Why do we pic the carts we do? Nostalgia carts vs wildcats and carts less than 75 years old is an interesting thing to me.

I don't see carts like the win mags as appealing but wildcats do appeal to me as well as the nostalgia carts. Why do people pick the 7 mag over the 7x57? I know it is convenient to buy a 7 mag with guns and ammo everywhere but a wildcat or a traditional old cart just speaks to me.

The renaissance of the old carts being produced in guns and ammo is great. To order a semi custom 404 and factory ammo is wonderful. I also like the soon to be 404-375 wildcat.

This is the heart of the 375 Ruger 375 HH heated debates.

I like the idea of hunting because it is what we have always done as humans for sport and for food save the last 75 years.

This is why I love the 45-70 and not the 450 Marlin. I love the 405 Win and 405 wildcats and since there are not any other "New" 405's it is a cool caliber for me.

Other than convenience why a 7 Mag, 458 Win mag?

I have to agree with the nostalgia approach. Here's what's in my safe, in the order I acquired them:

12g
22LR
270Win
375H&H
45/70
45Colt
416Rigby

So that makes the newest one on my list... what.. 1925?

I guess my problem with the newer cartridges (though it's not really a problem) is the whole "me too!" syndrome. ie: the 280Rem and the 375/416 Ruger are offered as some kind of "improvement" where there really is none.

But.. as has been debated countless times on the internet, none are bad, there are choices, and choices are good.

All things being equal (or even close), I go with nostalgia.

I use 30-06,45/70 and 30-30 but also 44mag and 7mm-08. The 7mm selected because it was the only chambering in the rifle I wanted. I prefer 7x57 but it is not practical. And 44mag for the handy lever rifles by Marlin, companion to my Redhawk.

I like the 375H&H and 416 Rigby, but if I must, I might consider a 338 or 458WM if available in the Ruger Alaskan package.

In the over 50 class, I wish Hornady would bring back the 577NE.

I love the old ones. But there are times that a new wildcat is

just what the doctor ordered. Look at Hubel's 499 HE based on

the 450 #2 NE brass. It's a brass that's clearly more findable

than the 475 #2 NE, the .499" diam. bullet will be under the .50

cal ban that is almost a certainty to be imposed world wide some

time in the future, and if it's weighted at 570 grains it will out

penetrate the 500 NE and have lower pressure, and have longer

brass life with the same energy striking the animal. I call that

a winner ahead of the curve! I'd love to have the skill to build

a shoe lump or chopper lump or even a mono block set of bbls

for my D/R in this Hubel caliber.

Is it nostalgia or knowing what works that draws people to the older cartridges?

I love my 'cats ... but they can be a pain in the butt to the non-reloader or those that don't like to tinker with case forming.

Latest purchases however have been a 450/400NE No1 and a 303British on order. Might grab me a 300H&H too.

Choices are good!
Cheers...
Con

Big Jack... You know i love Wildcats

Most of my medium and big game hunting is done with a 375 H&H and a 6.5x284.

Whichever fits the need best, I don't care how old (or young) a cartridge is.

Well the 6.5x284 was a wildcat till recent so it passes

quote:

Originally posted by Fjold:
Most of my medium and big game hunting is done with a 375 H&H and a 6.5x284.

Whichever fits the need best, I don't care how old (or young) a cartridge is.

I liked bigbore calibres of any type when before the safari boom especially pre-internet you would have to spend years sifting through articles, travelling to gunshows, writing to far away places , just to build or find brass for something large and unusual. it was an absolute buzz.also mind blowing when hardcore gun nuts met for the first time on internet forums.

Now all the average guy has to do is log on and send a few emails to have his posh and dandy 500 Jeffery, or develope a new 505/378/408/nyatibogo/doneitfiftytimesalready 2.75" short/long/rebated cartridge. Unless its really different and crazy its lost a lot of flavour for me

karl.

Boomie,

Nostalgia plays a role in my choices too - which is why I have a '71 'Cuda convertible, a hard-tail bike, 33LPs and a Marlin 336 in 35 Remington. These are fun things and work as well now as they did when the were "new".

But in some cases and some areas there have been substantial improvements. For whitetail deer hunting in the Catskills (which I do), anything you pick will do the job just fine. I've used the 35Rem, 45/70, 450 Marlin, 8mm Rem mag, 30-06, 44mag (S&W 629), 357mag (Ruger GP100), 260 Rem, 30-30, 257 WBY, 300 Win and countless others over the last 40 years of hunting.

As you know I was in Africa last September with my dad. I wouldn't take any of those (except perhaps the 300 or 8mm mag for PG). I think when it comes to hunting - which means cleanly and quickly taking life - we have an obligation to use the best tool for the job.

A 375 H&H works as well today as it did when it was created and is no better or worse than any of the other 375 iterations out there now. In a case such as this, my choice would be determined fit me best and caught my eye most. I'd choose a 378 Weatherby for no other reason than I like how Weatherby stocks fit me, I like how the 378 shoots, I like how the WBY cartridge looks and I have confidence in how it works. If you said "Paul, I am taking you to Africa but you'll have to use a Model 70 in 375 H&H" I'd be at my reloading bench seconds later and never regret using that rifle and caliber!

Now if you said I'd have to use a 45/70 ...

I've always been kind of a gun nut and until recently I was pretty actively trading and buying guns as a hobby all unto itself so I've been able to shoot/hunt with a variety of cartridges old and new. What I've settled on now as my go to calibers are the '06 and 375H&H. These two calibers are as good as ever and in fact now are far better than they were originally with the advent of new powders and bullets. If a new caliber came on the market that really was a great improvement I'd have to look at it but what I've seen in the last few years is nothing but reinventing the wheel.

