Magnum

bcsteve

bcsteve

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It's only a word! I always wonder why some people think that if a cartridge as the word "Magnum" at the end, it automatically makes it a canon. Some sees that as a good thing (extra range, extra power, etc...), some sees it as a bad thing (extra recoil, noise, meat damage, etc...).

A "Magnum" cartridge does not posses any mythical special ability over a non "Magnum" cartridge. The term came from magnum bottle of champagne that were bigger the the regular bottle. What if the .30-06 had been called the .308 Win Mag? Would the pro-magnum people think that the .30-06 was a canon able to reach across canyons to anchor elk? The anti-magnum people would call it useless because it destroys too much meat and doesn't offer anything over the .308 Win?

Some will shy away from the 7mm Rem Mag because of all those magnum attibutes but are looking to get at .280 Rem AI!?

I'ts all about case capacity not if if says "Magnum"

For the record, I shoot both.

Rant off.:D
 
I know what you mean. When I was a kid, anything that was not a "magnum" was automatically considered "less than", and was generally given the monnicker "little". I.e, "Bring along that little .270 of yours if you want; I'm taking my .375 H&H anyway."
 
Charlie38 said:
The 30/06 can't kill anything anymore... need a WSM or ULTRA MAG to kill a lil whitetail doe at 30yds! LMAO
The hunting magazines have done a good job of spreading the magnum craze.
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I see it the other way. It seems to be "in" thing to bash magnum cartridges or hunter who uses them. Real experience hunter know that you don't need a magnum so if you want to pose as an experience hunter, you tell people that magnum are useless.
 
The word magnum is basically a sales gimmick. The English, not known for embelishing their products, simply called their huge guns by an ordinary calibre, or bullet, designation.
I'm not sure if Bill Weatherby invented the term 'magnum,' or not, but he sure popularized it! And to this day, after some sixty years, his are still the ultimate magnums, as far as power and speed are concerned.
All that was left to get in on the new "inventions," was to shorten the case, fatten the case, make the shoulder sharper, make the case fatter still, all in the name of a spectacular cartridge that would be superior, in some way, to every other magnum.
Interesting to note the 100 plus year old 30-06 is still hands down, the most popular rifle cartridge.
 
H4831 said:
The word magnum is basically a sales gimmick. The English, not known for embelishing their products, simply called their huge guns by an ordinary calibre, or bullet, designation.
I'm not sure if Bill Weatherby invented the term 'magnum,' or not, but he sure popularized it! And to this day, after some sixty years, his are still the ultimate magnums, as far as power and speed are concerned.
All that was left to get in on the new "inventions," was to shorten the case, fatten the case, make the shoulder sharper, make the case fatter still, all in the name of a spectacular cartridge that would be superior, in some way, to every other magnum.
Interesting to note the 100 plus year old 30-06 is still hands down, the most popular rifle cartridge.
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I agree and this the point I'm trying to make, the word "magnum" is a marketing thing.

People seem to be more hung up on names then actual case capacity and ballistic. If the .30-06 had been called the .308 Win Mag and wore a belt as the "magnum" brother of the .308 Win, would people call it useless these days?
 
444shooter said:
Yeah, a 458WM is making up for a small ##### but a 416 Rigby is ok ;)
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LOL. Yeah my 416 Ruger isnt a magnum. The rigby wasnt. I guess the old school pre-Weatherby was Nitro to show power. I see a cartridge for what it is not what it's called. If the name on the barrel offends someone, all the better.
 
I agree with bcsteve. So many get hung up on the word magnum, either positively or negatively. We see people proclaiming magnums as "the best", we see people proclaiming magnums as "overkill" or "compensating" or whatever.

It's just a word and it's essentially meaningless. .Before the word magnum was popular, the British used "Express" as a marketing tool like .375 Belted Rimless Nitro-Express for the .375 H&H magnum. When it got changed to MAGNUM I dont' know, but it must have been a long time ago, maybe close to 100 years. I suppose that this is the first MAGNUM case, since most other MAGNUMS were based off of the belted H&H case.

