• This Forum is for adults 18 years of age or over. By continuing to use this Forum you are confirming that you are 18 or older. No content shall be viewed by any person under 18 in California.

Motivation for “new” calibers

I have been lusting for a 6.25 calibered rifle with an AI case a little bit bigger than a 308. Then Berger needs to make bullets about 130 grains that have a BC over 1.0. I don't care how many new cartridges come out per year as long as i can get what i need to load and shoot the ones i already have. Its your money you can spend it on a new cartridge or not no one is forcing you to buy one.
 
Threw this together this morning. I'll call it the .264 SuperBR-WTF.
Another man junk is another mans trash.....LOL. This cartridge
had no basic thought, other then shortening a scrapped .284 Win,
necking it long, and stuffing in a 150 gr Sierra. Just a conversation
piece. That's a 7.62x39 steel case next to it.
 

Attachments

  • WC_WTF.JPG
    WC_WTF.JPG
    14.3 KB · Views: 21
I like it. A few years ago all I had for a big 30 mag was out dated belted designs. Sure they get the job done, but Im really happy to have the 30 nosler, 300 prc, 300 normas, and so on. The 28 Nolser is a great performer as well. Usually the motivation starts with a shortcoming or a perceived shortcoming in whats currently available and the new case is an attempt to fix it. In the case of the big 30s I would say it was competition between Nosler and Hornady. I like it because we get more options, and better stuff. Theres a lot of old cases that can match the performance, but your stuck with low quality brass. And at least for me, as soon as I have a rifle tuned and figured out, I often sell it and move on to the next puzzle so I like different things.
 
I probably was not clear enough in my initial post as to the question: Are they making money on any sort of royalties or licensing fees to use a new cartridge? It just seems odd that hornady would put as much effort into marketing the 6.5 creedmor.
 
Whoa, hang on feller. I musta not had the sarcasm filter on tight enough. I'm not a socialist, lol...
OK! I missed the sarcasm. The Seventies wasn’t all bad! Free love, women burning their bras? Long hair. I liked the peasant skirts, too. It was something to remember! Muscle cars and hippie chicks! I was just graduating high school. I grew up into being a Capitalist! I ran businesses my whole life. I only spent a year or two working for somebody else.
 
Oh My God! I’m back in the Seventies!”Greedy Capitalist Pigs”???? Sure! We “as humans” want something new and different. Look at women’s fashions. You don’t have to buy into it! You have free choice! Sheesh! Nobody has a gun to your head!
You mean nobody has a cartridge to your head?
 
We as humans are naturally drawn to the latest and greatest, so greedy capitalist pigs in a never ending quest for higher profits give us new and shiny brass and the requisite hardware to reap the advantages: real or imagined.
Adam,
The words " greedy capital pigs" says it all. For me, it is most irritating to hear Americans blaming "other countries" for their poor workmanship. Truth is... the American manufacturers... have sent their "business people" abroad to arrange the manufacture of what we buy ...solely... to have it all shipped back here ... with MORE profit because there was not a price de-crease related to the wages paid in those third world countries. Example...clothing... made in Sri- Lanka, or Viet Nam. It is called..."good 'ole" American greed ! Lord... how I miss the "good old days".
My hair is all white, and I wouldn't have it any other way...(now)
 
I doubt there are royalties so much as having a leg up in whatever stretch of the race is being run.

Currently, if a company backs a new cartridge and tools up for it, and putting product out in the market, one of two things happens. Either the risk is a success and the competition has to scramble to get tooling and production rolling for the new trend, or it’s a failure and they lose some investment cost. Typically the losses are not a huge risk since the competition is not gaining an advantage.

Historically speaking though, it was a different story. Specifically between Remington and Winchester. It was common for a pair of competing cartridges to be developed. The small arms race usually led to a winner and loser in each pair, constantly shifting the market share between the two companies.

Ultimately, this was brought to an end by the adoption of the Remington 700 platform, by the general public, as the standard for action size. It isn’t even up for debate that the centerfire rifle market is dominated by the R700 platform standards. Bolt faces were also standardized to essentially 3 sizes. We have now reached a point where there is little potential to be gained from something “new” while constrained by the accepted standards. We are now left to chase efficiency in accomplishing the things that are already quite achievable.
 
If a cartridge has a SAAMI spec looks like anyone could produce it without paying any royalty, especially if there was never a company name attached to it something like 375 Ruger. I guess if one got copyrighted then there may be restrictions. I'm not in the firearms/cartridge business so I'm not sure of ANY of the legalities, and sometimes common sense does equate to legal sense does it.
 