Mark

quote:

'71 'Cuda convertible

Alright! Mopar fan!

Pics please!

The 70 has been a fave of mine. In High School my best friend had a 73

Love all classics but Mopars are my absolute favorite.

quote:

Originally posted by boom stick:

quote:

'71 'Cuda convertible

Alright! Mopar fan!

Pics please!

The 70 has been a fave of mine. In High School my best friend had a 73

Love all classics but Mopars are my absolute favorite.

Will ahve to wait until tonight - can't access photo sites here at work.

But, had a '69 Chevelle SS 396, 73 'Cuda 383, '71 Barracuda convertible 318, '71 RoadRunner 440 SixPack (In-Violet purple), and now a 1971 'Cuda convertible 383 which I am in process of restoring but will be a Hemi in the end.

I'll dig up some photos and post a few later.

Save that 383 engine if it is original!
440 six pack Road Runner... Awesome!

I try to take the practical approach. That lead to two 458 lotts. I did go nostalgic on the 500 Jeffrey, but that was due to a good deal on brass and a gunsmith who worked out a trade on the barrel work so it was a practical approach to get it built. If I did another 50 it would be a 500 A-sq, no question.

But, I look at the best design for the application, and in many cases that is the newer designs. I can't think of a 45 cal or larger bolt gun chambering that isn't best performed with a newer design. Single's and doubles, the old rimmed chamberings are as good as ever.

For run of the mill stuff, I've gone with what works - which to me means that it has stood the test of time - as long as it's available without too much trouble.

I don't think that necessarily qualifies as nostalgia, but it's probably close.

For special purpose stuff, I've generally gone with what is best and most practical.

For example, my fifty is a .500 A-Square, and not a Jeffery or a Gibbs.

Each to his own taste.

Without innovation...wildacts of all persuasions...there wouldn't be advancement and we would be stuck in an ever deepening rut.

There is ALWAYS a beginning point...sometimes there is/was only ONE available to use and never any choice until someone decided to do something about it.

Without nostalgia, innovation would take over and all the "oldies but goodies" would soon vanish.

One without the other would make a very dull world and even duller people.

It isn't a question of either/or but of and/or.

The reasons for wildcats have changed over the years just as the need for newer "things" have changed.

The reasons I like/build wildcats is to have something "different" and for having the "standards" is to have something
"the same"...for the hundreds of reasons already scattered about on this and other forums, and we all like to blow smoke in all the various forms.

I think the "oldies" waxing poetic about the XXXXX he used to take his first XXXXX is just dreams of a that "different time" and total sheep dip....and the "newby" getting worked up in a sweat over the latest XXXXX and the XXXX he/she is gonna whack, is just dreams of that "new time's-a-coming" and total sheep dip....

The best part is the pleasure of the dream whether it already happened or is about to.

Be happy some live in a place where this still can happen...unless things change radically, we are ALL going down the road to the gallows talking to ourselves.

It doesn't matter whether it's nostalgia or present day, it is stlll dreams we want to turn back into reality or dreams we want to happen.

Hey...it's ALL good.

I just "commissioned" a 300 H&H Magnum rifle last week. It will be a replica of a 1920s Westley Richards in the great old 300 H&H. I've done the 300 RUM, Weatherby, Lazzeroni route in the past, but the tapered seductiveness of the old 300 H&H is what I want now.

Good on you Biebs.

Sadly, I only hunt for deer and now antelope. Since my 300 was stolen back in college I'm using a 30-06 Enfield and a Swiss K31.

They're battling over which will be my rifle, meaning it will be the rifle I use for life. I got tired of looking in the safe and saying, hmmm... which rifle should I hunt with today?

I'd love a 500 A-Square or a Gibbs, but I've shot both and have to say it's an aesthetic/nostalgia thing. Holding a 505 gibbs in your hands envokes a different feeling. The same way a Mercedes 6.9 or a 500E is better in my eyes than a Brabus Bullit...

Biebs, You will love the 300H&H. Mine is a pre64 M70, all original, that accompanied me to Namibia 3yrs ago. The 10.75x68 is going to Moz this September. I so love the old stuff, especially the metrics.

Nostalgia is wonderful for collectors, old folks and those who dream more than do but in and of it'self it ain't woth a bucket of warm spit.

Serious users, whether they are race car drivers, target shooters, SOCOM operators or PH's tend to pick the TOOL that works best.

Fortunately here in our world we can often have both.

quote:

Originally posted by 458Win:
Nostalgia is wonderful for collectors, old folks and those who dream more than do but in and of it'self it ain't woth a bucket of warm spit.

Serious users, whether they are race car drivers, target shooters, SOCOM operators or PH's tend to pick the TOOL that works best.

Fortunately here in our world we can often have both.

Good point!

Examples:
30-06
375 H&H
416 Rigby
458WM

Nostalgia plays a very, very small part in cartridge selection for me. I want what works for me.

It may be old (I love the 45 Colt) or it may be new (Love the .375 Ruger) but it has to work, and I really don't care which historical figure slayed dragons with it (or didn't)

There is nothign wrong with MAKING history, as well as repeating it...

quote:

Originally posted by boom stick:
Save that 383 engine if it is original!
440 six pack Road Runner... Awesome!

Here you go - varios states of restoration




The B5 blue 71 Barracuda and In Violette 71 RoadRunner 440 SixPack are gone and I now have the flat black 71 Cuda convertible for which I am gathering some NOS for the painfully slow build. That's my Number 1 who has been assistimg me at the racetrack, in restoration bay and at reloading bench since she was able to stand.