Any one do one of these wildcats on am AR-10?
Thinking/looking of some large cal for my AR-10 receiver.

Thanks

Email Michael at the B&M website and get all the needed info

Thanks, Boomy...I'll do that...

I've been eyeballing Michael's offerings for quite a while now trying to fit one into/onto some platform that tickles my fancy, I wasn't interested in just doing another switch barrel or building a complete rifle.

He has covered the field in the case volume I was looking into so my wildcat designs were basically plagiarism

I do like his 475 B&M because I don't have anything in that caliber...a bit slim on bullet choices but that isn't much of a problem...CEB's will work very well for Tyrannosaurus Sageratz coming over the back fence.

Luck

FWIW I found a 45 RAPTOR which is a rebated rim 460 S&W loaded to 460 pressures and basically adding ~50% to the 450 Bushmaster's AR-15 ballistics so I know now that there is more out there to find.

I also made up 3 45 WSM dummies and they seem to work OK in the mag at 2.80" COAL so that seems feasible.

450 B/460 S&W ~60 hr H2O, 45 WSM ~85 gr H2O, 458 B&M ~95 gr H2O, 458 Jamison ~90 gr H2O, 458 Alpine ~87 gr H2O, 475 B&M ~95 gr H2O...All are out there, so I know the 475 can be done All I have to do is find a 475 barrel and 'smith that can do the chamber/setup.

Luck

FWIW

Rasenfratz...this has been a bit of a rough ride with lots of Whoop-Dee-Doo's and nasty curves...learning a lesson-a-minute.

I found barrels for 45 RAPTOR, 450 Marlin, 458 and 50 B&M SA, 45 WSM(Noveske, Jamison or Alpine) and some smaller cals(possibly available)...with velos from 21-2600 fs with 250 gr bullets and 21-2300 fs with 325 gr.

Cheapest to do is the 45 RAPTOR with the 450 Marlin a close second...most expensive are the B&M series and the wildcat 45 and 50 cals.

All have case volumes are between 60 and 90 gr H2O.

Dies and reamers run ~$400, barrels $250 to $400, barrel extensions, bolt, tools, another ~$300 if I decide to DIY.

Several emails out but no returns...probably due to the miserable weather where the doers live.

As cheap as I am and the small difference between the "largest and the smallest", I'm guessing the 450 Marlin will get the nod...I already have a 450 Marlin Browning BLR, dies, brass, boolits and at 74 gr H2O, it's right in the middle and I can get whatever barrel length I want. I can equal the 16" 458 B&M SA with a 20" 450 Marlin and exceed with a longer length. I would dearly love to have one of Michael's rifles but that horse got away a long time ago.

One thing I did find interesting is the 450 Bushmaster and the 45 Raptor have the same case volume, 60 gr H2O, are very hard to identify/separate side by side at a glance, 1.8" and 1.7" case trim and 0.500", 0.480" case dia., and the difference in performance is related to the pressures each are loaded to...

The 45 Raptor is nothing more than a rimless version of the 460 S&W, uses the same reloading dies and you can substitute any 0.473" case trimmed to 1.8" and expanded to 45 cal and loaded to ~62KPSI and a 16" bbl it produces substantially more whack than the pistol version.

The 450 B is loaded to 39KPSI, but IF loaded to the same pressures as the RAPTOR(NOT SAYING YOU CAN OR IT'S SAFE TO DO SO) it produces the same ballistics...I won't get into the AR-10 VS AR-15 pressure limitations can of worms...just stating an observation.

The same can be said of the 450 Marlin and 458 B&M SA.

Anyway...looks like little or no interest in this project so I will sign off.

LUCK

quote:

Originally posted by NONAGONAGIN:
As cheap as I am....

Sounds like you're on a budget. This was my big bore budget build:

http://forums.accuratereloadin.../6521043/m/472101969

Cheap .510 bullets, cheap barrel, cheap donor action, cheap brass, etc. but big fun. API are a blast! I think the reamer was the most expensive part (I did my own machine work). If you don't have access to a lathe, then I think most wildcats are on the pricey side and you may want to stick with a "factory" round. Good luck!

Yeah...I checked your article out some time ago...I did a 50 cal Rigby but it WASN'T so cheap...

I'm not on a budget so to speak...just CHEAP...I squeeze the nickel until the buffalo chits.

Wildcatting always takes time and usually cost more than just having it built by someone who has the tooling...not always or all the time.

