New shotgun shells?

"...There has been improvement..." Yep. They're not paper any more either. Paper apparently saw a rain cloud and started to swell.
"...higher performance..." Isn't required for something firing little round balls and is designed to produce a pattern not a group. Said little round balls fly like bricks.
"....303 British and 7.62x54R..." Both of which work just fine through MG's with box mags too.
Rimless cartridges date from the 19th Century too.
"...semi-auto shotgun with a box fed magazine..." Semi-auto nothin'. Several mag fed FA shotguns around.
 
So the anwser is that its as good as can be?
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There will undoubtedly be further improvements in both powder and in wads. A shotshell is never going to be a "long-range" shooter. Improvements will be measured in small increments. A few more FPS without disrupting the pattern. A better pattern at a few more yards. A shorter shot string. Etc.
 
So the anwser is that its as good as can be?
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They are certainly as good as they need to be. The market is what determines that. In order to significantly change the shell, there would have to be weapons developed to utilize the new shell while staying within the physical limitations of size and and shape. If there was a market for an automatic or semiautomatic shotgun using a new and improved rimless shell, someone would be marketing both.

What we have works well for most sporting uses of a shotgun. This would have to be driven by military, police, or the self-defense market, and shotguns are getting less use all the time in these areas. So I think the answer is yes, they are as good as they can be based on current materials available at competitive prices.
 
So the back end of the wad helps with pattern?
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The wad works as a "system". Part of it is a shock absorber. Part of it protects the shot from getting flattened out as it travels down the barrel and goes through the choke. It needs to open up and fall back from the shot string at just the right time to provide the optimal pattern at a given distance. Etc.

One recent technology advance is with Federal's "Flight Control" wad. It uses a different opening method than most wads resulting in retaining a very tight pattern at a further distance. This has value for turkey and certain waterfowl hunters.
 
Doyle thanks for the input. As materials and technology changes there will be improvements made. Much like the advances in expanding bullets for self-defense I suppose.
 
Why aren't there any new shotgun cartridges develop?
Like one without a rim
They all seem to be old
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There have been many over the years...like steel and bismuth shot. Buffered loads and Sabot type slugs. Some have taken off and become the norm and others, like many of their metallic counterparts, have vanished into history. Look at the old calibers like 30-30 and 30-06. Both well over a century old(older than plastic hulled star crimped shotgun shells) and still two of the most(if not the two most) popular calibers for hunting.

For most shotgunners, there really is no advantage to radically changing the time tested shotgun shell. No reason for firearm manufacturers to change their popular platforms and ammo companies to change the shell that delivers their loads when most of the demand is still for what's available now. Anything new would be a very small niche market and not highly profitable, and profit is what drives most ammo/gun companies.
 
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