Hunting calibers we thought would die off.

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Again 303tom look at the context in which I said it, sure there will be people reloading their 6.5x54s, 250-3000s and 25-20s until the end of time, but you are not likely to ever see another factory rifle in any of those calibers. Not knocking the old calibers, I am personally a big fan of the 6.5x55 and 7x57 myself, sure the new kids can match them with standard actions and bolt faces, but there is just something magic to the old Mauser calibers. No deer that ever walked can withstand my little 6.5x55 and it is a dream to shoot, so why change??? Would I buy another rifle to shave 3oz and an inch in length? No way :)
 
You never know what sort of gun/caliber is gonna be brought back to life. I remember being amazed when Ruger chambered their #1 in .303 Brit all those years ago. Who would have thought some guys in Montana would have started building copies of Sharps buffalo guns? Now you can buy a brand new single shot in 38-55 (a way cool caliber BTW), copies of old lever actions in 44-40 (a caliber declared dead decades ago)...maybe some day some enterprising gun builder will come out with a new lever action in 32-40.
Personally I'd like to see a nice re-creation of the Krag in 30-40, but with a more modern double locking lug bolt. Now that would be a nice rifle.
It may be a mistake to declare a cartridge dead. They're pretty easy to resurrect with enough interest, time and money.
 
Well, if you're going by gun production, the Argentine was never alive in the first place. :D I think one can dig up ammo or brass for about anything if you look hard enough. Being a handloader means I don't really care if there's ammo so long as I like and want the cartridge.

I've not been that interested in new load introductions in a long time. I'm not even up on all the RUMs and WSMs and all that stuff, hard for me to even care anymore. I have my .257, my .308, my 7 mag and I'm hunting with a .50 caliber front stuffer lately. :rolleyes: Everyone's said it, but it's all been done.
 
Well, if you're going by gun production, the Argentine was never alive in the first place. :D I think one can dig up ammo or brass for about anything if you look hard enough. Being a handloader means I don't really care if there's ammo so long as I like and want the cartridge.

I've not been that interested in new load introductions in a long time. I'm not even up on all the RUMs and WSMs and all that stuff, hard for me to even care anymore. I have my .257, my .308, my 7 mag and I'm hunting with a .50 caliber front stuffer lately. :rolleyes: Everyone's said it, but it's all been done.
You got that right MCgunner..............
 
Ill wager 7.65 Mauser still sells quite a bit more ammo than o lets say 308 Marlin express, 307winchester, 325wsm, 284win and all the wssm's combined.
All HUNTING CALIBERS that are as dead as 43 Spanish

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The .325 Winchester is dead? A few years ago I was looking at a new BLR chambered in that caliber. I admit, I don't keep up. Browning might have dropped the caliber. Someone on this board said that all the power that cartridge has is hampered by inappropriate bullets in the caliber. This I know nothing about, but the numbers sure looked good for a big bear gun in the article I was reading. I was thinkin' Alaskan rifle for those lonely hikes in bear country when i read it. I like the BLR a lot, friend has one in .308 Winchester.
 
I knew an old timer in the 70's who shot a 358 norma mag it was a real hammer of thor on moose and gave up nothing to the 338 but its all but gone in the U.S, buffalo bore and double tap still offer loads a lot of the old guys in alaska spoke highly of it back in the day now its unheard of
 
I knew an old timer in the 70's who shot a 358 norma mag it was a real hammer of thor on moose and gave up nothing to the 338 but its all but gone in the U.S, buffalo bore and double tap still offer loads a lot of the old guys in alaska spoke highly of it back in the day now its unheard of

Unfortunately all .358 diameter rounds suffer from a severe lack of good bullet choices.
 
No, H&H, I didn't buy it new.

You probably waited a couple of years after they first came out to buy one. I do the same to let the "other" guys work the bugs out..;)
 
As long as there is a rifle to shoot em, bullets & people to reload em, they are NOT dead..............Sorry.

Maybe not dead, but definitely on life support.

To me, when properly headstamped brass is no longer made, they have reached obsolescence. With enough determination, one can still shoot a century-and-a-half old large bore rimfire, but that doesn't mean the cartridge is alive and well.

As for which cartridges made it and which didn't over the last 20 years (I'm only 30), I found my personal predictions weren't too far off. I did think the .338 RUM would make a bigger splash, though, and also thought the .270 WSM would be less popular than it is.
 
All this misses the greatest point. Cartridges can and should live forever because they're just plain cool, nostalgic, and fun to collect! Beyond small game and birds, I CAN kill everything I need to in North America with my 25-year old .257 Roberts M77 or .30-06 Vanguard, and even have a lot of overlapping species. However, I have the freedom to pick any obscure historical chambering that makes me tingly as long as I can apply enough cash.

Wouldn't it be great if manufacturers would pick a single "dead" cartridge a year to make limited editions of their best selling guns? I'd love to see Winchester start with a .50-100-450! What a great bear cannon that would be with modern powders and pressures.
 
All this misses the greatest point. Cartridges can and should live forever because they're just plain cool, nostalgic, and fun to collect! Beyond small game and birds, I CAN kill everything I need to in North America with my 25-year old .257 Roberts M77 or .30-06 Vanguard, and even have a lot of overlapping species. However, I have the freedom to pick any obscure historical chambering that makes me tingly as long as I can apply enough cash.

Wouldn't it be great if manufacturers would pick a single "dead" cartridge a year to make limited editions of their best selling guns? I'd love to see Winchester start with a .50-100-450! What a great bear cannon that would be with modern powders and pressures.
Ah the .50-110, now that`s a hammer..............
 
Then of course there are old rounds that were WAY more capable than the rifles built to shoot them at the time. The .404 Jeffery is a prime example. Due to the action strength and metal/powder technology in general at the time when the .404 Jeffery came out in the early 1900's it was a 400 gr bullet @ 2100 FPS. Now in a modern high pressure action the .404 is easily loaded to match the .416 Rigby. It launches a 400 gr pill now just at 2400 FPS without breaking a sweat.

I know guys who have pushed there modern .404's to match .416 Weatherby velocity HOWEVER I WOULD NOT recommend it myself.

And of course all of your Ultra Mags and your Dakota rounds are built on a .404 parent case so the .404 was case well ahead of it's capabilities.

Nitro express rounds are another example. They were purposely built huge to decrease case pressure due to extreme heat in Africa. And with Nitro Cellulose propellent that was a very real concern as the stuff is highly temperature sensitive. With modern powders it is necessary to use a very bulky propellant like IMR 4831 just to fill the case case for reliable primer ignition either that or use something like RL-15 and a foam or filler to hold the powder charge against the primer face.

Talking to several double rifle builders they tell me in a modern action that if a guy WANTS to you can easily load .470NE to throw a 500 gr bullet @ 2400 FPS if that's your wish. I'll stick to the traditional 2150 FPS load thank you very much!

The NE cases are certainly not capacity limited!
 
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