Failed cartridges...

[tac]

Around the beginning of the last century, the British sporting gun maker, John Rigby & Co, did the same thing by renaming the 7x57 Mauser cartridge as the .275 Rigby. That was around the end of the Second Boer War, where a bunch of hick farmers with Mauser rifles and carbines made long-distance mincemeat of an association of British Empire troops from UK, Canada and Australia - all thanks to their canny use of long-ranging accurate shooting, their highly mobile and flexible shoot-and-scoot tactics and deep knowledge of the land.

Sounds kinda familiar, don't it?

tac

 

[DirectDrive]

Civilized people don't fight like that !

 

[tac]

Civilized people don't fight like that !

I seem to recall that it worked for General Washington and the boys a while back.

tac

 

[DeanMk]

...Where's AndyinEverson and his smoke poles when you need him...

 

[coyoteman5]

303 British not sure if you could consider it a failed round maybe more like replaced by the 7.62 nato

 

[orygun]

One I was recently reminded of, whilst reading a revolver book from the 80s, was the 9mm Federal. It was basically a rimmed 9㎜ Parabellum. It was only produced from 89-91 and then Charter Arms, the only manufacturer of a revolver in said, went belly up.



View attachment 462767

I would have completely forgotten about this cartridge, but as soon as it was mentioned, I remembered it as the 9mm version of the 45 Auto Rim. Not only could the 9mm Federal be used in the gun it was made for, just like it's bigger brother it is perfect for a full moon style 9mm revolver. It was loaded like the 9mm Parabellum and was pretty stout.

Around the beginning of the last century, the British sporting gun maker, John Rigby & Co, did the same thing by renaming the 7x57 Mauser cartridge as the .275 Rigby. That was around the end of the Second Boer War, where a bunch of hick farmers with Mauser rifles and carbines made long-distance mincemeat of an association of British Empire troops from UK, Canada and Australia - all thanks to their canny use of long-ranging accurate shooting, their highly mobile and flexible shoot-and-scoot tactics and deep knowledge of the land.

Sounds kinda familiar, don't it?

tac

The .275 Rigby was also a supposed "work around" for using the 7x57 as a sporting cartridge in countries where 7x57 was prohibited due to it's military origin. The hunter probably checked to make sure his brass had the right headstamp before traveling. I've only handled one 275 Rigby gun and it filled me with lust. I don't imagine there are many that are just a common rifle.

303 British not sure if you could consider it a failed round maybe more like replaced by the 7.62 nato

To the mainstream, the 303 British may be somewhat obsolete, but to consider a round and it's family rifles "failed" would be incorrect. The SMLE and it's Indian and Austrailian counterparts were used and manufactured in mind boggling numbers.
The 303 British in most loadings is a twin to the 30-40 Krag. Unlike the Krag, it had a very long lifetime. Dad bought his in the late 50's and used it through the early to mid 90's. He was tickled when Hornady brought out their cool new stuff for his favorite rifle.
I have to say though, it seems to have really faded in the last decade or so.
The British themselves hung onto the 303 far longer than they should have, mostly due to economics, but it served them well from 1889 into the 50's!

 

[CLT65]

I've always found it interesting when obsolete cartridges are revived to become popular. Take for example the 45-70 Government. It first came about shortly after the Civil War, in 1873. For a large part of the 20th century it was an obsolete, nearly forgotten round.

In more recent years now it's really come into it's own, not just for Cowboy Action shooting, but chambered in impressive modern lever action carbines and even revolvers.

 

[tac]

To the mainstream, the 303 British may be somewhat obsolete, but to consider a round and it's family rifles "failed" would be incorrect. The SMLE and it's Indian and Austrailian counterparts were used and manufactured in mind boggling numbers.
The 303 British in most loadings is a twin to the 30-40 Krag. Unlike the Krag, it had a very long lifetime. Dad bought his in the late 50's and used it through the early to mid 90's. He was tickled when Hornady brought out their cool new stuff for his favorite rifle.
I have to say though, it seems to have really faded in the last decade or so.
The British themselves hung onto the 303 far longer than they should have, mostly due to economics, but it served them well from 1889 into the 50's!

