Any wildcat cartridge shooters out there?

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C5rider

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According to wiki-brain, a A wildcat cartridge, or wildcat, is a custom cartridge for which ammunition and firearms are not mass produced. These cartridges are often created in order to optimize a certain performance characteristic (such as the power, size or efficiency) of an existing commercial cartridge. Often, wildcats are commercially sold rounds that have been modified in some way to alter the cartridge's performance.

I've got a 25 Krag, which if I'm not mistaken, was one of the earliest wildcat cartridges?

So, anyone else shooting these hopped-up honeys? I don't currently have a photo of my Krag, but I'll take one tomorrow. Also, a photo of the cartridge would be VERY interesting too, especially if you could get a photo of one un-altered and one wildcatted together! That'd help show the differences. I'll try and get one of each but feel free to add your own story/photos and any info that you might have on them.

Looking forward to seeing what is out there!
 
You can find commercial loaded ammo, but it is hard to get and very expensive. There have been a handful of factory rifles made, but I still consider my 338-06 as a Wildcat.

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i shoot 6XC, 260AI, 6Creedmoor

maybe not exactly wildcats, but pretty close
 
I load and shoot 7mm International Rimmed and 38-45 Clerke but neither are considered rifle cartridges. 7mm International Rimmed would probably work well in a rifle.

I also form cases, load and shoot 6.5 x 54 Kurz Mauser. Not a wildcat, but an obsolete cartridge that factory ammunition is o longer available for. One of these days, I plan on getting a new barrel cambered in 6.5x 54 Kurz Mauser to see how well it does with a faster twist barrel. Mauser chose too slow a twist and rounds like 6.5x54 M-S were more accepted.
 
Now this presents a problem, it does not meet your definition but it is a true wildcat the 243 Winchester.

Jim
 
I have used and loaded for a buddy's 6.5 X .257 Roberts in a sporterized Arisaka, even though the barrel was pitted, it was extremely accurate and that round worked very well on deer, hogs and coyotes.
 
I don't really consider them wildcats 'cuz they are so darn easy to "make" but I have been shooting the 338-06, 223 AI and 250 AI since the mid-90's. The 338-06 has taken a number of elk, nilgai, mule deer, hogs and both black and grizzly bear. Great little round that I have assembled into a nice lightweight mountain rifle.

338-06andrangepics006.jpg

338-06andrangepics003.jpg
 
yep grew up shooting my Dads and I have designed four myself. The trick is to get one that can be made from readily available brass that dies are available for or a existing die can be altered to load it.
 
Yeah. I shoot a 6.8SPCII AR-15.:D:evil:

Before you throw me out of the room, finding out that 6.8 cartridges within the OAL length "specification" will only fit one or two of the magazine makers mags is no fun. But I guess I it's not a "wildcat" anymore, more ammo makers now.:banghead:

ETA: Since the 2004 SAAMI have not been updated at all and OAL is beyond the spec now, what DO you call it??
 
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Indiana has some goofy laws regarding deer rifles that are legal. I have an AR in WSSM that is necked up from .24 to .358. Got one last fall at 269 yards
 
Wildcats are a lot of fun to mess with, especially when searching for something a bit "extra" in accuracy or velocity, or both. I currently own and load for a dozen or so wildcat rifles, some of which are now outdated and others on the high end of ballistic development. Attach is a photo of some of them: from left, .17 Javalina, .17/223, .20 T&J, .22 K-Hornet, .22 CHeetah, .240 Catbird, .260 Bobcat, .264 CHeetah, 6.5 Leopard and 7mm/300 WbyMag.
 

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Wildcats

I built a 25WSM, using a 270WSM case necked down to 25 cal. it's the flatest shooting rifle I've ever owned. Shot a Canadain white tail, got a pass through and he fell where he stood. Used the Nozler 110gr Accu-Bond bullet. loaded with 66.5gr. Retumbo. Got .5" groups. Al
 

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Attach is a photo of some of them: from left, .17 Javalina, .17/223, .20 T&J, .22 K-Hornet, .22 CHeetah, .240 Catbird, .260 Bobcat, .264 CHeetah, 6.5 Leopard and 7mm/300 WbyMag.

