Based on the Mauser Gewehr 1898, the Vergueiro (also known as the Portuguese Mauser) is a bolt-action rifle designed between 1898 and 1903 by Portuguese army officer Captain Alberto José Vergueiro. The Vergueiro rifle was selected as the upgrade and large scale...
Cartridges
6.5 X 55.8 FRENCH XPL. BERTHIER
Another of a series of French experimental cartridges developed during the early 1900’s as a replacement for the 8x50R Lebel. Although the 6.5mm was not adopted, this 1892 Mle 16 Berthier rifle shows the early design.
10mm CENTAUR
The idea of necking the 45 ACP down to 10mm is not a new idea. During the early 90’s, long before the development of the 40 SUPER, Charles Petty who was a respected gun-writer developed the 10mm Centaur together with Ray Herriott who was the designer and Richard Beebe...
257 CONDOR
This is the original story about the 257 Condor taken from GUNS MAGAZINE, Jan 1960 When a competent engineer decides to design a wildcat cartridge, some old ideas are given some new twists. The usual wildcatter reshapes an existing case, uses existing...
375 DAKOTA
Developed by Don Allen, owner of Dakota Arms in Sturgis, SD and was developed as an alternative to the 375 Holland & Holland but a rimless, shortened case that is based on the 404 Jeffery case, so as to fit in a standard length action. This is almost the same idea...
400 COLT MAGNUM
After the introduction if the 44 Magnum in 1956, few companies as well as shooters (except Elmer Keith and Skeeter Skelton) recognized the need for a .40 cal cartridge that could operate between the Elmer Keith brainchilds, namely the 357 Magnum and the 44 Magnum....
223 WINCHESTER SUPER SHORT MAGNUM
Announced in 2002, the Winchester Super Short Magnum cartridges are intended to deliver a new level of long-range performance and accuracy to the .223 & .243 family of chamberings. Cartridge overall length is 2.36”, a half-inch shorter than the 2.80”...
45 TEATFIRE
The 45 Teatfire was one of a number of front loading cartridges that were developed during the mid to late 1860’ to circumvent the Rollin White patent that allowed a bored-through cylinder enabling self-contained cartridges to be loaded from the rear. The Rollin White...
375 CANADIAN MAGNUM
The 375 Canadian Magnum was developed by Aubrey White and Noburo Uno and is based on the .404 Jeffery cartridge but with a slightly rebated rim.
10mm BERGMANN M.1901
Theodor Bergman (1850 – 1931) was a German industrialist who had a keen interest in firearms and developed a line of pistols during the late 1890’s to early 1900’s, although his business dealings were more toward bicycles and the then newly developed automobile. It is...
257 BABY-J
- info to follow -
6.5 X 55 SE
During March 1889 a Commission was formed by the Norwegian government to ascertain the viability and caliber of a potential future army rifle. This Commission was followed up by another in February 1891 that was formed by the General Command of the Army with the task...
257 APOLLO
Basically a 300 Win Mag necked to .257"
375 BREEDING
Based on the 404 Jeffery case to make a good .375cal cartridge on a shorter action.
40 TAURUS
This was a joint development by CCI and Taurus with the cartridges manufactured by CCI for Taurus in July 1993. With the development of the 40 S&W, Taurus experienced a decline in sales from their 38 Special revolvers and they were looking to regain market share...
223 SHORT
Relatively new wildcat
45 SUPER
The 45 Super dates from the late 80’s and was developed by Dean Grennel, a well-known writer in the firearms field as well as managing editor of Gun World magazine where the cartridge was first mentioned in 1988. The basic idea behind the 45 Super was to take the...
375 BLACK MESA EXPRESS
The 375 Black Mesa Express was launched in 1993 by Ronald Brian McDaniels in Kenton, Oklahoma, who originally founded the Black Mesa Rifle Co. in 1992. It was named after Black Mesa, the highest point in Oklahoma. Black Mesa range, OK
10mm AUTO
The 10mm Auto was developed in 1983 by Jeff Cooper originally for the BREN TEN Pistol which was based on a modified and strengthened CZ-75 design. The story started in the 1970’s with Jeff Cooper looking for a handgun that would be an everything-for-everybody...
