It was a fad that never gained a great following.
20 year fad with most big manufacturers still producing factory rifles for them.
Remember the big manufacturers are making their money on volume not on satisfying nuts like us.
They are making their money off of uneducated shooters that believe marketing hype of big companies because they watch the outdoor channel all day and see all the advertsing and product placement in these shows. They see a guy using a 26 nosler kill an elk at 400 yds and think that they can do it with no cons or drawbacks. When guys read the factory ammo boxes and they give blistering velocity stats without stating conditions, pressure readings, or barrel length really get guys going when they've never chronoed or tested their factory loads. That is how these big companies make it..
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Nosler and Hornady have decided to challenge Remington and Winchester's prior hold on proprietary cartridges and have done so brilliantly from a marketing standpoint.
The creedmoor is still inferior to a good 260ai or even a standard 260. Ballistically identical. The rcm has no advantage over the wsm. The 204 Ruger offers very little over the 222 rem or the 22-250. My point is that most of these new SUPER ACCURATE ULTRA VELOCITY HARD HITTING rounds are just a copy of another idea or something that is already out there that doesn't get as much television exposure.. The nosler cartridges are going to sale because of what I mentioned earlier with marketing and I think the 28 and 30 noslers are a pretty good idea. The fact that Winchester didn't even TRY to market a 6.5 in the wsm/wssm case is amazing to me but that is why Hornady/Ruger/nosler is gaining popularity.
They haven't reinvented the wheel and haven't really improved much if any on existing cartridges but they own the majority of the ammunition and brass production in the US today and keep making smart moves where Winchester and Remington keep making stupid moves as reflected in their repeated reorganizations, bankruptcies etc.
AGREED!
There are advantages to going with the tried and true and satisfaction from wildcatting but that isn't where the future is for the big manufacturers and never will be.
I'll say it is an aquired taste and alot of our "standard" cartridges come from people wildcatting or tinkering. Look at the 300 or 338 Norma. People just want a rifle they can buy off the shelf and shoot. And that's what most people will ever need. The Nuts and Rifle snobs like myself always will be looking for the perfect case, the perfect bullet, the perfect rifle.
If anything the case design of the .375 Ruger and everything that can be done off of it shows a level of brilliance neither Winchester or Remington has shown in a century.
Not really sure what advantage is given in the 375 Ruger case vs say the Norma Mags. Or even the rums in custom rifles.
It is what it is, no magic needed, just an understanding of economics and the market.
Over time the Nosler and Hornady cartridges are simply going to run away from the wsm's and wssm's and those shooting them will be stuck trying to buy hard to find very overpriced brass when everyone else is buying cheap abundant brass and factory ammo to get the same or better results.
Sadly, you are probably right. Fads will come and go and I'm okay with the dad's IF they provide some sort of performance gain in the process. Don't give me something innovative and interesting that's NOT innovative and interesting so you can make money. Give me a practical gain instead of feeding me over inflated numbers.
Hey, I've been decrying the downfall of the 6.5RM and .264wm for more than 30 years but it hasn't made them any more popular. I've just accepted reality.
Both of those cartridges are way ahead of their time and it was a shame that no one realized it at the time and high bc bullets were available to take advantage of such. You can not get on a forum today without seeing someone post how the 26 nosler is the greatest thing ever made, but when the .264win is brought up it's a SLOW BELTED INACCURATE CASE THAT BURNS BARRELS AND YOU WONT SEE 500 ROUNDS BEFORE ITS TOAST. TERRIBLE DESIGN....BUT WOW THAT 26 NOSLER!!!
