I will name three that come to mind and you may want to name more. The 284 Winchester, 6 MM Remington, and the 41 Remington magnum. What happened? These are not just good but better than most in their class. I understand that marketing and timing have a big influence on the success of any product but why do gun makers continue to ignore the usefulness of such good designs?

Cause they're the same people who push the .225 Winchester and other dogs on to the shooting public. I'm a big fan of the .338 federal but I worry it'll **** out, although the recent surge in the AR-10 platform might save it. My personal favorite ignored cartridge is the .264 win mag. Also nearly died due to poor marketing and stiff competition from the 7mm rem mag.

Because there isn't a nickel's worth of difference between them and the next cartridge. The big mystery is why there are so many redundant ballistic twins (or triplets or more) out there.

Amen Tom. The .270/.280 debate has kept many gun writers employed for the last 30-40 years according to my research.

I agree with you up to a point. The 7 MM 08 didn't hit the market until 1980 and has a strong following but the 284 Winchester, slightly better ballistics, dwindled by the wayside. Sometimes I think all it takes is a new name to revitalize an old product.

So far I haven't seen anything listed I'm interested in except the 30-40...

It is a marketing ploy. "This new cartridge is as good as the proven X, but is superior because it has these minor modifications and is available exclusively in our fine firearms." Five years later ammo is not commonly available and there is a different whizzbang cartridge of the year.

And here I am still using the 6.5x55 . . .

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Now go make God proud...

And there you go. Why the 6.5x55 and not the 8x57 Mauser? There are dozens of early military cartridges that exist only because every country had to have its own, even though like sporting cartridges there is not a nickel's worth of difference. But the ammo companies have to come up with something new to sell.

.22LR, .223, .308 and .375 H&H - that covers it. Not that I would want to have to live in that world....

.32 Winchester Special. Took my first deer with one in a Marlin lever gun. .444 Marlin, pushed aside by a regenerated .45-70.

On a side note, what's with all these super short magnums?

I think the super short magnums may already be gasping for air.

A shorter more powerful 300 Win Mag in a shorter lighter rifle... I cannot imagine why they would not sell boat loads of them. Reminds me of the time years ago when I talked to a 15 year old coming back from his deer stand on his 4-wheeler. He had a little east TX spike buck on the back. I asked what rifle he had, he said a Ruger 77 Mk-II .257 Roberts. I said that is perfect for hunting around here. He said, my dad uses a .338 Win Mag and that's what I want. Needs and wants, so hard to tell the difference.

AFASIK, there is only one rifle offered in .35 Remington. It is a special order item and it costs more than I can afford.Not much in .300 H&H, either. Those are good cartridges that are hard to find.

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and what his trumpet saith

303 Savage
300 Savage
250 Savage
22 High Power

Can you tell I like Savages?

I like cartridges that are mainstream like the .38 Special, the .45 ACP,
the .30-O6 and the 308.

I also like cartridges that are a bit different. So I'm a big fan of the .41
Magnum. And my favorite deer rifle is a Ruger 77RL in .250 Savage.

It is "perfect for deer hunting around here," and I wouldn't hesitate to
try it outside the U.P. either. I hunt grouse with a 20 gauge mostly now, but for years my bird gun was a 16 gauge Model 12.

My favorites have had a lot of competition. Someone opined that if the .41 had been called the .41 "Keith" instead of the .41 "Magnum" it might have slipped past the political correctness that made Magnum a suspect name in the crazy 1960s.

I remember riding into Minneapolis to visit my late grandmother one night back then. Dad (gone now too) was driving the the radio was on.
Some councilman from Mpls or St. Paul was all in a lather about the
police force getting a shipment of AR15s. It got worse before it got
better, and then worse again...

I think it was confusion about "police" and "hunting" loads, recoil, and
gun weight that marginalized the .41. As it happens the .40 S&W is
awfully close to the Police .41 load with some bullet weights.

