Failed cartridges...

[P7M13]

Here ya go! Built on a Daumoline Mauser receiver with Pedderson 24 inch barrel. 4 rounds of 535 gr Oryx soft points over 153 grain charge smokin along at 2540 FPS and just over 7700 Foot Pounds!
Stock is English Walnut from Grand Dads private stash!
View attachment 524781

Oh Lordy, that must deliver a serious stompin' to your shoulder!

 

[Ura-Ki]

Oh Lordy, that must deliver a serious stompin' to your shoulder!

Yup, A wompin 50 Foot pounds of it! Enough to rock ya back on your heels if your not leaning into it like ya should!
Funny, my .50 Muzzle loader with a full charge ( 150 Gr FFFg) under a 465 gr boolit actually hits ya harder! Go figure!

 

[osprey]

I had a 338 RUM for several years. It was the most accurate factory rifle I have ever owned. It also kicked like a mule. I refuse to have muzzle breaks on my hunting rifles so it had to go down the road as I was starting to develop a flinch with it. That is a beautiful rifle Ura-ki, If my 338Rum had looked that good I would still own it.

 

[revjen45]

"Their problem was early manufacturing issues added to making pistols and carbines where close range is the name of the game which did not benefit from this type of ammo as it really lack any close range ballistic performance. Distance would have been where it'd be a neat concept."
Actually they were too inaccurate to be useful at long range, so not good for much of anything. A bullet accelerates to MV before it leaves the gun so it's pretty much in alignment with POA when it hits the air. The rocket starts slowly and continues to accelerate after it leaves the gun and goes supersonic @ about 3' in front of the muzzle. Real World accuracy was < a musket @ any range beyond about 25 yd. Might be good for starting forest fires, and not much else.

 

[JRuby]

I am in the process of trying to buy an old SAKO that started life as a 243 Win, but was rechambered to a 6x284. I really, really wanna give that one a go. Don't think I'll even try to look for ammo anywhere.....

Your milage may vary but I did not see the benefit over a 6 mm Remington. Sold my rifle a long time ago. If you get it let us know your thoughts please.

 

[Boboclown]

"Their problem was early manufacturing issues added to making pistols and carbines where close range is the name of the game which did not benefit from this type of ammo as it really lack any close range ballistic performance. Distance would have been where it'd be a neat concept."
Actually they were too inaccurate to be useful at long range, so not good for much of anything. A bullet accelerates to MV before it leaves the gun so it's pretty much in alignment with POA when it hits the air. The rocket starts slowly and continues to accelerate after it leaves the gun and goes supersonic @ about 3' in front of the muzzle. Real World accuracy was < a musket @ any range beyond about 25 yd. Might be good for starting forest fires, and not much else.

Their accuracy issues had a lot to do with manufacturing issues. They had a lot of issues that led to it never catching on.

 

[Capn Jack]

Today I stopped by a small sporting goods store that has been around since, according to the wife of the owner, 1946. I remember going there as a youth for fishing supplies, and with my father and older brother for firearm-related items back in the 1980s. My reason for visiting was largely nostalgia, and also for .44 Special ammo, but I mainly wanted to see the old place.

Anyway, whilst there, I spied not one, but two boxes of .307 Winchester ammunition on the shelf. No, that isn't a type-o, such a cartridge exists. I believe it is still factory loaded, but it never caught on. I've read online that it is popular in Spain because it has .308-like ballistics, but isn't a "military caliber", which is prohibito in that country.

During the drive down the 101 I was thinking of various failed cartridges in the modern era. There are certainly old cartridges, good and bad, that have faded away, but I'm thinking of relatively modern (post-war) introductions.

I can think of a number, but I thought I'd toss it out there for discussion: what "new" cartridges do you recall making a splash and then going away? Were they good, bad, or meh? Why do you think they failed?

That story sure brings back memories.
In my case, it was 45-70, five boxes on a back shelf, in a small hardware store. The owner made me a dea. $5.00 a box and I took them all.

 

[CountryGent]

That story sure brings back memories.
In my case, it was 45-70, five boxes on a back shelf, in a small hardware store. The owner made me a dea. $5.00 a box and I took them all.

Now that is a deal.

 

[CLT65]

That story sure brings back memories.
In my case, it was 45-70, five boxes on a back shelf, in a small hardware store. The owner made me a dea. $5.00 a box and I took them all.

This is a little OT, but that reminds me of a friend who's father owned a small hardware store for many, many years. I always went in there when I was younger, and he had a shelf with some hunting stuff. On one corner was a number of boxes of obscure ammo. I don't recall specifically because it was before I knew much about such things, but if I remember correctly there were things like 348 Win, 375 H&H, 45-70, etc.. Most of the boxes were a bit faded from sitting there for so long. They were uncommon and overpriced, so they had sat there for years.

He closed it down about 20 years ago. I asked my friend what his dad did with the old ammo, if he had sold it cheap or what. He said that his dad had figured that it was too old and unsafe, so he had spent half a day in the garage pulling it all apart with a bench vice and a pair of vice-grips, and destroyed it all.

It had sat on a clean, dry shelf in a climate controlled store for perhaps 20 years and he was scared that it was too old. If only he knew that some of us will shoot 100 year old surplus ammo that's been who-knows-where.

 

[Capn Jack]

If anyone mentioned the .22 K-Hornet, I must have missed it. I had one built using a .22 target barrel, a Small Martini receiver. V.22 Weaver scope and a cut down Custom Enfield butt stock.
Sure death on small varmints out to 200yds.