The virtual demise of military surplus ammunition, much of it, strangely, Greek, followed closely by Sarth Efrican, and the genuinely high-dollar commercial stuff [by comparison], has made a severe dent in the popularity of the .303 British cartridge. As for numbers, casual look at WW1 production figures reveals that at least 17 BILLION rounds of the stuff were made and used by British manufacturers alone...a rough total of 21 million and counting rifles from all sources were made, a large number of which are STILL in service in India and Pakistan.

Modern ammunition, from Prvi Partizan, more or less replicates the 174gr hardball service round, and is eminently reloadable, too. Here in yUK I'm one of the very few rifle shooters who doesn't have one, an astounding oversight when you consider that my dad used one to shoot at the British Army in his rebellious youth [!] and my late Uncle Geoff's career as a sniper in the Queen's Own Rifles of Canada in WW2.

 

[orygun]

Here in yUK I'm one of the very few rifle shooters who doesn't have one, an astounding oversight when you consider that my dad used one to shoot at the British Army in his rebellious youth [!] and my late Uncle Geoff's career as a sniper in the Queen's Own Rifles of Canada in WW2.

That's ok, tac, I've got 2! I have Dad's No4 MK1T (unfortunately sporterized) an a "real" No5. We can both shoot without having to take turns.

 

[ParkerBoy]

CLT65. I think that the 45-70 was always a great round. It's "unpopularity" came from the fact that there were too few original 86 Winchesters and 95 Marlins around and WAY too many Trapdoor Springfields. The ammunition manufacturers supplied the loads that were safe in the Springfields and didn't really tap the potential of the round. When the Trapdoor became a popular collector rifle, the owners of those other rifles found out that their rifles had potential, with the "right" ammunition. All 45-70 rifles were not "equal", and more than a few Trapdoors were "damaged" by shooting "better" ammo. Today the Springfields are mostly in collections and the gun makers are building more rifles capable of making the most of the 45-70.

 

[DeanMk]

The virtual demise of military surplus ammunition, much of it, strangely, Greek, followed closely by Sarth Efrican, and the genuinely high-dollar commercial stuff [by comparison], has made a severe dent in the popularity of the .303 British cartridge. As for numbers, casual look at WW1 production figures reveals that at least 17 BILLION rounds of the stuff were made and used by British manufacturers alone...a rough total of 21 million and counting rifles from all sources were made, a large number of which are STILL in service in India and Pakistan.

Modern ammunition, from Prvi Partizan, more or less replicates the 174gr hardball service round, and is eminently reloadable, too. Here in yUK I'm one of the very few rifle shooters who doesn't have one, an astounding oversight when you consider that my dad used one to shoot at the British Army in his rebellious youth [!] and my late Uncle Geoff's career as a sniper in the Queen's Own Rifles of Canada in WW2.

wouldn't your uncle Geoff have used a Ross for sniping duties?
I thought that was the Canadian sniper's rifle?


Dean

 

[tac]

wouldn't your uncle Geoff have used a Ross for sniping duties?
I thought that was the Canadian sniper's rifle?
Dean

It was WW2 we are talking about. Anybody today who had an uncle alive in WW1 has got to be around 120. I'm knocking on, true, but I'm not that old.

tac

 

[DeanMk]

OOPS, wrong war!
Sorry tac, my mistake.

 

[tac]

You is forgived. But I've made a note. OK?

tac

 

[DeanMk]

Sir, yes sir!

 

[BillGabby1]

Around the beginning of the last century, the British sporting gun maker, John Rigby & Co, did the same thing by renaming the 7x57 Mauser cartridge as the .275 Rigby. That was around the end of the Second Boer War, where a bunch of hick farmers with Mauser rifles and carbines made long-distance mincemeat of an association of British Empire troops from UK, Canada and Australia - all thanks to their canny use of long-ranging accurate shooting, their highly mobile and flexible shoot-and-scoot tactics and deep knowledge of the land.

Sounds kinda familiar, don't it?

tac

History does repeat itself!
Gabby

 

[Argonaut]

There are so many........how about the 376 Steyr or 450 Marlin. Both useful calibers they are rarely seen. Didn't Winchester make some unusual cartridges more recently, something like a 307 Winchester? Then there was the 308 Marlin or the 9mm Winchester Magnum.

 

[orygun]

Did anyone mention 30 Thompson Center? (30TC)

 

[No_Regerts]

Did anyone mention 30 Thompson Center? (30TC)

Ill throw in 30 TC and 308 Marlin in there too. 7-30 Waters was kind of a waste of time.

 

[joken]

303 Savage