Eight Hot New Cartridges

[One Day...]

Come on! What amazing progress a century brings!

Fantastic new concept: high sectional density, high ballistic coefficient, long for caliber bullets that buck the wind and penetrate deeply. Whoa, revolutionary no less...

The great march forward of innovation from 1903 to 2007. I am in awe!

I MUST urgently consign my 1903 Mannlicher–Schönauer to the scrap heap and acquire a REAL 6.5 stamped Creedmoor on the barrel. Brothers in ignorance, this also applies to your desperately obsolete Swede...

As to the endless duplication / replication / imitation / repetition of identical performance in slightly different packages, it will be fascinating to see how many of these new wonders are still commercially loaded, and on your local gun shop shelves, in 10 years...

I personally suspect that most will soon contribute to a continued interest in hand loading and stimulate an affordable used rifles market for impossible to find cartridges...

I will wholeheartedly agree that a 30 Nosler or PRC is a more efficient - if maybe not more effective - cartridge than the .300 Win Mag, but I wonder how many .300 Win Mag there are to feed out there, and how many .308 Norma, .300 RUM, .300 Dakota, .300 WSM, .30 Blaser, .30 Nosler. .300 Norma, .30 PRC, etc. there will ever be. The .300 Wby has it own market and life support system with Weatherby, and the .300 H&H has its own small by loyal cult following so their future is likely safe. The others ? Remember the .300 Imperial Magnum, or the Lazzeroni? Great cartridges both...

None of this being a criticism, I absolutely love the ability of each to find their own

 

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

The .300 PRC sounds lucrative . I genuinely wonder how many of these cartridges shall survive in the market for the next 10 years ... And how many shall merely be remembered as passing fads . We used to have a lever rifle caliber , back in our time . It was named , the “ .218 Bee “ . Today , we hardly even hear a whisper about it .

@Major Khan
My dear friend Ponton
The 218 Bee was a marvelous little round that out did the Hornet by quite aways. It is still around in Australia and a lot were built on martini cadet actions.
Until the older generations go to the big hunting ground I fear a lot of these new cartridges will pass into oblivion.
The younger generations seem to embrace these new rounds but us old fellas are to set in our ways and have been around and know what works for us.
I can see on day young people sitting around discussing how the 270, 375 H&H the 06 and a myriad of other cartridges may have been good for grandad but how could they use such old underrated cartridges on game. They will be sitting around discussing the new 32 Remchester ultra that does a gazillion fps and is later flat to a mile.
Just my thoughts.
Your friend
Bob

 

[Hogpatrol]

The.10 Squirrel wouldn't fit the bill but for elephant and hippo, the .700 Hubel Express loaded with 245 grains of W748 pushing a 1000 grain Woodleigh bullet at 2600 fps, yielding 15,017 ft. lbs. of energy ought to do it.

 

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

Hi Major
I haven’t picked up a Model 65 yet, seems that it is inevitable that I will in the near future. I am actually shooting the .218 in a Thompson Center super 16 contender handgun. Also have a matching 16” barrel in the .17 Ackley Bee which is a necked down and improved bee. Waiting on dies though before I play with it.

@Bullthrower338
I would love to have an ultra rare Sako L461 I think it was in 218 Bee. That would be a sweeet little shooter.
Bob

 

[markm]

But most of the house shooting is from people who most likely shouldn't have a fire arm anyway.people don't look or think before shooting.its called responsible hunting and shooting

Just to add to your answer, most of these states are also very flat as well. I live just across the border from Ohio in PA where we can use rifles. It’s not uncommon at all for houses to be accidentally shot during rifle season.

 

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

For someone looking for a lightweight mountain rifle, Savage has a new offering, six pounds plus scope makes for some easy carrying.

https://www.savagearms.com/content?p=firearms&a=product_summary&s=57584

@Hogpatrol
Nice looking rifles great range of calibers and fantastic price.
One in 280AI and if they would make one in 35 Whelen would be the ducks guts.
Bob

 

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

The.10 Squirrel wouldn't fit the bill but for elephant and hippo, the .700 Hubel Express loaded with 245 grains of W748 pushing a 1000 grain Woodleigh bullet at 2600 fps, yielding 15,017 ft. lbs. of energy ought to do it.

