I do not know what Rifles you are referring to. In my around 65 years of being interested in firearms of all sporting types (along with a few others), the trend in rifles has been toward longer &/or Fatter cases holding more powder. In the black powder days, big bores were used with heavy bullets at low velocities. With smokeless powders bores began to shrink, bullets became lighter & velocities went up. That trend has not stopped yet from my viewpoint.

Miller/TN
I Didn't Say Everything I Said, Yogi Berra