22lr, 38spl, 45 long colt, 30-06, are some calibers that have harvested a lot of game, set shooting records, won a couple of wars and been around for a long time.
Are the the culmination of the laws of physics that make a perfect ballistic package or just hearsay?

It does, I suppose, depend on who you ask. There are indeed some calibers that seem to have more inherent accuracy than others, some weapons that are more accurate than others, and some shooters that are more accurate than others.

I would substitute a 45 ACP for the 45 Colt and agree with your list. If it was a revolver, I’d probably want dual cylinders for shooting both. I might also go with a K frame 357 (Mod 19 or 66) for the sake of flexibility... and you can reload both with the same dies.

On a second tier I’d place the 327 Fed Mag, 9mm and perhaps 44 Mag in handguns and 223 rifle.

After that, it’s Katie bar the door... there are so many others to buy if money and circumstances allow.

Froggie

What we would rather have and who got the nod in the weapons and ammo for WWll had a lot to do with who is #1 in the files of ammo and weapons.

The Savage 99 missed getting the bid by just a little from the 30-40 Krag
due to the fact that they were not quite sure of the new rotary feed but it was
king of the hill for a long time with our hunters.

Cuda, wuda, shuda .......
Heads or tails.

I think one aspect is what the military has chosen becomes popular with the general shooting public. Billions of "ex-military" weapon designs and calibers have been produced, and way more popular than totally "civilian" or "sportsman" calibers/guns...

First ones I can think of: 9 mm Luger, 44 magnum, 22-250, 7 mm/08, 338 Winmag. If we were in Africa, add 375 H&H.

I don't see 12 gauge. Been a few of those fired.

How about the old 275 Rigby? dba 7x57 mauser. Birthed in 1892, 130 years ago. At one time, adapted by 19 countries as its military round on its resume. It has harvested every animal on the planet, from the Elephant ( K Bell fame). It has birthed the 257 Roberts and the 6mm Remington. Copied by the Winchester 7-08. Millions and millions of rifles manufactured around the world. Legendary and when it comes to quick death to an Elephant- yes mythical status

The 30.06 has taken every game animal on the planet.

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Back to the original post; on a few occasions I have posed a similar question on 3 or 4 forums; "Is any one cartridge or caliber intrinsically more accurate than others?". I was never able to get a specific answer or even a close answer as the answers quoted way too many variables, different guns, different loads, different bullet, etc. So, each gun and each caliber and each application determine "what's the best"...

I think part of the intrinsic accuracy problem is that there's such a big difference between "service" ammunition and precision-oriented "match" ammunition. I understand that the .308/7.62 cartridge is better at the ultimate accuracy game, but that doesn't matter a bit to the hunter with a sufficiently accurate .30-06 rifle. .38 Special LRN or military FMJ ammunition probably wouldn't hint to the average 20th century LEO/military just what a match wadcutter could do in a match revolver.

Some calibers do seem easier to reload to match standards.

As to the OP's question about the "laws of physics", perhaps the best we can do is group cartridges into "how efficient is this cartridge at accomplishing the mission it is intended for with a minimum of fuss and resources?" The rise to dominance of the 9mm Parabellum as a service round (not only in America, but in places like Russia and the PRC), is a very good example of this.

Watching Candrsenal's videos about the various bolt-action rifles (and their cartridges) leading up to WW1 has been educational for me in this regard. The recent thread on this forum about the .30-30 is also instructive.

And if I recall correctly, the M1 Garand was originally designed with a different caliber than the adopted .30-06. The Government had it changed to .30-06 because that was the caliber of amo they had on hand at the time.

And being the son / nephew of WWII vets, the 30-06 was thought to be the end all of calibers at that time.

Lots of 03s and M1s around at the time. In fact the first centerfire I owned (age 15) was a M1 Garand I used the money from selling a calf to buy from a neighbor who managed to bring his rifle home with him upon discharge. That was in the early 50's. He upgraded to a Remington 740 in the mid 60's and sold me the M1. I made the same upgrade in 76 or 77, and still have both the M1 and the 740. Paid $75 for the M1 and $100 for the 740.

That’s interesting. I’ve never heard that. What caliber was it designed for?

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Twenty gas-operated .276 T3E2 Garands were made and competed with T1 Pedersen rifles in early 1931. The .276 Garand was the clear winner of these trials. The .30 caliber Garand was also tested, in the form of a single T1E1, but was withdrawn with a cracked bolt on 9 October 1931. A 4 January 1932 meeting recommended adoption of the .276 caliber and production of approximately 125 T3E2s. Meanwhile, Garand redesigned his bolt and his improved T1E2 rifle was retested. The day after the successful conclusion of this test, Army Chief of Staff General Douglas MacArthur personally disapproved any caliber change, in part because there were extensive existing stocks of .30 M1 ball ammunition.[22] On 25 February 1932, Adjutant General John B. Shuman, speaking for the Secretary of War, ordered work on the rifles and ammunition in .276 caliber cease immediately and completely, and all resources be directed toward identification and correction of deficiencies in the Garand .30 caliber. M1 Garand - Wikipedia

.277 by John C Garand while working at Springfield Armory.

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S&W Accumulator

While there do exist legendary cartridges that produce legendary results, when it comes to military success, there is a large element of chaos introduced into the mix, from a bad test day to bribery, when it comes to selection and retention of military calibers.

I would like to say that in addition to the possible inherent characteristics of any military cartridge, one must take into account the fortitude, determination and character of our war fighters and their successes under the worst of conditions.

I do not hunt but I’ve read that the .270 Winchester is considered one of the best all around calibers. For the fun of collecting and shooting a classic hunting rifle I wanted a pre-64 Winchester Model 70. I went with an example in .270 Winchester because I figured that when it came to sell, donate or or give it away, a .270 rifle would have value to hunters.

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