The Accurate Reloading Forums THE ACCURATE RELOADING.COM FORUMS Rifles Wildcats And Their Development Wildcat for 03-A3 Springfield.Go | New | Find | Notify | Tools | Reply | |
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I recently aquired a Remington 03 A3. Its an old sporter And my plan is to slowly make a nice custom out of it. I am totaly open about cartridge, exept it don't want to put a 308 length round on it. I have allways liked the mauser length rounds but the 7mm Mauser itself on a springfield action just does not apeal to me. Leading canidates are .257 Roberts AI. 6mm Remington AI, or on a 06 case 6.5,06 AI. I already have a 35 whelen but I might do another, if the smith says the action is ok, I would consider a .358 norma, I know, its not a wildcat. What would you do ? It will be awhile before i am ready to rebarrel, First I need to get it redy for scope mounting. The top back of the reciever will need to be built up so i can put the mounts on , The saftey will need to be changed out and I think the Bolt will need bending. If it shoots great with the factory 06 barrel, its been nicley turned and polished, It might beacome a 30,06 AI, but not likly. love to hear your thoughts...tj3006 freedom1st | ||
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 The 6.5-06(notIMP) or the .256 Newton. The 6.5 X .284 may cause extra work to get it to feed properly and unless you get the 6.5X.284 deep throated you will gain nothing in handling heavier bullets. I like the .257 a lot but the selection of heavy for caliber bullets just ain't there.It makes a nice deer getter with 115gr. bullets and up but the 140 gr to 160gr. bullets in the well designed 6.5s is moving to a different catagory.  rogerOld age is a high price to pay for maturity!!! Some never pay and some pay and never reap the reward. Wisdom comes with age! Sometimes age comes alone.. | |||
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Do the 6.5-06 (either standard or AI). You are right about needing to turn the bolt, install a new trigger, and smooth the receiver for a scope. You may also want to buy a milled steel 03 trigger guard, floor plate assembly etc and get rid of the "stamped" 03 A3 trigger guard. Get the trigger guard before you get the modern trigger because you will have to widen the trigger slot to allow a Timney-type trigger to extend through the trigger guard. | |||
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Why not a 25/06 or a 270? DOUBLE RIFLE SHOOTERS SOCIETY | |||
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Thomas, it would seem to be fitting to do a wildcat on the 1903, wouldn't it? as it introduced the 30 03 and then the 30-06 rounds I had one that I redid to 300 win, as it was the easist of ALL the improvements that one could do. My smith did the chamber and boltface for like 75 bucks and then sat down and taught me to make em feed. these are going to be limited (as built) to like 3.30" or so, iirc, but it's been quite a few years and beers since I built that one. the 358 norma was SPECIFICALLY designed by norma for the 1903... and since the 416 taylor has exactly the same bolt thrust and pressure (or should be loaded to that range), i would heartily suggest either of these, with the nod going to the taylor jeffe #dumptrump opinions vary band of bubbas and STC hunting Club Information on Ammoguide about the416AR, 458AR, 470AR, 500AR What is an AR round? Case Drawings 416-458-470AR and 500AR. 476AR, http://www.weaponsmith.com | |||
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If the barrel has not been cut consider making a military rifle out of it! That's where the profit is. I can tell from all of the AI chamberings that you mentioned that you have not had one yet. Everyone should have the experiance. Got to go and work on the boat. Now there is a real tiger by the tail. Join the NRA | |||
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Thanks for sharing your thoughts guys ! 1st I already have a 25.06 and a .270. Frankly one reason I would choose an AI on the 6.5, 06 is to make sure (once fireformed )I would not have to wory about acidentilly puting one in my 25,06. The 416 taylor, I had not thought of that. I am asuming it is a 458 win mag case necked down ? don't really need one, but I am not the kind of guy who would let a silly thing like logic stand in the way ! ...tj3006 freedom1st | |||
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Well that's one way to get longer and heavier bullets in a 25 caliber  on you rogerOld age is a high price to pay for maturity!!! Some never pay and some pay and never reap the reward. Wisdom comes with age! Sometimes age comes alone.. | |||
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How about 9.3x62? Not a wildcat - but still a little exotic - with no (or less?) feed rail, bolt face or extractor work required. | |||
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Why not an 8X57 AI or 8X60S? I once built a fabulous .308 Norma Magnum from an 03A3. The rifle had milled bottom metal and a four-groove barrel when I got it. I had it rechambered by Shebal's Gun Shop in Fairbanks AK, and used it up there for =thrre years, as-issued excet for caliber. When I returned to the lower 48, I sent it to Paul Jaeger in jenkinwown PA, and had it restocked and the barrel turned down. Thge bolt was polished and jewelled, and a Leupold M8 4X scope was mounted, along with a Timney side safety trigger. It was not oustandingly accurate, but with a 200-grain load giving 2950 FPS it would put 5 shots into 1.5" @ 100 yards. The acrion was ultra-smooth, and the magazine fed very smoothly with little pressure on the bolt knob. "Bitte, trinks du nicht das Wasser. Dahin haben die Kuhen gesheissen." | |||
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I have had an itch to do a 400 Brown-Whelen on the Springfield. Cases are not too difficult to make, and it makes a dandy large game rifle. Garrett | |||
