Innovation in Shotshellary

Several people have asked why it is that the munitions and firearms industry is constantly releasing new rifle cartridges--all of which, besides being amazing, aim at a very narrow niche generally already filled—and yet we haven’t seen a new shotgun gauge in… ever.  The latest new chamber length—not new gauge-- was the 3” 28 gauge in 2022, proceeded by the 3-1/2” 12 ga 34 years earlier (see Appendix A).

Firearms companies are always advertising how their shotguns have new, cutting-edge features; this new inertia operated shotgun is way different from the last inertia operated shotgun—generally because of cool new camo patterns and texturing on the forestock.  But they all shoot (or are supposed to) the same 12 ga shells.  In the same way, most of the munitions manufacturers’ updates in the last 30 years are to the packaging of their shotshells.  There have been tweeks over the last couple decades to muzzle velocity or shot charge weight, but the only real innovations have been the Fight Control and the Xelerator wads.  The flurry of “new” bismuth loads that have been flying around the last five years are just rehashes, and same with the TSS (albeit, more dense then the original Tungston-Iron shot).[1]

It seems obvious that, realizing you can only warm up leftovers so many times, the Big Three (or Big Two, I guess) would be looking for other sides to the envelope.  A 3” chambered 16 ga would be light in the hand, quick to the shoulder yet could easily hold a normal 12 ga’s pheasant load.  And a 14 ga would probably be perfect for jump shooting waterfowl.  An 11 ga goose gun would produce less felt recoil then a 12 ga without the heft of the 10.  However, all of these would require research and development and new assembly lines.  We can assume the cost/benefit analysis tells them it doesn’t make sense. 

But it does for rifles?  In 2007, Hornady knew everyone wanted a .30 TC, a cartridge that offered .30-06 performance in a .308 Win length: that would be a 150 grain bullet at 3000 fps in a 2” case.  That ½” shorter action made for a “faster handling” rifle?  The extra 180 fps turned a merely wounded animal into a dead one? [2]  That flop wasn’t cheap, but they figured it was worth a try.  Same could be said of the .300 WSM, or a shelf load of new cartridges.  Not all have been failures of course, and that payout makes it worth the risk I guess. 

The problem is us; we have a split personality.  We hold to the truth that a 12 ga shotgun will take any bird or small game animal from the quail to the swan (assuming proper load choice and shot placement), but we ignore the truth that a .30-06 will take any game animal from a groundhog to grizzly (assuming proper load choice and shot placement).  Neither cartridge shines at the edges but can be made to work satisfactorily across the whole spectrum.  The very mention of a new shotshell chambering incites hoots of mockery, outrage, and bewilderment (“Why would anyone every want a 3” 16 ga?  What would you even do with it?”)  from the same folks tripping over themselves to get a 6.5mm Creedmoor to put it in the safe next to their 6.5x55 Swede and .260 Rem.  Gun writers tell us, and we believe it, that Winchester and Federal/Remington don’t need to update the 10 gauge loadings [3] because hunters already have 3-1/2” 12 gauges (and besides, what about the whole “grandpa’s ol’ 10 gauge blowing up” line?). [4] 

So I put forward that in this culture of excess, there’s no reason for us consumers to not demand more shotgun options.  I don’t want a light 12, an all-arounder 12, and a heavy 12—I want a 13, a 12, and an 11.  I want the revival of the 2-7/8” 10 gauge and the introduction (reintroduction?) of the 3” 16 gauge.  We have chambers cut for 3-1/2”, so let’s use 3-1/4” shells.  You expect Veruca Salt to be satisfied with that one red dress? 

NOTES

[1] I don’t consider the Flight Stopper shot or Hex shot as actual innovations, but merely as marketers spinning half-finished shot as a great leap forward.  Same with duplexing shot types.  Both “developments” are really just manufacturing cost savings.

[2] We’ll ignore the fact that Hornady’s own 150 grain .308 Win Superformance load matches their .30 TC at 3,000fps.

