Anybody made one ?

[jhjimbo]

Anyone made a 'wildcat' and the firearm to go with it ?

Is there a hole in the cartridge lineup you would like to see filled ? My gunsmith wanted to make me a 6.5X06 and now I wish he had. Not a wildcat, but like the .35-06 it gives new purpose to an old standby.

[fitch270]

I’m covered, I don’t see myself needing a chambering other than what I already have. No issue with new stuff however. To each their own.

Under current conditions I don’t see now as a good time for bringing out new designs. Seems silly when what should be common ammo is unobtainable in many instances.

[jhjimbo]

I always thought the Mfg. were squeezing in too many newbees that had very little to offer new. The pressure was then on the retailers to offer to stock them and they could not carry all the possibilities. So, a lot of them wither and die on the vine and become special order only if they even continue to exist.

[FirstBubba]

I don't think their can be too many cartridges.
Like friends, there is always room for one more.
I would like to see some old cartridges brought back and updated. Like the .25-20 Win.
I don't have a specific need for a .25-20, I just think it would be fun to shoot.

[DakotaMan]

I started out in 1967 with my first rifle being a 25-06 Neidner Improved wildcat. I wish Remington would have used that case design rather than the one they did because it shot very well at a significantly higher velocity than the one they used.

I bought a lathe when I retired and enjoy making precision rifles as a hobby. Recently, I made a wildcat for my personal use in an AR. I reamed a 6mm ARC chamber .020 deeper than standard. Then I necked down a 6.5 Grendel to 6mm and fire formed it in the chamber of a well worn (3000 rounds) heavy take off 6mm Creedmoor barrel I contoured at 21 3/4" to fit in an AR. This was just an experiment and something to do with my lathe. I simply use 6mm ARC dies adjusted for the case length. It loads and shoots pretty well in the .5-.7 MOA range but now I'm hoping to chamber it in a better barrel to see if I can get superb accuracy. Everybody at the range seems to be trying to get their 6mm ARC shooting at 2850 fps. This one does it easily... and more. 1000 yard MOA steel plates are no challenge for it.

I enjoy tinkering with wild cats just for the fun of it. I just finished building two 25-06 Ackley Improved hunting rifles with 7.5 twist Sendero contour barrels for a friend and his wife and know they will get great results with them in coyote, prairie dog, deer, elk and antelope hunting with bullets up to 135g.

[FirstBubba]

My only step in the custom direction has been getting that Handi-Rifle modified from .357 mag to .357 maximum. Not technically a wildcat but it's a somewhat rare beast.

I would "LOVE" to buy a .38/.357 Ruger "Black Hawk" and have a barrel/cylinder cut to shoot the .25-20 Win, if that's even possible.(?)🤔

[FirstBubba]

http://bowenclassicarms.com/catalog/...nversions.html

HA! Now all I gotta do is come up with $2K! LOL!

Thanks ph!

(and a set of .25-20 Win RCBS dies, etc, etc...)

[Ernie]

I do have one wildcat that is really odd from back in 2014, as the caliber is in between 7mm and 30 caliber

Brand new caliber: .296
290 USA XP-100 built by Mac's Gunworks.
Using a Matrix 198 grain VLD (Estimated BC somewhere between .680-690).
I haven't chronoed the load yet, but with a grain more of H-1000 it ran 2660 with 17.5" barrel.
Settled on 65.0 grains of H-1000 and Fed match primer.
65.5 grains would give a slight swipe when we used a sharpie on the head of the brass.
Once I have chrono #'s, I will plug everything in and then confirm my drops. Both chrono #'s and BC #'s are starting point.
LR drop confirmation will give me a working solution, and I will tweak the numbers to make it match my actual drops. I do this with all my rigs.
It would be nice to do this a couple of times before my shoot, but that won't happen this time
300 SAUM (Norma brand) brass necked down.
Nitrided XP-100 action and barrel (bolt is not nitrided), action is trued, Dell trigger, Mac's new slotted design brake, reinforced H-S stock, 20 MOA pic rail, NF rings, Holland level
Pictured with a Vortex HS Viper (XLR reticle-MOA reticle) in FFP.
I am 90% plus sure the scope went down.
This caused a lot of frustration and time. Looking back I should have changed out the scope sooner, but it gave me about 80 rounds with me on on it using two different bi-pod's (Atlas & Harris) and a couple of different field bags.
It has been replaced with a Leupold 6.5-20 Mark 4 FFP with ART reticle.
Thinking it will chrono at 2600 fps.
If this is the real MV, combined with the BC (still to be ultimately determines), it outruns my 7 SAUM, 7WSM, and 7 Rem Mag Imp SP's with 18" barrels with the WSM and Mag Imp having more capacity.
I did the load development on these other rigs (the WSM was built by a friend out of state and 7RM Imp is a MOA Maximum) the same way as we have done with the USA.
First 5-shot group after scope change yielded a 5/8" inch horizontal spread @ 100 yards, with only .104 vertical. Really impressed with the lack of vertical!
Had some gusty cross winds, and there is a horizontal issue with the aluminum feet on the bi-pod I am using on the wood bench.
Chuck shot this group after I left on Monday afternoon.
I am enjoying this, and am looking forward to getting the USA's legs stretched out late this week and early next week.
Why a .296 bore?
Something new.
Sort of a gap between .284 and .308.
Throat life should be longer as well. How much? I don't know.
It was designed for LR shooting and LR matches, possibly F-Open, and LR hunting.
This is a work in process.
This is not my idea or creation.
I am honored to have the first .296 SP! Thanks Chuck for building a great Specialty Pistol!
Using the SAUM as the base case is perfect for the XP platform IMO.