I'm a "live and let live" kind of guys so if you want the "latest and greatest" go for it however I strongly believe that all these new calibers are totally unnecessary with maybe few exceptions for specialized shooting activities.

It reminds me of my days of shooting NRA precision bullseye pistol competition. One of the guys on our team who was a marginal shooter at best kept trading / buying pistols searching for the "silver" bullet so he could make the "gold" team in our group, i.e. the top 5 shooters. He never made it and he had some of the most expensive pistols money could buy and shot the most expensive ammo. Frustrated he eventually quit the pistol team and took up bench rest shooting with the same predictable results.

Another guy on our "gold" team shot a vintage Hi Standard Military model 22 in the rim fire stage using Remington standard velocity ammo which was good in those days. He was a top shooter. Why? He focused on shooting fundamentals, practicing with a purpose, studying the Army Pistol Marksmanship Guide, and constantly striving to improve his skills.

The very best deer hunter I ever met, a close personal friend of mine uses an old Savage Model 99 lever rifle in 300 Savage with an old Weaver 3 x 9 scope. He has taken a bunch of big bucks and 3 black bear - no small feat in PA. His secret - he's knows how to hunt and is an exceptional field shooter. Furthermore, he does not hunt from a tree stand or blind - he hunts on the ground.

The problem as I see it is that there is too much emphasis of equipment and not enough of marksmanship. How many shooters have the skill to take advantage of the enhanced ballistics of all these new calibers? How many shooters spend the time and energy in practical practice meaning getting off the bench unless of course you are only a bench shooter.
 
To me it would seem some of the cartridges developed didn't fail due to any fault of the cartridge, but rather the firearm they were designed for.
6.5mm Rem Mag & 350 Rem Mag for example. Issue was more with the short barrel Remington 600 & 660 they were chambered in. Were they chambered in the 700 with the longer barrel, they may have been more widely accepted.

Ditto for the 284 Win being originally chambered for the Model 88 & model 100.

I'm shooting more of the old "obsolete" cartridges. And rather enjoying them in modern bolt action rifles.
284 Win, 257 Roberts, 257 RobertsAI, 250 Savage.
Building a 7X57 Mauser for my daughter.
Don't tell an F-Class open shooter that the 284 is obsolete! Theres more around here than the 6.5/284 ( those barrels got worn out quickly) .
 
Shooters are always looking for that golden BB. The thing that will make them shoot better. Some advancements in bullets, powder, Barrels, processes have to be taken advantage of to win. Some improve performance in older calibers/cases. A truly good marksman will make almost any caliber they shoot a winner. Don't forget the industry wants to make more and sell more, and get all of us to join in the chase. I don't have one of those maybe I should get one? But a lot of fun can be had in the search for that Gold BB... The main thing is enjoy shooting no matter what the hottest new BB is!!!!!
 
Sierra, Hornady still have data for the 284 & 250 Savage.
Alliant did have data for the 284, IF your only shooting 110gr bullets.

Hodgdon and Alliant have now dropped both from their reloading annuals.
 
I probably was not clear enough in my initial post as to the question: Are they making money on any sort of royalties or licensing fees to use a new cartridge? It just seems odd that hornady would put as much effort into marketing the 6.5 creedmor.
I don't read any gun magazines or press, literally none, outside of what I happen to see in passing. So I'm completely out of the loop and probably not the right person to comment on it but I've just assumed that at this point, Hornady is mostly advertising their various product lines and people are interpreting that as Hornady trying to get the 6.5CM popular as the goal into itself. The first one makes perfect sense to me, the second doesn't. It's been almost 15 yrs since it's introduction, I'd be surprised if they're still sinking a lot of money into promoting the round by itself.
 
Remington did make 700's in 6.5 and 350 mag back in the 60's. I had one of the 6.5mags for awhile. Wish I still had it!! Remington did make some 700 classics in 350mag. I still have that one.
 

Upgrades & Donations

This Forum's expenses are primarily paid by member contributions. You can upgrade your Forum membership in seconds. Gold and Silver members get unlimited FREE classifieds for one year. Gold members can upload custom avatars.


Click Upgrade Membership Button ABOVE to get Gold or Silver Status.

You can also donate any amount, large or small, with the button below. Include your Forum Name in the PayPal Notes field.


To DONATE by CHECK, or make a recurring donation, CLICK HERE to learn how.

Forum statistics

Threads
166,267
Messages
2,214,894
Members
79,496
Latest member
Bie
Back
Top