Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters What's next ?

Need has nothing to do with it,want is good enough.

When I see something I want, I'm thinking "I need that"

Suppressors and really long bullets requiring fast twist.

You're a blamed 'enabler' !
How about loaning me one ??
Jerry

Probably something that I don't have that will do nothing better than something I all ready have, and I will not know the difference. One of the fun things about being a "Loony".

Don't see the slightest similarity between 6mmRem, 243Win, 6mm Creed, 250Sav, 257Rob, 260Rem, 6.5 Creed, 7mm08Rem, 7x57, 308Win, 338Fed, and 358Win.
Everyone needs one of each.

I can see that caseless ammo would have some advantages for the military, but not so much for the rest of us. Unless something an order of magnitude better shows up, metallic cartridges will be with us for a long time yet.

Almost any technology that has had a long period of incremental improvement will only be displaced by something revolutionary. The internal combustion engine is another good example.

Jerry

It will be interesting to see what opportunities caseless ammunition offers the handloader.

Well, I can personally testify that you can hold caseless rounds in your hand. Is that what you mean by "handloading"?

I believe that Wolfe has an entire magazine devoted to holding rounds in one's hand.

hmmm, no reply.
Ken, I thot we were friends !

I'm so disappointed !



Jerry

I'm pretty much set in life I don't feel the need for any new kinda caliber...

if I rebarrel something to a cal I don't have, it will be a 17 or 20 caliber... and that's about it..

They could reinvigorate many of the old and already popular cartridges eg 25-06, 270 Win and (to a lesser extent) 243 Win and the 8mm cartridges by introducing new rifles with fast twists in the 1-7 to 1-8 rate range, at the same time introducing low drag bullets to make use of the twist.

Nosler is well placed to do this as they make both rifles and bullets. Ruger via their close relationship with Hornady similarly could go down this road.

A 25-06 shooting a VLD in the 140g range could have a BC of 0.7+ and all those of us tooled up with 25-06 stuff wouldn't have to run out and buy a 6.5 Creed!

The marketing would combine the best of the old, tried and tested, with the latest and greatest tech enabled by laser rangefinders and non melting tips...

OK, I think I read through ALL the posts (unlike some other threads ) so I'll toss in my idea about "what's next".

I see a distinct decrease in interest for long range hunting in the not too distant future.

Folks will get interested in ..................



Wait for it now,













Short Range Hunting!

They will brag about getting within 10 feet ( +/- 3 meters for you foreigners) instead of "over 600 yards" and will be breaking out certified tape measures or laser measuring devices to get the actual distance from muzzle to the animal (all able to be recorded in real time if one has the money) so they can have friendly competition with their compadres in hunting camp.

The technological advances in measuring to the nearest mm (+/- 1/25th of an inch for those metrically challenged) will allow companies to have an "arms race" of sorts to see who comes out with the fanciest product with the most exciting bells and whistles on it, able at a moment's notice to link to your "devices" or across the world by satellite to the governing board of the Close Up Hunters Social Club.

Stainless new age alloys will predominate as hunting up close will get folks out of their tower blinds, pop up blinds, back porch windows, and pick up trucks. They will have to expose all that newly purchased gear to the elements.(so they can keep up with the times and not look like some old fuddy duddy STILL doing the long range thing).

Ammunition technology will go to uncharted territory with big fat bullets at reasonable speeds and no BC to speak of. Powder technology may change too, to really fast, some might say explosive powders of only a few gradations. The ammo companies will develop brightly colored packaging and new catchy slogans to convince the newbie short range shooters that they just have to go out and purchase their product to get the ultimate in short range accuracy. Some bullets may even come with a wonderful space age cellulosic coating applied in special folding machinery.

Firearms will come with a "one hole group" guarantee at 10 feet when using the manufacturer's preferred (read that as "our powder subsidiary") recipe. Bug hole groups will be passé, as a rather large bug will be able to pass through the one hole group of these new short range bullets. Using an appropriate caliber, a 3 shot one hole group might even let a small mammal (vole, shrew, meadow mouse?) pass through, to heck with bugs.

Some hunters of a certain age, should we survive long enough to see the fad in long range technology they call "hunting" end, will be WAY ahead of the game as we still use ancient technology to hunt; like quiet wool clothing, moccersins, smokepoles, we watch the wind but not for the effect on the bullet, and sometimes we even wear a Fedora or tuque. Perhaps more importantly, we enjoy getting close to the quarry rather than shooting at extended ranges.

I await your responses, but not right now, I'm going to go make an investment in Goex!

Geno

PS I'm not a gunwriter, just a guy who hunts occasionally. So perhaps my comments don't count?

Patience Jerry,some of us work.

Don't have a .416 RM anymore,too small for jackrabbits.

Oh, sorry about that, didn't mean to be impatient. I hate waiting.

Glad you're equipped for jackrabbits.
I thot you had a 416 anyway. I've always liked the looks of the 416 RM. Makes no sense but since when did loonies make sense?

Jerry

Had the RM and a Rigby. If I was to chose between the two,it would be the RM.

^^^^^^This^^^^^^^^
Guns would be made different and short barrels to limit overall length would become shorter. Integral moderators would be all new to many manufacturers. And if y'all thnk you had a enough of creedmores, All the suppressed rifles would bein some short action to again limit length......

I wonder if this will lead to an arms race of long-barreled rifles (to shorten the distance even more)?

Yeah, nice thinking, like an old Pennsylvania or Kentucky rifle..............only longer?

Geno