The only thing that's stopping me from jumping is the bolt and the cost of having one of the gunsmiths do the job...$850 for the B&M SA but can't find dies other than having CH4D do them for $180 and several months wait...another site quoted $750 for the rebarrel PLUS $200 for the bolt for the 450 M...and there is major problems finding extractors if one breaks.

McGowen will do a complete barrel including extension, chamber, crown and threading for a MB for $305-350 depending on finish for the 450 Marlin and I can get a slightly modified bolt for $68 with a face for the Grendel/Beowulf then turn the Marlin rim face/groove to fit.

The only problem is not knowing if the gas pressure would be too high/low and possibly having to muck around working that out. Most of the calibers that keep the pressures to around 55 KPSI don't seem to have bolt locking/unlocking problems but the WSM's up in the 62KPSI are having various problems, or at least some of them do while the 45 RAPTOR AT 62KPSI with the .473 case head chugs right along without causing the re-dazz.

The 45 Raptor is just as cheap and very gnarly but so far I can't find already modified brass...but that can be dealt with also...use cut down 9.3x62, X57mm, X-06, expand, then fireform...just takes time to do all that trimming even with a drill motor. I would like to find some basic 308 or -06 brass to start with. Even then stretching that far causes thinning of the neck and REALLY does a job on the brass...I split 3 308 cases trying to make 3 dummies. Need to anneal between expansions when/if I go with the 45 R.

Maybe when the weather settles down back east and people can get to work I will get some answers to my emails and I can solve those niggling questions.

The TRUTH is out there...maybe.

Luck

So...here's another hand full of boggles...I'm old, fat and ugly...and worse still, a junk yard dog...which means when I chomp down on something, chopping off my head won't get me to turn loose.

I stripped out the 308 bolt and measured it from every whichaway trying to determine "Whatthehellandwhy" about this happy horse chit I'm finding online concerning conversions to a 0.535" bolt head...all the problems some are having and why this isn't just some simple to solve problem.

I also measured a bunch of WSM, RUM, Ruger, belted mag, RSUM, and RSM case rims...they all fell into the 0.525" to 0.535" range NO MATTER THE BRAND.

The bolt from my LR-308 measured 0.477-478" ID, 0.663-65" OD between the lugs and 0.130" deep.

Simple math gave me a difference of ~0.056-0.058" difference without splitting hairs. NOT VERY MUCH CONSIDERING what I've done to bolt heads in bolt guns that turned out fine.

AND...if you use your calipers opened to 0.535" and slap them down on the bolt face you will see very quickly that there seems to be a whole lot of smoke and snow flying around.

ANY 17/32 end mill will increase the bolt ID to ~0.531-532" depending on your lathes headstock TIR and STILL LEAVE ~0.065" walls between the lugs...and depending on how much wiggle the extractor allows, you may or may not need to bend or remove material from it...anyone who has worked with the Marin 336 square threaded barrel and rechambered to a larger case knows what that amount is. Maybe may be problems doing an AR15 bolt head out to 0.535" but I don't see many doing the AR-10. ANY GOOD COMMENTS???

The other wasp on the burger is the pressure...not withstanding the 308 operates at ~62KPSI and so does the WSM...the DIFFERENCE IN rim size seems to be causing most of the trouble when trying to operate a 0.535" rim at the 62KPSI point IN THE AR-10 platform.

Reduce that pressure to the percentage difference between the 0.473" rim and the 0.535" rim, ~11-12%, in the pressure and at ~55KPSI there SRE few problems with using 0.535" rim cases.

Michael McC at B&M has already worked this all out and has some very desirable calibers available from SSK.

So WHY aren't there more AR-10 conversions out there???

Also, simply removing a small amount of material from 0.535" case rims to ~0.0525" will solve the slight difference that might result from the turning process.

ANY THOUGHTS, COMMENTS, INSIGHTS, CONJECTURE, FLAMES/DISSES, ON THIS.

I understand why some of the offerings are pricey, no discord or rancor on my part...my time and knowledge was worth something in the past...BUT

I'm so cheap I have to find a way to DIY, hopefully at half the price and still being SAFE and USABLE.

Luck

https://www.kakindustry.com/ma...kak-industry-bcg-mag

Has a mag bolt face:

I have one of the Armalite AR-10's factory produced in 300 RSAUM. It is very accurate and reliable. Not sure if you were aware of these. Might be worthwhile to contact Armalite about them.