The hunting and shooting industry is built on marketing, and the previous effort was marketing the short fat cartridges. The manufacturers and television hosts took every opportunity to promote these supposed wonder cartridges. Many people bought into the idea of getting superior ballistics, and less recoil with a smaller. lighter rifle. Of course, most people discovered that the short fat cartridges are not as superior as the manufacturers claimed, so the rush to purchase the WSMs faded off. Remington dropped their SAUM cartridges entirely, and sales of the WSMs slowed down as well.
The current fad in hunting and shooting, is long range shooting, and the shows on television that are promoting long range shooting are doing their best to convince viewers, that if they purchase their specialty scopes,rifles,wind meters,etc, then they will immediately be able to hit targets at ranges that they never dreamed of. Some people are claiming that with only a half hour of instruction, they can turn a novice shooter, into a competent long range shooter. The funny thing is, that some of the people making these claims, have no actual credentials in the shooting industry, they are no more than television hosts, or writers. It's really amazing just how many hunting shows are promoting this, to sell their sponsors products, and just how many people are buying into this idea. They have convinced many people that technology is a suitable replacement, for skill, experience, and practice. However, anyone that spends any time at a shooting range, watching people use these products, soon realizes that once again, the claims made by the manufacturers, and television hosts were exaggerated, and you still need to be able to judge the wind all the way to the target, and you still need to practice in order to hit at long range. I watched one individual sight in his new Huskemaw scope at 25 yards, using his factory loads with Berger bullets, and without firing a shot at any other distance, he bragged to his buddy that he was ready for deer and moose to 800 yards. As well, many of the new wonder bullets that work so well at longer range, don't do very well at breaking heavy bone at close range.
Give it a few years, and the this fad will fade away, and another one with begin, with the manufacturers, writers, and television hosts leading the way, in an effort to sell as much product as they can.
As for myself, I have tried many new products over the years, although I didn't purchase a rifle chambered in a WSM cartridge, or a Huskemaw scope. I still watch the odd hunting or shooting program, but I don't buy the magazines, and I don't buy into the sales pitches that the manufacturer's and television hosts are spouting, because I realize that they will say whatever it takes to sell products, and keep that cash flowing. I will just keep using the products that work for me no matter what someone on television tells me that I should be using, just as many other hunters and shooters will do.