I think that was copied from the benchrest community, which ironically has started to get away from the super squat cases again... LOL

In a BR gun I can see it, shorter bolt, less action flex yadda yadda yadda.... as a utility gun? They have great utility in separating people from their money.

Is the Marlin 336 in .35 Remington now a special order rifle? My son bought one new off the shelf just a few years ago, and has taken a lot of Pennsylvania deer with it.

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Oh well, what the hell.

I have a bunch of rifles in 270, 7X57, 30-30, 308, 30-06, 300 H&H and 30-40, 357 and 44 mag. Some of those rifles I own two of each caliber.
What might surprise you is I think I like 7x57 the best cartridge wise.. I have a ruger 77R in it. Heres what I like about it. It is soft kicking, real accurate, flat shooting, and I notice various weight bullets seem to shoot to the same POA.
Its all anyone needs in this country. Would you belive its probley one of my cheapest rifles? I belive thats also the oldest cartridge of them all. I dont need but own the rest.

I was kind of surprised when I heard that the 35 Remington reloading component brass was going to be a 'seasonal' production thing. Maybe I shouldn't be, I don't think you can make it fit into an AR as it is.

My Remington '08's & 81 are pretty easy on brass if you load conservatively. The other calibers are already on the extinct list though they run 30Rem brass every once in a while..

Another of my favorites are 6.5x53R Steyr and it's rimless cousin 6.5x54M/S
Weaklings,,,Probably not good for use on anything these days anymore.

No super short magnums here though..

Is the .25/06 still alive ?

The .284 does what that the .270 doesn't? The same for the .41 mag vs the .44 mag or the 6mm vs the .243 win. Except to cause you to buy another firearm which in itself ain't all bad. Joe

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Wisdom chases me; I'm faster

Redundancy....Hmmm...How's it work?

I've become a big fan of the 12.7x44R, since it is far superior to the .45-70 in the fact that it has a longer nomenclature.


Honorable mention:
9mm Federal
.38 S&W
.35 S&W
7.5 Swedish Ord Revolver/ 7.5 Swiss revolver
.45 Super
.460 Rowland
.45 Win Mag
.22 Winchester Auto

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Lost it all in a boat accident

I've seen less persuasive opinions in gun magazines.

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Oh well, what the hell.

The .22 Winchester Rimfire (.22 WRF) is a great little round. Ammo is still produced & I have a Colt Police Positive Target model in that caliber. Ballistically, it is between a .22LR and a .22 Mag.I don't that anyone currently makes a gun for the cartridge though .

Of course you know that the 6.5x55 (1891) predates the 8x57 by a good bit.

And I do have one of those, too. I was just being a smart alec.

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Now go make God proud...

Both my sons as well as myself own a custom mauser action rifle each chambered in 257 Roberts. I don't know how great a cartridge it actually is, but it sure sounds cool!

I'd love to own a .260 Remington just because it can use a shorter action than the 6.5 x 55.

Aside from the oft sited .244 being rifled for lighter bullets than the .243 I think the shorter actioned .243 made a big difference for hunters.

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Regards, Ron
USASA 1965/69

Sorry, I should have said bolt action in. .35 Remington. I forgot about the Marlin.

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and what his trumpet saith

Don't forget the ever-popular 2.7mm Kolibri!

They were all the marketing/product developments dept's answers to questions never asked.

Oh.... I almost forgot the .41 Long Colt which was an Elmer Keith favorite. It holds the distinction of being the only true .38 revolver w/ a bore diameter of .380.

Fine old cartridge. For many years I've wanted rifles in .257 Roberts and 7X57, but never owned either.

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Oh well, what the hell.

I sure like my 30-06 and haven't seen anything better, although i have an 8X57 and a 7mm Rem Mag.

I actually have like 8 rounds of that caliber. It was too close to .270. The 6mm was a good caliber, used during the early part of my deer hunting career.

I'm going out and find a .30 T/C rifle to shoot...

Feralmerril, I’ve always been a 7x57 fan but I think of all of the center fire rifle calibers I've owned over the years the most practical was an 7x57 Ackley Improved. It had a 28” barrel and on the top end I could load real close to 7 Remington Mag or load it down for groundhogs.

