Biggest cartridge flops ...

I would have to say the entire series of JDJ rounds even though they did exactly what they were intended for in contenders. Also have to add the 25naa and 32naa as they seem to have the most potential of new rounds with absolutely no following.

Greetings
Sadly the caliber 414 Supermag. One really good thumper !
Dan Wesson made the only revolvers and that was somewhat over 125 . Most of those are unfired in collections (not mine). Then there are a few custon type Contenders (I have two) and at least one Marlin 336 .414 SM that wears a JES .405 bore - .412 groove barrel.
Mike in Peru

22 Jet, 41 Magnum, 256 Winchester....

The 22 Jet was an oddball sixties S&W round that was really fast, a 357 necked to 22 IIRC. You could also get 22LR adapters to fire regular rimfires in the handgun. Around the same time was the 256 Winchester, another necked-down 357 IIRC, which also went nowhere fast.

I remember reading the discussions in the sixties about the 41 Magnum, again, Elmer Keith, Bill Jordan and, to some degree, Skeeter Skelton (God rest their souls) were behind it. It was supposed to be the 'ideal' compromise between the 357 and the 44 Magnum and an ideal police revolver load. It just never got off the ground.

I note the post about the .30 carbine which brings up the MMJ 5.7 mm. Melvin Johnson came up with this in the early sixties, he necked the carbine to 5.7 and called it the Spitfire. I think it was a much better 'truck gun' type of round and never understood why it didn't catch on given the millions of surplus carbines - and at that time, I think, HP or SP ammo was hard to find in .30 carbine. Remember the ads with the cougar in the tree offering an M1 Carbine for $79.95?

.480 Ruger

.307 Winchester

.358 Norma Magnum (eclipsed by the .338 Win Mag)

I'm afraid if FNH doesn't learn how to support their own products, the 5.7x28 will never receive mainstream acceptance and potentially go the way of the many Remington flops.

The whole line of Winchester Super-Short Magnums has to be up there pretty near the. top.

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Definitely these. I saw lots of unsold bags of WSSM brass during the depths of the shortage.

I'll add another Remington flop: the .22 Jet. But Winchester had some too: the .256, 9mm and .45 Magnums.

Somewhat paradoxically WRT the Remington Jet, the S&W M53 revolver made for it, if it has the little aluminum .22LR chamber inserts and preferably the box, is something of a collector's item.

Lots of memories in this thread. I haven't thought about the Norma mags since i was a kid.

Cooldill mentioned the 327 federal magnum.

I can remember a few years ago when it was the latest and greatest self defense round and now look where it is.
When new "technology" flops, it doesn't just flop, it DIES.

I'm a fan of the .327 Fed Mag, but I load my own so it works out.

I don't believe the 6mmBR is even close to dead. Check out almost any benchrest forum for proof of that. There are even wildcats made from the 6mmBR that are successful in benchrest.

They're not carried by deer hunters, but they are extremely accurate and used to great effect by benchrest shooters.

The world record holder shot a 5 round group at 600 yards around 7/8".

It seems like some of the other BR rounds mentioned have fans on BR forums as well, but not as many as the 6mmBR.

There is factory ammo, but it ain't cheap. Lapua and Norma both make factory loadings for 6mmBR. You won't find it at WalMart, though. That much is correct, and might work against it.

yzguy87 said:

Cooldill mentioned the 327 federal magnum.

I can remember a few years ago when it was the latest and greatest self defense round and now look where it is.
When new "technology" flops, it doesn't just flop, it DIES.

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Folks are wanting them bad enough to pay 1,400 to 1,500 dollars for a Blackhawk chambered in 327 on GunBroker. Me, I think I'll keep mine it's the most versatile caliber made.

One I haven't seen mentioned is the HK G11 and its 4.73x33 mm caseless ammunition.

.357 maximum. Great idea, but like many great ideas not so great in practice. Joe

225 Winchester

This excellent caliber was done in by it's timing more than anything else. It was already floundering when about a year later Remington legitimized the 22/250 and that was it. Before very long it was being outsold by the 220 Swift which was the cartridge the 225 was to replace. I think only 2 rifles were made in that caliber- The model 70 Winchester & the low priced Savage model 340. I know it was a flop because a few years after it's introduction I had a diffacult time getting factory ammo for the 340 in 225 that I bought right after it's introduction.

How about the .22WRF

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Oh, not even close to a flop!
It was a VERY popular round 50-100 years ago.

It was the .22 WRM of the day!

There are a gazillion Winchester 1890 .22 WRF pumps still running fine today.
Remington's .22 Special counterpart was the same cartridge with a RN bullet.

It was never a flop.
Just getting obsolete today as the .22 WMR replaced it in 1959 and spelled the end of new guns chambered for it.

Thank goodness CCI and Winchester still makes occasional runs of ammo for them!

That you can also shoot them in .22 Mags when full power isn't needed is only a bonus!

rc

Go wildcats.....

The handgun round I think was really over-looked is the .40Super. It had it all for a defense/carry/duty round IMO. It fed & cycled extremely well, it had a high KE level, fast vel, and hit hard.
The .40Super never got any support from the big firms like Winchester, Black Hills, Federal, CCI/Speer, etc.
Only Trition pushed the .40Super.
Other 1990s/2000s era wildcats include; 9mmFederal, .356TSW(Team Smith & Wesson), the 9x23 Winchester, 9x21Dillon, .400CorBon, .45Super, .41AE, .480Ruger, .327Federal, 9mm Largo, .440 CorBon.

Rusty

1. 8mm-06
2. 8mm Rem Mag
3. 6.5 Rem Mag
4. 6.5mm-06
5. 30 T/C
6. 300 Ruger Compact Mag
7. 256 Winchester Mag
8. 219 Donaldson Wasp
9. 218 Bee
10. All the Ackleys
11. 7mm Shooting Times Westerner

You mean to tell me my .218 Bee Model 65 lever-action is a flop too?

Dang Nab It!

Could have fooled me!

rc

I remember the .350 remington magnum ! Kevin

The .327 Federal may not be successful but it is not even close to being as big of a flop as many others mentioned on here.

A current potential flop right now in my mind is the 17 B-Mag by Savage. 1st one I had wouldn't eject and the 2nd stock/barrel was so bad I traded it off for a .40 Sig Sauer. And ,17 mag ammo is scarce.

The tyrannosaur or the 700 nitro...big for sure, flop part is debatable.

WSSM, only good for making 510 Reedwhacker brass

.348 Win didn't exactly knock um dead, except in the field. I still hunt with one when the winters get snowy.
I also shoot/hunt with some of the other "oldies but not goodies", the .22 WRF in both a mod. 90 and a Colt Police positive target, a custom Springfield in 308 Norma Magnum.

Oh boy

I just read back a few posts that were up while I was writing.

The .17 WSM, it looks like it will be a thing of the past before it's a "thing"