6.5 X 54 MANNLICHER SCHöNAUER
Like most of the 6.5mm’s from Europe, the 6.5x54 Mannlicher was developed during the late 1880’s as a military cartridge, although it very quickly gained popularity as a sporting cartridge. The 6.5x54 Mannlicher is essentially a rimless version of the 6.5x53.5R Dutch...
375 BARNES SUPREME
This is another “improved” version of the 375 H&H Magnum
257 ACKLEY IMPROVED
6.5 X 54 FRENCH XPL. BERTHIER
One of a series of French experimental cartridges developed during the early 1900’s as a replacement for the 8x50R Lebel. This is the 1892 Mle 16 Berthier rifle. Although not in 6.5x54 caliber, it shows the early version of the Berthier rifle.
6.5 X 53.5 DAUDETEAU Nº 12
This cartridge was developed by Louis d’AUDETEAU during the mid-1880’s. At the end of the Franco-Prussian war he changed his name to Daudeteau for political reasons. He designed a series of rifles and cartridges to present to the French Army, but they did not adopt...
40 SUPER
The 40 Super was developed by Triton Cartridge in January 1996 when Fernando Coelho (president and founder of Triton Cartridge) and Tom Burczynski (inventor of Hydra-Shok, Starfire and Quik-Shok bullets) began experimenting with the .45 Super case necked down to .40...
223 SCORPION
Based on the .30M1 case and resembles a 5.7mm MMJ, but with a more gentle shoulder. According to Dan Watters on THE GUN ZONE, the 223 Scorpion was the brainchild of Californian gunsmith Ken Bucklin way back in 1945. The above specimen is a recent remake...
45 STARK
The 45 Stark was developed by Bruce Stark around 2012 and is a 45 Win Mag case that was lengthened by .100-inch to a total of 1,298-inch and an overall length of 1,60 inches and can almost be described as a ‘45 ACP Magnum’. Cases were made for him by Quality...
375 A–SQUARE MAGNUM
The 375 A-Square is based on a 378 Weatherby case slightly shortened and the shoulder moved slightly forward and with a 35° shoulder as opposed to the double radius of the 378 WBY. It was developed around 1975 by the A-Square Company and attempted to duplicate 378...
6.5 X 53.5R MANNLICHER M.95
There is a very good book that was written by the Dutch Cartridge Collectors club on the whole history of the 6.5x53.5R M.95 Mannlicher. This piece is not intended to reinvent that wheel, or reproduce the full 62 page booklet, but to merely give an overview of the...
6.5 X 53 MONDRAGON
The 1907 Mondragon was one of the first semiautomatic rifles formally adopted by a national military. It was designed by Mexican Manuel Mondragon, beginning in 1891. Its development was encouraged by future Mexican President Porfirio Diaz, who was very...
375 – 404 SAEED
This cartridge dates from around 2007 and is based on the 404 Jeffery case necked to .375. It was developed by Saeed al-Maktoum of Dubai.
256 WINCHESTER MAGNUM
The .256 Magnum is a varmint and predator cartridge introduced by Winchester in 1960. In 1961 Ruger brought out the Hawkeye single shot pistol for the .256 Magnum. The next year (1962) Marlin chambered their Model 62 Levermatic rifle for the new Winchester cartridge....
40 SMITH & WESSON
The 40 Smith & Wesson is based on the 10mm Auto case that was shortened to 0.85in. (21.60mm). There is a long and interesting history of how the 40 S&W came to be that started during the early 1970’s when the late Jeff Cooper was looking for a cartridge that...