@Hogpatrol
That's some serious energy I bet the recoil would be horrendous. The 10 squirrel might be a bit small but what about the 14 Walker Hornet.
Bob

 

[Hogpatrol]

@Hogpatrol
Nice looking rifles great range of calibers and fantastic price.
One in 280AI and if they would make one in 35 Whelen would be the ducks guts.
Bob

AFAIK, Ruger makes the #1 in 35 Whelen. Found this older model with a short barrel, a good carry rifle. The perceived drawback of the .35s is bullet selection compared to the other cartridges in that range like the .338.

https://www.gunbroker.com/item/871078966

 

[Bullthrower338]

@Bullthrower338
I would love to have an ultra rare Sako L461 I think it was in 218 Bee. That would be a sweeet little shooter.
Bob

There is a Sako L57 FS in 218 on guns international right now.

 

[BeeMaa]

I'll stick with my old, antiquated, stick-in-the-mud belted magnums.
IMO (and to quote a friend)...There is very little new under the sun.

Kinda funny that most of the comments on this thread are about good the older cartridges are.

 

[Hogpatrol]

I'll stick with my old, antiquated, stick-in-the-mud belted magnums.
IMO (and to quote a friend)...There is very little new under the sun.

Kinda funny that most of the comments on this thread are about good the older cartridges are.

I agree but then again I'm still listening to the '60s music.

 

[Newboomer]

Nice to read about but I don't see them doing anything our old standbys can't do. They may be a little faster but I don't see them killing any better. Sounds like a lot of flavor of the day, crap du jour, latest fad, etc.

 

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

There is a Sako L57 FS in 218 on guns international right now.

Bullthrower
Snap it up before someone else does you won't be disappointed.
Bob

 

[Standard Velocity]

I like that more cartridges are being designed with fast twist barrels to stabilize heavy bullets and reach full potential in shorter barrels. I’m a very late adopter so in 15-20 years, after the dust has settled, I may explore some of these newfangled cartridges.

 

[Tra3]

I read about the new 27 nosler. It sounds really cool... until i realized that is really just a 7 mm mag, or a .300 WM. Or it is really just a .270 Winchester after you stalk in 30-40 yards closer.
New calibers don’t get me that interested. But, my gun collection continues to grow, so maybe the marketing folks really are getting to me.

now if someone could direct me to a really quality pellet gun? (with a good trigger and the feel of a real rifle.) the Covid program has caused a greater need for shooting from the front steps.

 

[Wyatt Smith]

I like how he says “the speed is the same to 500 yards then it (the new one) starts to win”
Sounds a lot better for common hunting ranges to me.

 

[CBH Australia]

@Hogpatrol
Nice looking rifles great range of calibers and fantastic price.
One in 280AI and if they would make one in 35 Whelen would be the ducks guts.
Bob

Bob, Bob, Bob,,,,....

 

[BeeMaa]

Sounds a lot better for common hunting ranges to me.

Thank you @Wyatt Smith

For those of us who hunt at ranges less than 500 yards, these cartridges mean very little.
However because of those who have adopted those cartridges, the hunting community has benefitted.
Better bullets, powders, primers, brass and yes sometimes even a cartridge.
I appreciate what the steel shooters have done to further the hunting sports I love.
But that doesn't mean I need one of their new cartridges to do it.

 

[BeeMaa]

Here's an interesting article about the 6.5mm space race.
I did read the entire article, but you can skip to the end and see why I really like it.
https://skyaboveus.com/hunting-shooting/New-65mm-Cartridge-Fight-65-PRC-vs-its-NextGen-Competition

 

[Hogpatrol]

Nice to read about but I don't see them doing anything our old standbys can't do. They may be a little faster but I don't see them killing any better. Sounds like a lot of flavor of the day, crap du jour, latest fad, etc.

LOL, I remember back in the '60s when the 7RM and other hyped MAGNUM cartridges were introduced, this is what the WW2 guys said about them. "Hey, we won the war with a 30 ought Six, what the hell do we need with those new fangled MAGNUMS"? The more things change, the more they stay the same.