I've got 3 magnums- a .22 WMR, 7RM and 300WSM.

The .375 Ruger isn't a magnum, cause it's not called magnum. Therefore, the 22 WMR is more powerful, since it is a magnum. I think that sums it up.:p
 
actualLY the word "magnum" refers to a LARGE bottle of champagne; it means a larger than average bottle; the JEROBAUM is the next size up from that; it was simply "borrowed " from the wine industry to designate a larger than normal case; the same thing with the word special; there's really nothing "special" about it
 
Just N.American attitude and ego. The masses fell into the marketing ploy quite well, besides who wants to shoot anything with a .303 or .243, those are boring.

The only thing that is a potential black mark is new shooters/hunters feeling they "need" something large to be proficient.Then they find they have something they are afraid to shoot or can't shoot well and get discouraged and may stop the sport.

Almost everyone wants the biggest and baddest that they can get.
 
H4831 said:
I'm not sure if Bill Weatherby invented the term 'magnum,' or not, but he sure popularized it!
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Who's Bill Weatherby?:p

FWIW if people are comparing case size to bore diameter to define a magnum, the .22-250 is more of a magnum than a 338WM is...:)
 
"...Blame it on pop culture..." Mostly the gun rag writers. The term comes from big wine bottles. Not just champagne. Where Bordeau Red wine is concerned, bigger is better. Isn't with rifle cartridges.
 
From the internet. Sounds right to me.

All "magnum" means is that a given round is either loaded to a higher power level than its progenitor cartridge, or has greater powder volume than its progenitor cartridge. These days, it can be taken to mean any high-pressure, high-performance cartridge. Like the .500 S&W Magnum, which is an original case design, but is called a "magnum" because it's designed to be a very powerful round and requires a big, beefy gun to handle it.

Take, for instance, the .357 Magnum. The .357 Magnum developed from the .38 Special. It is 1/10th of an inch longer than the .38 Special, but this was done, not to increase powder capacity, but to ensure that it couldn't be chambered in .38 Special revolvers. The chief difference between .38 Special and .357 Magnum is one of pressure. The .38 Special descended from old blackpowder cartridges (i.e. the .38 Long Colt.) As a result, it's maximum chamber pressure is held to a modest 17,000 PSI. The .357 Magnum, on the other hand, has a maximum chamber pressure of 35,000 PSI. And since pressure against the base of the bullet equals thrust, a .357 Magnum can throw a given bullet at least 300 ft/sec faster than the .38 Special.

This is the same case with the .44 Magnum, whose progenitor cartridge was the .44 Special, which descended from another old blackpowder case, the .44 Russian. The .44 Special generates a maximum chamber pressure of some 15,500 PSI and can throw a 240 grain bullet at some 750 - 800 ft/sec. The .44 Magnum, like the .357 Magnum, is slightly longer than its parent cartridge, but the chief difference is the operating pressure. The .44 Magnum has a pressure ceiling of 36,000 PSI, so it will throw that same 240 grain bullet at least 400 ft/sec faster.

This is almost the case for the .460 Smith and Wesson Magnum, which is a lengthened .454 Casull case, which was a lengthened and strengthened .45 Colt case. Though the .460 S&W doesn't have a higher pressure ceiling than the .454 Casull, it has a much longer case, designed to hold more powder. And if one has more propellant, one can keep up peak chamber pressure longer, which means more thrust. So a .460 S&W can drive a 300 grain bullet over 2000 ft/sec, whereas a .454 Casull can only drive it at 1700 ft/sec, a Ruger-only .45 Colt pushes it at 1200 ft/sec, and a standard .45 Colt is doing well to break 700 ft/se


A magnum cartridge is a firearm cartridge larger than, or derived from, a similar cartridge. A magnum firearm is one using such a cartridge. So that means magnum cartridges are more powerfull, which is why people think cannon when they hear the word magnum. Dirty Harry helped alot too im sure.
 
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