Is there a new cartridge that has come into existence since 1990 to present day that has made a huge difference in the rifle world ?
If there is one then in what way did it have an impact beyond what already existed ?

To name a few:

6.5 Creedmoor
6.5 PRC
300 PRC
7mm PRC
450 Bushmaster
300 Blackout

The first four opened new levels of chambering precision in factory rifles and are optimized for high BC bullets. The last two greatly broadened the horizons of America's favorite rifle.

🤦‍♂️

.577 GFY

The only ones on your list that have made a huge difference are the Creedmoor and maybe the Blackout.

For decades, the gun industry had a "big 6" group of cartridges that were virtually required chamberings when introducing a new rifle the 243 Winchester, 308 Winchester, 270 Winchester, 30 06, 7mm Remington Magnum and 300 Winchester Magnum. The 6.5 Creedmoor is the first cartridge to challenge this list in decades.

The Blackout is important due to its military applications which is always a good thing for success.

The PRC cartridges are still a small niche and will remainthat way, possibly going the way of the short magnums in a few years. They'll still be around but limited availability in factory rifles.

Would you say the 6.5cm is better than the tried and true 6.5x55 in the hands of a reloader ?

No.

It's not better than the 260 Remington either.

But it has made a difference in that manufacturers now consider it a must have chambering in their rifles.

Because of marketing has it made a difference correct ?
Im not saying these newer cartridges are not good and I do own a few of them but when it comes down to performance they dont do anything more than the older cartridges can be made to do

Ballistically, the last cartridge to make a huge difference was introduced in 1962 IMHO.

The Creedmoor was developed for target competition, unlike all the others I listed above which were developed for either military or hunting. Once it started taking off in the hunting community, it demonstrated to manufacturers what was possible with factory cartridges and rifles. Tighter chambers, primarily the necks, proper freebore and tighter twisted barrels make accuracy easier to obtain with factory loads and handloads.

The 300 Winchester Magnum was introduced 38 years after the 30 Super, aka the 300 H & H Magnum. Ballistically, the new 300 offered very little over the 30 Super, but it was a better, more compact package. Today, the 30 Super only exists to satisfy the nostalgic quirks of old farts - like me. The belted magnums introduced in the late fifties/ early sixties were originally referred to as short magnums. Nowadays, they're considered long cartridges and have that horrible belt on the case head.

The only 'newish' type rifle I own in a factory chambering would be the 280 AI, which has existed for decades as a wildcat. The rest are wildcats or cartridges which have been around for at least 60 years.

I myself was enamored with the ballistics of the 22 CM until a wise old man told me to look at the .224TTH
My lust for the 22CM quickly faded when I compared barrel life, bullet speeds and accuracy with these two
The .224TTH has been around since the 50’s mostly as a wildcat but has brass and dies available for reloading like the 280 AI
I own several of the newer cartridges and can say there is no noticeable difference in what I can make them all do when comparing bullet diameter and weight

I've been strongly considering a build in 22 250 AI with a 1:8 twist barrel. But the availability of high quality 22 Creedmoor brass and no fire forming is very enticing.

I looked at both of those as well

Tikka offers a 1:8 22-250.

I tried to find one and it just wasn’t available

Not interested in a Tikka.

I will say that I sat two identical Ruger SFAR rifles on the gun counter a few days ago. One in 308 and the other in 6.5CM. I left with the 308. Either would have been a good rifle though, and I load for both of them. I'm still an admirer of the classics too!

They are available, I could get you one right now

The 300 prc is a dead duck, the 6.5 will hang around in the shadows from now on. The 7 prc will remain as a standard cartridge from here on out.

Anyone remember the UltraMag cartridges coming from Remington ?
338
300
7mm
All were like a whale in the bathtub
I bought the 300 the year they were introduced and I still own it but havent shot it in so long I cant remember when I did

The Ultra Mags had very limited purpose and the 7mm UM burned up barrels under 1000 rounds. And they kicked like a mule without a brake or a 15 pound rifle. I've shot them and a 30 378 Weatherby and just never felt like I needed one.

And both of those have been around forever also, I was shooting a 300 Whisper back in the 90s, hornady just has a great marketing dept and someone decided to throw the whisper in an AR and call it the BO. I'd say probably the short mag cartridge has had the biggest impact on rifle cartridges since their development.

No need for any of them , just stay with what works. 243,25-06,270,280,7-08,7 rem mag, 308,30-30,30-06, 300 win or Weatherby . Any of those mentioned is more than enough for the deer in AL.

