Lets hear about your wildcats

[AZShooter]

Okay Mudrunner you mentioned "someone wants to throw me a "bone", I'll share some crazy ones that would blow your mind." I am interested in what you have done. I hope others will share some of their favorite wildcats.

I'll get this thread started.....

I have messed around with a few wildcats. I must admit that the wildcats I have made are just slight changes in existing cases. Like many posters here I have necked up or down and nothing else. One used long throating. I'll share the my favorites below.

To date have made 6mm-284, 25-284, 30-338 win mag, 375/338 win mag, 30-06 AI, 338-06, 7mm/375, 30BR/308 and a long throated 338 RCM.


I posted some information on this one in a few threads: It is a 30BR/308. I have a 30 BR reamer that I used to go 1/2" deeper and make an improved 308. The shoulder angle is 30 degrees and there is less body taper.

Turned the 308 Lapua necks to .0105" for a .001" neck release clearance. At first I used a combination of my 30 BR dies and 308 dies for sizing. Later I didn't size the brass at all in the same manner that Virgil did in the story called the Secrets of the Houston Warehouse. The springback of the neck after bullet release is enough for a mild neck tension.

It was just something I did because I didn't want to buy a 308 reamer.

It is SA Rem 700 in a tacticool stock with a tactical bolt knob. I shoot it for fun and it makes an excellent test platform for any suspect scopes. I shoots in the .3s or better. Currently use IMR 8208 with 168 sierra MK @ 2750 fps.

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When the 375 Ruger came out I purchased a box and often thought of making a 7mm and a 338. I knew that others had done it as Dave Kiff said he had the reamers. A few years went by and I finally decided to see if I could neck down the brass to 7mm with the dies I had on hand. I managed to get it done, it was a fun challenge. I ended up turning the necks to a more reasonable .013" thickness.

Dave made me a reamer based on my dummy round and the shooting began. I used the reamer to open up the sliding pilot tube in a Redding 7mm Rem mag competition seater die. For sizing I use a combination of a Whidden 338 RCM FL/bushing die and a RCBS 375 Ruger FL die. Machined off the shoulder and neck as well as some of the base of a 375 Ruger FL die as a body taper die.

Currently an old M77 tang safety with an extended mag box and McMillan hunter stock has a rechambered 26" 7 Rem mag takeoff on it. I am getting best results with a 168 classic hunter @ 3265 fps using RL-33

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Final favorite is a long throated 338 RCM in a LA Mark X with a Joel Russo stock. It shoots the 300 gr berger hybrid at a sluggish 2525 fps. Amazing accuracy, very tolerable recoil, can shoot 10 shots in a row with the barrel only getting warm. If anyone takes the time to crunch the numbers it actually performs quite well for such a sluggish bullet. At 4000 ft, where I deer hunt, it drifts 9" at 500 yd with 10 mph crosswind. Still has 3000 ft/lb and vel of 2125 fps at this distance.

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I am a fledgling wildcatter compared to many on this site. I do my own rebarreling` on an old Sheldon lathe and really enjoy the challenges of this type of work. It allows me to mess around without spending a great deal of money.


I hope others like Muddrunner or Joel Russo will add to this thread.

 

[RT2506]

I have three wildcats. Two are in 14" barrels for Contender pistols. 6mm-225 Winchester, 30-30 Ackley Improved and a rifle in 30x47 on 300 Savage case shortened.

 

[Mikecr]

26 WSSM Imp. Reduced body taper, 35deg shoulder, neck turned to 13thou thickness, fitted chamber, custom dies.

 

[reeldawg]

I have a 6.5 Sherman. It probably one of the more common "wildcats", especially on this site. I am using 270 Win brass necked down and fireformed. It's between a 6.5-06 AI and .264 Win Mag.



Happy New Year


Jay

 

[J E Custom]

I am currently working on a line of cartridges that I am calling the TEXAN. They will use the same head space gauge and Hopefully the same (One set) bushing dies. and all will use the same brass,

Everyone knows how much I like the RUM cases (A 404 Jeffries with the rim turned down to fit a mag bolt face) and this wild cat is based on getting what I think is the maximum out of this case.

Body taper has been reduced to its usable limits of .010 thousandths over its entire length (Anything less and extraction could be an issue)and the body has been extended .092 longer.

A 40o shoulder was used for case life and capacity. (Usable capacity with a 300 grain bullet and an COAL of 4.000 is 114 to 117 grains depending on the type of powder)for ease in feeding I used a center feed mag box.

Preliminary testing shows that the 338 Texan will meet or exceed the 338/378 velocities with less powder and The TEXANs will fit a standard magnum bolt face. I just received the 30 Texan reamer and will start it within the next few weeks.

I am considering other calibers for the series 7mm, .358, 375 and maybe the 416.

I will post my findings and pictures after more test. The 338 TEXAN shot a .277 group while fire forming so I am optimistic that it will do better with formed brass and good loads.

Wildcatting is fun especially when the goals are reached and performance exceeds expectations.

J E CUSTOM

 

[Deleted member 46119]

26 WSSM Imp. Reduced body taper, 35deg shoulder, neck turned to 13thou thickness, fitted chamber, custom dies.

Mikecr, I like this yours!