223 PPC
One of the predecessors to the 22 PPC, this one being based on the 223 Remington case, with a longer shoulder and steeper neck
45 SILHOUETTE
The .45 Silhouette that was developed by Frank C. Barnes, and Dick Smith of the Washoe County Crime Laboratory in 1984. The .45 Silhouette is a .45-70 case cut down to 1.5”
375 ACKLEY IMPROVED
This is one of a variety of improved (Ackley) designs based on the 375 H&H case, this version having a 40° shoulder.
375 3K MAGNUM
Another design similar to the 375 Viersco Magnum for long to ultra-long range shooting to push a 375 bullet above 3,000 fps.
256 NEWTON
The .256 Newton is a high-velocity rimless cartridge and was developed by Charles Newton in 1913 in conjunction with the Western Cartridge Company. It is a 30-06 Springfield cartridge shortened and necked down to .264" with a different shoulder angle. It resembles...
6.5 X 52 MANNLICHER CARCANO
The 1890’s was a very interesting period of cartridge development. The Italians were effectively the first to consider the 6,5mm as a viable military calibre. One of the chief designers was Luigi Scotti, Chief Inspector of the Pirotecnica di Bologna. He was...
6.5 X 51 NATO (BELGIAN EXPERIMENTAL)
This was an experimental cartridge by Belgium for the Swedish ‘MAG’ machine gun. It was based on the standard 7.62x51 NATO case.
40 EIMER COLT
One of the first shooters and wildcatters that began experimenting with .40cal. cartridges was “Pop” Eimer, a Joplin Missouri gunsmith who, in 1924 started cutting down 401 Winchester Self Loading cases to 1,25” for use in a Colt Single-Action Army revolver that was...
6.5 X 50 JAPANESE ARISAKA (TYPE 38)
Type 38 M1906 Arisaka Rifle During 1905 the Arisaka rifle was redesigned to the Type 38 that stayed in service until after WW2. The round nosed bullet was replaced by a pointed bullet that weighed 139gr. Segmented...
6.5 X 50 JAPANESE ARISAKA (TYPE 30)
M1899 Type 30 Arisaka Rifle Introduced by Japan in 1897 in the move to smokeless powder. It was based on the Mauser and Mannlicher idea and was designated the Type 30. Used by the Japanese until 1905 when it was replaced by the Type 38. Japanese made Type 30...
6.5 X 43 IWK
After the end of the 2nd World War, the German arms industry was all but destroyed and severe restrictions placed on the Germans in terms of weapons production. The old firm of DWM (Deutsche Waffen und Munitionsfabrik), Karlsruhe was reorganised into IWK (Industrie...
6.5 X 20R ROMANIAN (CHAMBER INSERT)
This was used as a chamber insert for the 6.5x53R Mannlicher and is only known with this headstamp. Made by Hirtenberg in Austria
223 ACKLEY IMPROVED
Based on the 223 Remington case with a 40° shouder
45 SD Waffen PSDR3
This cartridge was developed for a specialised silenced S&W Mod. 625 revolver used by the Dusseldorf Airport Police during the mid-90’s. There was a discussion regarding this cartridge on the IAA FORUM. PSDR = Peters Schalldämpfer-Revolver
370 SAKO MAGNUM
This is another joint development between Sako and Federal that started with the introduction of the 338 Federal. The 370 Sako is the American version of the 9.3x66 SAKO that is a relatively popular cartridge in Europe. It is balistically between the 338 Win Mag and...
6.45 X 48 SWISS GP80
Developed as an assault rifle in the late 1970’s to early 1980’s. This was developed as a replacement for the 5.6 Eiger that was not adopted This round is called the 6.35x48 and was the prototype of the 6.45x80, although dimensionally very similar...
6.35 X 53 US EXPERIMENTAL (25 HOMOLOGOUS)
This cartridge was developed in the continuing search for a replacement for the 7.62 NATO. Also known as the 25 Winchester and was designed by Frankford Arsenal although also made by Winchester. Simplex loading – designated FA-T125 Duplex loading –...