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400 brown whelen ? It sounds interesting. I asume you could start with a 35 whelen neck up to 401 and fire form. Not alot of bullets to chose from there, but a 35 whelen is a rifle i already have, but mine was built sort of on the cheap with the midway kits. I might think about a whelen AI, It really does not add much in the relm of bullet speed but it does give a better shoulder for head spacing, and what would be more classic on a springfield than a whelen. A 9.3X62 or a 8X57 mauser are great cartridges. I would rather have one on a europian rifle. I can't see puting the 8X57 into an action it fought against in 2 wars. Just don't seem right to me. I love the 7X57 and i would love to have one built on a 98 mauser. (I have a CZ 550) and its wonderfull but the 20.5 inch barrel won't let me make the most of the excelent cartridge...tj3006 freedom1st | |||
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I think this project is calling out for a 280 AI It duplicates the 7mm rem mag balistics and is a inherently accurate round. You can stillfire factory rounds in it, and when you do you have the AI brass. Kevine weaver of Weaver Rifles is a particulary good smith and is young enough that his prices are right. Dr B http://www.weaverrifles.com/index.html | |||
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You could always split the difference and try the 375 Whelen...more or better bullets to choose from than either the 400 or the 35. | |||
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Why not a 30-06?  ______________________________ DT | |||
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The 400 Brown-Whelen uses .411 bullets, which are actually pretty easy to find (although to be fair you probably can't find any at Bass Pro Shops, or similar chains). Hornady now makes several .411 bullets, as does Barnes, Hawk, and lots of others. The 300 grain bullets are all you need for most any large game. There is a proprietary cartridge called the 411 Hawk that is virtually identical to the Brown-Whelen....that one uses necked up 9.3X62 brass instead of 30-06 brass. The difference between the 400 Whelen and the Brown-Whelen is a shorter neck and sharper shoulder on the later. People who load it claim there is no headspace issue like there can be with the regular 400 Whelen. Garrett | |||
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Wow. I am suprised at all the googdaction on this thread ! I already have a 30,06. The 400 or .375 Whelen are interesting, and so is the .280AI. I already have 3 7mm cartridges including a 7 mag. So far i am leaning twords the 35 AI if I decide to kneck up or the 6.506 AIif I go down. Thanks for the link. My favorites list is gettin quite long since I joined this site...tj3006 freedom1st | |||
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Thomas, I have a 35 Whelen AI, and really enjoy the cartridge. Very, very easy to load for. Powerful enough for everything in North America (if I were hunting grizzly I would use one of my 40 caliber rifles....but I don't hunt grizzly anyway). Garrett | |||
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Any of the Gibbs line of wildcats based on the "max-improved" .30/'06 case. You have a choice of 6mm, .25, 6.5mm, .270, 7mm, 30, 8mm, .338, or 35 caliber. All work well in a Springfield action..... "Bitte, trinks du nicht das Wasser. Dahin haben die Kuhen gesheissen." | |||
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Garrett From what I understand most of the headspace problems were created by having the shoulder diameter at .437 rather than .458. http://www.z-hat.com/smashing_the_headspace_myth.htm Someday I also plan to have a 400 Whelen rifle built on one of the 1903 Springfields I have sitting around. What barrel manufacture are you thinking of using? ****************************** "We do not exaggerate when we state positively that the remodelled Springfield is the best and most suitable "all 'round" rifle".......Seymour Griffin, GRIFFIN & HOWE, Inc. | |||
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Idared, You and I must think along the same lines...we both have the 375- 9.3X64 wildcat. Funny you would ask me about this...I just got off the phone with a 'smith in Wyoming who has a 400 Whelen Ackley Improved reamer. I was going to to send it McGowen Barrels to have them ream it for the Brown-Whelen version, but now I think I'll do the Ackley version. My barrel comes from David Carver at Custom Guns, in Minerva OH. He uses Douglas barrels, and his work is terrific. (He is also putting a 30-06 AI barrel on a Montana action for me as we speak. Should be an interesting rifle, but I'll post more about that project later). Garrett | |||
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Me too. Seems just the thing for a Springfield custom. "Experience" is the only class you take where the exam comes before the lesson. | |||
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If you're just dyin' to do a wildcat on the Springfield action you might consider the Gibbs versions based on the '06 case. | |||
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I have a 6.5-.284 built on an 03-A3 action with no feed rail mods and have no problems feeding. The standard length chamber will do fine up to 140 gr bullets. If you really want to shoot 160s all the time then I would get the deep throat job. I don't load mine over 2900 fps with 140s and it does great on deer and 500 yard paper. I also did one in .35 whelen and should have done my .338-06 on an 03 instead of a mauser 98. But that is water over the bridge. I vote for the .338-06. Easy to form from good 30-06 brass. | |||
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I have a great relationship with the 6/06 so that is a round I'd have you take a look at if you wanted a fast moving 6. Just a thought MD 55's=4400 70's=4000 95's=3500 | |||
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These are not wildcats, but I currently have one of each on Springfields, and all work okay for me... - .358 Norma Mag - . 458 Winchester Mag - .405 Winchester (used a Wichester 1895 barrel, but there's lots of .411 barrels available) My country gal's just a moonshiner's daughter, but I love her still. | |||
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