I see a 17" 6.5 cal. with a 1:8 Twist somewhere in the back of my mind
But i'm stumped on what one, and my question is what is the best wildcat going for this one? Or maybe someone has another idea??? I would sure like to hear it.

It depends on what you want to do with it. For hunting, the 6.5mm JDJ (6mm/225 IMP by any other maker!) has all the velocity you could possible need to reach out to 200 yards and even a bit farther. But from a 17" barrel, even the TCU would get you to the magical 2400 fps mark with those terrific 120 grain bullets.

I'd opt for something a little different, though: the 6.5mm Wasp. It is right on the heels of the JDJ, and brass is readily available (and cheap!) from eabco.com. OF course, Eben BRown offers his own series based on a similar case design and calls them the Bench Rest Magnum series.

There are lots of possibilities with a 6.5mm and a 17" barrel, and you really can't go wrong with most of 'em.

If it were me, I'd opt for a 22" carbine barrel (still handles incredibly well) and chamber for the Wasp -- unless you specifically had pistol use in mind.

Jules-I forgot to add: if you envision the cartridge as more of a paper puncher than anything else, the Whisper is truly a fun cartrige to play with.

Bobby,
Actually the 17" bbl is already there and it wasn't really my choise. But I don't have a 6.5 and I want one.{if ya know what I mean}
Mike at OTT/LLC has it and it needs to be chambered and finished out.
He can make me a any size, size die for whatever I come up with as long as it's safe in a contender. That's why I was looking for different ideas. What I really need to know is what brass would be best to use for this wildcat. Seems like the 225win is a good choise but i'm sure there are others as well. I would like to stick with rimmed brass and most likely will have a 40 degree shoulder.
Other then target work i'll use it to hunt varmints and up to deer sized game out to 300yds or so and doing all my shooting with 120gr bullets and less.
I know that the 6.5x50R Bellm round is a good one but good brass is to hard to get.

[ 07-12-2003, 17:48: Message edited by: Jules ]

Jules-
In that case, I'd stick with the .225 brass and go with the improved version. The 17" barrel should get you around 2500-2550 fps with 120 grainer Ballistips or Speer 120 grain Hot Cores, so you will be set for any deer that ever roamed your neck of the woods.

Good luck with the project...

That's what I was thinking. And the 225 brass seems to be going at a fair price. This may be the one.
Thanks!

How about a 6.5x30-30AI or 6.5x444AI? I am not familar with the 225 case, is it similar to the 30-30?

What about the 30-40 or 303 cases as a basis for wildcats?? These cases have less capacity than the 444.....

Well, I will throw another one into the mix. How about a 6.5 Super Bower (6.5-307 Imp.). This cartridge performed great this week in Alliance.

Ernie

[ 10-13-2003, 01:47: Message edited by: xphunter ]

I have to agree on this one, used it at CO. in 99.
It provided a nice group on the 500 meter ram, but the 6mm in my view was somewhat better. But there where other things to take into prospective also.

MSSmagnum:
I had a 6.5x444imp and in a 14" barrel is inefficient. It does not do anything that my 6.5x50R Bellm will do. It burnes and awful lot of slow burning powder and doesn't work out in a 14" barrel. It may be good in a longer barrel.

Outback

After looking at the load data between the 6.5JDJ and the 6.5x30/30imp there ain't much difference in volocity with the 120gr bullets. Out of a 30/30 case Fred shows a little over 2400fps in a 20" bbl. SSK shows about the same volocity with the 6.5JDJ based on a 225 case and that's out of a 14" bbl.
I do have plenty of 30/30 brass now that I no longer have a 30/30 bbl
Just looking for the best choise.

Hey guys I had several emails with Mike Bellm about this topic. As I remember it, he felt that the 6.5 on the 307 Winchester case was the way to go. I believe that a few others jumped in as well on a post I had about it & pretty much agreed with that. So the 6.5 X 444 isn't worth doing. At least that seems to be the way of thinking anyway. I would like to see an alternative to the 225 case with the 6.5 . Just don't know what it will be.

Rich Jake

Sounds like the 6.5x30-30AI is the way to go. Better effeciency in the shorter barrel and TONS of cheap brass, kinda neat. I would still at some point like to have a 30-30AI for the contender, would make a nice target barrel in full bull about 16.5" long! Not sure what kinda velocity i would get outta 190 Matchkings but it would be neat none the less.

[ 07-13-2003, 04:00: Message edited by: MSSmagnum ]

How about a 6.5 on a 220 swift case.

More capacity than a 225 win and less than a 444 marlin. It has a slightly larger diameter--220 swift 0.447" --than 225 win--0.424" and smaller diameter than a 444 marlin--0.470". The brass is strong.

It could be full length or shortened to 2.04 (30-30 length). I think it would work well in a 17" barrel---Maybe I'll do it with a 25 caliber?

Jules,

If you stick with the 30/30 cases, you could also have the option of using 375 Win brass if you want to if you have the urge to try a beefier case. You may need to neck turn to use it or have the chamber neck cut to allow use of it at your option.

30/30 brass is cheap as mentioned above so if you burn it up faster at any rate, it's no big deal to get more.

Farfangnugen

RAS323 wrote:"How about a 6.5 on a 220 swift case."

That's much better suited for an Encore and would require sub-factory-level .220 Swift loads to be safe in a Contender.

Just a couple of overall comments:

The 30-30 AI works well, reduces brass stretch and often produces better accuracy than the standard 30-30, but is not efficient as some of the others when shorter barrels are considered.

The Bowers operate in the red zone of Contender safety, as does anything on the .307 case. In fact, some makers no longer offer any Contender barrels chambered for wildcats based on .307 brass. You can do well with it if you play it safe, just as you can with the .250 AI, but that doesn't mean someone down the line won't try to run top-end loads through it and stretch a frame -- or even cause serious injury. Just some food for thought...

Bobby,
You make a good point about chamberings in this class of cartridge that all should take note of for the Contenders. Don has run the various cases based on the 307 Win. Improved to high in times past at times from my observation. I believe that is changing even though Don's own loads may be on the fine edge (and even past it). Marc Sheehan has been lowering powder charges when loading himself or when asked for loads. I have shot several of his Bower chambered Contenders and they ran smooth with none of the problems you have heard concerning Don's own loading in the past. I really like and respect Don, but I am convinced he pushes it to hard at times with Contender loads.
Ernie

Now for the big question. Does anyone have a drawing of the 6.5 X 30 30imp? Or does anyone have a couple fireformed cases? I don't have much to go on.

If there is nothing Jules, we can take detail of the end of one and match it to the remaining body of the other. Am I all wet on this?

If it helps,

The gents at Clymer are very helpful in this area, Jules.

The Bellm chambered 7mmX30/30 Imp (Al Doering) carbine barrel I have was still registered in their files from the 80's.

They sent me a measured drawing by e-mail and snail mail for nothing.

Give'em a try. They might have a nice measured drawing for you to submit to the 'smith doing the chambering work.

Regards

Thanks for the info Ray. I'll give it a shot.