234 Wildcat Family....ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY

Why couldnt you take the 7.62x39 casing, neck it down to accept .234 bullet, make it a tad longer (neck and OAL of case) and have your 30 degree shoulders? I think that could be something cool...
 
OK now I'm interested in this stupid idea. LOL. But what about bullets? The first thing someone's going to do is crap on the idea by saying how you gonna beat my 62 grain ttsx bullets out of my (insert 22 calibre rifle here). Seems to me the mono super bullets are what's really making the small calibres shine these days as far as hunting goes. I don't think it would be too easy to get Barnes or Hornady to whip up some ttsx or gmx for yus in .224 > what options would there be to get some quality pills made for this thing?
 
If you read back a few posts Marshal from Matrix bullets already said he would make bullets for me in 23 cal. Matrix Bullets are some kind of super bonded and annealed and work as well as homogenous bullets on game only better because they expand more and retain their weight while disrupting more tissue. Why Not?, (Ted) has used them a fair bit and highly recommends them. I personally don't like mono bullets in high velocity cartridges as I have found them to copper foul very bad (257 Wby and 300 RUM) and destroy accuracy within as few as 20 shots. Marshal also makes some very well thought of match bullets which have done a lot of winning around Can and the US.
I will order a button with a 1-8 twist, which will be good by my calculation up to about a 110 gn bullet. I may make a series of cartridges in 23 cal, maybe the 204 up to 234, ( just so all the 223/5.56 goobers can use their surplus brass) then the 243 down to 234, then the 6.5X55 down to 234 to be used in a long action and finally for the super dooper crowd the 284 down to 234. Of all of these I would only have to purchase one more reamer and a 234 N&T set, I have the 22-284 reamer and I have access to the 204 and 22-243 reamers.
I would build all of mine on 700 Rems, in fact I have several right now that could be sacrificed, a 204 SSPS, I have a standard bolt long action and I have an extra 243 or two that may be changed up. When I go to build barrels I'll probably do 1/2 doz in stainless, all 1-8 twist. I will likely do a heavy barrel and a sporter barrel on the 6.5 case to to test the accuracy potential of the cartridge.
 
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Yeah I missed the talk about Matrix bullets somehow, now you're getting some where. So an 8 twist would calm down up to 110 grain bullets that's tons for a great BC. Do you have a weight in mind yet?
 
Doug, I know this started as a "cabin fever whim," but you appear to be well on your way to talking yourself into it... Here's your last chance to claim "bad pizza" and bail out...
 
Kind of like the swede case idea the best for no particular reason. A good combo for those with a fetish for number progression -> the .234x55. Of course it will require a much fancier marketing name. :)
 
The .23-284 is going to rock. If you do this Douglas I want to build one for my Daughters first rig.
Who will you ask to batch these barrels up? I say the 23-284 could simply be called the .23 Dominion. Or for the metric goobers 5.9 Dominion.
I'd consider a second barrel to try in an F-Class style rig as well.
 
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rem338.......I have made barrels in the past and will make these as well.........I have access and use of a very good friend's complete set up for making barrels, drilling, reaming and rifling. As I said I have worked with him in the past and made several barrels, I made my own silhouette rifle on a 30 cal barrel I made on his equipment, I then ordered up my reamer, contoured the blank (26") then threaded it up for a 788 and chambered it to my design.....300 Savage with the shoulder pushed back to create a .400" neck. The finished rifle shot 1/2 moa with both 150s and 180s with a med-med hvy sporter contour in an H-S thumbhole silhouette stock. Had to completely gut and reglass in the stock from 700 to 788 Rem. I got 2800 from 150s and used this load out to turkeys, then for rams I used 180s at 2600 roughly. Recoil was very pleasant and I never lost a target I hit, it also had the fluke of throwing both 150s and 180s with no horizontal dispersion, no windage adjustment necessary from turkeys to rams. Just a little trivia there........

Once the equipment is all set up for a caliber there is no great secret or trick to making barrels, the trick is in the reaming prior to buttoning, this will determine the finish of the inside of the rifled barrel.

