234 Wildcat Family....ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY
- Thread starter c-fbmi
- Start date
Just some general info about the 230 Douglas on the Marlin X7 short action.
I removed the barrel from the Marlin the normal way as I didn't have a wrench for the barrel nut, it worked fine. The original caliber was a 22-250 in a medium heavy, straight taper barrel about .750 at the muzzle. I profiled the barrel to match this taper for a decent fit in the original stock, however I can redo the contour to whatever I like in the future. I cut and threaded the shank so as to eliminate the barrel nut, the thread is 1.050" OD and 20 TPI and without the nut is .950" long. The bolt face rebate is .125" and the case extension with a full length sized 22-250 case was .130" giving a .005 clearance between the bolt nose and the barrel face. I used all these dimensions on the new barrel and headspaced for that dimension using one of my sized 22-284 cases. This case was fired in my 22-284 and only partially sized so it allowed a couple thou of headspace which worked out perfectly as the fired 22-284 cases will no longer chamber but a full length sized one chambers like silk. Basically I headspaced to my dies as I don't have headspace gauges. This method actually works better for wildcats, as you don't want to work the crap out of your brass and there are no set standards to follow. I could use 284 headspace gauges but I prefer my method.
I polished up the chamber and then did a quick 120 grit polish on the outside of the barrel which was still just roughed out. After the outside clean up I reset the barrel and did a flat recessed crown at the length it is, never cut it down except for about .020" just to assure it was square. Again I can cut it to whatever I like in the future.
I threaded it on to the action and tightened in my barrel vice just as one would any other barrel and action without the nut. The loose recoil lug dicked me around a bit but I finally got it positioned pretty well. I didn't have my 700 jig as it is still packed somewhere and I don't think it would work anyway as the forward action screw to action face appears significantly longer than a 700 action. In the future if I do more Marlins I would buy or build a jig to hold it or do as I have done in the past and just TIG the outside corners of the lug to the action before barrel removal. Anyway with the barrel now fitted I returned to my gun room where the parts and stock were and did the full assembly and checked the trigger and safety. Had to open up the barrel channel where the new barrel shank sits but the rest fits like a glove, I have a full set of barrel channel tools for this kind of work and they work just as well on plastic as they do on wood. While assembling this rifle I noticed that it would be very easy to lengthen this action/ bolt throw and magazine at least 3/8", which I may do in order to better accommodate this cartridge..........again sometime in the future. After assembly I tried a dummy cartridge to check feeding and it feeds perfectly from both left and right orientations out of the magazine and holds 3 under easily.
I yanked a 3-9 Leupold off one of my 243s but I don't like the way it mounts up so I'm going to steal the 6.5-20 Vortex off my 25-06 and try that.........better for load and group testing anyway as the eyes get older.
Sized 20 of my neck turned 22-284 cases and will load and fire them today...........will get back to y'all later with results and maybe some pics.......if I can find my camera.............
I removed the barrel from the Marlin the normal way as I didn't have a wrench for the barrel nut, it worked fine. The original caliber was a 22-250 in a medium heavy, straight taper barrel about .750 at the muzzle. I profiled the barrel to match this taper for a decent fit in the original stock, however I can redo the contour to whatever I like in the future. I cut and threaded the shank so as to eliminate the barrel nut, the thread is 1.050" OD and 20 TPI and without the nut is .950" long. The bolt face rebate is .125" and the case extension with a full length sized 22-250 case was .130" giving a .005 clearance between the bolt nose and the barrel face. I used all these dimensions on the new barrel and headspaced for that dimension using one of my sized 22-284 cases. This case was fired in my 22-284 and only partially sized so it allowed a couple thou of headspace which worked out perfectly as the fired 22-284 cases will no longer chamber but a full length sized one chambers like silk. Basically I headspaced to my dies as I don't have headspace gauges. This method actually works better for wildcats, as you don't want to work the crap out of your brass and there are no set standards to follow. I could use 284 headspace gauges but I prefer my method.
I polished up the chamber and then did a quick 120 grit polish on the outside of the barrel which was still just roughed out. After the outside clean up I reset the barrel and did a flat recessed crown at the length it is, never cut it down except for about .020" just to assure it was square. Again I can cut it to whatever I like in the future.
I threaded it on to the action and tightened in my barrel vice just as one would any other barrel and action without the nut. The loose recoil lug dicked me around a bit but I finally got it positioned pretty well. I didn't have my 700 jig as it is still packed somewhere and I don't think it would work anyway as the forward action screw to action face appears significantly longer than a 700 action. In the future if I do more Marlins I would buy or build a jig to hold it or do as I have done in the past and just TIG the outside corners of the lug to the action before barrel removal. Anyway with the barrel now fitted I returned to my gun room where the parts and stock were and did the full assembly and checked the trigger and safety. Had to open up the barrel channel where the new barrel shank sits but the rest fits like a glove, I have a full set of barrel channel tools for this kind of work and they work just as well on plastic as they do on wood. While assembling this rifle I noticed that it would be very easy to lengthen this action/ bolt throw and magazine at least 3/8", which I may do in order to better accommodate this cartridge..........again sometime in the future. After assembly I tried a dummy cartridge to check feeding and it feeds perfectly from both left and right orientations out of the magazine and holds 3 under easily.
