I would love to hear from owners of Gibbs cartridges to hear the good, bad & ugly from your experiences. I am right in the middle of deciding between the 30-06 AI or .30 Gibbs. I have always wanted a wildcat cartridge and thought I would finally take the plunge. I want a .30 caliber and since I have a Remington ADL in 30-06 that needs a new barrel this would be the time to go for it.

The case prep would be more involved with the Gibbs but since I spend too much time with my case prep now with standard cartridges, the additional forming should not be a problem.

Thanks.

C-ROY

C- Roy,
I had the same "problem" as yours just this last summer! I love the ballistics of the 30 Gibbs but with the new powders out now the 30-06AI will deliver everything needed to get the job done right. Case prep is not a big problem for me either but I like the fact that I can fire standard '06 ammo in the AI chamber in an emergency. I did the '06AI with a 24" barrel and am getting an nonest 2950 with 180gr. Hornadys and 64gr. of RL22. This load is safe in my gun but start lower if you decide to go the AI way.

C-Roy,

Built the .30 Gibbs this year as a 24" sporter. Don't know why case prep would be more of an issue w/the Gibbs since the fireforming is similar. I use .280 brass and after first fireforming I have to trim to length, but am ready to go after that. Gibbs case has more volume than the AI. I have only fooled w/a couple of loads so have a long ways to go before I begin to exhaust the possibilities. Using the 180Barnes and Partitions (both create a bit more pressure, hence less velocity than other bullets), I get between 2900 and 3000fps with H414 and IMR4350, but am itching to try RL22.

C-ROY,

I had a 30 Gibbs for 13 years that served very well. I used 150 grain Noslers at 3220 fps and the 200 grain Noslers at 2825 fps. Both weights would shoot into 1.5" to 2" at 100 yards off the bench. For almost all of the time I had it I loaded H205--had 17 lbs I bought after it was discontinued. If memory serves it is somewhere between IMR4064 and IMR4350 in burning rate. I had just begun to develop loads with RL22 when I traded the rifle.

Best way I found to fireform is to load with a slow burner like H4831 or RL-22 and use a load about half way between starting and maximum loads for the 30-'06 with a 180 grain bullet--they need to be seated out to where they touch the lands when the bolt is closed. That keeps you from having to size the necks up to 338 or so and then sizing them down to .308 only to the point where the new shoulder will be. My RL-22 fireforming loads chronographed in at 2750 fps and usually would hold a group of around 1.5" at 100 yards if done using the first method and about 2.5" at 100 if done with the size up/down method. The best group I ever shot with the rifle was with 150 grain Nosler solid base bullets--0.4" at 200 yards,3 shot group. I could count on 1" to 1.25" at 100 off the bench with my hunting loads. This is a wonderful wildcat to play with.

That being said, were I to do it over I would probably go to the Ackley Improved version. Shooting unaltered factory ammo from my Gibbs resulted in 1 head separation and blown, flattened primer--never tried another one! There was no problem when the bullets were pulled and seated out to touch the lands. The only reason I would do the Ackley rather than the Gibbs version is because when you fire unaltered '06 factory ammo the shoulder moves little or none on the AI but moves forward close to 3/16". Since the case heaspaces on the shoulder, the AI case would have it's shoulder in the right spot but the Gibbs is unsupported until the brass blows out to conform to the chamber. That said, I know many have fired factory ammo in both with nary a problem--each chamber is different. It's a good idea to use 280 cases rather than '06 cases is due to the slightly longer case length with the 280. The '06 cases were a bit short after fireforming due to the changes the case goes through.

There is a wildcat data section on the website

www.centerfirecentral.com

I kinda rambled a bit--sorry! Email me if you want the data I have.

Good Hunting,

[ 12-31-2002, 19:37: Message edited by: ACRecurve ]

Hey'
Have a 30 Gibbs.Mine,shoots better than I can.Likes most weight bullets,especially the 180 Btips from Nosler.
1geejay
www.shooting-hunting.com

I don't have a 30 Gibbs, but I do shoot a 7mm and 240 Gibbs that I enjoy a lot. - Dan