The answer to the original question is marketing. The times I've had to narrow my firearm accumulation down I've always ended up with a 22LR, 30-06, 45ACP, 16ga and 50 caliber flintlock. Then newest caliber in that line-up has been around for over 100 years.

Tom makes some good points. What you need probably is a lot more boring than what you want. Me? I shoot;

250 Savage (but like to call it 250-3000)
257 Roberts
280 Rem (My go to rifle if its raining, stainless, or I want to kill something dead dead)
41 mag

I have others but those are my favorites. I don't need but would probably buy a 7x57. Don't know why. It can't do anything the .280 or my 30-06 can do but I would like to own one.

Alive and well in my house.

From left to right.

30/06, 8mm Mauser, 7.62x54, 303 Brit.

I just can sold off all 8mm Mauser.

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I own and love them all. I also have a 7x57 and 8x57 lying around here somewhere. I guess I'm behind the times.

My 218 Bee won't likely ever leave here either.

I own two centerfire rifles, both model 70's, in 7x57 & 250-3000 Ackley. The Ackley-ized 250 was maybe a mistake since it doesn't feed as well in a bolt gun (in my bolt gun anyway) as the factroy 250, and due to the fat shoulder fits one less round in the magazine. It's pretty much the ballistic equivalent of the 257 Roberts. BTW I think the 250-3000 would be a fine cartridge for an "assault rifle" with an 87 grain bullet at 3000 or a 100-grain at 2800. About halfway between the 5.56 & 7.62 catridges.

Last thing I want is a more powerful round in a lighter rifle. I like my teeth set firmly in my jaws.

Long-time admirer of the .41 mag, wish I still had one. As for rifles, as long as I have my .223 and .30-06, I'm good for anything on the continent--well, maybe not for the big Alaskan Brownies.

The better question might be: why do they keep coming out with new rounds that don't do anything better than existing ones? IMHO some new cartridges that do make sense are the 375 Ruger which duplicates 375 H&H performance but using a shorter case so a standard-length action can be used, and the 338 Federal which is a 308 case necked up to use a bigger heavier more effective 338 bullet- sort of halfway between the 308 & 358. Also some of the newer lever gun cartridges.
It's interesting to read through PO Ackley's circa 1960 "Handbook for Shooters & Reloaders" and discover that wildcatters were developing a lot of short & fat, long & fat, and necked up-or-down cartridges 50 or more years ago that closelt resemble some of today's "new" cartridges.

I always figured a wildcat called the .308/'06 would be just the ticket.

Brilliant!

It is one of the few rounds I see in my local Walmart here in Yuma

One I just haven't gotten around to try out yet is my M1910 Ross Sporter in .280 Ross.

Looks like a fine cartridge,,don't they all.
Odd oversized diameter 7mm bullet @ .287/88, straight pull action that many fear as suicidal to fire and the most famous use of the rifle and caliber ended in the hunter being mauled to death by a lion after receiving 2 or 3 hits from one of these.

I'll keep my targets as paper ones. Maybe I can get good enough to make shots like Eastwood did in Joe Kidd when he used a 1910 Ross Sporter T/D w/scope to ring that guys bell at about 800yds.

I did find a set of RCBS dies. Cases are made from 375 Ruger of all things. Some make them from the standard belted mag cases, removing the belt and fireforming. I'll try the Rugers.

Open rear sight, one standing blade marked '0-500yds'. Impressive!
Front sight blade replaced at a deer camp no doubt one time with a half of a War time steel penny. That'll stay just because..
Flip-up rear peep sight mounted flush on the rear bridge. Special name for it, can't remember it. Porter Sight perhaps?

It's different,,odd,,old enough. So i usually like it.

anybody ever hear about a .22 Mach caliber? i can't seem to find any reference on the internet other than .17 mach 2 calibers...yet my uncle got one at a raffle(for a $1!!) that has that caliber marked on it...