How do you know when a new cartridge has made it?

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brewer12345

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Every year or two it seems like the manufacturers come up with the latest and greatest new cartridge. Some make it, some don't, and some end up as zombies (still around, not widely adopted or available). It looks to me that 6.5 Creedmore, for example, is popular enough that it has made it and will continue to be available for the forseeable. I hear enough mention of it and enough manufacturers have come up with rifles, ammo, components, dies, etc. Other than really, really clear examples like this, how do we know a cartridge has made it?

The genesis of my question is that I like the idea to 350 legend, but I am not eager to join the parade until I know this will not end up being an orphan.
 
Not a concern for me.

Hasn't been a *new* cartridge in my shooting life to draw my gaze significantly.

.300 Blk came close but I got over it.
I am currently reminding myself from time to time that 6.5 Crudmore offers nothing I need, can really take advantage of or don't already have.

Now, were I new to the game and didn't have already unfired guns of overlapping calibers... Both of them would be appealing but I'd be hard-pressed to name one single other cartridge in the last 40 years to catch my attention with the noteworthy exception of 9x23 Winchester though even that can be argued as something of an evolutionary step in the Super .38.


Todd.
 
The first step towards a cartridge "making it" is shooters embracing it. I'm strongly considering a 350 legend myself in the Ruger AR platform.
 
If I can buy Hornady factory ammo for it at ace hardware in small town USA I would consider a cartridge having made it. The rest is something long hairs and hipsters shoot at indoor ranges in the big city. When autos and revolvers are both made in said caliber it's a good bet that cartridge will survive on a commercial level and I can better hijack revolver threads with suggestions to buy Glock instead.
 
I've kinda been waiting out 6.5 Creedmoor, but it seems like it is pretty well established now. I remember when the .224 Valkyrie was the next big thing and while it is still definitely around, the hype really settled down compared to the 6.5.

My guess is the 350 legend will stay around in its niche (states that allow straight walled "pistol" cartridges for deer, which despite not truly being a pistol round it fits most states' requirements), but I don't see it catching on like the 6.5 has. That's not to crap on the 350, it just doesn't have anything major over similar cartridges performance-wise unless, as I mentioned above, it fits into the restrictions some are held to. I will add, if Illinois ever legalizes rifles it will be with such restrictions, and in that case I'd buy a .350 Legend rifle in a heartbeat.
 
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BigBL87 said:
My guess is the 350 legend will stay around in its niche (states that allow straight walled "pistol" cartridges for deer, which despite not truly being a pistol round it fits most states' requirements), but I don't see it catching on like the 6.5 has. That's not to crap on the 350, it just doesn't have anything major over similar cartridges performance-wise unless, as I mentioned above, it fits into the restrictions some are held to. I will add, if Illinois ever legalizes rifles it will be with such restrictions, and in that case I'd buy a .350 Legend rifle in a heartbeat.
Click to expand...

350 appeals to me because it would be legal for big game in my state, could simply be an upper slapped onto an AR, and I already cast stuff that should work as target bullets. Low recoil is a plus as well. I suspect that it would be terminally effective similar to the venerable 35 Rem. But I am not interested in jumping in unless I am sure the brass, ammo, etc. will be around.
 
The 6.5 Creedmoor is definitely here to stay

Hornady will see to that by themselves
Hornady just announced a new bullet for the 350L
Starline makes reasonable affordable brass for the 350L which helps

as long as certain states remain straight wall only (Iowa for instance) I think it will do fine



the reason the .224 Valkyrie failed is because they rushed it to market with the wrong twist rate and bad factory ammo imho

will it be around I think so, will it be cheap nope kinda like the 6.8 SPC
 
As to the OP's question, we have had many long and intense threads on THR about what cartridges even count as "available" today. Before we argue about how to know when a cartridge is going to "make it" over the long term and be "available," we'd need to have a common understanding of what even constitutes "available."

For instance, some people consider availability at WalMart important. Some people consider that test profoundly idiotic. Without saying where you come out on things like that, there's simply no way to have a discussion about predicting future "availability."
 
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ATLDave said:
As to the OP's question, we have had many long and intense threads on THR about what cartridges even count as "available" today. Before we argue about how to know when a cartridge is going to "make it" over the long term and be "available," we'd need to have a common understanding of what even constitutes "available."

For instance, some people consider availability at WalMart important. Some people consider that test profoundly idiotic. Without saying where you come out on things like that, there's simply no way to have a discussion about predicting future "availability."
Click to expand...

A totally fair point. I guess I don't need to be able to find ammo in every store. Already cannot do that with 35 rem, but it endures. My concern is more the risk if a flash in the pan that fails to attract a large enough user base to mean brass continues to be manufactured at a reasonable cost and manufacturers keep making at least a few firearms for it.
 
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