Is it time for to me to give up on my wildcat?

[Tac-O]

I have been screwing around with a 30-284 since mid-2021. I've sunk so many dollars into it and still feel like something is not right. I'm getting tired of spending way too much time trouble shooting and loading instead of just quickly loading some and being able to spend more time practicing in the field.

If I had some money to throw at it, I'd just send the barreled action, reamers, brass, and sizing die to someone like Wheeler Accuracy or similar and have them troubleshoot it and do what needs to be done to make it work like I want. But I have no money.

What do you guys think? How many of you have thrown in the towel on wildcats, went to factory ammo or at least simplified your loading and became much happier with your rifles? I might be at the point of saying F it.

 

[Jud96]

Before you throw in the towel. Give us a rundown on the barrel, the action, scope, stock, who chambered it, reamer specs, dies used, brass used, bullets, powder, etc. Something might just be off and causing you a headache. Most cartridges of any design can be made to shoot well and the 30-284 should be a hammer considering the 6.5-284 and the parent 284 are both excellent. Having the setup properly diagnosed is cheaper than starting over. You already have the rifle and reloading equipment/supplies for it.

 

[waspocrew]

Agreed - give us a little more information and maybe we can help out. What exactly is the problem?

That being said, if you're not happy with it, just move on from it.

 

[FEENIX]

I have been screwing around with a 30-284 since mid-2021. I've sunk so many dollars into it and still feel like something is not right. I'm getting tired of spending way too much time trouble shooting and loading instead of just quickly loading some and being able to spend more time practicing in the field.

If I had some money to throw at it, I'd just send the barreled action, reamers, brass, and sizing die to someone like Wheeler Accuracy or similar and have them troubleshoot it and do what needs to be done to make it work like I want. But I have no money.

What do you guys think? How many of you have thrown in the towel on wildcats, went to factory ammo or at least simplified your loading and became much happier with your rifles? I might be at the point of saying F it.

As I previously noted, I commend you for your persistence in making it work. I have been pretty lucky all my wildcats worked out as I wanted.

 

[M1A1ABRAMS]

I have been screwing around with a 30-284 since mid-2021. I've sunk so many dollars into it and still feel like something is not right. I'm getting tired of spending way too much time trouble shooting and loading instead of just quickly loading some and being able to spend more time practicing in the field.

If I had some money to throw at it, I'd just send the barreled action, reamers, brass, and sizing die to someone like Wheeler Accuracy or similar and have them troubleshoot it and do what needs to be done to make it work like I want. But I have no money.

What do you guys think? How many of you have thrown in the towel on wildcats, went to factory ammo or at least simplified your loading and became much happier with your rifles? I might be at the point of saying F it.

Maybe just take a break from it. And go shoot something you enjoy for now. It may be one of those Oh Chit moments when you find the answer you need.

 

[comfisherman]

Biggest issue with modern wildcats is clearly laying out a well defined goal of the niche it will fill. Then going out and making very certain in the near exhaustive catalog of modern cartridges it actually fills a need worth the time and energy spent. Failing to do that causes most the wildcat angst. Gotta make the juice worth the squeeze, usually even then it's more expensive than the next closest factory offering.

 

[Barehandlineman11]

Whats the issues you are having

 

[Tac-O]

It definitely hammers! It's the most accurate gun I've owned. The majority of the problem is brass/sizing, cost of fireforming, probably need to neck turn but don't have the tools, the list goes on and on.

There's tons of info to share, so it may take a bit to get the whole picture out there.

30-284 AI - prints attached, Manson reamers. I own the chamber and resizer reamer
Tikka action
Mullerworks 23" 10 twist barrel
FL sizing die is a PTG die blank, unhardened

Chambered and dies cut by Robinson Precision Rifles. He's no longer in business and I didn't hear back last time I tried to contact him last year. He seemed to be an awesome guy. Knowledgeable, easy to work with, etc. His work seemed good, however the chamber and die cuts aren't quite as smooth as I expected them to be. I know his work was at least concentric. I feel like some of the issues I'm dealing with are either from his work or from the reamers, but I'm not sure which.

My main load is
Peterson or Lapua brass (mostly Peterson)
185 juggernauts
Cci200
55.5gr h4350
2825fps

Deprime
Clean carbon off neck exterior w 3m pad
Anneal every loading
Brush interior neck
Dry graphite lube interior neck and Lee lube on body
Size FL die, bump shoulders 0.003
Expand neck w mandrel

The main issue I'm having is with brass sizing.

First off, if you look at my chamber print, you'll see that the 0.200 line is 0.502. that is supposed to be 0.200 from the base of the case, right? On both brands of cases, that line is just ahead of the start of the extractor groove, or the head, by maybe 1/16". On my cases that I've fired multiple times, say 4 or more, I measure a diameter of 0.503 at 0.275 from the base, while the head measures 0.499-0.500. That means there is basically a small "hump" just forward of the 0.200 line. This doesn't make sense to me per the chamber print.

Secondly, my sizing die reamer print is 0.498 at the 0.200 line. This should be just right for getting enough sizing at the base to prevent getting"clickers" after multiple reloads. But, after a number reloads my brass will only size down to about 0.502 at that "hump" and I will then get some clickers when shooting.

