A season with the shorts

Guns Magazine, Sept, 2003 by Holt Bodinson

The explosion of new caliber cartridges based on the short, beltless magnum concept is one of the most interesting phenomena in the history of ammunition evolution. And the final chapter hasn't been written yet. Take for example, Winchester's surprise introduction of their wee "Super Shorts" in .223 and .243 this year.

As a hunter, I can tell you this story gets more interesting with every passing day. During the 2002-2003 big game season, I hunted with the .223 Winchester Super Short Magnum, the 7mm Win. Short Magnum and the .300 Remington Short Action Ultra Mag., and I want to share with you my experiences in the field; however, digressing a moment, it's interesting to speculate about the evolution of the high intensity short cartridge. It seems to have two branches of development -- the civilian and the military marketplaces.

Early Examples

Along the civilian ancestral branch, I think the most notable commercialized "shorts" were the .250/3000 appearing in 1915 and the .300 Savage appearing in 1921, later to be followed in 1952 by the progressive development of Winchester's .243/.308/.358 family of compact cartridges based on the military's adoption of the 7.62x51mm case. Let's not forget the .284 Win. that debuted in 1963. Then stepping onto the stage were the first commercial "short magnums" in the guise of the .350 Rem. Mag. in 1965 and the 6.5mm Rem. Mag. in 1966, chambered in Remington's ultra-compact Model 600 and 660.

About now, I must apologize to the scores of unheralded wildcatters who shortened, blew out, necked down, and otherwise modified assorted cases during this same period to produce some of the finest shorts ever conceived, but your products just didn't make the commercial cut.

German Wellspring

Over on the military branch, it's the "super shorts" that are the most fascinating. The cartridge that sparked so many later developments was Germany's 7.92x33mm Kurz -- a severely cut-down 8x57mm case that yielded 2,250 fps with a 125-grain projectile. Developed in 1940-41 and chambered in the high-tech MKB42 and Stg-44 Sturmgewehr assault rifles, it made such an impression on the Russian front that the Soviets were quick to develop their own famous 7.62x39mm cartridge for the SKS and later AK-47 (although they deny the German cartridge and assault rifles were influential in any way).

Russians should get credit for necking down their 7.62x39mm round around 1974 to make the 5.6x39mm cartridge that became the parent case for the .22 and 6mm PPC benchrest cartridges. More often than not, the new lineup of commercial short and super short magnums is compared to the PPC case in terms of case design, efficiency and accuracy, so you understand my logic here.

Where The Credit Lies

In 1995, I started hunting with the commercial cartridge that really started the short magnum ball rolling -- John Lazzeroni's 7.82 (.308) Patriot. In fact, the New Mexico mule deer I took that fall was the first head of big game ever taken with the Patriot. With an overall case length of 2.050 inches, a 30-degree shoulder, and a head size of .580 inch, the Patriot looks ever so much like a blown-out PPC case formed on a 416 Rigby body.

The Patriot ranks as the hottest .30-caliber shorty going and easily pushes a 180-grain bullet along at 3,184 fps. Building on the success of the Patriot, Lazzeroni has expanded his short magnum line to include the .243, 6.5mm, 7mm, .338, and .416 calibers. In terms of sheer velocity and performance, the Lazzeroni short magnums lead the pack.

What put the short, beltless magnums on the world map, however, was Winchester's introduction of the .270, 7mm and .300 Winchester Short Magnums (WSM), then the .223 and .243 Win. Super Short Magnums (WSSM), and Remington's release of the 7mm and .300 Remington Short Action Ultra Mags. Mated with light, portable, affordable Winchester Model 70s, Browning A-Bolts, and Remington Model Sevens and 700s, with other gun makers like Ruger, Savage, Kimber and Howa now falling in line, the short magnums have proved to have several endearing qualities.

Efficiency

Caliber-for-caliber, the new, short, beltless magnums, using less powder, produce velocities that are equal to standard belted magnums, like the 7mm Rem. Mag. and the .300 Win. Mag. In theory, the squat, fat, sharp-shouldered cases provide improved powder combustion within the case body itself The facts seem to support the theory.

Years ago, when I was testing out various barrel lengths with the Patriot case, there was no significant velocity gain to be made by going from a 23-inch barrel to a 26-inch tube, although I think it is a mistake that some companies are currently offering barrels as short as 20 inches. Also, these new short magnum cases are designed to operate routinely at pressures in the 65,000 psi range. Strange as it might seem, the report of a short magnum in the field even sounds different to me, which I subscribe to better combustion of the powder charge before the bullet exits.

Accuracy

Without exception, Winchester, Remington and Lazzeroni short, beltless magnums, like their benchrest PPC equivalents, have proved to be inherently accurate. The short, fat cases facilitate loading densities of 95 to 100 percent, resulting in more uniform ignition and less shot-to-shot variations in velocity.