 

[Capn Jack]

This is a little OT, but that reminds me of a friend who's father owned a small hardware store for many, many years. I always went in there when I was younger, and he had a shelf with some hunting stuff. On one corner was a number of boxes of obscure ammo. I don't recall specifically because it was before I knew much about such things, but if I remember correctly there were things like 348 Win, 375 H&H, 45-70, etc.. Most of the boxes were a bit faded from sitting there for so long. They were uncommon and overpriced, so they had sat there for years.

He closed it down about 20 years ago. I asked my friend what his dad did with the old ammo, if he had sold it cheap or what. He said that his dad had figured that it was too old and unsafe, so he had spent half a day in the garage pulling it all apart with a bench vice and a pair of vice-grips, and destroyed it all.

It had sat on a clean, dry shelf in a climate controlled store for perhaps 20 years and he was scared that it was too old. If only he knew that some of us will shoot 100 year old surplus ammo that's been who-knows-where.

Stories like that make me want to cry.

 

[DeanMk]

The .32 NAA Should have taken off, but it seems to be floundering.

It's The Curse of the Bottle Necked Pistol Cartridge! ....I mean, really, name one that ever did well....ok, name one OTHER than 7.65 Parabellum.


Dean

 

[Ura-Ki]

The .500 is plenty accurate out to about 300 yards, the most I have ever shot it, honestly, never intend to shoot beyond that, and the game I hunt with such a rifle is taken at much closer ranges! When I can only have ONE rifle to hunt and protect my self against such animals, this is THAT rifle!

 

[bsa1917hunter]

WSSM comes to mind. Also the Ruger RSM is losing ground. One of my favorite cartridges, the 6mm remington, was maybe ahead of its time, but slowly faded away in popularity. Some say the 243win was responsible for its demise, or maybe the factory twist rate. Another cartridge I really like is the 308 Norma magnum. I like its design far better than the 300 WM that overshadowed it. I think if the Norma cartridges were at the same price point and as easy to get as the winchester cartridges, it would have had better success. Winchester always had better advertising as well. Hence, the 308 norma magnum didn't stand a chance..

 

[bsa1917hunter]

I had a Ruger 77 Ultralight in 257 Roberts that I foolishly sold. I named it Bob.

I think everyone named theirs Bob...

 

[bsa1917hunter]

There are some failed cartridges that are still "common".

6mm Remington/.244 Remington: longer case than .243 Winchester but twisted too slow at its inception.

6.5 Remington Magnum: A short action that required a magnum bolt face that came out in one of the ugliest guns of all time without enough barrel to take advantage of it...the Remington Model 600.

.264 Winchester Magnum: Marketed as a predator/antelope/deer cartridge. Chambered in M70s with 22 inch barrels. People with chronographs realized it was a loud/expensive .270. By the time Winchester made a 26 inch barreled rifle and realized it was more than a coyote gun, the 7mm Remington Magnum came out using the same case and 1/2 mm bigger bullet. BUT, it was a marketing triumph with the "hits hard like a 30-06, shoots flat like a 270" shtick.

.284 Winchester: You have to neck the suck out of this cartridge. The 6mm-284, 25-284, and 6.5-284 were much more popular as wildcats. Then there is that rebated rim...

All the Short Action Ultra Magnums: Sure, they feed better than the WSMs, but the WSMs actually achieved magnum level velocities.

All the WSSMs: WTF. These weren't any faster and cycled like crap.

7mm STW: It came out hot and gunsmiths were chambering barrels for it...and then it wasn't as fast as advertised without blowing primers and belts became a bad thing all of the sudden.

7mm Ultra Magnum: Too expensive to feed with factory ammo, too overbore and toasted barrels. More rebated rim.

7mm and 325 WSM: The 7mm WSM is arguably the best WSM performance-wise but would benefit from .25 more magazine space. The 325 WSM is an 8mm and 8mms dont sell in the US compared to 338s.

8mm Remington Magnum: Probably the best NA big game cartridge of all time that no one could shoot well because it kicked so hard. That and its an 8mm.

338 Remington Ultra Magnum: Why did they cut the case down? The 338 Edge should have been the 338 RUM.

Awesome post. Just out of curiosity, how do you feel about the 308 Norma magnum? Thanks..

 

[Diamondback]

Anybody tag .45 GAP yet? Basically Glock's attempt to reduce a .45ACP to a 9mm OAL...

 

[CamoDeafie]

You know a pistol cartridge is now mainstream when Hi Point makes a carbine for it .380, 9mm Parabellum, .40 SW, 10mm, and .45ACP.

(plenty of other good cartridges that aren't available in Hi Points though...)

On topic..... .38 Super....still around, mostly sold south of the Border (because its "not military") Used to be a prime round in Major Power shooting matches (IPsomething?), but now overshadowed by other rounds.....

I do wonder what a .38 Super does out of a 16" barrel...if they are pretty fast out of 6" barrels....

6mm Lee Navy; gave way to the .30-40 Krag and then .30-03 and finally .30-06. I do wonder, if the 6.5 and 6mm AR rounds are similar ballistically to that round, just with a spitzer bullet?

 

[Heyjoe]

Anybody tag .45 GAP yet? Basically Glock's attempt to reduce a .45ACP to a 9mm OAL...

The most worthless firearm a human can own is a glock in 45 gap.

I owned one for all of three days and I'd not buy another for more than a bill.

 

[Diamondback]

On topic..... .38 Super....still around, mostly sold south of the Border (because its "not military") Used to be a prime round in Major Power shooting matches (IPsomething?), but now overshadowed by other rounds.....

I do wonder what a .38 Super does out of a 16" barrel...if they are pretty fast out of 6" barrels....

IIRC, the .38 Super was prominent because of some super-hot handloads--though the basic original spec was hot enough to punch through a steel "Detroit Dinosaur" car door, hence its popularity in Prohibition-era gangster circles. Hmmm... I wonder what a .38 Super TSMG would do?