Calibers going away?

[berettashotgun]

During this last stumble in getting reloading supplies, some friends & I were discussing the likelihood of some CARTRIDGES "disappearing". Heck, before the run on brass, getting some 7MM SAUM brass was hit/miss. OR Norma 300 SAUM.......
While I personally don't believe any mfg with capability to produce something would ever just do away with that capacity; we have all seen some pretty blunt business decisions.

Few years back I bought a spanking new remington rimfire which I was positive would be my last, 5mm rimfire is about the best IMHO, not anymore.
The recent introduction of the 17WSM caused me to actually recoil and shy away from even reading about it. And I want one.

The Browning A-bolts and Winchester 70s chambered in the WSSM CARTRIDGES seemed doomed to handloader status, but is brass around in enough quantity to make shooting practical? Heck, the blued A-bolts have a hard chromed bore. I really want one.

Seems like everyone is getting a little self inflicted "gun control" just from the recent hoarding.Shame

Anyone think some CARTRIDGES might just dry up and blow away?

 

[1948CJ2A]

Just a technical correction to your thread - I think you mean CARTRIDGES not CALIBERS.

7mm & 30 calibers aren't going anywhere.

 

[68wj]

I think my .256 Win Mag is in danger.

 

[berettashotgun]

Stand corrected, good call

 

[Tirod]

Yes, you are seeing a current snapshot of marketing in cartridges over the last 150 years. They get introduced, the market - us - sees if they can fill a niche, our interest is either accelerated to the point of purchase or it wanes. At a certain point a financial decision is reached by the maker to continue this dog or move on to something newer.

Heard about the .30 Remington? It was the rimless answer to the .30-30. It's now the 6.8SPC.

It was necked down because the result fit what the AMU needed. . It's selling well after ten years. The competition in AR's is expanding, but the actual market is shrinking for many, and some will likely hit the skids in 5-10 years.

If the cartridge becomes a military standard, much success follows. You can still get 30-40 Krag: http://ammoseek.com/ammo/30-40-krag 24 listings available.

.30 Remington: http://ammoseek.com/ammo/30-remington 1 listing available.

Cartridges fall out of the market all the time, niche suppliers pick them up IF they can make a buck on them. The rest become handloader niche rounds, never to be seen in new boxes on the shelf. Collector items.

It's all about churning the market. I could mention a few, but the fanboys would get out their torches and pitchforks looking for a fight. Every cartridge has a few.

 

[hammerklavier]

22LR

 

[Eb1]

Yeah. I agree. It seems the .22 LR has seen its days.

 

[improperlyaged]

Anyone think some CARTRIDGES might just dry up and blow away?

Absolutely! Its just the name of the game. People buy what they are comfortable with, i.e. the calibers that have been around and proven themselves over the years. My dad thinks that the 30-06 is the end all cartridge and no other caliber is needed, except maybe the 30-30. Same with pistols, he doesn't see why there is any other handgun caliber than .45 acp.

 

[wally]

My dad thinks that the 30-06 is the end all cartridge and no other caliber is needed, except maybe the 30-30. Same with pistols, he doesn't see why there is any other handgun caliber than .45 acp.

your dad is a wise man

 

[CraigC]

Cartridges typically don't go away for decades. They just get to take more effort to procure. For some folks, the threshold is reached when Walmart stops selling it. Others handload and aren't afraid of waiting for seasonal runs or rare opportunities.....or forming cases from something more common.

My dad thinks that the 30-06 is the end all cartridge and no other caliber is needed, except maybe the 30-30. Same with pistols, he doesn't see why there is any other handgun caliber than .45 acp.

Sounds very boring.

 

[ironworkerwill]

Sounds very boring.

Indeed! Everyone should have a Ford Model "T" painted any shade of black.

 

[torqem]

If we lost all but the 223, .22lr and 3006, we would have lost almost nothing, performance-wise. Those "gaps" that everyone seems to think exist in such a lineup are quite easy to prove to be just nostalgia or prevarication.

 

[Ky Larry]

Does Remington still offer the Etronix line of rifles?They weren't different calibers,IIRC,(.30-06,.270,.243),just a different platform.

 

[witchhunter]

I'm getting kinda worried about my 25/35's. Hornady is the only manufacturer of 117 RN bullets that I am aware of. None to be found anywhere. Guess I will have to cast some.

 

[Ash]

Ah, the cartridge and the shooter, a fickle combination if ever there was one. Most of the Newton rounds were great designs, and now they are gone. Ditto for the Savage rounds, like the 300 or 250. Yeah, 308 took out the 300 Savage, but when the 308 came out, there really wasn't anything it did phenomenally better than the 300 Savage that would not be just as well, if not better, served by the 30-06. Yet, the US introduced the 7.62x51 and Winchester the 308. By by 300 Savage. No, it ain't quite dead, but it's a lingering, zombie-like round.

Heck, the US would have been better served adopting the 7.35 Carcano as an assault rifle round. Imagine had it happened, and you magically got the 290 Winchester the same year. What would be the state of short-action hunting rifles?

As to 30-06, I'll agree to a point with it. In a 30 caliber, there really isn't any need for another round close to it for the full-power non-magnum round. Then .223 for varmints and some big magnum (I'm not so versed with the big boys as my most powerful round is the 7mm Rem Mag) to cover both high and low extremes, and the .22lr rounds it it. No man could really need more in shoulder arms.