Sweet.
Is the 7mm/300 WbyMag a replica of the old 7mm Mashburn round?
 
.256 Win Mag. Sounds bigger than it is. The "mag" part comes from the parent case, a .357 mag necked to .25. Sweet varmint cartridge that never made it.
 
For me one is a 7-30 waters Winchester used to chamber it and Federal selles it today but in small quantity. My other one is 7 TCU I shoot both of them in contender barrels. Both are super accurate.
Flip
 
338/378 (not a wildcat anymore)
6XC (same)
8mm/378 Wby - Built on a rechambered Brno 602 originally an 8x68S
338/416 Rem Mag
 
257 Ackley Improved Roberts here. Very accurate little gun but I have had a lot of trouble with inconsistent neck shortening during fire forming. I had asked the gunsmith to give a "short" chamber to headspace tightly on the neck/shoulder junction but there is too much variability with factory 257 Roberts and new brass.

I have not yet tried a "pusher material" (cream of wheat?) and am considering forming and neck turning from a longer parent case (like .30-06 or 280 Rem).

I want a really long neck to leave the lower quarter or third of the neck unsized to throat diameter to center the round in the chamber better.

The gun is floated but I have not finished bedding the gun (just a rear pillar so far) and it shoots 3/8" x 7/8" groups with factory 257 Roberts.

Mike
 
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I shoot a .35 Brown-Whelen, which is wildcatted wildcat.

The .35 Whelen is the .30-06 necked up to .35 caliber and works on the principle of gas expansion. The bullet is driven by expanding gas. As the gas expands, the pressure drops. In the large .35 caliber barrel, it drops pretty fast, so more powder can be added to keep the pressure up. The result is the .35 Whelen will drive a 200 grain bullet about as fast as a .30-06 can drive a 180 grain bullet.

C. Norman Brown liked the .35 Whelen but realized the .30-06 case can't hold enough powder to fully realize the potential of the .35 barrel. The .35 Brown-Whelen is almost straight-sided, with the shoulder moved well forward and with a much steeper angle than the .30-06. Bigfoot Wallace, my custom '03, will drive a 225 grain bullet to about 2,800 fps.

To make .35 B-W cases, I load a .30-06 case with several grains of Bullseye, add a quarter sheet of toilet paper to keep the powder in place, chamber it and fire.
 
The .35 Whelen is the .30-06 necked up to .35 caliber and works on the principle of gas expansion. The bullet is driven by expanding gas. As the gas expands, the pressure drops. In the large .35 caliber barrel, it drops pretty fast, so more powder can be added to keep the pressure up. The result is the .35 Whelen will drive a 200 grain bullet about as fast as a .30-06 can drive a 180 grain bullet.
That is a fairly convoluted explanation. The bigger bore area pushes on the bullet with more force at a given pressure (pressure x pi x d^2 / 4) and the relative friction is lower. The capacity to bore area ratio will influence the powder selection (bigger bores allow faster burning powders) but in general, you usually do not use significantly more powder when necking a case.

Nothing special about the Whelen vs any other neck or or neck down.

Mike
 
That is a fairly convoluted explanation. The bigger bore area pushes on the bullet with more force at a given pressure (pressure x pi x d^2 / 4) and the relative friction is lower.
It's the powder gas that pushes, not the bore. And the bigger bore loses pressure faster than the smaller bore because the volume behind the bullet increases more rapidly -- which means you can burn more powder, and hence generate more energy.

For example, to compare apples to apples, Hodgedon recommends a max load of 45 grains of IMR 4064 for a 220 grain bullet in .30-06 for a velocity of 2309 fps. In .35 Whelen (not Brown-Whelen) Hodgedon recommends a max load of 55 grains of IMR 4064 for a velocity of 2539 fps.

So it isn't just a matter of the gas having more bullet base to push on, it's a matter of pressure dynamics, where the greater expansion rate allows burning significantly more powder -- in this case, 22% more.

The .35 Brown-Whelen adds about 11% more volume to the case, allowing even more powder to be burned. For most powder/bullet combinations, you can burn about 7-10 grains more powder than the ordinary .35 Whelen.
 
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