Thread: Redundant Calibres

Greetings All,
I was sitting in our living room this morning, between outside jobs, thinking about what I may put in this post and the unmistakable first few bars of Black Magic Woman came through the speakers. I started thinking "Is this song obsolete as it was recorded over 50 years ago?" Next "Is the .270 obsolete because it was introduced almost 100 years ago?" To me the answer is no to both questions.

Cartridges can be broadly classified into three main groups.

Current.
Still chambered by a number of manufacturers and both ammunition and components are readily available. Well in normal times anyway. Examples would be .308W, .223 Rem and in Europe the 7.92 x 57 Mauser. The latter is still chambered by most European manufacturers.
Obsolescent.
Infrequently chambered today but ammunition and components still usually available in normal times. .222Rem, 7X57 Mauser. .303 British are examples here.
Obsolete.
No longer chambered today. Ammunition and components like cases hard to find. A handloaders proposition generally. 6.5 Remington Magnum and some of the WSSM cartridge are examples.
So where does your favourite cartridge fit? I rather like the obsolescent and obsolete ones myself.
Regards Grandpamac.

Originally Posted by grandpamac

Greetings All,
I was sitting in our living room this morning, between outside jobs, thinking about what I may put in this post and the unmistakable first few bars of Black Magic Woman came through the speakers. I started thinking "Is this song obsolete as it was recorded over 50 years ago?" Next "Is the .270 obsolete because it was introduced almost 100 years ago?" To me the answer is no to both questions.

Cartridges can be broadly classified into three main groups.

Current.
Still chambered by a number of manufacturers and both ammunition and components are readily available. Well in normal times anyway. Examples would be .308W, .223 Rem and in Europe the 7.92 x 57 Mauser. The latter is still chambered by most European manufacturers.
Obsolescent.
Infrequently chambered today but ammunition and components still usually available in normal times. .222Rem, 7X57 Mauser. .303 British are examples here.
Obsolete.
No longer chambered today. Ammunition and components like cases hard to find. A handloaders proposition generally. 6.5 Remington Magnum and some of the WSSM cartridge are examples.
So where does your favourite cartridge fit? I rather like the obsolescent and obsolete ones myself.
Regards Grandpamac.

In ref to your 2nd to last line - my favourite is 7x57 - not obsolete, just getting left behind because people think it's getting old.

The other is 6.5x54MS and I don't know if any commercial company loads for those. They can also be difficult to find cases for, or at least until Privi started making them - they probably load them too.
The old 'standby' Norma quit loading them years ago, but still load its cuzzies the 6.5 Jap and 6.5 Carcano.
Never quite understood why Norma quit on those, and I know it's all about making something that sells ............... and maybe they didn't.
The best bullet for that was the old Norma 139gr Vulkan - and that too is discontinued, in that particular weight anyway.
The second best bullet was the 156gr Alaska with the steel case. They were a good bullet, but the new '156gr Alaska' is copper jacketted - and you can't get them here any way.
Fortunately I've scrounged a short lifetime's supply of those - and cases, both Norma and Privi.

That's not a 'bitch' it's just the way it is - but that 6.5x54MS kills with the best of them ............. just not out to where people think deer are these days .............. and that just might be why.

Originally Posted by SF90

In ref to your 2nd to last line - my favourite is 7x57 - not obsolete, just getting left behind because people think it's getting old.

The other is 6.5x54MS and I don't know if any commercial company loads for those. They can also be difficult to find cases for, or at least until Privi started making them - they probably load them too.
The old 'standby' Norma quit loading them years ago, but still load its cuzzies the 6.5 Jap and 6.5 Carcano.
Never quite understood why Norma quit on those, and I know it's all about making something that sells ............... and maybe they didn't.
The best bullet for that was the old Norma 139gr Vulkan - and that too is discontinued, in that particular weight anyway.
The second best bullet was the 156gr Alaska with the steel case. They were a good bullet, but the new '156gr Alaska' is copper jacketted - and you can't get them here any way.
Fortunately I've scrounged a short lifetime's supply of those - and cases, both Norma and Privi.

That's not a 'bitch' it's just the way it is - but that 6.5x54MS kills with the best of them ............. just not out to where people think deer are these days .............. and that just might be why.

Greetings @SF90,
The 7x57 is not obsolete. I listed as obsolescent as it is seldom chambered, even in Europe. They now seem to favour the 7x64. Components and ammo should be available for a very long time for the 7x57.
Regards Grandpamac.

Originally Posted by grandpamac

Cartridges can be broadly classified into three main groups.

Current.
Still chambered by a number of manufacturers and both ammunition and components are readily available. Well in normal times anyway. Examples would be .308W, .223 Rem and in Europe the 7.92 x 57 Mauser. The latter is still chambered by most European manufacturers.
Obsolescent.
Infrequently chambered today but ammunition and components still usually available in normal times. .222Rem, 7X57 Mauser. .303 British are examples here.
Obsolete.
No longer chambered today. Ammunition and components like cases hard to find. A handloaders proposition generally. 6.5 Remington Magnum and some of the WSSM cartridge are examples.
So where does your favourite cartridge fit? I rather like the obsolescent and obsolete ones myself.
Regards Grandpamac.

I think that sums it up perfectly. Some people might think one cartridge is in one group and not another. But overall its pretty clear.

260 Rem i would call Obsolescent. 7x57 and 6.5x55 would be borderline, possibly current in Europe but not the rest of the world?
Wonder how long 7mm rem mag and 300 win mag will be current. again just like the 7x57 an 6.5x55 still will be heaps of rifles floating around and might stay current in one location more than another.

What about New wildcats that have not made it to SAAMI spec yet? 22 creedmoor for example. Not exactly obsolete as its new. But exactly the same situation as obsolete cartridge's

Mmm 7mm rem mag and 300 win mag.
2 calibers that are in the top 10 if not the 5 most popular cartridges in the US.
Maybe not here as such but they arent going anywhere over there and that means here eventually