Any like minded "wildcat" shooters here?

[AgainstTheGrain83]

After having all of the bases covered for hunting calibers .22-250, .243, 7mm Rem Mag, also .357 Mag .44 Mag and .45acp.

I have a great deal of interest in wildcat rounds and some of the more very uncommon factory rounds.

A few of my fun ones are 6.5mm TC/U, 7mm TC/U, .357 Remington Maximum, 7mm Super Mag, and .330 Dakota.

Would be interesting to hear what odd balls you have and/or like And how are they made?

 

[auk1124]

After having all of the bases covered for hunting calibers .22-250, .243, 7mm Rem Mag, also .357 Mag .44 Mag and .45acp.

I have a great deal of interest in wildcat rounds and some of the more very uncommon factory rounds.

A few of my fun ones are 6.5mm TC/U, 7mm TC/U, .357 Remington Maximum, 7mm Super Mag, and .330 Dakota.

Would be interesting to hear what odd balls you have and/or like And how are they made?

Sadly I am not a wildcat shooter as my pockets are far too shallow, but you have my admiration. It takes a special kind of gun enthusiast to devote the funds and energy and time to chasing wildcats. My hat is off to you and any other wildcatters on here.

If I were gonna do a wildcat, I'd probably start with a 25 Souper or 25 Souper AI. No real reason other than i think it would be cool. Milsurp wildcats also intrigue me. It would be a totally ridiculous waste of money, but something in me would take great delight in having a 6.5x54r or .257x54r built out of a Mosin Nagant.

 

[alaskazimm]

I don't know if it's stictly a wildcat round anymore since Weatherby chambered it for a while, but I had a 338-06 built this winter. It's a 30-06 case necked up to 338. I'm still working up loads but it will drive a 225 grain bullet to about 2600 - 2700 fps. Although it's a bigger caliber it doesn't kick any more than the 30-06 to my shoulder.
Now that it's beginning to warm up, I can dial it in - just in time for bear hunting

 

[Jim]

I shoot a real old wildcat round- its based on an '06 case necked down to 270 cal. I was fooling with a 25-06 before they made it a factory round way back when.

 

[gmgaj]

Best I can do is the 357 max, and a 7-30 Waters (30-30 necked to 7mm). I'm getting 2400 fps from the 7-30 with a 120 grn ballistic tip at the muzzle. Both are top notch contender rounds, which is what I've shot all of my wildcats in.

I've had (and sold) barrels in 257 JDJ (based on 225 win), 375 JDJ (based on 444 marlin), 309 JDJ (based on 444 marlin), and a 7TCU. I figured out the 7-30 will take deer and hogs out further than I want to shoot a pistol at them, so the others went because they were overkill (309/375), or didn't hold up to the waters (everything else). Longest shot taken was 125 for deer (about the furthest I want to shoot at game) and 100 for hogs.

 

[AgainstTheGrain83]

Thank y'all for the responses so far some neat stuff, I hope to hear more!!!

Auk - May I make one slight correction to your statement, it doesn't really take deep pockets to do wildcatting, for some yes, but most its not as bad as you might think sir and I believe the rewards outweigh the slight cost increase of the more popular wildcats. Like the AI lineup .223AI, .22-250AI .308AI or which ever caliber you may enjoy. And if you are a re-loader, once the setup cost is out of the way it's all about the same price to shoot. But a lot funner to tell your friends and other shooters about. However you are correct in the fact that it does take a bit more time and effort especially the first time through the brass.

LOL as a new wet-shaver it makes a very good comparison initial cost is a bit much to just jump right into, but once your up and going it's more better in the long run.

Alaska and Jim - all based on a .30-06 case While maybe not in the wildcat category any more they once were and still not a main stream round, The lesser known ones are always good too. The .25-06 has proven to be a great all around caliber over the years. I have never seen or heard of the .27-06 Jim but that sounds like it would be a fun one also, both of them seem like they would be fast and flat shooting rounds.

The .338-06 is along the same line as my TC/U line expanding the neck up the .338 ballistics are hard to beat great round that would not be brutal on the shoulder.
One question I have about it is it powerful enough to hunt some of the bigger game up in your area Bear, Moose?

 

[AgainstTheGrain83]

A fellow contender shooter, very nice to meet you sir!!!! I have thought long and hard about getting a 7-30waters barrel, how is the recoil on the wrists with that? also what length barrel?

 

[CyberJCM]

My Pop used to hunt with his .300 H&H...

How bout that one?

