Straight wall cartridges have received a ton of attention in the past couple of seasons, and for good reason—depending on where you live, you might be oblivious to this, but there are a number of states where hunters cannot use standard necked-down rifle ammunition but are permitted to use straight wall cartridges. Though they’ve been around a long time, recent interest in straight wall cartridges has sparked some new chamberings that are more effective on deer-sized game than ever before. What are they exactly?
Simply put, a straight wall cartridge is exactly what: The walls of the ammo case are straight, with no taper or bottleneck. The diameter of the case is the same all along its length. Why is this significant?
Long ago, someone figured out that tapering or bottlenecking an ammo case increases its pressure by funneling the same amount of pressure out of a smaller hole. This allows for more bullet velocity, which translates to better accuracy and more energy downrange. Without the benefit of the higher pressures a tapered or necked case allows for, a straight wall cartridge just can’t achieve the same range or speed, so they typically use a larger bullet to make up for it. And big, slow, heavy bullets drop pretty quickly—traditional straight wall cartridges like the .45-70 Government and the .45 Colt (popular in lever-action rifles back in the day) were for relatively short-range hunting shots, often within 100 yards.
Few of us would intentionally limit our bullet velocity or range, but many hunters don’t have a choice. Some states, particularly in the Midwest and the East Coast where there’s less wide-open space, don’t allow hunters to use bottlenecked cartridges—they intentionally want to limit the range of a hunter’s ammunition due to population safety concerns. In those states, hunters are limited to using slug guns for deer or, in many cases, shooting a straight wall cartridge. Since straight wall rifle cartridges tend to be more accurate than slugs, with a similar range, the straight wall cartridges remain popular in those states (which include Iowa, Michigan, Ohio, Illinois and more).
Straight wall cartridges are often shot out of lever-action rifles, which are also having a bit of a resurgence these days. They’ve long been the standard for traditional, old-school straight wall cartridges, and newly introduced rounds like the .360 Buckhammer are fanning the flames and helping to feed the lever-action renaissance. If you’re a lever-action fan and you want to (or are required to) shoot a straight wall cartridge, the .360 Buckhammer is probably your best and most effective choice. The classic .45-70 Government, .44 Remington Mag and others will also work, but always check your state’s specific regulations, as some have limits on case length and bullet diameter.
If you prefer a bolt-action or semi-automatic rifle, check out the 350 Legend, introduced a few years ago. This cartridge quickly became popular because it functions well in bolt-action and AR-15-platform rifles, has plenty of energy within 200 yards, and offers mild recoil. The .450 Bushmaster is another great straight wall cartridge that works in bolt-action as well as AR-platform rifles—it offers a larger, heavier bullet than the 350 Legend and the heavier rifle weight and harsher recoil that comes with it.
In the end, if you live in a state where you can use bottlenecked rifle cartridges, you’re probably going to. They’re more common and they offer better range and faster, flatter-shooting bullets. But if that’s not an option based on your local laws, or if you just hunt in an area where you want a shorter-range firearm for safety concerns, straight wall cartridges are a godsend that allow you to use effective rifle ammunition at relatively close ranges of 200 yards or less. What straight wall cartridge you choose will depend on what kind of gun you want to shoot it out of—lever vs. bolt-action vs. AR platform—and what size bullet you want or need. Go over your local laws carefully, because not all straight wall cartridges will meet all states’ requirements based on the case length and bullet diameter. Fortunately, between the old standbys and the new higher-tech introductions, there’s a straight wall cartridge that will work for anyone who needs one.