I yanked a 3-9 Leupold off one of my 243s but I don't like the way it mounts up so I'm going to steal the 6.5-20 Vortex off my 25-06 and try that.........better for load and group testing anyway as the eyes get older.
Sized 20 of my neck turned 22-284 cases and will load and fire them today...........will get back to y'all later with results and maybe some pics.......if I can find my camera.............
Na Doug that's just your fancy hat...............it's too tight !!!
The technical stuff is just for those who do this sort of thing and might find it somewhat informative or at least moderately interesting..............
The technical stuff is just for those who do this sort of thing and might find it somewhat informative or at least moderately interesting..............
Na Doug that's just your fancy hat...............it's too tight !!!
The technical stuff is just for those who do this sort of thing and might find it somewhat informative or at least moderately interesting..............
As a matter of fact, my hat IS too tight...........but my next scheduled hair cut is Thanksgiving.
........and I am dead certain there are fellows reading this thread that understand and enjoy all of the technical stuff. I am just not one of them. But I sure am looking forward to loading for and firing rifles in these chamberings!
Doug
Fascinating and interesting stuff in post # 1282 Douglas, Thanks for sharing !
Having watched and helped while Bevan and my late Brother changed barrels, made barrels and did some major things with rifles, I can see you toiling away and know what you are going through during the process.
Hope you find that camera soon !
Having watched and helped while Bevan and my late Brother changed barrels, made barrels and did some major things with rifles, I can see you toiling away and know what you are going through during the process.
Hope you find that camera soon !
Lol.
Your not busy or anything are you?
Maybe I should fly out on my turn around to give you a hand?
It's all good. I have a .366 Wagner waiting for me to reassamble, scope and shoot when I fly home later this week.
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Well it shot very well, will try to post pics tomorrow. I only made 2 shot loads for 10 rounds with 90 gn RBTs and 5 racks of 2 shots with 100 gn FBs using RL25 and CCI 250s...........really only trying to find upper pressure limits and fireform some brass........not loaded for accuracy at all but still got several 2 shot groups????? around 1/2 inch. I just loaded for magazine length (2.850") and never even tried to find the rifling. Shows extreme promise given that I just threw some loads together using a powder that seemed to work well in the 22-284 and 6mm-284 with 80 gn and 105 gn respectively. Threatened rain all day but actually never did, however I did not go to all the work to set up my chronograph, fearing I'd have to pack it all up in a hurry if the rain started. I also never actually pressured out but got to a little heavy bolt lift but no flattened primers or ejector marks. This leads me to believe that the Marlin action doesn't have the primary extraction power of the 700 Rem, as one doesn't get heavy bolt lift with a 700 until there are ejector marks, just something interesting to note..........I also never changed the scope as I was still working with the 25-06 the 6.5-20 was on and did some more testing today with abysmal results. So I ended up just shooting it with the Leupold 3-9. I was also playing with my new 325 WSM and 200 Parts and shot a couple nice groups with it with an old Redfield Widefield 2-7 I threw on it.
Found camera and will shoot some pics of gun and targets.............
Found camera and will shoot some pics of gun and targets.............
tylerjwitty
CGN frequent flyer
- Location
- Northern Ontario
Cause 234 s is rare
OK gents I'm going to explain what I have done and why initially..........and yes I now have photos !!!!
I loaded 2 rounds each with 90 gn RBT Matrix bullets using weighed and neck turned W-W 22-284 brass I made some time ago. I used CCI 250 primers as all loads are over 50 gns of powder but I will still try standard large rifle primers as I tune loads. I used RL 25 powder and tried 55, 56, 57, 58 and 59 grs 2 rounds each...........why only 2 rounds???? Because I have limited components and time right now and all I was attempting was to establish maximum loads and fireform some brass. Cooling time is reduced and if I went past reasonable pressures it's less bullets to pull and even 2 rounds reduces anomalies. 2 rounds will also give an indication of potential accuracy, if one gets several 2 shot groups in a row that are very tight it does tell one something.
Secondly I loaded 2 rounds each of Matrix 100 gn FB bullets ahead of 53, 54, 55, 56 and 57 gns of RL 25 also using CCI 250s.
All loads were loaded to magazine max without any regard for rifling proximity, there is .234" of freebore in this chamber but I really wanted to check the feed properties of the rifle during this initial round of tests, feeding was absolutely flawless with 3 rounds under and still significant movement in the magazine, so the cartridges are not even slightly bound up. I find it interesting that the feeding was so slick considering the significant differences in case shape, length, taper, diameter and shoulder angle (originally a 22-250).
Anyway here are the photos of the 90 gn groups...........draw your own conclusions..........Grid is 1/2" squares.
Possibly you feel only 2 shots tells one nothing but I have learned over the years playing with wildcats and having sometimes very limited resources that 2 shots can be very revealing............as I believe these are.
Here are the 100 grn loads and I must apologize for all the extraneous holes but again limited targets and time and several rifles to test. I also got screwed up on my bulls on one group and it is indicated as such........
