with all this yammering about g&a's list of the top 10 handguns of all time and all of you out there agreeing or disagreeing for various reasons, i propose this twist--what are the top 10 most influential calibers?  

i will throw a few out there (in no specific order):
.22--first metal cased cartridge
.44 russian--grew into special and magnum
9x19 parabellum--oldest military small arm round still in use
.45colt--used by everbody for 30 years until surpassed by smokeless powder loadings

.45 GAP

Quoted: .45 GAP

and to think--i was trying to be serious...kinda.

.454 Casull.  Very good wildcat cartridge for a long time, and with its gaining popularity, inspired Smith and Wesson to develop the awesome .460 and .500 S&W to get in on that big-bore craze.

In order of age, oldest first:

30 Luger - The first reliable mass produced service pistol caliber. Scaled up to 9mm when the .30 wasn't thought powerful enough.

9mm Luger - The world standard for military\police handguns. Love it or hate it, there are more designs out there in service in 9mm than any other caliber.

45 ACP - Primarily used in the 1911, and a handfull of revolvers (1917, Webly) during WWI and WWII. Still the auto cartridge all others are judged against for performance.

357 Magnum - Still the revolver load all others are judged against in terms of stoping power and controlability.

.22 rimfire short-developed by Smith and Wesson 1860/61 with the first bore through cylinder and metalic cartridge
.44 WCF (44-40)-1873 first centerfire handgun cartridge used in revolvers and rifles
7.63mm Mauser-1896 Broomhandle led to the first commerical sucessful autoloader and near identical 7.62x25mm Tokerov
.38 Special-1899 and the Smith K frame revolver
7.65mm Parabellum-1900 by Germany in the Luger and then necked up to 9mm(9x19) in 1902
.45 ACP in 1905 to serve in the M1911 pistol
.357 Magnum-1935 by Smith and Wesson worlds frist magnum cartridge
.221 Fireball-1960s by Remington starts the handrifle catorgory.

Just the top of my head....

CD

10mm which gave birth to the 40S&W.

Quoted: In order of age, oldest first: 30 Luger - The first reliable mass produced service pistol caliber. Scaled up to 9mm when the .30 wasn't thought powerful enough. 9mm Luger - The world standard for military\police handguns. Love it or hate it, there are more designs out there in service in 9mm than any other caliber. 45 ACP - Primarily used in the 1911, and a handfull of revolvers (1917, Webly) during WWI and WWII. Still the auto cartridge all others are judged against by everyone who shoots 45's for performance. 357 Magnum - Still the revolver load all others are judged against in terms of stoping power and controlability.

Fixed it for you.  

I'd say the #1 most influential by far is the 9x19.  No other caliber is used as widely in the world, and it has been used world wide almost since it's original inception.

.30 mauser (7.62x25) - First succesful autopistol round
9mm Luger  - Known the world over and still a standard
.38 special  - The civilian/police round of choice for decades
.45 ACP  - still a standard
.45 colt  - The best known of the "cowboy" rounds.
.357 magnum  - Started the whole magnum craze.
.44 magnum  - The standard by which very high powered pistol and low powered rifle rounds are measured.

Quoted: Quoted: In order of age, oldest first: 30 Luger - The first reliable mass produced service pistol caliber. Scaled up to 9mm when the .30 wasn't thought powerful enough. 9mm Luger - The world standard for military\police handguns. Love it or hate it, there are more designs out there in service in 9mm than any other caliber. 45 ACP - Primarily used in the 1911, and a handfull of revolvers (1917, Webly) during WWI and WWII. Still the auto cartridge all others are judged against by everyone who shoots 45's for performance. 357 Magnum - Still the revolver load all others are judged against in terms of stoping power and controlability. Fixed it for you.   I'd say the #1 most influential by far is the 9x19.  No other caliber is used as widely in the world, and it has been used world wide almost since it's original inception.

It was correct the first time.