308 wildcats

Status
Not open for further replies.

WestKentucky

Member
Joined
Feb 1, 2014
Messages
13,055
Location
Western Kentucky
What do I need to do with these 500 or so cleaned primed and sized 308 cases? I don't have a 308 and I'm not really interested in one, but the case is good and they are easy to get if I need more.

I have medium game covered with a variety of cartridges. I don't want to build an ar10. I'm leaning toward a varmint wildcat if I don't sell it or trade it, but I'm in no hurry to move it as I would rather use it.

Diameters...
.204?
.224?
.243 is an option if I "get a rifle for my wife"
.257?
.277?
.284 (7-08) not interesting for me since I have several medium game rounds
.308...
Or maybe necking up for a bigbore...
.338
.358
Pistol cal bullets???

What weirdness would my THR brethren dive into feet first?
 
Honestly would rather have an encore barrel which means I would buy an encore too. I have 3 ar15s and just don't want another "black gun" I like the thought of a bolt gun.
 
What will 7-08 do that's not covered by 357 mag, 30-30, 7-30, .270win, 6.8spc, and .223 win? Yes i know that some of these are unlike others... 357 and 30-30 are good up close, 7-30 and 6.8 are great midrange+ and .270win goes from coyote to elk out to long range. 223 is currently my goto varmint gun, but I find it light for coyote.

Perhaps that should be asked as what benefit would I have by adding it to the stable since I already stock 7mm bullets and 7-08 is cheap to get into via budget rifle. It is easily my most economically sound choice.
 
You asked, I answered. Remind me never to answer one of your questions again. :)
I really am curious about the 7-08 and think that if I were buying a single rifle to do my medium and big game hunting it would be a 7-08 rather than the .270 I bought in 1997... please tell me there is a hole that it fills well...

It just hit home that my first major gun purchase is getting close to drinking age.
 
Honestly, a three-zero-eight handgun does sound pretty neat. Or am I thinking the Contender? Whichever one is the handgun, in a rifle round is my suggestion. Everyone needs some fun guns. Actually, all my firearms are on the verge of hilarious, they are so fun.
 
Honestly, a three-zero-eight handgun does sound pretty neat. Or am I thinking the Contender? Whichever one is the handgun, in a rifle round is my suggestion. Everyone needs some fun guns.
Your actually right on both accounts. Contender is the original break action which took all handgun rounds and a few of the lower pressure rifle rounds like 30-30 and 45-70. Then came the encore which is essentially a reinforced contender that can take rifle round pressures. Both are available in pistol, carbine, or rifle configurations.
 
I have a pistol in 260 Rem (308 necked down to 6.5). I pistol based on 308 isn't a bad option if you want something unusual. While I've likely put 100 or so rounds down the barrel, I still haven't got the hang of it. Pistols capable of something like this are heavy and that's taken some getting used too. I bought it as a hunting pistol.
 
I would do either a .260 or a .338, personally.
I built a .358 AR, and its fun to shoot, would make a great hog and deer rifle for tight, woody terrain, but the lack of popularity of .35 calibers means that there's not a lot in the way of modern bullet options, and i consider the gun to only be good for 300-400 yards at most.
.338, meanwhile, has become very popular in recent years, and it seems there's been a lot of bullet developement.
The .260 would offer lower recoil and some stunning exterior ballistics for small/medium game and target shooting.

Just my opinion, worth exactly what you paid for it...
 
Cut them down to 44 Automag, buy a pistol and be done with it.:D That was my first handgun purchase and I sold it shortly after as the excitement wore off rather quickly. Young and dumb for sure.:p
 
Cut them down to 44 Automag, buy a pistol and be done with it.:D That was my first handgun purchase and I sold it shortly after as the excitement wore off rather quickly. Young and dumb for sure.:p
Already looked down that road. Guns are too expensive for my taste and I haven't found an AR barrel for it...yet. but I'm keeping my mind open.
 
For varmint and fun I would look at the 257. 308 necked down to 257 is the 25 super I believe.
That is if you want an oddball.

If it were me though, I would be making a 358 Winchester. You would be able to use 357 mag pistol bullets if you so choose.
 