[3] Federal introduced the first 10 gauge steel load in 1982.  1-5/8 oz, 1345 fps, #BB, #2.  Over the years, they offered more shot sizes, but they’ve deleted many of them.  Federal’s current 10 ga loads are: Black Cloud, 1-5/8 oz, 1375 fps, #BBB, #BB, #2. and Speed Shok, 1-1/2 oz, 1450 fps, #T, #BBB, #BB, #2.  Handloaders have been getting 1600 fps or more with 1-1/2 oz and 1425 fps with 1-5/8 oz loads for almost 20 years.  With Federal’s resources, it seems obvious they COULD do more if they wanted.

[4] How many 10 gauges, of any vintage, do you find on the used rack?  In a sea of 12’s and 20’s of various (often dubious) provenance, there may be one mid 90’s BPS10 wedged in like the fat kid on the plane.  What’s to stop dude-rock from loading a TSS turkey load in grandpa’s ol’ 12 ga?

 

APENDIX A

A  non-exhaustive list of cartridges released in the last 25ish years. 
·        1997 - .260 Rem, 6.5-06 A-Square, 
·        1999 - .300 RUM, 6.5-284 Norma
·        2000 - .375 RUM
·        2001 – 7mm WSM, 300 WSM, .458 SOCOM, .50 Beowulf, 7mm RUM
·        2002 - .270 WSM, 6.8mm SPC, 7mm Rem SAUM, .338 RUM
·        2003 - .223 WSSM, .243 WSSm, 6.5 Grendel
·        2004 - .25 WSSM
·        2005 - .325 WSM, 6.5x47 Lapua
·        2006 - .338 Fed
·        2007 - .30 TC, 6.5 Creedmoor, .308 Marlin Express, .375 Ruger
·        2008 - .300 RCM, .338 RCM, .30 Rem AR
·        2009 - .338 Marlin Express, .450 Bushmaster, .338 Norma Mag
·        2010 - .300 Blackout
·        2011 – 7.62x40mm WT
·        2013 - .26 Nosler, 6.5mm PRC
·        2014 - .45 Raptor
·        2015 - .28 Nosler
·        2016 - .30 Nosler, .33 Nosler
·        2017 - .22 Nosler
·        2018 – 6mm Creedmoor?
·        2019 - .350 Legend, .300 PRC
·        2020 – 6mm ARC, .27 Nosler
·        2021 – 6.8mm Western
·        2022 – 7mm PRC
·        2023 - .360 Buckhammer, .400 Legend

An almost exhaustive list of shotshell innovations:
·        C. 1900 -- Smokeless Powder (in shotshells)
·        1918 (or 1913?) – 8 gauge banned for waterfowl (an un-innovation I guess)
·        1928 - Plated shot
·        1932 - 3-1/2” 10 ga
·        1933 – 3” .410
·        1935 - 3” 12 ga 
·        1938 or 1939 -- Fold crimp (?) perhaps earlier?
·        1954 - 3” 20 ga
·        C. 1960 - Plastic shotcup (plastic shot wraps and overpowder wads had been used in the 50’s I think). 
·        1960 - Plastic hull 
·        1967 - All plastic hull (Wanda, goofy name for a goofy shell. Activ came out in the 1970’s)
·        C. 1970’s? - Buffer (?)
·        1973 - Steel shot (Federal)
·        1988 - 3-1/2” 12 gauge (Federal)
·        C. 1992? - Bismuth shot (Bismuth Cartridge Co.)
·        1998 - Tungston shot (Hevi Shot, and Federal)
·        2005 or 2007 - Flight Control Wad (Federal, Winchester’s version came out in 2012)
·        2010 - Xelerartor wad (Remington) I’m not sure if this is actually a good thing, or a disaster waiting to happen.  I predict it will be quietly forgotten soon. 
·        2022 – 3” 28 gauge