New Calibers?

.48 and .49 have been neglected.

I didn't think the .49 had been. I thought that Barrett made a .49 caliber round based on the 50 BMG to sell to california?

Or was that just a rumor?

I am waiting for the .22 Medium.

I thought that Barrett made a .49 caliber round based on the 50 BMG to sell to california?

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I think that's the .416 Barrett you're thinking of.

.48 and .49 have been neglected.

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isn't the 480 ruger a .48? or is that just deceptive nomenclature?

The 480 Ruger, like the 475 Linebaugh, uses 0.475" bullets.
That's deceptive nomenclature, but at least it isn't as far a stretch as the 44 mag that uses 0.429" bullets or the 38 Special that uses 0.356" bullets.

Designing a cartridge around a 0.480" bullet would be astronomically redundant.

There aren't many (if any at all) voids on the diameter list that can be filled with any sort of market success.
I guess it only leaves room for designing cartridges that fit certain platforms or provide some other sort of advantage...such as the 375 Ruger giving the performance of a 375 H&H in a standard action length or the 500 S&W being the biggest baddest 50 cal (performace advantage over the 50AE or 50GI)...or the 40 S&W that gives 10mm Lite performance in a smaller package....or the 357 Sig that matches light bullet performance of the 357Mag in an auto....you get the point.

I dont know anything about new stuff but .357sig seems to be only known "among gunnies" and I think its going to break out soon.

There is hope that Marlin and Hornady will combine their efforts toward a cartridge probably called the .358 Marlin, to wit, the .308 Marlin necked up to .358 caliber.

Sam

I'd really rather see someone work with the existing neglected calibers.
For instance, most people who have fired 7.62x25 say it's a great round. But if you don't own a cold-war era CZ, forget it.
It would be nice if there were more 22 magnums out there, too.

PJ Industries, Inc. is researching and developing the PJ riot control system - a mostly proprietary semi-auto six gauge shotgun fed by box magazines or drums.

We expect to get big soon, though, as lots of animals can be hunted with six-gauge flechettes

But really, besides proprietary stuff (i.e. FN making up the FiveseveN so they can have a nice intermediate round) I don't think you're gonna see anything new in the exotic caliber department. We've pretty much got everything covered.

Now, what I'd like to see is more diversity in materials of ammo fired, for less expense and toxicity (a la bismuth shot).. or maybe the return of blackpowder cartridges, for kicks.. Or maybe we'll finally grow bored of pussyfooting around and decide to get some of that banned stuff back.

Ah, but my crystal ball grows fuzzy. The spirits do not always provide us with a clear answer, you know..

Most voids are filled, I am just sick of the industry coming up with new calibers that are virtually identical to existing calibers....kind of boring. example.....45 GAP

44 in a pistol cartridge that moves faster and puts more in the magazine than a 45 acp.

I'm working on that.

44 in a pistol cartridge that moves faster and puts more in the magazine than a 45 acp.

I'm working on that.

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Are you talking about a .429 bullet or 44mag performance?
If you're just saying a .429 bullet thats faster than a 45ACP then you could just get a 10mm.
Close enough, right?

You're likely to see more innovation in load development than in designing new calibers. Flip through a reloading manual from this year, and compare it to an older one, and it becomes pretty obvious that a lot of tinkering has been done.

As far as new calibers go, I've got an absolutely astronomical level of irrational lust for a handgun in .50 GI.

.40 Magnum

Wait, I've got one! Why don't we take the .40 S&W cartridge and increase its powder capacity by lengthening the case, by, say, an eighth-inch or so. That way we could either up the velocity (I'm thinking maybe as high as 1600fps) or beef up the bullet weight (200-grain or even more!) Or even both at the same time!
It would have to go in a strong gun, but nothing bulkier than a full-size 1911. And if you can double-stack .40 rounds, you could certainly double-stack these, as they'd be the same diameter... If only there were some kind of double-action, staggered-column magazine semiautomatic pistol with great ergonomics strong enough to handle it...
And what to call it? .40 Action Express? .40 Auto-Magnum? .40 Special?
I dunno, maybe we should designate it in metric. Anybody know what .40-cal is in millimeters?

.40 Bigboom?

Still waiting for the .88 magnum. I hear Vermin Arms has been testing it.

Pax Jordana, please link us a source for the shotty. I'm already salivating and I'm not even 18 yet.

Do you think it has something to do with my Striker-12/Protecta fetish?

Are you talking about a .429 bullet or 44mag performance?
If you're just saying a .429 bullet thats faster than a 45ACP then you could just get a 10mm.
Close enough, right?

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I'm talking about a .429 with low end 44 mag performance for a semi auto platform.
Sectional Density is higher than 10mm, bullet weight is heavier for the same or greater velocity, and it's just cool.
44 in an auto platform. Made for auto, unlike the Deagle.

Sure, a lot of people will say it's solving a problem that doesn't exist. But, so what?

seems to me progression in new chamberings will be doing the same thing as before, just smaller and more effectively. Take a look at the .375 ruger, duplicating the .375 H&H in a smaller package, with less powder. Same with the 300 Thomson, approaching 308 performance in a smaller package.

We already went through simply ramping up the power to the next level (ultramags) then having shorter fatter packaging of existing reasonable catridges(short mags and supershort mags) but again all these new developments are just tossing the same general diameter lead chunks through the air.

Anybody know what .40-cal is in millimeters?

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You tease... I'll take one of those 10mms

"...deceptive nomenclature..." That's called marketing.
"...the 38 Special that uses 0.356" bullets..." It doesn't. It uses .357" bullets just like the .357 Magnum.

A .30 Carbine-type (110 gr. at 2000 f/s) round for SMGs (i.e., like a hot 7.62 Tok) that is short enough to be used in Uzis.

I am waiting for the .22 Medium.

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For the record, h/m/h, I believe that's the .22 long. Short, long, then long rifle.

I was going to ask why smokeless powder cartridges don't come any bigger than .50 (to my knowledge) but I'm thinking maybe that's the limit given burn rates or something. Heck, maybe we've reached the limits of smokeless powder technology.

For kicks, I'd love to see the industry go back - what a hoot it'd be to shoot .45-70 or 30-30 in their original blackpowder specs :3