I just thought that it might be interesting to make a 23 K-hornet too. Maybe on a #3 Ruger, with a heavy barrel and a significantly upgraded stock, or Hoyt could do it on a Handi frame.......have some 60-65-70 gn match bullets made. I also thought that if I could get Redding to make a 23 collet neck sizer I could load all these with one die set. Or I could polish out a 22 cal collet to the correct size myself if necessary.

This whole thing is actually starting to make a little sense and take shape, with a bullet maker onside it makes all the rest of it pretty simple actually..........Thanks Marshal !!!!!!!!! I owe you a 23 cal barrel............
 
Doug, it could take up to 1.5yrs to get carbide dies made. at least that's how long my last set took.
We'll need to discuss this, plus you kinda need a bullet made prior to reamers etc,

gimme a call when you get chance.

Marshal
 
Marshal.........it is what it is, if it takes a year and a half to get dies, that is what it takes.......I am retired now and time is not a critical issue. Bullets are the key to success for any cartridge unless it is on proprietary brass, which I'm not really looking to do. The fact you are willing to support this hair brained scheme is good enough for me, and I am willing to pay for the bullet dies, you keep them and charge everyone else for bullets, just not me.........LOL

Hey guys if Marshal is willing to make us bullets, and I can make the barrels, where's the down side............and I just thought of the perfect name........the 234 Penguin..........it kinda covers what I yap about regularly. The 234 Crow could be the smallest (the K-hornet) then the 234 Raven (the 23-204) then the 234 Penguin (23X55 imp) and then the 234 Condor (23-284). Kind has a nice symmetry about it all...........your thoughts?

This could be my legacy to the shooting world, a full family of 23 caliber cartridges............if someone wanted the 23-250 it could be the 234 Albatross........the possibilities are endless. RoA if I make and send you a 23-250 you have to promise to work up loads for all the bullet weights we decide to make, and publish the data back to CGN and me. Is that a deal?
 
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c-fbmi said:
Marshal.........it is what it is, if it takes a year and a half to get dies, that is what it takes.......I am retired now and time is not a critical issue. Bullets are the key to success for any cartridge unless it is on proprietary brass, which I'm not really looking to do. The fact you are willing to support this hair brained scheme is good enough for me, and I am willing to pay for the bullet dies, you keep them and charge everyone else for bullets, just not me.........LOL

Hey guys if Marshal is willing to make us bullets, and I can make the barrels, where's the down side............and I just thought of the perfect name........the 234 Penguin..........it kinda covers what I yap about regularly. The 234 Crow could be the smallest (the K-hornet) then the 234 Raven (the 23-204) then the 234 Penguin (23X55 imp) and then the 234 Condor (23-284). Kind has a nice symmetry about it all...........your thoughts?

This could be my legacy to the shooting world, a full family of 23 caliber cartridges............if someone wanted the 23-250 it could be the 234 Albatross........the possibilities are endless. RoA if I make and send you a 23-250 you have to promise to work up loads for all the bullet weights we decide to make, and publish the data back to CGN and me. Is that a deal?
Click to expand...

I might be in for a .234 Osprey (.23-06AI) a #3 with a 1:7 please. Ya know, 5.9 has a nice ring to it as well.
 
Imagine the Look on the CO,s face when he is checking a rifle, looks for the stamp on the barrel and see .234 Penguin. It would probably cause some confusion due to our .23 and larger rule, which makes the .243Win is the smallest big game rifle anyone has ever seen.
 
Can't believe that I'm saying this, but I shoot all of the .308 case cartridges... So if you do the .234 Woodpecker (.234-08) then I'm in too... But as you might guess Doug... I'll build it on a Handi SB2 frame... Probably a rebored/rechambered 24" .223 HB... I'll make a custom stock for that one... Who is making the reamers? I'll just FL .243 brass once you get the Dies sorted out...
 
This is all well and good, but some of the names are already christened to other cartridges. There's the .264 cal Condor (I owned a model once) the Raptor is abused, but Albatross and Penguin are definitely good. Can I suggest Chickadee and maybe Redtail (for the .284 version:)).
Great idea BTW.
I'd be happy to see the barrels come out of a "homegrown" shop.
1.5 years for the dies.....pass the Ritalin.
 
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