[jhjimbo]

Is that enough primer for all that slow powder ?

[Ernie]

Plenty!
same primer, but much bigger case.
https://youtu.be/y8VuNAz7SK8

[jhjimbo]

6 Weird Wildcat Cartridges You've Never Heard Of | Field & Stream (fieldandstream.com)

American Hunter | Top 5 Wildcat Cartridges

American Hunter | What Your Favorite Rifle Cartridge Says About You

American Hunter | What Your Favorite Rifle Cartridge Says About You, Part II

What Your AR Caliber Says About You | An Official Journal Of The NRA (shootingillustrated.com)

6.5 Creedmoor

You are considered to be brilliant, charming, and engaging by all who meet you.

But seriously, you like to go all the way. To the end of the range, that is. It’s much easier when your bullet is still humming along at supersonic speeds 1,300 or so yards down range while your buddy’s inferior caliber is rumbling, tumbling, and bumbling through transonic fight a few hundred yards sooner.

I liked the 45/70 in part one. The 30-30 in part 2 does not look like a 30-30 rifle, more like a .22.

[jhjimbo]

[QUOTE=Ernie;n782885]Plenty!
same primer, but much bigger case.
https://youtu.be/y8VuNAz7SK8[/

Do you make the bullets ?

[Ernie]

No, I don't make bullets.
Fed match primers have worked great with the 7mm Dakota and the 26 Nosler (85.5 grains of Reloader 33 with a 147 grain bullet) in temperatures below freezing with absolutely no problem.
We have even shot my F-TR rifle (308 Winchester with a small match primer/Lapua Palma brass) in sub zero weather at 600 and 1000 yards with no problems.
Not a issue

[FirstBubba]

Well, I am sort of a prepper, just no closet full of MRE's! LOL!


6.8 Remington SPC

You’re a prepper. Because 6.8 Remington SPC uses the same bullets as the *(my) tried-and-true .270, you never have trouble finding projectiles. Even during the great reloading drought of 20-Obama, you had no trouble finding bullets to feed your 6.8 SPC. On the other hand, your planning skills need some improvement because finding brass is a whole different matter. At least you have good intentions, and we all know what those count for.

You’re also a little bit judgmental about folks who shoot those dinky .223 / 5.56 rifles. Yours delivers 1,500 or so foot-pounds of energy and 40 lbs-ft/sec of momentum—significantly more than the original pea shooter.

...but I do keep a 5.56/.223 around to handle my "light" work and just in case I can't locate 6.8mm brass**! 😉

*-my addition
**-any old port in a storm! (prepperistic?)

[DakotaMan]

Forgot to mention, I also shoot a 6mm Dasher which is still a wildcat. I'm shooting a custom chamber that supports a no-turn neck, a .017" longer case neck than the common Dasher, a freebore designed for the bullets I shoot to sit just right in the case and finally, a shallower lead to the rifling to reduce pressure and improve bullet concentricity. It is a shooter in 600 and 1000 yard competition. I really enjoy that rifle. It shoots where I aim in calm conditions. I just need to learn reading wind and atmospheric conditions even better to keep up with it.