Cartridges That Need to be Revamped or Revived

[Swamplord]

I don't stress much about the old cartridges because my 300 RUM & 338 EDGE make them all seem dinky and lacking power in comparison ..... but always did like & will always own the 6.5 Swede, 8mm Mauser, 350 Rem Mag, 8mm Rem Mag and 340 Wby Mag simply because they weren't what every Larry, Curly & Moe hunter carried and considered "all you need" ....

I absolutely hated with a passion that idiotic "all you need" nonsense ... used mostly by the 30-06 & 270 Win Fudds, reason why I chopped up my '06 Rem 700's into wildcats and forever refused to even consider anything in 270 ... Now the Creeds have exclipsed my distaste of the 270 Win by a huge margin

 

[vedauvoo]

So Sierra list 9 .277 Bullets from 115-175 https://www.sierrabullets.com/product-category/rifle/?filter_diameter=0-277&query_type_diameter=or

Hornady lists 14 .277 bullets from 100-150 https://www.hornady.com/bullets/rifle/#!/

Nosler lists 16 .277 bullets from 130-170 https://www.nosler.com/products/bullets.html?nl_caliber=334

Berger lists 6 .277 bullets from 130-170 https://bergerbullets.com/product-category/rifle-bullets/?caliber=270-caliber

With 45 bullets listed not including all the small and custom bullet manufactures I fail to see how we are limited in bullet selection when we have every thing from 100 gr varmint to 175 gr big game bullets. Build your 270s and go kill stuff!

…consider me schooled. Irony is, for 20 years all I had was a Ruger M77 tang safety 270 Win, fixed power 6x Leupold, and with that rifle downed about half the deer, elk, and pronghorns I ever killed.

Still have that rifle. 130 and 150 gr Partitions worked every time.

 

[436]

I would add 308 Norma Magnum. Very difficult to find any brass let alone factory ammo. I was able to buy some factory new brass but very expensive.

Have you ever tried using .338 Win Mag brass, the .30-338 Win Mag is almost a dead ringer for the .308 Norma Mag?

 

[fishdundee]

I can't believe no one has mentioned the 7mm STW. Can't believe this cartridge taking second to anything available now. Properly throated, this will do anything a 28 nosler can.

 

[IanCo]

I can't believe no one has mentioned the 7mm STW. Can't believe this cartridge taking second to anything available now. Properly throated, this will do anything a 28 nosler can.

One my 7 Dakota brass is finished I will have a hard time not going with a 7 STW.

 

[jbronner13]

…consider me schooled. Irony is, for 20 years all I had was a Ruger M77 tang safety 270 Win, fixed power 6x Leupold, and with that rifle downed about half the deer, elk, and pronghorns I ever killed.

Still have that rifle. 130 and 150 gr Partitions worked every time.

The old saying "if it ain't broke don't fix it." Applies just the same as "use the right tool for the job at hand."

Would be foolish to try to cut up an onion with a screwdriver. But if you have a nice Wusthof 8 inch knife that has been doing the job for years, feels good in your hands and you use it well….is there a need to buy a brand new 10 inch Miyabi? (I like knives too )

 

[Hoss50]

.22-250 fast twist
.220 Swift fast twist
.243 win fast twist
.257 Roberts
6.5x55
6.5-06 AI
.257 weatherby fast twist
.264 Win Mag
8mm Rem Mag.

 

[j-shooter]

338 Federal would be the one I really hope they would revive. Great ballistic.

 

[WildRose]

There is always chatter on the boards about cartridges that are dying and don't deserve to or ones that aren't being used to their full potential, lots of activity discussing that old fogey 270 Winchester recently thanks to the sexy new 6.8 Western. I figured we should start a thread where we can talk about the issue and maybe some of the handloaders here can do some tinkering to give these dead or dying cartridges a new lease on life. What are some of the cartridges out there that you all think have potential and should be much more popular and prevalent than they are today? What is holding these cartridges back and how do we fix the issues? Here are a few I think could use a little love and attention:

1) 350 Remington Magnum
2) 8mm Remington Magnum
3) 284 Winchester
4) 6.5x55 SE
5) 6.5-06 A- Square
6) 338 Federal

264wm. Great round, ahead of it's time, doomed by inferior metals in slow twist barrels.

 

[DUCKMAN11]

I assume this thread is based on factory available rifles chambered in factory available ammo. If that is the scenario then in my opinion all of the 06' based cartridges except for the 280ai need a "revamp". Out of the 3 brands of rifles I prefer "bergara, howa, tikka" not one offers a 25-06 in a decent package anymore. It seems as if the long action standard bolt face cartridges are out and short fat magnums are in.

The limiting factor is now just twist rate. The high BC bullets are there and so are the powders to push them. An 8tw 270 with a 160+ and some RL26 behind it would be a monster. A standard 25-06 with a 7tw and a 130 is a Texas whitetail deer hunters dream. Now if we could get an ammo manufacturer to load them and a rifle company to make them is a totally different story.

Most of us have bypassed all of that by building and rolling our own.

 

[jbronner13]

338 Federal would be the one I really hope they would revive. Great ballistic.

Would love to build a 20 inch barrel brush gun for New England deer and bear in 338 federal

 

[jbronner13]

I assume this thread is based on factory available rifles chambered in factory available ammo. If that is the scenario then in my opinion all of the 06' based cartridges except for the 280ai need a "revamp". Out of the 3 brands of rifles I prefer "bergara, howa, tikka" not one offers a 25-06 in a decent package anymore. It seems as if the long action standard bolt face cartridges are out and short fat magnums are in.

The limiting factor is now just twist rate. The high BC bullets are there and so are the powders to push them. An 8tw 270 with a 160+ and some RL26 behind it would be a monster. A standard 25-06 with a 7tw and a 130 is a Texas whitetail deer hunters dream. Now if we could get an ammo manufacturer to load them and a rifle company to make them is a totally different story.

Most of us have bypassed all of that by building and rolling our own.

I agree with literally everything you said. When I initially started this thread I was thinking specifically about the 270 Winchester with a faster twist and heavier bullets, loaded hot….it's basically a 6.8 western.

 

[Darryle]

338 Federal would be the one I really hope they would revive. Great ballistic.

Problem is, it's pinned between 2 more popular, more efficient and effective cartridges of the same family. I built a trio of ARs in 308, 338 and 358 Winchester, using WC barrels, the 308 and 358 were more accurate, but that didn't stop me from loving the 338 Federal. So much so, I plan a build on a stripped Model 7 stainless action so I can see exactly what it will do.

 

[jbronner13]

Problem is, it's pinned between 2 more popular, more efficient and effective cartridges of the same family. I built a trio of ARs in 308, 338 and 358 Winchester, using WC barrels, the 308 and 358 were more accurate, but that didn't stop me from loving the 338 Federal. So much so, I plan a build on a stripped Model 7 stainless action so I can see exactly what it will do.

I am working on a Remage build on a 700 action, waiting on the barrel to get here but wanted to do a switch barrel rig and get a 338 federal barrel for it. Nothing like dipping your toes into a new rifle cartridge for just the cost of a barrel.

Pacific Tool and gauge had some Model 7 actions for sale recently, I think the had bolts and triggers added though.