Wildcats (not the feline version)

1899

1899

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I've been looking at wildcat cartridges lately and thinking about picking up a new hobby :roll:

The ones that I find interesting are the: .25-06 AI, .257 STW, 6.5-06 AI, 6.5 STW, .280 AI, .338-06 AI and the Hawk line-up.

Does anyone have input/experience with any of these?
 
My 4 favorite hunting rifles are chambered 223 AI, 7-08 AI, 280 AI and the old wildcat - 35 Whelen.

What type of input are you looking for?

280_ACKLEY
 
What type of input are you looking for?
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Like: "Avoid this or that because it is a serious PITA" or "this particular one is good for the begginer".

Also some wildcats provide little if any improvement. For example, is a .25-06 AI that much better than a .25-06? What barrel length is required to make use of a .257 STW over a .257 WBY? That kind of stuff.

Another example may be what is the advantage of a 7mm-08 AI over a .284 Win? I would like something that provides much more velocity, or equal velocity with much less powder or something.
 
I have been shooting the 338-06 for 3 seasons now and have to say it is fast becoming a favorite round. It handles large animals very well yet is very usable on deer and smaller critters. It's effective range is close to 400 yards on all game.

Very easy to load for it it is also very easy to convert an existing rifle chambered for 30-06 or 270 to the 338 version. No work is required on the ramps or rails. The AI version adds very little velocity to the package and in fact there appears to be greater variation between different rifles than there is between the two cartridges.
 
In process of getting a 350 Mashburn Super Mag
a necked down 375 h h case- should be fun
have owned a few wild carts 338 -06 i enjoyed took a couple elk with it- regret getting rid of it
had a 243 Imp
also a 6.5-06 imp
it fun if have the time to reload and shoot
it nice to have something unique :D
hope you find one you will like- waht you going to hunt with it or just something to shoot and have fun with ?
 
hope you find one you will like- waht you going to hunt with it or just something to shoot and have fun with ?
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My friend is just setting up a .30-06 AI on a rechambered 30-06 M700 BDL. He has stripped the stock and is putting a hand-rubbed oil finish on it after he beds it with devcon. I'm kind of jealous of this little project! I have trimmed down to two 7mm RM's and they will stay with me til I die. I'm moving to Prince George next year and I should be able to ride a quad off our property and straight into moose/elk/deer country. I'll probably be chasing mostly deer, as they are easier to man-handle. :lol:


'Boo - it is interesting that the .338-06 AI doesn't give too much more, if any, oomph. IIRC the .25-06 AI gives about an extra 10% case capacity, how much more does the .338-06 AI give?
 
Sorted out the photobucket issues.

Heres the rifle.

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Hers some of the groups I was getting fireforming the brass. The one flyer ruined whay would of been a sub MOA 12 shot group. These are just plain old Hornady SP.

target4.jpg


target1.jpg


125 gr Partitions

target5.jpg


target3.jpg


I'm getting tighter groups with the 120 gr. TSX but no picks yet.

These were shot in the same afternoon out of that rifle. Had a handfull of other groups that were well under 1".
 
I'm getting tighter groups with the 120 gr. TSX but no picks yet.
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Even better than those? That is awesome. What kind of velocities are you getting out of that rifle?
 
1899 said:
'Boo - it is interesting that the .338-06 AI doesn't give too much more, if any, oomph. IIRC the .25-06 AI gives about an extra 10% case capacity, how much more does the .338-06 AI give?
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The AI version gives about 7 - 10 % more capacity than the standard version. That increase only amounts to about a 2 - 3 % increase in velocity. At the levels of the 338-06 that only translates into a 50 -75 fps gain between 2 almost identical rifles , one of which has the AI chamber. My rifle chambered in the standard version has a long throat and a 24" barrel. I get greater velocities than another fellow I talked to who has the AI version in a similar rifle with a 24" barrel. My longer throat allows me to boost velocities - 2740 fps with a 225 Hornady SP - without rasing pressures beyond safe levels. (I have some Norma cases with 10 reloads through them that have never been trimmed.)
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you are forgeting the big boys guns like the 6.53 SCRAMJET, 7.21 FIREBIRD, 7.82
WARBIRD, 8.59 TITAN, 10.57 METEOR.
but you will have to pay over $6000.00 us for the rifles because there lazzeroni rifle only i think.
talk to ya all later
Riley
 
I have shot and owned several wildcats in the past.
6.5X55arch

7X57AI

22/250AI

net22 KHornet

218 beeIMP.

