For a number of years bottle necked pistol cartridges were frowned upon by just about everyone. I have no idea why. It makes sense to use them since most rifle cartridges are bottle necked to improve ballistics of the bullet over that of a straight walled case. It should then follow the same logic for auto-pistol cartridges.
Among the first automatic pistol cartridges were bottlenecks. The smaller bullet over the case size is a well known factor for improving feeding, as well as the aforementioned power increase. The 7.65x25 Borchardt was created for the Borchardt Pistol in 1893. This cartridge was the basis for the 30 Mauser (7.63 x 25mm) used in the C96 "Broomhandle" Mauser introduced just two years later. This cartridge is the basis of the almost identical 7.62 x 25mm Tokarev used in the TT33 Tokarev pistol, CZ 52 pistol, and a ton of machine pistols and submachine guns.
Another pair of important bottle neck pistol rounds are the 30 Luger (7.65x 21 mm) and 8 mm Nambu. The 30 Luger was created in 1898 and later used in a number of pistol including the famous Luger (Parabellum) pistol. The 8mm Nambu was the standard Japanese pistol round of World War 2.
Over the next 40 years, not too many bottle necked pistol rounds were adopted by major firms and survived. Tons of wildcats were created and a few achieved a loyal cult following, such as: 38-45 Clerke, 357 Automag, 41 Jurras Mag Pistol, and others. The Soviets came up with the 5.45 x 18 mm, but it has not apparently too popular with the troops due to it being underpowered and adopted in a bad weapon.
Then, in 1994 a bottle necked round was created that took the world by storm, for a few years. The 357 Sig was claimed to be equal to the 357 Magnum in performance. It was not, but it was close enough to gain a loyal following. It's "mythic" abilities have faded over time, as has it's popularity, but weapons that fire this gun and the ammo itself still sell well enough. The U.S. Secret Service uses the Sig 229 and this round as standard issue.
After that, the powers that be, in the weapons industry, learned that bottle necked autopistol cartridges have a real place, a real purpose and actually work as well or better then straight-walled cases. After the 357 Sig came a slew of new bottlenecks... 25 NAA, 32 NAA, 400 Corbon, 5.7x28 mm, 17 Mach II, and the 17 HMR to name a few.
I have long been a fan of the 7.62x25mm Tokarev. I own a CZ52 and love popping off a ton of rounds from her. 85/86 grain bullets coming out of the barrel at 1500 to 1650 fps. Now, a few bullet makers are making hollow points for this caliber. Must make a big mushroom!
