21 August 2025, 19:42
buckstixthe 30 Cougar ... an unknown wildcat from the late 50s
I was asked to bring this post over to this forum ... I JUST BOUGHT A CUSTOM FN MAUSER IN 30 COUGAR CALIBER
Its a nice looking rifle with a Striped Maple stock with several contrasting inlays. It was made in the late 1950s. I don't have the rifle in hand yet. I should have it by early next week.
Here's my question .... what is a 30 Cougar? It doesn't come with brass or dies and I will do a chamber cast when it arrives.
So, in the meantime .. what is a 30 Cougar?
http://www.buckstix.com/buckpics/cougar-000.jpg
Here's the answer to my question .... what is a 30 Cougar? Thank goodness it had nothing to do with a 30-30 Winchester cartridge as some had opined. When the rifle arrived, a quick inspection of the bolt face showed it was a Magnum size. Inspecting the chamber showed a Belt recess. Testing with different brass showed a 300 Win Mag was too long. In my assortment of misc. Reloading Dies (I collect dies and have over 400 sets) I found a set of 30 Newton dies. In the box was a "belted" 30 Newton Sizing Die that I bought some years earlier. Since I will never own a 30 "belted" Newton rifle, I gradually ground the die's length until it produced a sized case that fit the chamber.
I formed brass by starting with a once fired 7mm Rem Mag case. I pushed the shoulder back using a 350 Rem Mag sizing die. Then I full length sized with the shortened 30 belted Newton die which de-primed and opened the neck to 30 cal. The formed case's neck was too long and had to be shortened to 2.400 inch case length. Last I polished the case and now its ready for loading. Finished cartridges were loaded with a Hornady 165g BTSP and 55g IMR 4895 and WLR primers. Range report will follow. I added a 4x Walther Scope in the rings that came with the rifle.
So, how did the 30 Cougar cartridge come to be developed? I believe this rifle was built in the late 1950s when the only 30 cal magnum cartridge available was the 300 H&H. By shortening the 300 H&H case and expanding the shoulder, the 30 Cougar was formed. In the early 1960s both the 300 Win Mag and the 308 Norma Mag came onto the market. The 300 Win Mag case is .200" longer, and the 308 Norma case is .150" longer than the 30 Cougar. So the 30 Cougar was actually an early "short Mag."
and as usual - your comments are welcome.
http://www.buckstix.com/buckpics/COUGAR-FORMING.jpg
http://www.buckstix.com/buckpics/COUGAR-ID-SM.jpg
http://www.buckstix.com/buckpics/COUGAR-SCOPE.jpg