For the past several years since the shortmags first came out I had a 6.5WSM built , and now own two of them.
One is going into the shop presently to be recchambered 6.5wssm.

The 6.5/o6 AI, 7X57AI, and the 250Savage AI are supposed to be some of the best wildcats asa far as improved efficientcy goes.
The STW's are super overboreand erode throats quickly, but if velocity is your thing, well.....!

At 1500 rounds I could not find the leade on my bullets in my first 6.5WSM, but it still shot a group of less than 1/2" at 100 yards, so I was not too concerned about it! :lol:
The 6.5WSSM will have a much longer chamber life, for sure.....
Cat
 
When it comes to wildcats and hunting, in the final analysis, the justification is almost always "because I wanted it". You can easily and cheaply load a 300 Win Mag down to top 30/06 AI velocities (and at lower pressures) with inexpensive and readily available brass and dies. Same can be said for 7mm Rem Mag to 280 AI, and others. There is no business case to convert to AI to increase brass life and thus save money. More efficient? Saving 3 grs of powder per load, would require almost 2500 charged cartridges to save about $35. Reamers, reaming, dies, etc.

I'm not anti-wildcat by any stretch, just realistic. You can get any performance you want for hunting purposes "off the shelf". Make a wildcat because it's cool and makes you different.
 
Come on Andy, there you go spoiling all our fun! No fair being practical. :wink:

My current wildcats are the 223 and the 280 Ackley Imps, but I have had a lot more. The 223 gives velocities all out of proportion to its case capacity. 40 gr BTs just a tad under 4000fps out of a 22" barrel.

The first I ever had was an 8mm-06 Imp, one of the most interesting was the 30-30 AI, the one that showed the most improvement was the 250-3000 Ackley. Also had 25-06, 7X57, 30-06 AIs. 'Cats are fun!

Ted
 
I was thinking mostly about improved cartridges. Forgot I have also had built a 240 Page Sooper Pooper, 244 AI, 25 Souper, 25-222 magnum, 323 Hollis, 338-06, 35 Ackley Magnum and 416 Taylor. They were all fun to play around with.

Also owned a 6.5-06, 270 Gibbs and 375 Chatfield-Taylor, all three of which I got from Rockchucker on the board here. Shot the biggest caribou I ever got with the Taylor and made the two longest shots ever on game with the 6.5-06.

There may be a few more that I have forgotten.................

Ted
 
I'm with Why Not on this one, wildcats are just fun. I have or have had in the past, 223 AI, 22-243 Middlestead, 6 X 47, 6mm-284, 6mm AI, 240 Gibbs, 257 Roberts AI, 257 STW, 6.5-06, 280 AI, 7mm TCU, 7mm Int-R, 7mm Gibbs, 7mm STW (back when it was wildcat), 30-30 AI, 30-06 AI, 8mm-06 AI, 338-06, 35 Whelen, (again, they were wildcats at the time), 357 Herrett, 375 Wby (out of production at the time), 416 Taylor, 450 Ackley Magnum, 475 Ackley Magnum. I'm also working on a 6mm Mach IV, another 7mm Gibbs, a 250 AI, 470 Mbogo, maybe a 6.5 Mystic, and a few others, they're just fun to play with. Wildcatting isn't really for hunters, as pointed out there are way to many less expensive routes to choose from, but it is a good time for us rifle loons. - dan
 
I have a 25-284, which I like alot.

Also got a 260 Remington with a very short throat, it won't even chamber factory ammo. It's kinda a wildcat in that regards.
 
What about something like a .30 WSSM or a .338 WSSM? I thought that might be neat too. Or a .416 SAUM in a model 7.


TB - what is the advantage of having a short neck in your .260?
 
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