... you did it again...
You discontinued another "go-to" bullet in one of my favorite oddball calibers. Just about the time I've got a decent load worked up, too.
Some of you may remember my excitement over finally acquiring a Model 71 Winchester in the old and long obsolete .348 Winchester chambering. That rifle, in that chambering, had eluded me for most of my shooting career, until finally stumbling into one at my favorite local gun shop. It had been purchased new by someone else and promptly returned when he found ammunition to be unavailable. Lucky me - I got it at a substantial discount as a now "used" (but unfired) rifle. "No problem", I thought - "I'm a hand loader"...
Well, it took an awful long time to find brass, finally turning some up on ebay. Bullets were not going to be a problem - Hornady has been making their 200 grain offering in that caliber for decades. Until just now - they discontinued the darn things. I can't believe it - they even made a run of brass last year. Now it's all discontinued.
Hornady has always supplied the niche markets like this one, making those oddball bullets that others wouldn't bother with. They did this once before, though, discontinuing the 160 grain roundnose so many of us depended on for our 6.5 Swedes. Granted, it's back after a decade's hiatus, so maybe this isn't "forever" either. In the meantime, though, the race is on to snatch up remaining inventory at the various suppliers before everyone else notices...
Here is a loaded round, next to a .30-'06 with a 200 grain bullet for comparison. They achieve about the same velocities, which makes the .348 an unusually useful lever gun round.
