Thread: Magnum or not a magnum

Woke up early this morning and couldnt get back to sleep so the mind starts thinking... what makes a cartridge a magnum or not a magnum. Is it just a name given to a cartridge. If we talk 6.5 for example if the grendel was the first 6.5 round developed could a 260 or x55 be a 6.5 magnum. 6.5x55 would probably be one if not the original 6.5 round developed so could a 6.5 06 be a 6.5 magnum. I also see suppressors marked for magnum or non magnum cartridges, is there a way they determine whats a magnum other than the wording. Theres my moring random gun thought for the day

Ha ha ha ha this is going to be a mind torture thread. Is the necked down 30-06 cartridge that becomes the much coveted by some and often maligned by others .270 really a magnum round?

magnum drives a ferrari non magnum a fiat ?

Could a 3006 be a 308 magnum

Is Magnum vs non Magnum a question of powder capacity ?
I know that this is the case for Suppressors.
Eg, 6.5 PRC (non-magnum) vs 270 WSM (magnum), catridges look very similar, but have a good difference in charge weight.

Apary from the obvious ones where they built a rather large cartridge using a shit ton of more powder to drive the same projectile as the smaller one faster, (but not always much faster lol), some of them were hype and advertising

I was just thinking about this the other day after searching up some stuff about the 5.6x57 I have, because I saw the title of an article written back in the 70's - "5,6x57 RWS An Interesting new .224" Magnum from Germany"
For me, I always viewed a magnum as anything with a magnum case head diameter, but when you put the 5.6x57 beside a 223, it sure looks like a magnum!

Take your pick, marketing also has a bit to do with the magnum tag

ill take the one on the left

Yes, case head diameter is the most likely defining feature.

speed + bullet weight + marketing?

Dictionary
Definitions from Oxford Languages · Learn more
magnum
/ˈmaɡnəm/
noun
1.
a wine bottle of twice the standard size, normally 1 1/2 litres.
"a magnum of champagne"
2.
TRADEMARK IN US
a gun designed to fire cartridges that are more powerful than its calibre would suggest.
"that magnum has a kick like a field gun"

Originally Posted by Tahr

a gun designed to fire cartridges that are more powerful than its calibre would suggest.

That sounds like a good defintion. Theres no other defining feature, marketing
is the real back story.

As a note, the “Magnum” era began with the term first being used by the British firm of Holland & Holland to describe its . 375 H&H Express rifle cartridge in 1912. However, it was first used to describe a handgun cartridge with the . 357 Smith & Wesson Magnum.

in case b, and maybe others it translates to 'we souped up the cartridge you are familiar with and made it go a big faster"
in case a, when big guns started with .4 or .5 and ended in 'nitro express', H&H had to come up with something that made a .3xx sound bigger

With shotgun loads it was bigger payload. I believe with suppressor the 30/06 thing equates to 60 grns powder give or take... That's a full case of ar2213 for 270 ... Magnum something yeah make it bigger or faster or more powerful. Not necessarily better.

If you think 22lr vs 22 mag, then yeah I think you could call a 3006 a 308 magnum

I imagine the person you were talking to about your 308 mag would assume you're talking about a 308 norma mag.

But yeah for suppressors its talking about powder capacity. However if you do a field shoot, there used to be a "no full length magnums" rule for some of them. WSM was fine, rem mag not fine.

Case head diameter or parent case would have been the designator back in the day I would say, but I think you could anything a magnum if you really wanted