- Location
- The Conservative part of Ontario
[url=http://www.rifleshootermag.com/ammunition/cartridges_without/]Cartridges We Can Live Without[/URL]
Folks, it's time to cull the herd
By Craig Boddington
Left to right: .260 Remington, 6.5mm Remington Magnum, .264 Winchester Magnum, 6.5x55. Remington's short 6.5mm magnum is long gone, and the .264 is on the way out. Only the relatively new .260 Remington is truly viable in the U.S., and the author expects the great old 6.5x55 to bow out in American factory loads. It will continue in European factory loads and is a great cartridge for handloaders.
Yeah, I know, we live in the age of diversity. We're supposed to have free choice in all things. That is well and good, but I think the manufacturers are offering us far too much choice in rifle cartridges. The more variety they offer the more costly the manufacturing and distribution, and guess who that cost is passed along to?
Okay, so you don't care about saving a few cents on a box of ammo, just so long as you have a bewildering array of cartridges to choose from. But the way things are now how big a choice do you really have? That depends a lot on where you shop, and who does the ordering for that outlet. To my thinking, the problem with the tremendous array of factory cartridges currently on the market is that it's a retailer's nightmare. Very few stores nationwide are big enough to keep even a small stock of all the available options--and right now we have so many different cartridges that very few even try.
So I think it's time to cull the cartridge herd, and I'm going to give you a shopping list of cartridges that I think the major manufacturers should drop like bad habits.
SETTING THE RULES
The first rule is: Don't write me about this story. Write the editor instead, because it was his idea. Seriously, although my friend Jerry Lee asked me to do this piece, I've been thinking about it for a long time, because I honestly believe we have way too many factory cartridges. With new ones coming along all the time, something has to give.
I don't expect everyone to like this story. We all have our favorite cartridges, and if I happen to attack one of your pets you're going to be mad at me. That's okay. It's not really a subject where total objectivity is possible, on either your side or mine.
My primary rule in selecting the cartridges to be discontinued was total ruthlessness. I think I've been fair, because I've included a whole bunch of my own favorite cartridges!
The reasons why I have chosen these cartridges vary tremendously. A cartridge doesn't have to be bad to be unpopular! Some are truly obsolete, some are great cartridges that just didn't make the marketing grade, a couple should never had existed at all, and some are only viable in handloaded form--so why bother with factory loads at all?
By the way, just because a cartridge is popular doesn't mean that its great, either--but I've avoided truly popular cartridges because they aren't going to be culled. I didn't attempt to take into account why a cartridge was popular. For instance, you won't see any of the old-timers revitalized by Cowboy Action Shooting on my list.
In setting my rules, I've also stayed away from proprietaries. If a gun company wants to foot the horrendous R&D costs to have their own unique cartridges, that's fine with me. Likewise, if the consumer wants to buy them and deal with single-source availability. So the only candidates I considered are cartridges loaded by a major U.S. manufacturer.
Finally, please keep in mind that this is just my opinion. I seriously doubt any of the manufacturers will pay any attention. Sales come first, but our ammo makers also have a strong sense of responsibility to the shooting public. Once they've started to supply ammo their tradition is to continue until sales are so dismal that they have absolutely no choice.
The author used his pet 8mm Remington Magnum to take this Marco Polo ram, which says a lot about how he feels about the round; however, he didn't use a factory load. Like many other cartridges, the 8mm requires good handloads to realize its true potential.
VARMINT CONTROL
Regardless of what you personally choose to shoot, it's a simple fact that the world of varmint cartridges is dominated by the .223 Remington, .22-250, and .22 Hornet. There's absolutely nothing wrong with the several other varmint cartridges loaded commercially--but I think most of them need to go away.
The exception, perhaps, is the .17 Remington. It is not and never will be popular, but it occupies a unique little niche. Only Remington loads it, and just one loading at that, so I expect it will die of its accord one of these days. But I have no desire to speed its departure. As for the rest, well, it's time.
The .218 Bee is unquestionably a "better" cartridge than the .22 Hornet, still able to fit into very small actions, yet offering a good deal more powder capacity and thus higher velocity than the Hornet. Handloaded in a rigid lever action or single shot it can be extremely accurate. It's also a very useful cartridge; like the Hornet, it neatly bridges the huge gap between the .22 Winchester Magnum Rimfire and the centerfires.
