Why so many different cartridges?

[Bear44]

So how did it go from Whisper to Blackout? It would be cool if Whisper was for subsonic loads.

Why wouldn't the powers that be, who ever that might be, stop producing the 458 Win Mag and just use 458 LOTT?

I think the name change had something to do with it being adopted by a company for commercial production. The wildcat round was called the Whisper.

Because there are still a lot of people that like the 458 Win Mag. On top of that, there are a lot of older rifles that are chambered in 458 Win Mag, so if they are going to keep producing ammo for it, they might as well make new rifles in it, too. This is true of a LOT of rifles cartridges. The 300 Win Mag is an example of that.

The 300 WSM is an inherently more accurate case design and can be loaded to about 98% of the capabilities of the 300 Win Mag. Now try to convince 300 Win Mag fans that they should replace their rifles with the 300 WSM. GLWTS LOL!

 

[SOLGardener]

...The 300 Win Mag is an example of that.

The 300 WSM is an inherently more accurate case design and can be loaded to about 98% of the capabilities of the 300 Win Mag. Now try to convince 300 Win Mag fans that they should replace their rifles with the 300 WSM. GLWTS LOL!

One could say that about the 30'06. The .308 will do 98% of the stuff that the '06 will do, with less powder, and mostly more accuracy, but '06 is venerable, so it stays around. I agree with the sentiment, and many chamberings are due to someone having what they felt was a better solution to what was already available.

About any of the STW cartridges, or the Lazzeroni's, or for that matter, the Weatherby's fall in to this category. Weatherbys were all hot for caliber, holding to the theory of hydrostatic shot being a better killer than mass.

Heck, O'Conner and Elmer Keith both made careers on the light and fast vs. slow and fat ideas.

 

[drewga11]

I always thought 300 Blackout was created to provide a replacement for the MP5, because it could be used with subs for close range stuff like building clearing and with a simple mag swap could be used to engage targets out to 400-500 yds. Maybe wrong, but pretty sure I read that somewhere.

As far as 6.8SPC and 6.5 Grendel, again I may be wrong as I read it on the internet somewhere, both were supposedly developed as intermediate round between .223 and .308 for AR pattern rifles. I dont remember the reason given for needing an intermediate round between those 2 though.

 

[Bear44]

I always thought 300 Blackout was created to provide a replacement for the MP5, because it could be used with subs for close range stuff like building clearing and with a simple mag swap could be used to engage targets out to 400-500 yds. Maybe wrong, but pretty sure I read that somewhere.

As far as 6.8SPC and 6.5 Grendel, again I may be wrong as I read it on the internet somewhere, both were supposedly developed as intermediate round between .223 and .308 for AR pattern rifles. I dont remember the reason given for needing an intermediate round between those 2 though.

They aren't intermediate rounds. The 7.62/308 requires a different platform, thus the AR10 rather than the AR15. These cartridges are attempts for an improvement over the 5.56 in the AR15 platform.

 

[GAgunLAWbooklet]

One could say that about the 30'06. The .308 will do 98% of the stuff that the '06 will do, with less powder, and mostly more accuracy, but '06 is venerable, so it stays around...

A .308 and .30-06 are in the same class, performance-wise, I agree. The 100-200 f.p.s. velocity difference is minor, and can be negated by handloading.

But why would you say that the .308 as "mostly more accuracy" than the '06 ??

** Edited *** I don't know why, either, but a number of online articles document this, citing highpower rifle match scores going back to the 1950s and 1960s, side by side tests, and a lot of anecdotal evidence. I've never noticed it, or even heard it claimed before, until your comment made me go searching for it.

Hmm....

 

[palmettomoon]

30.06 offers way more bullet weight/styles/types/lengths than the .308 WIN.

 

[Thomas Eeyore]

Why are their so many different beers, it human nature and it depends on what you are hunting or range you are shooting at. I don't want to hunt Grizzly with a 22 LR.

 

[Lionheart]

I've been meaning to ask this question for some time and I always forget. I'm curious to know why there are so many different cartridges in the firearms world. Without going back in history just looking at some recent (to me) offerings I wonder why there are so many. For instance you have .300BO and .300 Whisper. Then you got 6.5 Creedmoor and 6.5 Grendel which I'm guess by the naming convention they arent the same. And where does 6.8SPC factor into the mix? And dont get me started on all the hunting rifle calibers like .243 or .270? I lose track of them all. It seems as though many cartridges might share bullet diameter but different case specs. Whats the point behind it all?

Btw it seems that its only like this in the rifle world. Most handguns are seem to have phased out the oddball offerings like 9x18

I dunno...for the same reason there are zillions of different cars, beers, golf clubs, etc.

Because variety is the spice of life.

Because new technology comes out every day.

Because rifles are used for many different reasons.

Because it is the nature of man to seek perfection.

Because ...well, just because.

 

[GAgunLAWbooklet]

The truth is, there are something like 600 rifle caliber cartridges out there today,
probably 300 obsolete ones
and 250 somewhat relevant and still-used ones,
and maybe 50 popular calibers.

BUT... nobody but collectors and history buffs would miss 40 out of those 50. We could do just fine with only 10 centerfire rifle-only calibers. (Assuming, in this hypothetical world, that gun manufacturers would choose to produce their guns in only these calibers. So that the M1 Garand would still be available, but in .308. All those AK-74 clones in 5.45 x 39mm would come, instead, in .223. All those Milsurp Mosins would come in .308, and the short action 7mm Mausers would be in .243 instead. And so on...)

1.) .22LR
2.) .17 HMR
3.) .223 Rem
4.) .243 Win.
5.) 7.62 x 39
6.) .30-30 Win
7.) .308
8.) some .300 magnum, which one doesn't matter
9.) .47-70 Gov't
10.) .375 Ruger Mag (or .375 Rem Ultra Mag).

One or more of those 10 rounds would be excellent choices for taking any game in the USA, and doing any popular shooting games, matches, or competitions.

The only thing you'd be missing would be some really specialized applications:
Subsonic rounds made for suppressor use: .300 AAC Blackout, .458 SOCOM
The biggest of the long-range rifle rounds: .50 BMG, .408 Chey-Tac. 338 Lapua Mag
The African safari "elephant rifle" rounds: .500 Nitro Express, .458 Win Mag, 460 Weatherby Mag.

 

[Flashover16]

It's like stippling. Everybody has a better idea.

Exactly!
everybody thinks they have a better cartridge,, when truthfully now with all the cartridges already out there most new cartridges don't really do much of anything that much better than an already existing cartridge, lets look at 45 GAP and the Winny Short magnum calibers, for example.
nothing against any but improvements?? not really.
so many good calibers have fell by the wayside simply because they were not popular or were not produced in high enough numbers to keep them going.
its like a new weapon introduced, many just got to have the newest toy on the market just to say they have it, and that's fine its their money.