Next cartridge to become obsolete?

[Axman]

A shooting buddy of mine has a 1876 Maastricht that is chambered for 11.3x50. He can still find cartridges for the rifle but they are around $5 or more per cartridge and they aren't available everywhere. None can be found locally. May as well be obsolete if they are that scarce.

 

[Phil DeGraves]

The 38 S&W will hang on just because there are so many guns out there that chamber it. All those Webleys, Enfields and pocket pistols that the Cowboy Shooters like. The .45 GAP is the real squib here.

 

[Prince Yamato]

How about .222? It seems largely to have been eclipsed by .223, at least in the US.

Yep. I thought of this too. Also .224, which is seen even less. .45 GAP (why do they even make this?) .17- all of them. I'd say MAYBE 5.45 x 39, because its lack of availablity and it's difficult to come by, which makes all but the die-hard opt for either 7.62 x 39 or .223. I do like the bake-lite mags though. I don't think these calibers will be gone for good, but they'll probably become obscure, like my 8x56 Mauser.

 

[kastiron]

Aw.. Nuts!!! First post on a new forum and I fall victim to the search feature!!

Sorry about that.

Newbie hat on sitting in the corner..

 

[doggscube]

Don't worry about it

Welcome to the forum.

-Jeff

 

[pv74]

Remington's Etronix..

Rifles that fire ammo with electrically opperated primers...

Remington has done a piss poor job of marketing a good idea.

Lock time is almost instant with this system..and the primers are standard size..remington sells the primers so you can load your own shells...


As for the rest of the stuff..if you can somehow make brass for it, you can shoot most any gun ever made. I have even heard of people making pinfire ammo (don't ask me how).

Manufacturers even make guns chambered in obsolete rounds...

Repo 1876 Winchesters are chambered in 45-60 (LONG obsolete, I load this round for my original '76)

Repro Spencer rifles have hit the market chambered 56-50 Spencer...

Reloading obsolete cartridges is all part of the fun...and a very good history lesson

 

[default]

Well, since the thread is revived, and it's an interesting topic, here's my view. We should make a distinction between "obsolete", "allegedly dead or dying", and "(arguably) pointless". Some examples, with which you may strenuously disagree:

Obsolete: Archaic, rare, and in competition with sometimes equally old but ballistically comparable or superior yet easily obtainable ammunition chambered by numerous guns: 8mm Nambu, 6.5 Carcano, .30 Luger. Primarily for collectors, historians, and people who like neat old stuff generally.

Allegedly dead or dying: .357sig, .303 British, 10mm, .41 Magnum, 9x18 Makarov, 7.62x39, 7.62x54R, 7.92x57 (8mm Mauser), .44 Special, and plenty of other great calibers that are likely to be around for a while.

(Arguably) pointless: .45GAP, 5.7x28, 4.6x30. Nothing wrong with them per se, they may well fit a certain niche, but what do they do, really, that isn't essentially done as well by other, cheaper, easier to find calibers with an associated wide array of firearms to shoot them through?

 

[lionking]

the top 2 firearms I want to purchase in the future are a M1A(M14) and a Grizzly .45 magnum.

Im sad to say that the .45magnum is not around much anymore though,7 rounds thru a 1911 style auto is sweet to me though,fired a Grizzly a few times and its on my mind.

 

[Ohen Cepel]

I vote for 6.8SPC, of course, I've been wrong before.

 

[Crosshair]

The 38 S&W will hang on just because there are so many guns out there that chamber it.

Yup, I handload 38 S&W. A handy little round and would still be very good in compact revolvers due to it's low operating pressure and shorter OAL. Sure it's no 45 Auto, but it would make a nice consealable gun.

 

[GW]

50 AE
only 1 gun ever made for it(Desert Eagle IIRC) and other than ridiculous movies, The gun is nowhere to be seen

 

[akodo]

boy, lots of rounds I haven't thought about for quite a while. I remember when the .356TSW was the 'up and comer' but it didnt' stick well, and we just later on got the 357 sig. Of course, before the 356 was the 38 super, so.

I do want to point out that while some old great warhorses will go on and on and on (44 special, 38 S&W, 250-3000, 257 robers, etc) these are all rounds that were at one time very popular, and had a lot of guns made. Other rounds like the .356 TSW and I think the .45 GAP just never got their nose far enough under the tent, and will soon be gone.


Now, for a bit of arguing. I can uderstand the short mags and the supershort mags going. They did nothing new, just supposedly had the possiblity of being in very short action rifles (of course, these short action rifle actions weren't as short as they should have been for the most part).