Also, I get way more case growth on each firing than I expected to for an AI case. It grows about 0.003-0.004 every reload. The shoulder diameter is spec'd at 0.482, which a 0.004 delta seems fine for a hunting gun, but the shoulder doesn't spring back much if at all and it actually measures 0.482 after sizing. This to me seems like the culprit for getting a case growth of 0.003 or so every loading.

These are the main issues. Other ones are smaller more easily dealt with things.

I recently bought Eric Cortina's expand mandrel die to use as a base sizer. The description on his site made it sound like it would work for mine, but apparently it has a small 7mm neck hole. It did size the base of my brass well, but it also ruined the case at the neck. So hopefully he'll let me return it. This sparked my anger with this wildcat last night .

 

[Tac-O]

I am thinking what I would like to do is send it to someone with my reamers and dies, have them do the necessary measurements and determine if the reamers are in/out of spec, if my chamber and die were cut correctly, and determine what I need to do fix the issues.

That is if I don't just get rid of it and go with a factory chamber.

 

[Jud96]

Talk to Manson if that's where you got the reamers from. It's best to talk to the manufacturer before getting another party involved

 

[Mike D Texas]

It definitely hammers! It's the most accurate gun I've owned. The majority of the problem is brass/sizing, cost of fireforming, probably need to neck turn but don't have the tools, the list goes on and on.

There's tons of info to share, so it may take a bit to get the whole picture out there.

30-284 AI - prints attached, Manson reamers. I own the chamber and resizer reamer
Tikka action
Mullerworks 23" 10 twist barrel
FL sizing die is a PTG die blank, unhardened

Chambered and dies cut by Robinson Precision Rifles. He's no longer in business and I didn't hear back last time I tried to contact him last year. He seemed to be an awesome guy. Knowledgeable, easy to work with, etc. His work seemed good, however the chamber and die cuts aren't quite as smooth as I expected them to be. I know his work was at least concentric. I feel like some of the issues I'm dealing with are either from his work or from the reamers, but I'm not sure which.

My main load is
Peterson or Lapua brass (mostly Peterson)
185 juggernauts
Cci200
55.5gr h4350
2825fps

Deprime
Clean carbon off neck exterior w 3m pad
Anneal every loading
Brush interior neck
Dry graphite lube interior neck and Lee lube on body
Size FL die, bump shoulders 0.003
Expand neck w mandrel

The main issue I'm having is with brass sizing.

First off, if you look at my chamber print, you'll see that the 0.200 line is 0.502. that is supposed to be 0.200 from the base of the case, right? On both brands of cases, that line is just ahead of the start of the extractor groove, or the head, by maybe 1/16". On my cases that I've fired multiple times, say 4 or more, I measure a diameter of 0.503 at 0.275 from the base, while the head measures 0.499-0.500. That means there is basically a small "hump" just forward of the 0.200 line. This doesn't make sense to me per the chamber print.

Secondly, my sizing die reamer print is 0.498 at the 0.200 line. This should be just right for getting enough sizing at the base to prevent getting"clickers" after multiple reloads. But, after a number reloads my brass will only size down to about 0.502 at that "hump" and I will then get some clickers when shooting.

View attachment 542476

Also, I get way more case growth on each firing than I expected to for an AI case. It grows about 0.003-0.004 every reload. The shoulder diameter is spec'd at 0.482, which a 0.004 delta seems fine for a hunting gun, but the shoulder doesn't spring back much if at all and it actually measures 0.482 after sizing. This to me seems like the culprit for getting a case growth of 0.003 or so every loading.

These are the main issues. Other ones are smaller more easily dealt with things.

I recently bought Eric Cortina's expand mandrel die to use as a base sizer. The description on his site made it sound like it would work for mine, but apparently it has a small 7mm neck hole. It did size the base of my brass well, but it also ruined the case at the neck. So hopefully he'll let me return it. This sparked my anger with this wildcat last night .

View attachment 542477

Your dimension at .200 looks good but not sure what's causing the expansion forward of that.

When you say case growth are you meaning length to shoulder datum or overall case length?

At first all signs point to high pressure loads but that's me.

 

[Tac-O]

Talk to Manson if that's where you got the reamers from. It's best to talk to the manufacturer before getting another party involved

Does it sound to you like maybe the reamers are off? It could be, but I'd be really surprised. I don't think the smith polished that area in the chamber or die, but am not sure.

I will call them Monday and see what they say

 

[Tac-O]

Your dimension at .200 looks good but not sure what's causing the expansion forward of that.

When you say case growth are you meaning length to shoulder datum or overall case length?

At first all signs point to high pressure loads but that's me.

For case growth, I'm referring to oal of case. Would high pressure cause these problems? I know it will cause more web growth, but would it cause the sizing die to not size that portion of the case and the "hump" forward of the 0.200 line? Would it cause more case length growth?

 

[Mike D Texas]

Does it sound to you like maybe the reamers are off? It could be, but I'd be really surprised. I don't think the smith polished that area in the chamber or die, but am not sure.

I will call them Monday and see what they say

I would lean toward possibly the resizing reamer being off.

You may just bite the bullet and send 3 fired case to Whidden and tell them you want a small base resizer for it. They will size it .0005 under at the base. I had to do this with my 6.5 SAUM Improved. I was experiencing similar issues to you.