What do you predict will be the next fad in rifle cartridges? We have done long and skinny, short and fat and long and fat. Elec

[Beekeeper]

What do you predict will be the next fad in rifle cartridges? We have done long and skinny, short and fat and long and fat. Electronic ignition has also been tried by Remington and others as have caseless cartridges. These two types sort of fizzled if you will pardon the pun... So, what will it be ray guns or a return to the classics?

[KingFisher907]

good, thoughtful question...

maybe some sort of "smart" bullet that works along the same lines as laser-guided bombs...

[Jeff Bowers]

I read about the HK-11 caseless in 1989.

The only other fad I don't think has been debunked yet is the "flechette". 3mm super-strong tungsten darts fired at velocities past 5000 fps. Designed for extreme penetration factor.

Last I read (about 1991), they had been testing at Aberdeen Proving Grounds with rifles they claimed could be modified from existing M16s.

I thought that would be pretty neato, but haven't heard anything since.

[KingFisher907]

"smart" bullets

http://www.snipercountry.com/Articles/SmartBullets.asp

[Del in KS]

We gun nuts are for the most part a conservative lot. Note all the negative comments on the new Vinci. The old stuff never goes out of style. Just read the recent thread on bringing back the double auto. The subject quickly morphed into talk about old Brownings and Winchesters. In-line muzzleloaders are finicky and just not that much fun. Give me my hand made Flintlock Longrifle. I could tinker and shoot the thing all day with a pound or two of lead and some Goex 3F without getting bored. Count me with the old fogies that like old stuff.

[MLH]

I am keeping it a secret until I can patent it. Just kidding, sort of ... I do have a couple of ideas.

Perhaps more along the lines of the .375 Ruger and .338 Federal that seem to offer balanced performance in unbelted cases. Perhaps expanding the use of proprietary powders to provide improved performance in current cartridges - whatever "improved" means - more velocity, less erosion, etc. - especially with the typically longer unleaded bullets.

[idahooutdoors]

I think with the downturn in the economy we may see a return to the old economical standbys. A lot cheaper to hunt elk with the old 30-06 than a new wonder mag. Even for re-loaders, smaller cartridges hold less powder, and therefore are cheaper to shoot. Hunters may have to buck up and get a little closer to their quarry...but that is part of hunting.

[steve182]

The Classics never go out of style, and in times like these, as Idaho states, will reclaim marketshare lost to newfangled, expensive, flash in the pan gimmicks like Really really short fat magnumns.

[steve182]

I think handloading will gain popularity once the components become widely available again, for fear of not being able to get ammo. Rightfully so.

[shane]

Idaho! Yes! I'm hoping this will be the case. The majority of my guns are 40-50, if not way more years old. They all work really great. In fact, the one that game fears the most was designed in 1899 and made before WWII! The old stuff works great, and there isn't much new that beats it.

[buckhunter]

I think with everyone filming hunts now that tracer bullets may become popular.

[Beekeeper]

Oh god, just what we need... tracer rounds... With the mentality of the TV hunt show crowd I bet it happens.

[ishawooa]

Excellent question. I have often pondered if a synthetic or spaceage plastic cartridge case will appear one day. Of course these rounds most likely would not be reloadable and by that fact alone ammo supply could be monitored by the powers that be if they were so inclined. Even thought I have a super duper wonder mag or two I still use my older .270 or 7-08 rifles as well since I tend to fall in the very conservative group for the most part.

[Edward J. Palumbo]

I suspect that the next interesting development may be an advance in bullet technology or metallurgy...or possibly a caseless cartridge that provides consistent burning rates and is applicable to sporting cartridges. We've seen a broad spectrum of burning rates in powders, and there seems to be a cartridge (or two or three) to cover every game or target application, but a development in propellant could make a difference and open new possibilities. We're not at the pinnacle of ballistic development or cartridge innovation; we're much further along than we were 50-100 years ago, but we've much more to explore...filament-wound barrels that are reinforced or strengthened by aramid fibers, barrels that weigh less but provide the rigidity, cross-section and benefit of heavy, varmint-weight barrels. We really do have quite a lot to look forward to, gentlemen.

[Jim in Mo]

Its taken five hundred years of development for the cartridge as we know it to get this far. I think things will stay the same for awhile. It's people and their needs that will have to change first.