Here is mine

 

[Deleted member 46119]

I'm with J E and elkaholic on the RUM based. I think this is a very flexible platform.

I've drawn up (QuickDesign) everything from WSSMs with 35degree shoulders to the a RUM with a 35degree shoulder.

Of course there is only so much time in life but once the 4 Noslers are done it's on to the next "set". Which one it will be, well.

There is the "Coaster" which shortens the "Nosler" by another .25". Keeping the body taper exact. Same taper as a RUM.

From there the WSMs are not new.

Then for proper short action feeding I made up my "WPSM" Winchester Pretty Short Magnum which is so close to a Sherman Short Mag I won't bother with it. I just like 35degree shoulders more than 40s.

I have a 375 barrel with a nice fast twist rate or I could get a .358 barrel....

I am waiting to see what CEB can come up with for another .358. Just a tad lighter to go into the 358 Hylaeus, a 358/338LM improved 35degree or a completely from scratch 500 Jefferies based that is not unlike a Mjolnir.

The Nazgul, right (500 Jefferies based) has 20grns more capacity than the Hylaeus, left (338LM based).

 

[yorke-1]

I've played with a handful of wildcats in the Contenders including all of the TCU rounds, both Herretts, and a couple of the JDJ variants (309, 338, 375 JDJ, and 300 Whisper).

In the bolt guns my favorites have been the 338/375 Ruger and my 375 BME. I've been playing with the 338/375 Ruger in an 18" barreled Savage Striker for about 5 years now in addition to a couple of different rifle barrels. I know I wasn't the first to do it, but I was probably one of the first to run it in a handgun. It's capable of getting over 2700 fps with a 250 grain bullet from the 18" barrel. It shoots best when held to about 2650 with the 250gr SMK.

My 375 BME sounds pretty similar to J E Customs' Texan case. It's a RUM/404 case improved about as much as possible with a 40 deg shoulder. My 375 version is throated for the 350gr MK seated with the shank of the bullet seated to the base of the neck. With current lots of powder, I get 3050 fps with the 350 MK. Earlier powder lots were able to hit 3100 fps with no pressure signs.

At the moment I'm looking at the 375 CheyTac case and trying to come up with something off of that.

Andrew

 

[MudRunner2005]

All of my really crazy ones are just designs I drew up. I haven't built any of them yet, because of lack of funds for barrels, dies, reamers, etc...

I will have to post mine on Monday evening, as all my really off-the-wall ones are on my work PC (I get bored and mess around with it on my break time).

I'll try to remember to take my flashdrive with me so I can bring them home.

 

[TOM H]

My first AI was 7x57AI later did 6RemAI,243AI,6x250AI,30x280AI,22-250AI,223AI,222AI,6x47AI and 35 WhelenAI. I've also done 30x44,30x47,6x284,6BR ShortenTalldog,22Walldog,6HLS and 6BR/22BR. I've done few others not worth mentioning.

My last build was 270Wby and not sure I'll ever do another wildcat and the ones I'm still shooting I enjoy. One that I always enjoyed hear about was Allen Mag's and if I did another it be one of Kirby's.

 

[MudRunner2005]

Forgot I had drawn this one up a while back... Just found it in the folder.

This would be a hard-hitter for those guys who love Thompson/Center rifles, since it has a rim on it.

 

[AZShooter]

Thanks everyone for mentioning your wildcats.

Look forward to hearing about your wildcats Mudrunner.

Tom H your handle should be AI. What is the 6BR shorten talldog?

I forgot to mention another wildcat I tried. It is a 6mm/7 Rem mag. I had the 7 rem mag reamer and Dave changed the neck/throat for a very small fee. I had high hopes to get the 105 Berger hybrid to shoot around 3500 fps accurately from a rechambered 24" 243 Rem takeoff on a lightweight platform. ( I have a 20 lb 6mm-284 and really liked its performance at 3500 fps)

I got past 3500 fps BUT fouling was such an issue that it seemed I never got any really consistent groups. I would think I had a load, clean up the barrel then it wouldn't shoot that well. I swear the throat was wearing so fast it changed the harmonics or something. Bore scope shows a horror show at just 250 rounds. Looks worse than my 257 Weatherby did with over 800 rounds.

I liked the idea because I could easly neck down 264 win mag brass. A 7 Rem mag S bushing die worked perfectly and a 264 win mag FL did the body taper/shoulder. Found that a 264 win mag seater did a good job with minimal runout. I am temped to try it again with a 26" varmint taper 243 takeoff barrel, this time using moly.


I would imagine there are quite a few members here with the same problem: while we are making one wildcat and we thinking of the next one.

 

[azsugarbear]

All three of my go-to rifles are wildcats:

338 AI - almost identical to Kirby's 338AX

277 AM - Kirby's wildcat based on the 338 Lapua

6.5-06 AI - std. specs

It's a disease; always trying to wring the last drop out of a cartridge.

 

[Joel Russo]

I really haven't had much time to play around wildcatting as I've been working on the custom actions for the past few years. A few that I've played with that come to mind are:
.22-6.5 Rem Mag
6-.257 Wby
7-300Wby Imp
.30-.416 Rigby Imp
.338-.408 Imp
.375-.408 Imp
7-.338 Lapua Imp in the works...