But then, I really like gumbo...good gumbo, the likes that cannot be had outside of southern Louisiana or Mobile. A mix of so much stuff thickened with file and okra then spiced on the sweaty side and seasoned with a bay leaf or three. No thank you man, no rice for me.

I guess that's why I have handguns in .22lr, 7.62x38r, 9mm, .357, .38 Special, .40S&W, & .45ACP and rifles in .22lr, 5.56, 7mm Mag, .30-06, .308, & 7.62x54r with a mix of bolt actions and semi-autos. And, dang it, I'm looking for a Mossberg 800 in.243 for my daughter...

 

[gdcpony]

I am waiting on the death warrant for my beloved .257Roberts. Too bad as it just plain kicks the crap out of the .243 in every arena. I know because I have both.

Then the grandaddy of most of our modern rounds the 7x57/7mm Mauser. Who knows how it would do in a modern action? I consider it a lighter kicking 7.62. Actually sad to know it is only available in pathetic loads meant for 95 actions.

Thank goodness that I reload them to new rifle specs. .257Rob 100gr@3200fps vs .243Win 100gr@2850fps

 

[wideym]

I've noticed some newer AR-15 calibers are going away, I guess mainly because everbody wants the newest caliber that comes out. When 6.5 Grendel came out, it was the new wonder round. Then came 6.8SPC, then 300 Whisper, and now 300 Blackout.

They all have great ballistic qualities for what they were intended, but I think I'll go with the 300 Blackout next, mainly due to all the parts being .223/5.56 except the barrel.

 

[oldpapps]

CARTRIDGES might just dry up and blow away

No, I think that 'they' will just become harder and harder to find and cost more when you do.
Then conversion of existing brass will come more into play and some one will see a need and profit and make a limited run.
This will continue until the demand has faded and loaded rounds become too valuable to shoot.

There are many very obscure cases out there with no following/demand. Look for loaded ammunition at the local hardware or one stop gas station and you are out of luck. Search the dealers in rare ammunition and pay the price and 'it' is there.

Where there is a will, there is a way.

 

[1948CJ2A]

Then the grandaddy of most of our modern rounds the 7x57/7mm Mauser. Who knows how it would do in a modern action? I consider it a lighter kicking 7.62. Actually sad to know it is only available in pathetic loads meant for 95 actions.

Amen on the 7x57. Sickens me how the 7-08 get loaded hotter and thus people think its a better cartridge. The 7x57 has more case capacity pure and simple. At like pressures in modern actions, the 7x57 is the ballistic superior.

 

[gdcpony]

Amen on the 7x57. Sickens me how the 7-08 get loaded hotter and thus people think its a better cartridge. The 7x57 has more case capacity pure and simple. At like pressures in modern actions, the 7x57 is the ballistic superior.

I would actually put it up against the .308 and think it would compete well ballistics wise as well.

My picks are mostly uncommon rounds

.223Rem- going strong
.257Roberts- dying
.260Rem- might make it???
7x57- dying as well.

All good rounds. All superior to much more popular rounds IMHO.

 

[Lj1941]

I remember back in the middle 60s,the 225 Winchester was the latest and greatest.Then the 22-250 was introducted as a factory cartridge and the 225 was dead in the water. It happens!

 

[Eb1]

My cousin basically raised me to fish and hunt he was my idol for the outdoors.
He has killed more game than any person I know. We were talking over this deer season he is in his sixties now, and I said to him, "the only rifle I have ever seen you hunt with is your .22WMR." or he has used his 12 GA Winchester pump or single barrel shotgun. Never have I ever seen him with a high power riffle

The shotgun will never go away and is really all that is needed in North America

 

[hovercat]

I have purchased good quality firearms at very low prices due to obscure ammunition.

 

[68wj]

I've noticed some newer AR-15 calibers are going away, I guess mainly because everbody wants the newest caliber that comes out. When 6.5 Grendel came out, it was the new wonder round. Then came 6.8SPC, then 300 Whisper, and now 300 Blackout.

The 6.5 G and 6.8 SPC came out about the same time. The G seems to have slacked a bit over time, and it is unclear if the recent SAAMI acceptance will keep it around, but I can find Hornady ammo for it at Academy now.

The 6.8 continues to grow with Nosler making a defense load now and Remington including it in its Hog Hammer line loaded with a 110 TSX. Federal just started making ammo for it in 2013 too. What still hasn't happened is range fodder ammo, such as the continually delayed American Eagle 115gr FMJ.

The Whisper has been around for quite some time and predates the other two. If anything, this one might go away simply due to the BO. Primarily because the 300 BO IS a 300 Whisper, but with SAAMI acceptance.

I am curious about many of the other wildcats that are coming out for the AR. The 6x45 (6mm in a .223 case) has some history and momentum. There are also a myriad of cartridges using the 6.8 SPC case that are getting some great performance figures. Is there room for any of them to survive in the mainstream?

 

[mgmorden]

I remember back in the middle 60s,the 225 Winchester was the latest and greatest.Then the 22-250 was introducted as a factory cartridge and the 225 was dead in the water. It happens!

I've actually got a .225 Winchester (Winchester model 670). 257 Roberts too in a custom Mauser 98. I'm not that worried about the 257 Roberts as there are enough cases out there that I can form into a working cartridge that I'm safe (and I haven't looked at both dimensions but it might be able to be rechambered to .25-06), but .225 Winchester uses an oddball semi-rimmed case that isn't easy to duplicate.

Overall though, I think there will always be handloaders out there keeping the oddball guns shooting.