 when I was a kid. The hardest kicking thing I've ever shot. Worse than my 12 Gauge Champion I still own.
This and a Remington 514 .22LR were stolen from my aunt's house in a break-in.

I'm eyeing a M70 in .270 Winchester on consignment at a local store. I've always wanted one. Walnut and blued steel.

 

[Justabirdwatcher]

.22 LR, 30-30 currently.

Have owned several 6.5x55's and 7x57's, and a few '06's. All great guns that do nothing my 7mm-08, .308 or .300 WSM can't do better.

 

[Dave N]

Late to the party. Have or have had multiples of some.

.22
.270
.45-70
.50 muzz.
.54 muzz.
.44 mag.
.45 acp
12g
20g
410

A couple of those have been sold or given away.

 

[44hunter45]

Interesting thread.

You all know I love my belted magnums. BUT....

A lot of this idea that old cartridges are not as capable as newer cartridges. Most of the time is was the weapons they were originally chambered in that are "inferior."
I would say that any firearm that does consistently what it was designed to do and does it for a very long time is not inferior.

The best example is the 6.5x55mm in a Krag or M96 Mauser. It is not the cartridges that cannot do more, but these actions.
Talk to someone handloading 6.5x55mm in a Ruger or Winchester and I will bet they are pushing their loads far past the SAAMI spec. Those specs are limited by the weakest rifles extant that could still chamber the round.

This is all about vintage actions and MAP pressures. Will the .270 Winchester in a Model 54 match the performance a .277 Fury? Hell no. But that is all about a MAP of 65,000 vs 80,000 and the higher powder capacity of the Fury. More pressure and more powder burnt do not make a cartridge better, just less efficient.

There will be some who want to talk about "modern metallurgy", but there is really only metallurgy, whether it be old or new. I would say a rifle that takes more abuse from it's cartridge from each round fired may not make to be a 100 years old. Time will tell.

I personally will not have an 80,000 PSI cartridge designed by a company whose pistols go off by themselves. If their strikers or sears fatigue and fail, then their metallurgy is not what I'm looking for. While the stainless/brass hybrid casing addresses the short term pressure in firing, the chamber is subjected to these pressures with every firing. Metal fatigue is cumulative. This means that these rifles must have an expected shorter service life inherent in the design.

I would rather hand a Mauser M1896 to my grandchildren than a used up "modern" rifle.