 

[nortac]

"I have never seen or heard of the .27-06"

Sure you have, it's the 270 Winchester.

 

[gmgaj]

A fellow contender shooter, very nice to meet you sir!!!! I have thought long and hard about getting a 7-30waters barrel, how is the recoil on the wrists with that? also what length barrel?

Honestly, I'd say just like the 30-30 if you've done that. I'm shooting a 14" hunter barrel with a scope on it, so 1 1/2 inches of that is brake. The brake does wonders for muzzle flip, but you MUST have ear protection on every time. It is a very managable round, and I'd say it doesn't kick as bad as a 44 mag. Probably the best contender round out there, IMO, but you can probably do almost the same thing with the 30-30 and a 125 BT.

 

[alaskazimm]

The .338-06 is along the same line as my TC/U line expanding the neck up the .338 ballistics are hard to beat great round that would not be brutal on the shoulder.
One question I have about it is it powerful enough to hunt some of the bigger game up in your area Bear, Moose?

The 338-06 has enough umph to get the job done for most anything up here. Moose, while big, aren't really hard to put down. Many hunters use a 270 or 308 for moose; a friend of mine uses a 6mm Swedish Mauser for moose.
It's also enough for grizzly but I wouldn't want to take on the big coastal brownies with it. I plan on working up a load using the Swift A-frame 225gr. Should be good bear medicine. And my kids like black bear better than moose.

 

[oldbluelight]

I've got a 7TCU in a 10" Contender since about the time it came out in the last century. Used it a lot to shoot IMSHA matches back when I had uncorrected vision. Love that pistol. My match load used a cast 150gr gc bullet. Really need to blow the cobwebs out and play with it some more.

 

[noelekal]

The only custom chamber I fool with around here is a .303 ICL Improved that a friend had P.O. Ackley do up on a .303 P '14 Enfield years ago. Ackley did all the alterations and rechambering to the barreled action and a cherry wood stock was fitted. The .303 case is blown out with a sharper shoulder and lengthened case body with a slightly shorter neck. One effectively has a ".31-06" for his efforts. A favored .311 diameter 150 grain handload makes 3002 fps over the chronograph. Several deer have fallen to the rifle both when my friend owned it and since I acquired it. Here's a "before" and after view of the action area. The "before" is actually a garden variety M1917 which, except for the .30-06 chambering, is the same rifle as the P '14 in its original military configuration.

Other once current but now obsolete or semi-obsolete factory cartridges which have a home here include the .30 Remington, 7.62 Nagant revolver, .32-20, .351 Winchester, .38 Long Colt, .38 S&W, .38-40, .41 Long Colt, .455 Webley, and .45-90.

 

[AgainstTheGrain83]

Noelekal - My hat is off to you Sir I bow in your presence to own a firearm that was modified by Mr. Ackley himself what a wonder to behold!!! You may want to oil that one up real good I am over here drooling on the keyboard and don't don't to make that rifle rust. Also you have a lot of great obsolete cartridges that is great to see I truly love the odd-ball rounds!!!

Oldblue - I love the 7mm TC/U but I am currently loading up some brand new 6.5mm TC/U rounds I have a feeling they will beat my 7 on paper at least. But Still both great Rounds I wouldn't mind building a carbine in one or both of them.

 

[CyberJCM]

My Pop used to hunt with his .300 H&H...

How bout that one?

So.... Not that one, then?

 

[AgainstTheGrain83]

Okay, okay Cyber I guess a 300 H&H counts lol.

 

[auk1124]

If we are including lesser-known cartridges, I do have a 6mmBR with .262 neck that I had built on a blueprinted Savage action, Shilen Match barrel, 10 twist. Everything else I have is standard fare.

 

[jkingrph]

I have a couple of AR types in 6.5 Grendel, and had them before it was rather recently standardized. It's a 6.5mm based on I think the 22ppc case with a small rifle primer. I resized a couple of thousand 7.63x39 cases for fireforming, so there are several ways to go for cases, as well as now purchasing factory brass or loaded ammo.

 

[brianw]

8mm Lebel. I hoard the brass.

 

[jkingrph]

I use 8mm Lebel, and .348 Win brass to reform to .41 Swiss (10.4x38R) the R being rimfire. It is the old Swiss Vetterli cartridge dating back to I think 1869. I have an 1873 model in pristine condition, at least one a gun that old, the bore being perfect, no pitting or clouding which is amazing for a 140 year old gun. I did a simple conversion to centerfire so I could shoot it and it's a hoot, not exactly a wildcat but I have to jump through some of the same hoops to make ammo for it.