are competing cartridges actually a good thing?

This is interesting. The .41 rimfire, which is illustrated on Wikipedia in a box marked ".41 Short Rimfire," was introduced in 1863. The Remington double derringer was manufactured as late as 1935, so the ammunition was probably made up until the war. One might note that the starte of WWII brought about the end of a lot older cartridges. It also said the .44 Henry was manufactured into the 1930s. While not reloadable, it didn't sound like such a bad cartridge. The Cartrwrights used to use it.
 
That's right! If Ben, Haus, and little Joe used the Henry it can't be all bad :) The Civil War was pivotal. The war started with muzzle loaders, and ended with the Henry, and in only 4 years. "Necessity is the father of invention".
 
Why eliminate the .22 Short?

Because the original challenge was "name one POPULAR..."

The .22 Short hasn't been popular since the Coolidge administration. Or earlier.

Anymore, .22 Short is available largely only through speciality stores or online.

I've not seen .22 Short in a gunshop in over 20 years; I've not seen .22 Short in a store other than a gunshop (local hardware store used to sell ammo when I was a kid) since I was a kid.


"WIthout looking them up, there were a couple of rimfire cartridges that are approaching that 150 year mark, though I suspect it has been a long time since they were commercially available. There was at least .44 Henry. Anyone want to name another ('cause I can't think of one)."

Yes, there are any number of .25., .30, .32, .38, .41, .44, .46, .50, and .56 caliber rimfires that are, or are very close to, 150 years old.

And, other than one of the .32s (.32 Long Rimfire, I think), none have been in production since before World War II, and many dropped out of production before World War I.
 
The .41 rimfire may have been the second to last of the old rimfires in production.

I THINK that Remington, for a short time, loaded it after World War II.
 
"150 years ago was 1862."

EXACTLY, there are NO still popular cartridges over 150 years old...


"Boxer and Berdan didn't invent their centerfire priming systems until the late 1860s."

Yet the .50-70 came out in the MID 1860's...

Think it was 1866, might have been 1867.


"...as 1873 brought us the .45 Long Colt and the .45-70, both still quite popular and, as far as I can determine, the oldest cartridges that still maintain a solid degree of popularity."

These and the somewhat less popular .44-40 were developed slightly earlier but adopted by US military or introduced to civilians in 1873.

As pointed out this is 139 years and NOT over 150 years ago.

T.
 
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I guess I'd better turn my Gallagher in. It's still popular with me, though. It's the only one I can reload without a press. The competition isn't that much better.
 
""Boxer and Berdan didn't invent their centerfire priming systems until the late 1860s."

Yet the .50-70 came out in the MID 1860's...

Think it was 1866, might have been 1867."

There were any number of other centerfire priming systems being developed during and just after the Civil War.

The two that gained the most traction with the US Government were the Martin and the Benet. Of those two, the Benet, developed by an Army officer at the Frankford Arsenal, was adopted as the primary standard starting with the .50-70 cartridge.

The various production and experimental primer types were replaced in Government service with traditional center fire primers in the 1880s.
 
"I guess I'd better turn my Gallagher in. It's still popular with me, though."

Not a complete cartridge, thought, given that the Gallagher used a musket cap fitted on a nipple for ignition.
 
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