None of this matters. The Hornet has made a significant comeback in recent years, and is now offered in a number of modern commercial rifles. In the last several decades the .218 Bee has only been chambered in a few custom or semi-custom rifles, and in order to see any advantage over the Hornet it must be handloaded. It's time for it to go.
The .222 Remington Magnum is a very accurate cartridge, but long ago it lost both the military trials and its civilian market to the .223. It has recently been discontinued by Remington, and this was an appropriate move.
The .222 Remington is another story. Designed by Remington's Mike Walker to produce maximum accuracy, it is a wonderful little varmint cartridge and still a darling of the serious benchrest crowd. Although it has a slightly smaller case, its performance is so close to the .223 Remington as to be indistinguishable in the field. Unfortunately it also lost the popularity contest with the .223 Remington, and today is offered by relatively few manufacturers. It is unquestionably a more inherently accurate cartridge than the .223--but it usually requires good handloads to see any appreciable difference. Whether it's loaded by the factories or not it will remain alive in benchrest circles, where factory loads aren't a player. We need to admit that the .223 Remington has won, and give up on the .222.
The .225 Winchester never had a fighting chance. It was introduced in 1964, the year Winchester changed from the beloved pre-1964 action to the push-feed action. It was a good move, but hardly a popular one. Worse, the rimmed .225 was followed just a year later by the rimless .22-250 Remington, which had long been an extremely popular wildcat. The .225 is quite fast and can be extremely accurate in the right rifle, but it is not as fast and generally not as accurate as the .22-250. The only thing that really surprises me about the .225 is that Winchester still loads it!
Finally, a most controversial choice: I think the .220 Swift has outlived its usefulness. Introduced in 1935, it was the first commercial cartridge to break 4,000 feet per second. And here 67 years later, it is still the fastest commercial cartridge! Thanks to the upswing in varminting it has made a significant comeback in recent years. I think this is primarily because of its impressive speed, and also because some shooters just plain want to shoot something different.
No matter. Modern .22-250 factory loads, and of course handloads, come very close to the Swift's velocity. More important, the .22-250 is generally far less finicky and usually much more accurate. The .220 Swift will certainly live on in handloads, but I think the ammo manufacturers should give up on it and concentrate on the much more versatile and tractable .22-250.
Folks, it's time to cull the herd
By Craig Boddington
Yeah, I know, we live in the age of diversity. We're supposed to have free choice in all things. That is well and good, but I think the manufacturers are offering us far too much choice in rifle cartridges. The more variety they offer the more costly the manufacturing and distribution, and guess who that cost is passed along to?
Okay, so you don't care about saving a few cents on a box of ammo, just so long as you have a bewildering array of cartridges to choose from. But the way things are now how big a choice do you really have? That depends a lot on where you shop, and who does the ordering for that outlet. To my thinking, the problem with the tremendous array of factory cartridges currently on the market is that it's a retailer's nightmare. Very few stores nationwide are big enough to keep even a small stock of all the available options--and right now we have so many different cartridges that very few even try.
So I think it's time to cull the cartridge herd, and I'm going to give you a shopping list of cartridges that I think the major manufacturers should drop like bad habits.
SETTING THE RULES
The first rule is: Don't write me about this story. Write the editor instead, because it was his idea. Seriously, although my friend Jerry Lee asked me to do this piece, I've been thinking about it for a long time, because I honestly believe we have way too many factory cartridges. With new ones coming along all the time, something has to give.
I don't expect everyone to like this story. We all have our favorite cartridges, and if I happen to attack one of your pets you're going to be mad at me. That's okay. It's not really a subject where total objectivity is possible, on either your side or mine.
My primary rule in selecting the cartridges to be discontinued was total ruthlessness. I think I've been fair, because I've included a whole bunch of my own favorite cartridges!
The reasons why I have chosen these cartridges vary tremendously. A cartridge doesn't have to be bad to be unpopular! Some are truly obsolete, some are great cartridges that just didn't make the marketing grade, a couple should never had existed at all, and some are only viable in handloaded form--so why bother with factory loads at all?