But the remington ultra mags? I believe there are ALWAYS people who look at numbers, see very high velocity and very high energy, and think it is the best...and while there are some others up there just as fast if not faster, the UMs remington puts out are the least expensive of the UMs. I know a couple of guys who bought them who would have been just fine with a 30-06, or hell, a 243, but numbers man numbers....and that theoretical elk hunt 'someday' always justifies many a rifle purchase

but who am I to talk, I got a 7mm rem mag here in MN, where a 243 would do me just fine too

edit to add, I don't think the hornet has any worry about it. It many ways it is the flip side of the .17hrm. Yes there are a lot of .22 centerfires out there, but the hornet really holds its place as the smallest lightest one. There used to be others like it that have gone to the dustbin of history, but I think hornet will continute to hold steady. Now, I can definately see the .223 pushing the last hangers on in the mid speed 22 centerfire catagory. .222 will probably hold on too just becasue of it's reputation as being extremely accurate, even though the price difference and availablity to me make the 223 the much clearer choice.

 

[nitesite]

A shooting buddy of mine has a 1876 Maastricht that is chambered for 11.3x50. He can still find cartridges for the rifle but they are around $5 or more per cartridge and they aren't available everywhere. None can be found locally. May as well be obsolete if they are that scarce.

At these prices for reloading dies, I myself would retire it right damn now...

http://www.midwayusa.com/esearch.ex...+Begin+Search.x=14&Click+to+Begin+Search.y=15

Modern firearms considered, I'm going with the .45GAP and the silly "5mm-whatever" 5.7x28mm FN pistol cartridge.

 

[gezzer]

The Winchester Super Short Magnums.

Bingo!

 

[RooK]

GW, the .50AE was chambered in the Automag V and LAR Grizzly as well. Probably more guns, but they allude me at the moment. The DE is the only one in current production. It won't be going away though, those movies keep it going and selling, despite what is reasonable or logical.

I can't believe so many people listed the 10mm. It won't die anytime soon due to the cult followes like myself. Even in recent years, smaller ammo manufacturers have brought it back to its former glory with spec ammo. Thanks to Dan Wesson, 1911s are once again being chambered for it. It won't surprise me if more join. As for the 'bulk of the gun' excuse, it fits in guns chambered for the .45acp; since when has that ever kept a .45 from selling?

 

[rnovi]

the top 2 firearms I want to purchase in the future are a M1A(M14) and a Grizzly .45 magnum.

Im sad to say that the .45magnum is not around much anymore though,7 rounds thru a 1911 style auto is sweet to me though,fired a Grizzly a few times and its on my mind.

I have an LAR Grizzly in .45 WinMag - hardchromed 6.5" bbl. Truly a sweet shooter.

But, the 45 WinMag is pretty much dead. Just never really had a reason to exist.

 

[AStone]

Nice to see no one has mentioned 7mm08 yet, cause I'm still thinking of buying a rifle in that caliber.

7mm mag was mentioned, but not 7mm08.

I wish I could replace every .308 in the world with a 7mm08. Life would be good.

But at least 7mm08 is not on the short list, so life is still good.

 

[lionking]

I use to see Weatherby rifle ads,they were considered a top notch made rifle with exotic calibers but I havent seen or followed Weatherby for a long time so I'd say the Weatherby cartridges would be considered faded away....no?

Then again I dont hunt big game or travel to Africa so I dont know if Weatherby calibers are still used for game hunting often.

 

[KD5NRH]

What we need to do is get rid of the silly versions so the shelf space at the gunshops can be properly used with a better variety of .17Remington and .45ACP.

I wouldn't mind seeing a 10mm revival either. Especially if it gets a 10mm XD onto the market, and maybe a 10mm carbine. Bonus points if it uses the same mags.

 

[Ash]

As the 7.62x54R is still chambered in currently manufactured sniper rifles and is the round of choice for currently manufactured general purpose machine guns, it is not dying in the least. Indeed, in belt fed firearms, the 7.62x54R is superior to the 7.62 NATO and will be around until the advent of laser rifles.

Ash

 

[GungHo]

I don't see the .45 GAP as having much of a life.

I wish the 7.62x28 Tokarev were bigger in the US. It's the round that the 5.7x28 wants to be.

I'm not convinced of the longevity of .500 S&W. The .460XVR as a "hypervelocity" handgun hunting round, I can see. But, the .500 is kinda like the 50 AE. Its niche is irritating people in the adjacent lanes.

