Shawn

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"If guns are outlawed...only outlaws will have guns!

RR

because we can

quote:

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Originally posted by Shawn460:
Why?

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Because.

-- Mats

Shawn

Then I started loading for some, and find most of my cartridges are wildcats. I enjoy handloading, the challenges and what I learn from it, and wildcats are more challenging. If you are strictly a hunter, and care only about the least amount of effort and practicality, certainly you'll choose the most common factory rounds. If you are a tinkerer, you will certainly play with a wildcat or two.

I know most folks think in terms of bolt action rifles, but there are some other firearm platforms out there, and they can definately benefit from wildcats.

I really like the T/C contender pistols, especially with a 10" barrel, and there are darned few cases that are apropriate for getting maximum performance out of that platform, especially if you want a rimmed case, as I definately do.

Shawn

Like a slow fungus, wildcats will slowly grow on you. You are already a victim, or you wouldn't be asking. LOL

PS when you get that dinosaur hunt booked, let me know, I might go as back up with the latest .17, you have to shoot them in the eye, doncha know?

The 458 win mag isn't always enough, but, it is readily available in Africa as factory ammo. Since your ammo can disapear on the trip over, it is a good idea to have a chambering that you can find ammo for. The lott was designed to use win mag ammo in a pinch, and with no loss in velocity, which it does.

As far as why one wouldn't want a 460, time has shown that 458 bullets perform best when launched at 2300-2400 fps, and the 460 is too fast to get best performance with the bullets.

You could also bring up the 450 watts, which uses the full length cylindrical H&H cases with a straight taper, hence 2.85" brass. The lott uses 375 H&H brass necked up, and trimmed to 2.80", as the H&H brass will shorten when necked up. Then there are the other 45's based on the 404 and 416 case, either in standard length, ie 2.5" cases to function in standard length actions, and full length variants, but they all are after the 2300-2400 fps w/ 5000 grs. Each has benefits and detriments, just depends on what is important to you.

So you see, there is often many reasons for going with a given wildcat. You may consider the reasons for the design to be trivial, but they may be very important to the designer, or other users of the round. Really what is important is the bullet, and what velocities it performs best at. The case is mearly a package to hold the primer and powder, and needs to be matched to the chosen action. A factory case may achieve the best packaging, or a wildcat may be better suited to the task at hand.

And now the quiz:
Name a factory chambered round, offered by 2 or more major manufacturers (Remington,Sako,Weatherby,Winchester,Ruger,Savage,etc.), that will push a 6mm 70gr bullet in excess of 4000fps.

Now the 10/22 magazine, that was a tougher conversion..not as tough as the 10/22 centerfire bolt though.

One of the moneysaving things I�ve learned is that reamers can be combined to get something new. You don�t have to pay your last pennies for a new and expensive reamer if the riflesmith is in the mood for experiments.

The name? Yes it�s mine! I will find great pleasure in showing the rifle, with my name engraved as the caliber, to the 308Win gang that infests my local shooting range up in my hunting grounds (nothing wrong with the 308, it�s the attitude of that gang...).

I�m sure a 30/222 Improved is one of those BTDT�s, I don�t care. Most of the things in life that lends some pleasure to tired souls have been tried before but still works.

And, NO, I can�t find any cartridge with the performance of the 7,82-01 Isaksson among the factory cartridges. AKI

I have been tinkering with an idea, [and it is just an idea at this point], about a new round, was going to do some quiet research to see if it has been tried before. Hope that it has not.

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Safety & Ethics,Accuracy, Velocity, Energy
Joe M

[This message has been edited by JoeM (edited 05-30-2001).]

Or he may have to adapt one thing to another. His gun may have a poor chamber or bore, or both, while for some reason rebarreling isn't a good option for him.

One of the most common reasons for a wildcat is the need to substitute available brass or bullets for ones that are impossible, impractical, or inconvenient to get. The .338-06 is the much older .333 OKH slightly redesigned to use .338 bullets, which are more readily available � and in greater variety � than the single .333 bullet that only Speer used to make. The 8mm-06 adapted war-trophy 8x57mm Mauser rifles to the most readily available American cases when good Boxer-primed 8x57mm brass was hard or impossible to get.

One shooter's .257-.350 Magnum antelope cartridge derived from his opportunity to exploit a large and virtually free supply of .257 bullets and .350 Magnum brass. At a gun show, he bought a fine .257 Roberts sporter for a pittance because of a deep gouge in its chamber. He thought at first he would rechamber it for the .25-06. Then, at the same show, he traded meaningless (to him) odds and ends for two hundred once-fired .350 Remington Magnum cases and a couple of thousand .257 bullets � and had the good sense to see what he could do with them all. I worked out the dimensions for him, and he rechambered his .257 Roberts sporter to his new one-of-a-kind wildcat.

He couldn't care less that there's probably no other .257-.350 Magnum anywhere in the world.

There are probably as many good, sensible reasons for wildcats as there are good wildcats.

[This message has been edited by Ken Howell (edited 05-31-2001).]

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Speak softly, but carry a big stick!

Shaun450, You are correct in that factory ammo has everything any hunter or shooter needs to get by. Look at the ballistics of a majority of both standard and wildcat ammo. Most of them fall between 2500 and 3000 fps mv. That's no small ammout when your talking ballistics. I know guys that shoot 3 rounds at the range at dear rifle sight in. Then fire once or twice at deer during the season, and thats it for the year. And factory ammo does them good. When I started to reload is when it really got me hooked. It wasn't long I was looking for more to reload. Than I was forming my own cases out of 30-06 brass. Then it was a semi-custom mauser then a .303. Then it had to be a wildcat. But could it be just a wildcat? Oh no. Fully custom mauser with a georgeos walnut stock. Topped with a scope thats worth more than gold. My wife was furious! She was ready to leave me. Everything was guns guns guns! What was I to do? Then I had the answer. Frankly it was briliant.

I got my wife a gun.
It was just a little 7x57mm.
Now she is hooked too.