By the way, just because a cartridge is popular doesn't mean that its great, either--but I've avoided truly popular cartridges because they aren't going to be culled. I didn't attempt to take into account why a cartridge was popular. For instance, you won't see any of the old-timers revitalized by Cowboy Action Shooting on my list.
In setting my rules, I've also stayed away from proprietaries. If a gun company wants to foot the horrendous R&D costs to have their own unique cartridges, that's fine with me. Likewise, if the consumer wants to buy them and deal with single-source availability. So the only candidates I considered are cartridges loaded by a major U.S. manufacturer.
Finally, please keep in mind that this is just my opinion. I seriously doubt any of the manufacturers will pay any attention. Sales come first, but our ammo makers also have a strong sense of responsibility to the shooting public. Once they've started to supply ammo their tradition is to continue until sales are so dismal that they have absolutely no choice.
VARMINT CONTROL
Regardless of what you personally choose to shoot, it's a simple fact that the world of varmint cartridges is dominated by the .223 Remington, .22-250, and .22 Hornet. There's absolutely nothing wrong with the several other varmint cartridges loaded commercially--but I think most of them need to go away.
The exception, perhaps, is the .17 Remington. It is not and never will be popular, but it occupies a unique little niche. Only Remington loads it, and just one loading at that, so I expect it will die of its accord one of these days. But I have no desire to speed its departure. As for the rest, well, it's time.
The .218 Bee is unquestionably a "better" cartridge than the .22 Hornet, still able to fit into very small actions, yet offering a good deal more powder capacity and thus higher velocity than the Hornet. Handloaded in a rigid lever action or single shot it can be extremely accurate. It's also a very useful cartridge; like the Hornet, it neatly bridges the huge gap between the .22 Winchester Magnum Rimfire and the centerfires.
None of this matters. The Hornet has made a significant comeback in recent years, and is now offered in a number of modern commercial rifles. In the last several decades the .218 Bee has only been chambered in a few custom or semi-custom rifles, and in order to see any advantage over the Hornet it must be handloaded. It's time for it to go.
The .222 Remington Magnum is a very accurate cartridge, but long ago it lost both the military trials and its civilian market to the .223. It has recently been discontinued by Remington, and this was an appropriate move.
The .222 Remington is another story. Designed by Remington's Mike Walker to produce maximum accuracy, it is a wonderful little varmint cartridge and still a darling of the serious benchrest crowd. Although it has a slightly smaller case, its performance is so close to the .223 Remington as to be indistinguishable in the field. Unfortunately it also lost the popularity contest with the .223 Remington, and today is offered by relatively few manufacturers. It is unquestionably a more inherently accurate cartridge than the .223--but it usually requires good handloads to see any appreciable difference. Whether it's loaded by the factories or not it will remain alive in benchrest circles, where factory loads aren't a player. We need to admit that the .223 Remington has won, and give up on the .222.
The .225 Winchester never had a fighting chance. It was introduced in 1964, the year Winchester changed from the beloved pre-1964 action to the push-feed action. It was a good move, but hardly a popular one. Worse, the rimmed .225 was followed just a year later by the rimless .22-250 Remington, which had long been an extremely popular wildcat. The .225 is quite fast and can be extremely accurate in the right rifle, but it is not as fast and generally not as accurate as the .22-250. The only thing that really surprises me about the .225 is that Winchester still loads it!
Finally, a most controversial choice: I think the .220 Swift has outlived its usefulness. Introduced in 1935, it was the first commercial cartridge to break 4,000 feet per second. And here 67 years later, it is still the fastest commercial cartridge! Thanks to the upswing in varminting it has made a significant comeback in recent years. I think this is primarily because of its impressive speed, and also because some shooters just plain want to shoot something different.
No matter. Modern .22-250 factory loads, and of course handloads, come very close to the Swift's velocity. More important, the .22-250 is generally far less finicky and usually much more accurate. The .220 Swift will certainly live on in handloads, but I think the ammo manufacturers should give up on it and concentrate on the much more versatile and tractable .22-250.
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