Todays limited caliber selection

[timothy]

Just a thought but doesnt it seem like recreational rifle shooters have 10 times the selection of old calibers to tinker with and load for compared to pistol shooters? It seems like it would be the other way around since handguns get shot so much more for fun compared to hunting rifles. Just compare the number of charmberings of the M77 or No1 to those of the blackhawk or Gp100. Its as if theres contempt against anything less powerfull than 357mag these days even for target shooters. Yet no one tells the 22hornet enthusiasts they might as well be shooting a 223 since it gives better performance. Why are we so up tight when it comes to handguns always wanting the maximum psi the frame can handle?

[williamlayton]

Actually I think it is another take on "hold my beer and watch this."
Blessings

[mcwoodduck]

Well rifles are easier to go to and from.
Look at the simple  NATO 308 case and you have the 243, 7-08, 308, 338, 358 Win.  And the reason ot neck up or down is to get differant proformance out of an action to launch larger or smaller bullets in both weight and caliber.  And depending on the game you are hunting and the terain.
 
Now look at the Nato 9X19 and you do not have people necking it down.
With most of the strait wall hand gun calibers can not be necked up (well the 50 AE will prove me wrong as they blew out the 44 mag case ot make it) 
But you really only have a few purposes for a handgun.
Personal protection, target, and hunting.
 
There are many different platforms for but only a few calibers have stood the test of time.
there are a few that are hanging on with a cult following.
You now have a a few nitch market guns like the BFR that shoots 22 hornet to 450 marlin and most lever rounds inbetween
you have the T/C contender market for the really odd ball wild cat rounds.
You also have the forign military guns for strange calibers.  8mm nambu, 30 mauser, 9mm Largo, 455 Webley, 9mm Galistini.
 
But you look at the balistics of many of the pistol rounds and many over lap. 
If 9mm X19 gives you 350 Ft pounds  it is a 355 dia bullet would you spend more for a 36 caliber bullet that gives you 360 foot pounds?   
 
And while some calibers over lap a lot of the difference is the size of the platform. 
 
 

[Ladobe]

Depends on the handgun.   Specialty handguns have had a very long list for decades where the sky is the limit between the current, old school or discontinued and wildcat cartridges they have been chambered for.    TC Contenders alone have a list of over 250 cartridges it can handle safely, TC Encores way more, and some bolt pistols even more than them. 

[Curtis]

Timothy I see the same thing with my motorcycle friends.  They modify whatever motorcycle they buy for the max HP.  Why didn't they just buy one with more HP?  Well, they'd probably do the same with that one anyhow. LOL
 
I'm glad for all of the calibers though, thank goodness the obsolete 256 Winchester Mag pushed me into hand loading.  The sky is the limit for me now (and I don't mean velocity!).
 
Curtis

[coyotejoe]

You can get revolvers to fire anything from .22 BB cap to .500 S&W, autos from .25 ACP to .50 caliber and in singleshot pistols there is every cartridge you could want, factory loaded  or wildcat and not all are Max horsepower macho toys. And not all handloaders and gun modifiers are looking for Max ballistics, I'm much more likely to load a magnum down for comfort, accuracy and economy than to try to boost the power of lesser round. I have run quite a few Elmer Keith .44 special loads but I was shooting them in a .44 mag revolver so while it was a maximum listed load for the cartridge it actually was a reduced load for the gun.