With my never ending research into rifle cartridges and history, I came across a very interesting and quite underwritten designer / manufacturer….Charles Newton (1870-1932) and his family of fine rifles / proprietary cartridges. They don’t get the appreciation I think they deserve. I find his designs to be impressive mostly due to how early his creations were, and the fact they mirror some of our most popular cartridges today.
Of the many and impressive Newton cartridges, I want to highlight the .30 Newton in this thread. Out of all his creations, I think this one would have been the most impactful …..if he hadn’t had such crap timing, and bad luck with business, and bad marketing. (He originally called it .30 Adolf Express, surely that would age well)
.30 Newton, 1913 .300 Win Mag, 1963
In essence… the .30 Newton captured .300 Win Mag performance…. 50 years before we ever had the .300 WM.
.30 Newton- 172 gr @ 3000 fps
- 225 gr @ 2610 fps
.300 Win Mag- 175 gr @ 3000 fps
- 220 gr @ 2600 fps
Sources vary but these numbers I feel are fairly representative from what I gathered.
It’s very impressive to me that Newton effectively created the magnum 30 caliber class …. AND he did it in a form that is slightly more streamlined than the longer and belted win mag cartridge. Long before any one else had concepts to copy.
Not only that, but he did this only 25 years after the creation of smokeless powder. There couldn’t have been near the powder choices we have today. Guy was a real trailblazer, not like the one that Chevy passes for an SUV these days.
The .300 Win Mag was a big deal when it came out in the 60s…and continues to be one of the most popular choices for magnum medium bore cartridges for hunting and military / police applications. To think this niche could have been captured and explored 50 years before it became popular is an interesting thought experiment. Makes me wonder the ripple effect of having a popular magnum rifle cartridge as early as WW1.
Speaking of which, it would seem the timing of WW1 and its effect on his area in business was a major factor in his financial struggles and he was never able to market his magnum ammo and rifles very well before going under. Western Cartridge continued to load Newton cartridges in the interwar period but WW2 effectively brought an end to commercial .30 Newton ammo production.
The remaining cartridges and boxes only go up in value it seems.
I wish I had more images to share you you guys. But there is very little documentation I could find about this cartridge and Mr. Newton himself. It would be great if INGO has some more information on the .30 Newton to share. As well as your .300 Win Mag experiences down below.
Further reading
www.shootingtimes.com
Of the many and impressive Newton cartridges, I want to highlight the .30 Newton in this thread. Out of all his creations, I think this one would have been the most impactful …..if he hadn’t had such crap timing, and bad luck with business, and bad marketing. (He originally called it .30 Adolf Express, surely that would age well)
.30 Newton, 1913 .300 Win Mag, 1963
In essence… the .30 Newton captured .300 Win Mag performance…. 50 years before we ever had the .300 WM.
.30 Newton- 172 gr @ 3000 fps
- 225 gr @ 2610 fps
.300 Win Mag- 175 gr @ 3000 fps
- 220 gr @ 2600 fps
Sources vary but these numbers I feel are fairly representative from what I gathered.
It’s very impressive to me that Newton effectively created the magnum 30 caliber class …. AND he did it in a form that is slightly more streamlined than the longer and belted win mag cartridge. Long before any one else had concepts to copy.
Not only that, but he did this only 25 years after the creation of smokeless powder. There couldn’t have been near the powder choices we have today. Guy was a real trailblazer, not like the one that Chevy passes for an SUV these days.
The .300 Win Mag was a big deal when it came out in the 60s…and continues to be one of the most popular choices for magnum medium bore cartridges for hunting and military / police applications. To think this niche could have been captured and explored 50 years before it became popular is an interesting thought experiment. Makes me wonder the ripple effect of having a popular magnum rifle cartridge as early as WW1.
Speaking of which, it would seem the timing of WW1 and its effect on his area in business was a major factor in his financial struggles and he was never able to market his magnum ammo and rifles very well before going under. Western Cartridge continued to load Newton cartridges in the interwar period but WW2 effectively brought an end to commercial .30 Newton ammo production.
The remaining cartridges and boxes only go up in value it seems.
I wish I had more images to share you you guys. But there is very little documentation I could find about this cartridge and Mr. Newton himself. It would be great if INGO has some more information on the .30 Newton to share. As well as your .300 Win Mag experiences down below.
Further reading
The Father of High Velocity: Charles Newton - Shooting Times
Perhaps not as widely known as P.O. Ackley, Charles Newton was a prolific high-velocity cartridge creator.
www.shootingtimes.com
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