The other fantastic round to go away is the .38 Super

It's "died" many times. It's still real popular in Mexico and South America, and thus you can see a lot of it near the border.

357 Sig maybe

As long as it's still standard issue for several large LEOs, I don't see it falling by the wayside quickly. It's very easy to find here. However, in some areas, it's hen's teeth. Not a bad round, but it fills a very narrow niche. I have a drop-in barrel for a SIG 229, but once I shoot up all my ammo, I probably will "retire" it and stick with .40s for the remaining life of the gun.

The excellent combat round that should have been but never was; the 6.8mm

It would have a chance if

1. There was a rifle built around the round
2. That rifle was widely issued
3. The other countries in NATO like the round

As long as it's "just another upper", it's going to continue to be a boutique round. There's no niche being filled beyond "I want a .243 that fits in a AR-15" Same for the 6.5 Grendel and all the other "I bought an AR and someone convinced me that .223 was for poodles" rounds. Just buy a darn M1A, AR-10, or FN-FAL and be done with it.

Possible the 30-06 even, as I suspect sales of .308 are currently much higher than 30-06. But, again, we're talking a LONG time before it goes away, or become unpopular.

A couple of generations will need to die off before that becomes a possibility. There's just too many rifles with it, and there's just too many things you can do with it for hunters or reloaders to abandon the cartridge. Now, if it were invented today, with a .308 and a .300 WIN MAG around? It wouldn't have a chance. However, it's the cartridge that Won the War, and it's good for anything on this side of the world.... it's got legs.

I wish that 7.62x39mm and the 5.45x39mm are the next rounds on the way to out being replaced by wide spread acceptance for the .223 and .308. Think of the possabilities, no more AKs

They make AKs in .223 and .308 already. Not general issue to troops, but to sell to folks who cleave to NATO.

Shouldn't the GAP stick around just because it is made to fit in a 9mm or .40 cal frame? Seems a lot of pistol makers would find it easier to make a GAP than an ACP.

That was the originating thought... "people want big holes and small pistols." In a lot of ways, the 9mm/.40 markets are a little different than the .45. It looks good on paper to make a .45 that fits in a 9/40 pistol, but you're basically asking someone to get accept less capacity for the same power out of a hot .40. All you get is a bigger hole, which is good in some respects... however, the .45 shooters I know want a big hole with a lot of power behind it. They've already made the trade off. If they wanted a 9/40 pistol, they'd have gotten a 9/40 pistol. Instead, they got a .45 ACP, and they're fine with it. Especially if they got a 1911.

I also don't see why you would go from a 9/40 to a .45 GAP. You've already decided that capacity is an issue to you.

What I like are the rounds that "came back" like the .45-70.

 

[AJAX22]

*sigh* don't rip on me for this, but my vote for cartridge thats headed for obsolesence is .32 short rimfire.

It's farther down that slippery slope than most of the other ones that I know of.

even .41 rimfire has currently produced rounds.

I know of no current manufacture for the little .32 short rimfire

which is a shame really, I have a young american bulldog that was my first pistol. She's a cuttie, extremly well made, she's never misfired or jammed on me and she fits anywhere.

Its a five shot gun that I have three bullets left for it.

So to me this cartridge is circling the drain.

 

[Essex County]

I hope it's not the .35 Remington.............

That may seem absurd, but think of all the nice model 99 Savages in .303 gathering dust in the back of closets. I never thought that would come to pass. Scincerely, Essex

 

[EddieCoyle]

When is a cartridge truly obsolete? When gun makers stop producing guns in the chambering? When ammo makers stop making loaded rounds? When you can't get brass anymore?

A few posts above, AJAX22 mentioned the .32 short rimfire. OK, that's obsolete - even if you wanted to, you couldn't reload it (short of making your own brass and primer compound).

I have a older (70's) friend that has a very nice Martini Henry carbine on his wall. It was a family gun, passed down through the generations. He remarked that he'd like to shoot it someday (which surprised me because he's an "anti").

I looked into getting brass, a bullet mold, and dies for the .577-450. I'm figuring it'll cost over $10 per round by the time I'm done; more if I only load a few rounds. Would you consider this an obsolete round?

 

[Polishrifleman]

Anything to deal with Weatherby is alive and well because they already charge a boatload for their ammo, it has to be a money maker even on an smaller economy of scale, this would include the .450 Marlin, and now anything to do with leverution calibers.

Do to the major changes at Winchester I would have to go with the WSSM's.