Maybe this parable (parallel anecdote), told me by a Jewish friend, will best express my thoughts on these two matters (short cartridges, short actions) ever since the Remington Model 600 carbine and its .350 Remington cartridge:*
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<br>A merchant had an opportunity to buy a carload of canned sardines for 2� a can. He bought 'em all, then called his brother.
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<br>"Abie, I just had an opportunity to buy these canned sardines for you -- didn't have time to call you -- had to buy 'em quick or lose the opportunity. All you owe me is 3� a can."
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<br>Abie accepted, then called their cousin.
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<br>"Moshe, I just had an opportunity to buy these canned sardines for you -- didn't have time to call you -- had to buy 'em quick or lose the opportunity. All you owe me is 5� a can."
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<br>Moshe accepted, then called his brother -- and on and on it went, while no one went down to the warehouse to examine the merchandise. Finally, the wife of the latest trader went down, opened a crate, took some cans of sardines home, ate some -- and got violently sick with food poisoning.
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<br>Recriminations went back down the line, until they reached the fellow who'd first bought the sardines and sold 'em to his brother Abie. He shrugged.
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<br>"They're for buying and selling, not for eating."
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<br>This punch line applies to many products and merchandising ideas, not limited to cans of spoiled sardines and certainly not excepting firearms or their cartridges and accessories. Just remember "They're for buying and selling, not for eating" as a philosophical template, and you'll find that it very often applies to the new product or merchandising angle that you're wondering about.
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<br>*The Model 600 could've been great as a .22-.250 or a Swift -- even a .223 -- and the .350 Remington is the belted, ballistic twin of the great .35 Whelen if you chamber a Mauser, a Springfield, a Model 70 Winchester, or a Model 700 Remington for it. But why not just chamber any of these for the already thoroughly proven .35 Whelen? (They eventually did.)
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