Skinny and long cases?

[EmptyMags]

Why wasn't there a rifle cartridge made with a long, skinny case?
This way it could hold more powder than a standard case of the same diameter.
With a smaller diameter overall magazine capacity would be greater.

I'm not sure but I think the reasons might be because a long case cannot withstand case pressure as well as shorter, necked down, common cartridge could?
Maybe because it would be harder to extract with more friction from the longer case?

[Capt.Dunsel]

Why wasn't there a rifle cartridge made with a long, skinny case?
This way it could hold more powder than a standard case of the same diameter.
With a smaller diameter overall magazine capacity would be greater.

I'm not sure but I think the reasons might be because a long case cannot withstand case pressure as well as shorter, necked down, common cartridge could?
Maybe because it would be harder to extract with more friction from the longer case?

Are you talking about cases that are "skinny" compared to their calibre size?
A few rifle cases come to mind but it depends on the definition of" skinny case"

45/70 , 45/90 , 45/110 all rifle , all long straight wall cases. Do you consider this skinny , or do you want a smaller calibre?

rimfire 22 cb , 22 short , 22 long , 22 lr , 22 mag

[CCrawford]

There are plenty, but they are either European or obsolete American cartridges. The currently used ones are for double barrel rifles or drillings and the long skinny cases allow you to stack the barrels closer together. Also, they are almost exclusively rimmed which make them poor for magazine use. Lastly, the reason the short and fat craze is here is because they work better (higher velocity, more accurate, think Ackley Improved, etc.).

I'll dig up some calibers tomorrow and see if they meet your long and skinny needs.

[Ferrum]

The working pressure of most center fire rifles is a lot higher than what most pistols can handle. The most common way to increase pressure in a controlled manner is to increase case capacity. So you either have to make the case longer which results in some very long actions or you can increase the diameter for of the case or do both. This is why most pistols are straight walled, rifle rounds are necked down. Hope that helps...

[TKM]

Manufacturers shorten cases by smidgens just so that they can use shorter actions.

http://wssmzone.com/main/default.aspx?c=wssm_overview&n=cartridges

Shorter action costs less, weighs less and offers more rigidity than a longer one in a similar caliber. Mostly it's a money deal.

[Excaliburr]

Shorter the cartridge, shorter the action, faster re-load time. End of story.

[CCrawford]

Try These

Food for Thought
Caliber.......................Case Length.....Bullet Diameter......L/D Ratio
6x70mm Krieghoff................2.76...............0.24.. ............11.34
7x75Rmm vom Hofe..............2.95..............0.28.......... ....10.40
7mm Shooting Times Western..2.85.............0.28.............10.04
7x72Rmm Sauer....................2.83.............0.28.... ..........9.98
.25-25 Stevens....................2.38..............0.26. ............9.25
8x75Rmm Brenneke................2.94.............0.32..... .........9.10
.22 Savage High Power...........2.05.............0.23............. 8.98
.28-30 Stevens.....................2.50.............0.28. ............8.80
.30R Blaser...........................2.68............. .0.31............8.69
.38-90 Winchester Express......3.25.............0.38.............8.6 4
.360 No. 2 Nitro Express.........3.00.............0.36............. 8.40
.40-110 Winchester Express....3.25.............0.40.............8.06
.40-90 Straight Sharps...........3.25............0.40............. .8.06
9.3x74Rmm..........................2.94........... .0.37..............8.04
.450/.400 Nitro Express 3 1/4"...3.25..........0.41..............8.02
.44-100 Wesson....................3.38............0.45.... .........7.00
9.3x72Rmm..........................2.83........... .0.38..............7.54
.400 Nitro Express 3".............3.00............0.41..............7 .41
.30-30 Wesson.....................1.66............0.31... ...........5.39
.444 Marlin...........................2.23...........0. 43...............5.19
.45-70 Gov't........................2.11............0.46. .............4.60



Some are straight, some are tapered, some are shouldered, all are long and skinny. You can Google the above for images, but they all pretty much look the same.

If you have access to the 4th Ed. Ammo Encyclopedia by Michael Bussard, it describes short fat pretty well on pages 344 & 345. He reviews the length/Diameter of the case ratio and has a chart with popular calibers. The king of short fat by the way is the .50 Fat Mac with the L/D ratio of 2.296 (.30-'06 is 5.306 by the way). FYI-Bussard used case head Diameter while my chart above used bullet diameter.



I'm not sure there is a long line of folks wanting to make a bolt, lever, or semi-auto action for the 6x70Rmm. Factory velocity is 2,460 FPS with a 90 grain bullet or less than .243 Winchester (3,100 FPS with 95 grain) in a 2.04" case.

Enjoy,
Criss

[ferretwithacheeseknife]

I would assume that you would get more consistent ignition with a short fat case. I think that is why most benchresters shoot stuff like the 6mm BR.