Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles All these new cartridges - Normal?

get a recent copy of the book "cartridges of the world"
https://www.amazon.com/Cartridges-W...+the+world&qid=1634661752&sr=8-1

its very interesting to read about all the cartridges that have come, gone, stayed, etc...

when lead meets venison it really doesn't matter very much what the text on the headstamp says....

all these new cartridges are not designed to get a bullet from the hunter's barrel to the deer's vitals faster, they are designed to get money from the hunter's wallet to the ammo/gun company's bank account faster!

Poole

Strongly disagree. The ranges where game can be ethically hunted? The same variables still apply including weather, game behavior, and hunter shooting ability. The 300 Win Mag will allow one to kill at the same range as the 30 Nosler. That does not mean most hunters have any business shooting that far.

I consider myself pretty much a traditionalist, but have absolutely no issue with those who want to explore/expand horizons. I get it that anything a guy needs to do with a rifle could be done with a rifle from the 19th century.

But anyone with a speck of analytical skill has to acknowledge that some of today's purpose designed cartridges really do fill a niche.

And the same type of analysis shows that just because it's older (or newer) doesn't mean it's better. Purposeful engineering has it's place. In a less sophisticated time, the 30-06 (30-03) cartridge was designed to easily kill a cavalry horse. Worked well for it's purpose and set the world on fire.

In today's world a cartridge designed to fit a short action rifle with a sleek bullet that also fits the magazine makes a ton of sense. If it's also designed to be lighter, less expensive, and does most shooting tasks with less recoil, it's gonna fan the flames again...

And I enjoy the heat...

Man, it's funny, I have a buddy that can buy the Hornady 6.5 PRX 143 ELD ammo anytime he wants from a little hardware store in Utah, but I can't find much if any available locally. I didn't really want factory ammo, but brass is non existent at any sorta normal price. I was able to snag two boxes of the 143 stuff. Emptied one box and loaded some 129 Noslers in it, and gave the other to a friend that doesn't reload and wanted it.

I did put in a backorder for ADG brass from Creedmoor, but it is a pain to have to wait for brass..

The industry is now offering cartridges and rifles that correspond to new bullet technology (heavy for caliber, high BC w/ faster twist) to entice long range hunting and capability. For competitive shooters it makes a lot of sense. Given that most will never utilize the benefits of this technology in shooting game at 700-900 yards it makes little difference as its a shiny new toy that outperforms the old toy. But does it? Not really when it comes to real world conditions and field application. Most elk are shot inside 300 yards and a great majority of those shots are inside 200 yards. Whitetails are typically inside 200 yards, mule deer and antelope well inside 400 yards and usually much less, moose inside 200 yards. Any 1-10 twist 270 WCF would be just fine and is nearly 100 years old. The 270 Wby, WSM or 6.8 Western would show no discernable difference out at 500 yards. They all work the same. Same for the 308 Win, 30-06, 264 Win Mag or any of the very old Weatherby chamberings from 240 Wby-300 Wby on up. In fact the need to advertise the new unbelted over the dreaded belted mags has got folks believing the belted mags are somehow inferior and not accurate. I'll bet the 30-378 Wby with 1-8 and 250 grain projectiles would out perform the new shiny 300 PRC in the hands of a pro. But who needs that kind of chamber or recoil and performance in the field when chasing game, no one except the hunter wishing to take a stab at shooting game at 1100-1300 yards. In most cases no difference under field conditions using a 300 Win Mag, and typically a 30-06, 1-10 twist, 180 grain load would suffice just fine in the field. I'm all for the new creations in bullet design, barrel twist and cartridge design. It appeals to many both old and young, but mostly young as some become enamored with ballistic numbers and tables that indicate wind drift benefits at 600+ yards, etc. Again all fine, but is it needed to kill game in the field? In most cases never. Is it needed to keep rifle purchases up, competitive shooting interest up, after all these are follow ups to the bullet designer's and cartridge manufacturer's creations. Hornady, Nosler and Winchester have to keep swimming or they will drown, even Wby has gotten into the act with the 6.5 craze, and don't forget the gun rags and their writers, they certainly need something new and shiny to write about.

This is a good point. 204 Valk, 6.5Grendel, 6.8SPC 300 blackout etc.....

You are wrong. Spend some time with an exterior ballistic program, and you will see that the velocity at which the bullet moves (which is the most relevant difference between he .30 Nosler and .300WM) is a major contributor to the distance at which you can guarantee hits on targets of a given size.

So yes, you can absolutely move to a better cartridge and hunt farther than you could with an inferior cartridge, perfectly ethically.

Of course the .30 Nosler is also more re-loadable, headspaces better, and feeds better but those are side benefits.