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The reason I like wildcats so much is just because it is something different. There is no wildcat that I have looked at getting that I couldn't use a "normal" cartridge to fill its spot. Why do you wildcat?
Why Wildcat?
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I shoot the 17 Hornet and 6mm-06 in Thompson Center TCR-87 rifles (single shot break over hammerless guns). The .17 Hornet has a small case diameter so does not flex the strong but flexible TCR action much. Therefore it is probably more accurate than a cartridge based on a larger diameter case, like the .17 Fireball. I had a .17 Remington and it burned out the barrel in less than 1,00 rounds, and .17 Hornets are supposed to last 10,000 rounds. My .17 HMR has nowhere near the power of a .17 Hornet and is much more affected by wind. I think the .17 Hornet is the right power level for a .17 caliber. The .17 Hornet is a real 200 yard cartridge for small varmints and I've gotten a few fox and coyotes with it at closer ranges. As for the 6mm-06, I wanted a very, very flat shooting coyote cartridge for a TCR rifle. It shoots 70-grain Ballistic Tips at 3,900 fps with its 29-inch barrel. The .240 Weatherby would have been good, but the TCR action is flexible so cases should be full length re-sized. Consequently cases don't last long and and .240 Weatherby cases cost more than .25-06 cases. All I have to do is run .25-06 cases through a 6mm-06 full length re-sizing die to get 6mm-06 cases. I had rifles in 7MM STW and .338-.378 Weatherby before they were factory cartridges because their trajectories were flatter than similar factory cartridges, but now they are factory cartridges.
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This one is easy -- Because i can [/color] ;D To be honest i do it for the enjoyment of it , i like loading as much as i do shooting and wildcats are just the next step in a crazy hobby .varmint917v said:
stimpy
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134 Posts
When I was a kid the first wildcats I saw were built by a salty old guy. When I ask him why he built wildcats he told me that if I needed him to explain I probably wouldn't understand. Now that he is long gone, and I'm the salty old cus, I understand perfectly. He helped a kid learn how to get out of the box and never look back. I'll be the first to admit that I have built some real dogs. The kind of brain farts you should have been drunk to have had. The winners makes all the dogs worth building though, and if nothing else you learn what not to try.
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134 Posts
One brain fart was a 454 necked down to 17 caliber, I'll also admit to doing a 10 and 12 caliber, the .14 calibers are not too bad. On the other end was the 12 gauge full rifled barrel and slugs loaded into brass cases. That is all I'll admit to unless I'm told on.
Red Neck,
I built a .410 on a Moslin Nigant action planning on using brass cases but the game warden told me I could not use solid brass cases. I can get abt 1,800 fps. with 245 gn bullet in regular .410 cases, but if I could use brass cases I would have a .405 Win. I`ve been thinking abt. tring to make my own cases starting with heavy case heads.
I built a .410 on a Moslin Nigant action planning on using brass cases but the game warden told me I could not use solid brass cases. I can get abt 1,800 fps. with 245 gn bullet in regular .410 cases, but if I could use brass cases I would have a .405 Win. I`ve been thinking abt. tring to make my own cases starting with heavy case heads.
catfish , i got to ask what was his reason since factory loaded all metal hulls are aval. looks as if the hulls are for a shotgun you could use then !
maybe you need to ask his boss or bosses boss !
let me go before i get to bossie !
i like wild cats just to do something that ain't store bought !
maybe you need to ask his boss or bosses boss !
let me go before i get to bossie !
i like wild cats just to do something that ain't store bought !
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134 Posts
The 12 gage slug gun with the brass hulls was probably over 20 years ago. I found an old box of 12 gage brass hulls, and a old gunsmith friend had a 12 gauge rifled barrel. Built the thing on an old H&R singleshot frame. Cast slugs for it, cut the cases back to about 1/2 the original length. Didn't have a chrony back then, thing would rattle your teeth when you shot it, and I traded it off. I couldn't get it to shoot smaller than a foot or so at 50 yards, but most of that could have been me dreading to pull the trigger. The 17/454 took 11 dies to get from 454 to 17, you could do it in less dies, but would lose cases. It also didn't give enough more velocity to make it worth the effort. You reach a point with the 17's that once you pass 4000 fps, increasing case capacity doesn't give that much more velocity. The barrel I was using didn't have a fast enough twist to use more than a 30 grain bullet. The 17 Jet would do almost the same velocity with a smaller case and less powder. Bigger is not always better in factory or wildcats. The older I get the easier it is to be satisfied with a little less velocity, and longer barrel life. Dead is dead when I shoot critters, how far you can scatter the little body parts isn't a big deal now. I was told as a kid, "You can't build just one wildcat." The older I get the more I agree. You build what you want to build because "It is yours", no other reason is needed. That is the wonderful thing about them, and the reason I'll be building something till I die. Some of the ones that have been the most fun were someone elses brain child that hadn't been done. The 17 short is a good example of that. It goes back to not why, but why not? Nothing like owning and shooting something you can't buy.
I agree there too SHOOTALL. A number of wildcats been standardized. and well, worth the comapany's expenditures in doing so over the years. But I'm just saying, one could stay with the (present or of the past 15-20 years) factory offerings available and not be lacking anything in original ?'s direction of performance. I for one though, continue wildcatting,,,just cuz 
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126 Posts
My first one was because I found a deal on a 1917 Enfield. Great rifle but the bore was beyond salvage so I had Labountry Precision re-bore/re-chamber it to 338-06. The next one was because I wanted a "magnum" elk cartridge so I had a M98 rechambered to 8mm/338 (PMM according to Mr. Ackley). The next two were to improve the power and accuracy in Encore(260 X 444) and Contender (308 X 444) barrels (successful on both counts). The last was a direct result of changes to the "legal firearm" rules of our state wildlife agency. I wanted a Contender based carbine for my kids to shoot and .35 caliber is the minimum bore size during some of our deer seasons so I opted for a 35/30-30 IMP. The other reason is that I just like to fiddle with the wildcats; "ain't everybody got one of these..."
It is also funny when I shoot the 8mm/338 and someone picks up some of my spent cases. One will be headstamped 338 Win. Mag; another will be stamped 7mm Rem. Mag and I tell them it is a special order so I can shoot either one. I don't normally mix lots but I'll slip one in if I find a boob that knows everything.
It is also funny when I shoot the 8mm/338 and someone picks up some of my spent cases. One will be headstamped 338 Win. Mag; another will be stamped 7mm Rem. Mag and I tell them it is a special order so I can shoot either one. I don't normally mix lots but I'll slip one in if I find a boob that knows everything.
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