But if we started designing/inventing cartridges today there would not be any 243,308,30-06 not any of our traditional stuff anything with 20° shoulder would obsolete

Everything would be 35° shoulder or 40° shoulder and no case rim period
More velocity cause most(some) have body pushed out for higher degree of shoulder AI type cartridges,actually more stable powder burns,and better brass life cause of less brass flow cause of harder shoulder angle to stop brass flow as much....

Now I don't want my old school cartridges to be obsolete but

Just facts of more modern cartridges

Nothing feeds slicker or more reliably than a 375 H & H in a CRF action.

Virtually no shoulder, that damed belt, sloping case body.....

A perfect design for those situations when your hunting critters that can claw, stomp and eat you.

Yeah kinda like the idea of 357 sig being more reliable.yeah in theory the taper helps feeding but no one is carrying guns that don't feed...so it's just a good idea or a thought

A theory that has been proven for 110+ years.

Yeah I guess the idea is I'm talking about many cartridges your talking about a few cartridges.i understand what your saying especially if 375h&h was in a semi auto.lol. That taper is for helping smooth feed where it's needed

Just like they say 7.62x39 is more reliable cause if case taper we can see than 5.56 but many of use have never had a jam with and AR or 9mm .just look at at 9mm it tapers all the way.


But we are way off topic

If we vast majority of people designed cartridges tomorrow we would start with 30° shoulders and no belt no doubt.everything i stated would be a fact.imo.

Now I'll never get rid of what I got for a new cartridge but the new cartridges are what i stated above.

Your one of two on here I'm extremely surprised would disagree .
The harder shoulder makes for more uniform powder burn along with harder shoulder angle preventing less brass flow .more brass life . slightly

I don't know not trying to argue but seems all the cartridge designers and gurus are going this way for these reasons ?

I agree with you that 30 and 40 degree shoulders with less body taper are better designs for some things. They reduce throat erosionand tend to enhance accuracy, but the biggest reason the "new" cartridge designs tend to be better is the barrels. The throats have a tighter tolerance and the twist rates are tighter. Old way of thinking was to twist a barrel just enough to stabilize bullets of a certain weight and no tighter. This handicapped some cartridges like the 22 250, 250 Savage, 270 Winchester and others.

Twist a 260 Remington with a 1:8 barrel and a custom throat to match a 6.5 Creedmoor and it will outshine the new kid on the block. Oh, and a 3" magazine box.

Nothing against the new stuff but I'm more traditional than practical. I like some of the new developments in rifles, but you'll never catch me hunting deer with a barreled action mounted in a "chassis" Ugh...

I have stainless and fiberglass rifles shooting platic tipped bullets or high BC VLD bullets. But sometimes I like to tote blued steel in beautiful walnut shooting plain cup n core lead tipped bullets because I just want to.

Well amen I sure can't disagree with any of that.

And yes I've got a few 260 but yeah it's in a chassis but it's a dedicated long range heavy rig I'll never hunt with .it's strictly tiny hole puncher and steel plates ringer.the heavy non hunting one not my m77 old school hunting rifle
But yeah I agree with your saying all day

Merry Christmas 338 hope you have a good one buddy

I’d say series of cartridges being released like the WSM, RUM, Creedmore and now PRC with few oddities released.
The biggest difference went from overbore to precision with heavier bullets and faster barrels. It’s all marketing honestly to get folks to buy more stuff while picking nits.

AU338 is all over it and with all the anxiety that comes with the new stuff, the old stuff is gaining is cool factor back


I’ve gone off the deep end and researching the AR plaform

I watched one of the Vortex cartridge talk podcasts and they were talking about the Rem 30RAR. It seamed like something I’d be interested in if was still around today. They said it was loaded with a .30 cal 125gr bullet and had a muzzle Velocity of 2800fps.

So basically a 300 Savage ?

"Would you say the 6.5cm is better than the tried and true 6.5x55 in the hands of a reloader ?"

Not really but the fly in the ointment is the short action rifles with the 2.8" magazine boxes. The 6.5 CM was designed to hold roughly the same amount of powder and seat longer bullets without cramming the shank into the case and taking up powder space. A perfect example is the 6mm Remington. It has a 57mm case and if you want to seat a 100 gr bullet, most of it is below the neck to make it fit in a short action. If the gun makers had made 3" magazine boxes (Like Sako and NULA rifles) the creedmoor would have not been needed. The ideology that the short action is the answer to an accurate rifle took hold pretty quickly and introducing a new cartridge is less expensive than tooling up for a new action for just .02". But ...they didn't and the rest is history.

The Winchester M70 also has a 3" magazine box on short actions.