I wasn't really sure where to put this, but I'm curious how cartridges get their names. Like why is a 404 Jeffery called a 404 when the bullet is .423" diameter? Why not call it a 423 Jeffery? Why a 300 Win Mag instead of a 308 Win Mag? What's with all the rounding?

Thanks

in many instances it has to do with bore diameter.
.30 caliber has a .300"/7.62mm bore
this is especially true on metric cartridges:

6mm uses .243" bullets = 6.17mm
6.5mm uses .264" bullets = 6.71mm
7mm uses .284" bullets = 7.21mm
8mm uses .323" bulets = 8.20mm

on the other hand you got the .340 Wby, the inventor probably liked the name better.

Well while there is method to the madness the final name is the option of the developer.

The old black powder 44-40, 45-70, 45-90 etc were caliber and black powder charge. The 30-30 was th elast named that way even though it was smokeless.

30-06 was the 30 bore adopted by the US in 1906.

250-3000 was the first factory offering to pass the majic 3000fps Then when wildcatters necked it down it became the 22-250.

European went mainly with bullet and case length. 7x57, 8x57, 9.62x62. The the 9.3x66 became the 370Norma mag. Go figure.

I built a number of wildcats on a blownout 280 case. So I left the numbers ending in 0. 240, PDK, 250PDK, 340PDK, 350PDK, 380PDK, 400PDK (411 bullet like the Whelen) For some Reason the 6.5PDK & 416PDK. See no standard

Final name is what the developer wants to call it.

quote:

.30 caliber has a .300"/7.62mm bore

So how does one explaing the 7.62x54 and 7.62x39? They are 303 bore or 7.7mm like the 7.7 Jap.
And the 44mag? It uses a .429 bullet!

Perhaps it should be mentioned - just stating the obvious - that the 'bore' is the bore size prior to cutting the rifling.

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Originally posted by 303Guy:

quote:

.30 caliber has a .300"/7.62mm bore

So how does one explaing the 7.62x54 and 7.62x39? .

Consider the source???

How about the 38 special with .357 boolites? roger

When I was a kid in HS 45yrs ago, there was an old gent by the name of Mr Potter who was always at our local range. He always had a bunch of neat guns and was quite friendly. One day, I noticed he was shooting what I remember as an old Stevens single shot and he asked me if I wanted to try it. I did, very quite and almost no recoil. He showed me a loaded round, nothing I'd ever seen before. "Something I made up myself, a wildcat." he said. "Well, does it have a name?" I asked. "Sure does, I call it a 25 Fartnpop improved."

Many of the pistol cartridges of today are based on older cartridges, that were in turn based on still older cartridges. The original pistol cartridges were rimfires that used heeled bullets, so the bullet was the same diameter as the case body. When centerfire cartridges first appeared, they also used heeled bullets. The Russians had S&W change their 44 S&W cartridge to an inside lubed bullet, whose diameter was the same as the inside diameter of the case, instead of being the same as the outside diameter. Thus the 44 Russian cartridge was born, and the "44" caliber started using a .429" nominal diameter bullet. Later the 44 Russian became the 44 Special, and still later the 44 Magnum. Same thing happened to the 32's and 38's; they ended up at .311" and .357" diameter long before they grew into today's "magnum" cartridges.
Though no one has ever figured out why Winchester used a .401" bullet for their 38 WCF (or 38-40 as it is more commonly called today).

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Same thing happened to the 32's and 38's; they ended up at .311" and .357"

That explains it! But what about the 36's? OK, I know those were cap 'n ball revolvers, but weren't there a few 36 cartridges out there once?

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... .401" bullet for their 38 WCF ...

It does seem odd in light of the 38 pistol cartridges being 357 but it would be in line with the 308 bullet in the 30-30 WCF, naming the cartridge for the bore size and not the bullet diameter. But it's a necked down 44-40!!!? Ummm... right? - I'm not awake yet!

Sevens

Forget all those numbers. They will make your head hurt. Use the Wildcat system which tells you everyting you need to know about a cartridge.

Redneck, Long Neck, Short Neck, Fat Cat, Fat Mac, Fat Albert, Little Boy, Shorty, Orphan, Tent Stake, Irish, Brat, Waldog, Tom Cat, Guppy, Poo De Doo, Pup, Eraser, Firewalker, Tall Dog, Aardvark, Doggie, Ware Wolf, Wolf Pup, Boo Boo, Yogi.

Now those are REAL names.

Ray

My 2 favorites:

6.57 Scramjet

.338 Excalibur

I'm not sure who they are, but I'm sure I don't want to fuck with them.

Juggernaut76, you're not supposed to be using words like that but it was funny!

quote:

Juggernaut76, you're not supposed to be using words like that but it was funny!

Been to the Political Forum lately?