I actually shot these groups first and attribute some of the spreads to my shooting, I know I settled in better to the second rack with the 90 grners............again, draw your own conclusions..........
And finally here's some photos of the rifle...............
Barrel ended up being 27 1/4" long at this point and measures .715" at the muzzle
I loaded 2 rounds each with 90 gn RBT Matrix bullets using weighed and neck turned W-W 22-284 brass I made some time ago. I used CCI 250 primers as all loads are over 50 gns of powder but I will still try standard large rifle primers as I tune loads. I used RL 25 powder and tried 55, 56, 57, 58 and 59 grs 2 rounds each...........why only 2 rounds???? Because I have limited components and time right now and all I was attempting was to establish maximum loads and fireform some brass. Cooling time is reduced and if I went past reasonable pressures it's less bullets to pull and even 2 rounds reduces anomalies. 2 rounds will also give an indication of potential accuracy, if one gets several 2 shot groups in a row that are very tight it does tell one something.
Secondly I loaded 2 rounds each of Matrix 100 gn FB bullets ahead of 53, 54, 55, 56 and 57 gns of RL 25 also using CCI 250s.
All loads were loaded to magazine max without any regard for rifling proximity, there is .234" of freebore in this chamber but I really wanted to check the feed properties of the rifle during this initial round of tests, feeding was absolutely flawless with 3 rounds under and still significant movement in the magazine, so the cartridges are not even slightly bound up. I find it interesting that the feeding was so slick considering the significant differences in case shape, length, taper, diameter and shoulder angle (originally a 22-250).
Anyway here are the photos of the 90 gn groups...........draw your own conclusions..........Grid is 1/2" squares.
Possibly you feel only 2 shots tells one nothing but I have learned over the years playing with wildcats and having sometimes very limited resources that 2 shots can be very revealing............as I believe these are.
Here are the 100 grn loads and I must apologize for all the extraneous holes but again limited targets and time and several rifles to test. I also got screwed up on my bulls on one group and it is indicated as such........
I actually shot these groups first and attribute some of the spreads to my shooting, I know I settled in better to the second rack with the 90 grners............again, draw your own conclusions..........
And finally here's some photos of the rifle...............
Barrel ended up being 27 1/4" long at this point and measures .715" at the muzzle
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We must also remember the rifle is just bolted back in the original stock, no bedding, the recoil lug is not perfectly indexed, I never even adjusted the trigger, but it's not bad as it is clean and crisp at about 2 lbs, these are the first 25 rounds down the tube and as I said I have no idea what the jump to the lands is..........
For what it is worth, and I agree not much stock can be placed in comparing one rifle and caliber to another, but my 28" 22-284 chronographed 3860 fps with an 80 gn SMK and 56 grns of RL 25.................the bullets never made the target, but they did make it over the Oehler..........
Funny you should ask that 'Looky, I made the kid hunker down behind the Ranger and I hunkered under the bench and just reached up over the edge and pulled the trigger with my left hand, for the very first shot...........discretion is still the better part of valor in my opinion............new bench is all made from 2" lumber so the failure would have had to have been super catastrophic to have seriously injured me..........I figured if I had to I could live with a gibbled left hand..
I personally think the results are super impressive given the above mentioned deficiencies and the fact this is still a 350 buck gun, not a 5000 buck custom action bench or long range rig...........I am truly excited to see what the caliber and cartridges will do in a good, Dennis Sorensen trued 700 action...............which I just happen to have, awaiting it's turn.........and a proper piece of glass for the testing process!!!
"Miles to go before we sleep" as Robert Frost would say.............
For what it is worth, and I agree not much stock can be placed in comparing one rifle and caliber to another, but my 28" 22-284 chronographed 3860 fps with an 80 gn SMK and 56 grns of RL 25.................the bullets never made the target, but they did make it over the Oehler..........
Funny you should ask that 'Looky, I made the kid hunker down behind the Ranger and I hunkered under the bench and just reached up over the edge and pulled the trigger with my left hand, for the very first shot...........discretion is still the better part of valor in my opinion.
...........new bench is all made from 2" lumber so the failure would have had to have been super catastrophic to have seriously injured me..........I figured if I had to I could live with a gibbled left hand..I personally think the results are super impressive given the above mentioned deficiencies and the fact this is still a 350 buck gun, not a 5000 buck custom action bench or long range rig...........I am truly excited to see what the caliber and cartridges will do in a good, Dennis Sorensen trued 700 action...............which I just happen to have, awaiting it's turn.........and a proper piece of glass for the testing process!!!
"Miles to go before we sleep" as Robert Frost would say.............
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This Thread is Worth a Thousand With Pictures!!
Rifle looks the goods without the barrel Nut and the Marlin rig is nice looking with that Shiney tube!
Nice to see the .234's flinging down the tube onto the Paper.. its a start!!!
Thank you
WL
Rifle looks the goods without the barrel Nut and the Marlin rig is nice looking with that Shiney tube!
Nice to see the .234's flinging down the tube onto the Paper.. its a start!!!
Thank you
WL
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