Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters By 1912... ?

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By 1912...

We had the

7 x 57 Mauser
30/06
375 H&H
505 Gibbs...

We had the 10, 12, and 16 gauges...

And the 44 Special, 45 Colt, and 45 ACP...

What can we do now that we couldn't do in 1912 ?

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We can make the best of those cartridges with better platforms, better primers, better powders and better bullets...and we can be more precise with better scopes and laser rangefinders. Don't remember too many laser rangefinders or true weatherproof scopes being written about 100 years ago.

Overlooking the component/ammo shortage, this is the golden age of shooting.

More with less

Or is it less with more ?

I see your premise and pretty much agree. Like above the first thing I thought of was the optics side of the house and we do have better components. I'll kick the bee hive a bit and say I think the improved components have had a bigger impact on shotguns than rifles . But yes I see your point.

The most glaring lack is the flat shooting high velocity 22 centerfires like the 22-250, 220 Swift, and the .222/.223.

It seems to me that the standard pitch the last few decades has been that we need the new 'more' to do responsibly or effectively what we used to do with 'less'. I'm sure this has happened more than once in the last 102 years, where faster, flatter, harder, more accurate, tougher, etc. has been sold in such a way that newer shooters develop the belief that the new 'more' is now the required minimum.

In several ways, my approach to hunting and shooting has been regressing rather than progressing. This goes for the cartridges I'm drawn to, the bullets I've come to prefer, the gear I use during the hunt. Though my stuff is modern, I have quit listening to sales pitches.

Maybe I'm seeing things a little different. I see a lot of "more" in the OP.

But high velocity .22 CF's weren't unheard of in 1912. Just that not very many people had access to them. Niedner and Newton had by then started experimenting with them, to name two.

Waited 3 years and enjoyed the 250-3000.

Nothing.

Think the 22lr was around before 1912 too, yes?

When was the 20ga invented?


Unfortunately, no 270win or 308win

Also no 223rem, which I also like.

I see the point. If I were to list the improvements in the last 100 years that really help me, though, #1 would be primers that don't leave potassium chloride residue in the barrels to pit them if I don't clean with hot water right away. Second would be better barrel steels that allow thousands of rounds through many calibers without accuracy loss. And I just remembered good scopes that allow older shooters, like me, to still shoot well at longer ranges. But, as far as powder bottles go, we had a lot of very good calibers to use 100 years ago....and the proof that they were very good is that many are still with us in modern rifles and handguns. And the bolt action rifle is still a very popular platform for some of those calibers....as is the single action revolver and the 1911 pistol.

300 Weatherby....

Hey; don't forget the venerable old 30-30, which has been around since about 1895 IIRC. It was quite popular since it was introduced and has been going strong ever since. From what I've read over the years the lever action was also a lot more popular circa 1912 and the bolt actions didn't really pick up momentum until after World War One.

Since the .22 Hi Power came out in 1912, I guess we had it all.

That - - - ^

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By 1912...

We had...

the 98 Mauser
the 1892, 1894, and 1886 Winchester
the High-Wall Winchester
the 1890 Winchester pump action 22 rimfire
the hammerless side-by-side shotgun, the 1912 pump action Winchester, and the Browning Auto-5
the 1873 Colt SAA, the modern double-action S&W, and the 1911 Colt...

What can we do now that we couldn't do in 1912 ?

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Push it to 1915 and include the 250-3000 and I'll go along. Add that in and you don't need any stinking 6mm crud.

Nothing.

But nowadaze we have the Teddy bear toss. Thanks to President Teddy Roosevelt!