What really makes it a magnum?

[Lefty7mmstw]

Re: Beyond the "belt"?

Oh and PS, the only references that I could find for the "shoe test", involved actual "footwear". Ever hear of "magnum" brand boots?

It's kind of a joke in these parts that if it takes any more effort than tapping the bolt with your shoe, you've been loading too hot. I thought you'd get a few hits on other forums-I know I've seen it before elsewhere while lurking.
We've all seen the person wrenching on the bolt to get her open whilst searching for new frontiers. It's usually the guy with the little gun who should have gotten the bigger gun but wanted to run cheap(brass, powder charges, etc.).

 

[FEENIX]

I think magnum is a term that appeals to our "machismo" and it is used as a selling point.

Yep! Similarly noted on post #7.

 

[elkaholic]

Re: Beyond the "belt"?

It's kind of a joke in these parts that if it takes any more effort than tapping the bolt with your shoe, you've been loading too hot. I thought you'd get a few hits on other forums-I know I've seen it before elsewhere while lurking.
We've all seen the person wrenching on the bolt to get her open whilst searching for new frontiers. It's usually the guy with the little gun who should have gotten the bigger gun but wanted to run cheap(brass, powder charges, etc.).

I love it! (Magnum boots). I had a magnum chunk of tamarck firewood where I grew up in northern Mi. I decided to run some reduced loads in my nearly new 25-06 (early seventys) and loaded up a few grains of Red Dot behind a 75 grainer. Things were going very well the first three or four shots; low recoil, fairly good groups, etc. FUN!! The next shot was more of a hiss than a bang and I thought I actually had a misfire. I grabbed the bolt and nothing moved! I took it home and used a piece of cured tamarack to hammer the bolt open. When the bolt finally came out, the brass was fused into the bolt face and had to be pried out with a pair of vice grips. The brass was perfectly molded the shape of the boltface with a 1/4" pin shape which came out of the ejector pin hole (yikes)! Any estimates on what the chamber pressure was? I learned a few things that day on having a few grains of shotgun powder moving around in a large case! It does say something for the 700 action.I still have that old rifle now chambered in 6.5 Sherman and it still has a pitted bolt face.......Rich

 

[Max Heat]

I hope you invested in a powder checking die after THAT one! I certainly did, after once almost feeling like I was frozen in time, as I stared in disbelief at the number showing on the chronograph. I had to use a rubber mallet to get the bolt open and extract the spent shell. But at least everything remained in one piece. I suspect that it did loosen up the head space though. Then the realization hit me, that the time had indeed come, to step up to something bigger. Enter the Ultra...

 

[LouBoyd]

When you guys get this one figured out, you might want to determine what makes a product "long lasting".

Being useful, vesitile, and moderate cost are what makes a cartridge long lasting. The 22LR and the 45-70 are around 150 years old. The 30-06 and 30-30 are over 100 years old and still very popular. Many decent cartridges have fallen by the wayside. In some cases the gun that fired them was more important than the cartridge itself. I consder the Win 94 lever rifle the main reason the 30-30 survived while many rifles handle the 30-06 well.

As to what's a "magnum" it just marketing hype and nothing else.. Consider that the 256 Winchester Magnum only has 22 grains case capacity though it has more pressure and slightly more case capacity than the 25-20 which it competed against for sales when it was introduced in 1960. The 50 BMG which I've never heard called a "magnum" has 300 grains case capacity and is the largest and most powerful cartridge commonly in use by civilian shooters.

 

[elkaholic]

Being useful, vesitile, and moderate cost are what makes a cartridge long lasting. The 22LR and the 45-70 are around 150 years old. The 30-06 and 30-30 are over 100 years old and still very popular. Many decent cartridges have fallen by the wayside. In some cases the gun that fired them was more important than the cartridge itself. I consder the Win 94 lever rifle the main reason the 30-30 survived while many rifles handle the 30-06 well.

As to what's a "magnum" it just marketing hype and nothing else.. Consider that the 256 Winchester Magnum only has 22 grains case capacity though it has more pressure and slightly more case capacity than the 25-20 which it competed against for sales when it was introduced in 1960. The 50 BMG which I've never heard called a "magnum" has 300 grains case capacity and is the largest and most powerful cartridge commonly in use by civilian shooters.

Agree! Good points all.......Rich

 

[Max Heat]

I most certainly agree, that the 1894 model win lever-action that today's model is STILL based on, IS what has kept the 30-30 in play, as one of the highest-selling center-fire rifle cartridges out there. Not only is it much smallar than average for .30 cal rounds, it is even 25% smaller than carbine rounds (7.62 x 30 vs. 7.62 x 39, right?). But hey, at least for a kid's first year dear hunting, it does beat the 12 gauge slugger.

Anyways, with this being a "magnum" thread, I am surprised that no one has yet mentioned the infamous "do I feel lucky?" line that, for all intents and purposes, did give the word an entirely "new" meaning. It catapulted sales of magnum firearms (mostly the .44 revolver, obviously) to new levels. But I think that recently, sales of mags must have been slipping, prompting the introduction of the .500 "magnum" revolver. And probably also the ultramag, for rifles. Indisputably I would say, that DOES take "magnum" to the next higher level, of "meaning".

 

[Lefty7mmstw]

I most certainly agree, that the 1894 model win lever-action that today's model is STILL based on, IS what has kept the 30-30 in play, as one of the highest-selling center-fire rifle cartridges out there. Not only is it much smallar than average for .30 cal rounds, it is even 25% smaller than carbine rounds (7.62 x 30 vs. 7.62 x 39, right?). But hey, at least for a kid's first year dear hunting, it does beat the 12 gauge slugger.

Anyways, with this being a "magnum" thread, I am surprised that no one has yet mentioned the infamous "do I feel lucky?" line that, for all intents and purposes, did give the word an entirely "new" meaning. It catapulted sales of magnum firearms (mostly the .44 revolver, obviously) to new levels. But I think that recently, sales of mags must have been slipping, prompting the introduction of the .500 "magnum" revolver. And probably also the ultramag, for rifles. Indisputably I would say, that DOES take "magnum" to the next higher level, of "meaning".

30 (cal)-- 30 (grains powder) aka the 30 wcf or 30-30 win

30 (cal)--40 (grains powder)-- 220 (grain bullet)-- aka the 30-40 krag

the US cartridges of that era are usually cal, powder weight, and/or bullet weight with some using year of introduction like the 30-06 springfield

They've got to put more toys out to keep gun sales going--if the '06 and 270 were the only show the average guy could afford like they were in '25, they wouldn't be selling anywhere the guns they are. A side benefit of getting taken by all the nice shiny new options is some actually ARE better than the older choices out there.
I don't mind a good revolver-- I've got a super red-hawk 44 that will knock out a clay bird off-hand every time at 100 yards with select lead bullet hand-loads using blade sights.