I'm not sure I'd say there are many 308 family "wildcats" left. Lambert did pretty much anything which could be done, many of them became SAAMI standardized factory rounds, and the rest still hang around with a reasonable following.

The 338Federal or .358win in a 16-18" barrel rifle would be a hoot as a woods rifle, but I've been disappointed in it in a 20" bolt gun and 20" LR-308. Just not a big enough gas tank to get proper weight bullets going as fast as they need for longer range OR bigger game work, i.e. the work which traditionally has been the 338 cartridges' claim to fame. The 35cal just isn't as well supported as 33, so I wouldn't pick a 358win over a 338federal. When you get down to 22cal, the 22/243 is a pretty solid contender, the 22-250 is similar enough (and can be formed) such it's an honorary descendant case. The case will end up too large for the 20cal by a considerable overbore margin, unless you push the shoulder back a long ways. 7mm, 6.5, and 6mm are pretty well owned by their SAAMI standardized constituents, pushed by AI's of each. A few unique 6mm's hang around, like SLR and CM. Personally, I think there's so much traffic in the 6mm bore for the short action cartridge because of the great relationship between bore dia and case capacity. There are a handful of 6mm's just based on the 308case, let alone looking at other parent cases - LOTS of traffic in this caliber. The 25cal's are represented by the 25 Souper and the 250 Savage, personally, I expect these don't garner much favor simply because there are far better bullet selections in 6mm and 6.5, so like the 338 over the 358, I wouldn't commit to a quarter bore over a 6mm or 6.5.

So I suppose a guy can call half of that list above "Wildcats," but there won't be any custom ordering of reamers or one-off dies involved. They're all pretty well known entities.

Personally, the 6SLR is the one which piques my interest most. Longer neck and better mag compatibility for heavy bullets, but plenty of case capacity.
 
For varmint and fun I would look at the 257. 308 necked down to 257 is the 25 super I believe.
That is if you want an oddball.

If it were me though, I would be making a 358 Winchester. You would be able to use 357 mag pistol bullets if you so choose.
That's where I was leaning, but then it's right in the same niche as he 257Roberts which is a gun I intend to own...to the point I already have brass and dies held back for it.

The more I look at this the more I think I need to just buy a CVA single shot 308 or an Axis in 308. I have 308 brass, dies, bullets, a few decent powders... If I play my cards right I can find a bullet that will suffice for all of my 30 cal needs (30-30, 30carbine, 308) in the 115-120gr range and have some fun. Yes it's extremely light for caliber in 30-30 and 308 but if I push 308 hard and can stabilize it at speed then that will be interesting enough. I run 30-30 as a 2 shooter a lot so I can use good bullets there too. One in and one under is safe. A light, fast, modern bullet 30-30 would also be a new take on my current rifle. I think I have a plan...until it gets derailed. I'm gonna start scouring the pawn shops until I find a deal. Hopefully any single shot or used axis...would love an NEF or handi.
 
Keep on the lookout for a good older savage bolt as well. The older ones were the best built and were one of the most accurate production rifles to hit the streets for the price point. The Axis is good as well but the older models (pre Accutrigger) are better IMHO. I have several NEF Handi Rifles as well and mine were all good shooters, but be warned that some of those were hit or miss in the accuracy department. The majority were OK but a small number had poor quality barrels. An old timer showed me to take the barrel off those single shot rifles and holding it up by the breach end rap the lower side of the barrel with a plastic screw driver handle or such----like ringing a bell. If it would ring the barrel was most always accurate, if the barrel sounded dead it would be a poor shooter. Take this procedure for what it is worth but all mine sound good and shoot good. YMMV
 
An old timer showed me to take the barrel off those single shot rifles and holding it up by the breach end rap the lower side of the barrel with a plastic screw driver handle or such----like ringing a bell. If it would ring the barrel was most always accurate, if the barrel sounded dead it would be a poor shooter. Take this procedure for what it is worth but all mine sound good and shoot good. YMMV

That sort of makes some sense, from a metalurgical standpoint...if the steel of the barrel has inclusions, voids, or just variations in heat-treating over it's length, the harmonics would change through the effected zone, just like a cracked bell.
Since rifle accuracy depends on getting the round to exit the barrel at the same point in it's natural resonance cycle time after time, i can imagine tonal inconsistency being a bad sign...
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top