BattleRifleG3
I wrote a letter concerning this to Ruger, Remington and Browning almost 20 years ago. If memory is correct, it was Ruger that answered. With a heavier bullet there is not only chamber pressure (which is high in the pipsqueek .223), but also inertial momentum beating the action. A large heavy bullet provides an inertial mass that results in a lot of inertial momentum (rearward energy) being imparted on the recoiling parts during firing. For this reason, the recoil spring strengths and recoiling part masses must be greater with heavier bullets, and a semi for the larger cartridges with heavy bullets is too large for most people to carry comfortably, at least in the sales department's eyes. I would carry a 10 lb semi in .375 or .458 gladly, but apparently the bean counters feel there is not sufficent interest to warrant the development cost. I figure a .45-70, with its low pressures, would allow a firearm along the size of a 10 gage semi auto to be developed, but hey, I'm only a single voice. Sure would be a great firearm in big bear country.
