What wildcats have you built/shot/owned?

[IdahoCTD]

I've used quite a few over the years. I doubt I can remember them all but here goes and I'll put a * next to them if I still own them:
.22BR (It was a wildcat when I built mine) *
6BR (same deal as above) *
6x47L *
243AI *
6-284
243 Catbird
6wsm *
6.5-284 (before it was standardized) *
6.5-300wm *
6.5saum *
270-300wm
7-300wm *
7STW (also before it was standardized) *
308 Baer *
30-8mm *
30-358STA
30-338wm
30-284
30-338 Norma Imp. *
30-338 Lapua Imp. *
30-378 Imp *
338 Baer *
338-378 (before it was standardized)
338 Edge *
358STA *
375-358STA *
375 JRS
416 RUM
500 Weatherby
500 A-Square

I've also got the parts to do a 6.5x68 Imp and a 7-338 Norma Imp. when I get the time. I'll probably build a 6TCU at some point for my kids to shoot.

 

[Guy Miner]

You build and have used a LOT of different rifles!

 

[Guy Miner]

So many cool cartridges may have been considered "wildcats" at one time, but are now standard. Am thinking in particular of the .22-250, .25-06 and .35 Whelen.

I still have the dies Grandpa used to form .300 H&H brass into .257 Wby brass - but it wasn't really a wildcat either. I guess.

Shot a .450 Ackley a few times. That was a hum-dinger of a rifle...

I do tend to stick with well proven cartridges, even if they're a little "boring" to some:
.308 Win, .30-06 and .30-30 are my favorite .30's and the .308 is the center-fire rifle I shoot the most. Hardly a wildcat. Pretty mainstream. Yawn.

Guy

 

[JD338]

I am rather limited...
Pure Wildcat:
6.5 JDJ Cases are fire formed from 225 Winchester
280AI Fire formed 280 Remington

Getting around brass issues:
7-30 Waters I fire formed cases from 30-30 Winchester
375 Winchester Used 30-30 Winchester and 38-55 Winchester

JD338

 

[IdahoCTD]

I'm running out of ideas for more honestly. I've never been a big .25 or .270 fan so I probably won't go down that road and I just don't shoot little calibers like .22 and smaller. I do have a Krieger 8.5" twist #5.5 contour .277 barrel coming but I'll probably go the easy route and do a .270wsm since I bought a reamer for it and already have an action to use. I could do a .270x68 Imp, and I still might, but I'll have to order a reamer and I really need to see how the 6.5x68 Imp goes before that. I have plenty of brass but if the case capacity isn't what I want the effort might be futile over the standard 270wsm. I will build a 6.5 Creedmoor before too long too since I have all the parts, dies, brass, etc for one (except the barrel because I'll probably make it a fairly light gun and go with a #4 contour).

I just built a 300wsm and 300wm so I do the standard cartridges as well. It makes life easier with dies and brass for sure.

When I first built my 30-378 Imp. I use to form brass from .378 Weatherby because the 30-378 and 338-378 were non-existent. Man that was a pain and I lost a lot of very expensive cases. Even now I had to build several stepping dies to get 423 Dakota brass to 30 caliber for my 30-338 Norma Imp. I also have to neck turned the cases when I get them there because the case necks get to be about .020" thick necking them down that far.

Honestly I need to throttle back on building rifles and spend the money hunting more but it's kind of been an addiction for about 25 years. I've thought about a 6.5x47 Lapua Imp to try and bump the capacity up to a Creedmoor yet still use Lapua brass. I know I can go the easier route and build a Creedmoor and buy formed 308 Lapua brass (or form it myself) but it almost seems too easy. I've also thought about doing a 6.5x55 Imp because the Lapua brass is cheap but I already have a 6.5-284 which is basically the same thing. I also have 2 6.5x47L, a 6.5saum, 2 6.5-300wm's, and will shortly have the 6.5x68 Imp. In 7mm I've owned a 7BR, 7-08, 284, 7rm, 7saum, 7-300wm, 7STW, 7RUM, and soon the 7-338 Lapua Imp. In .30 calibers I've owned just about everything from a 30BR to the 30-378 Imp at one time or another. The .338's and bigger aren't nearly as fun to shoot on a regular basis due to recoil with the heavy bullets and the cost per round is 50+% more than most of the others. I do have 2 .338 barrels and 2 .375 barrels in the safe though. Short of shooting bears off of bait there is no reason for more big bores anytime soon and I already have a 460 Weatherby barrel if I need it along with .500 and .515 caliber barrels if I need to build another .500 Weatherby or .500 A-Square. I do intend to go back to Africa some day for Buffalo so I'll build a 375 or 416 on the Winchester CRF 300wm rifle I got from Bill (Elkman) on here. To make life easy it will probably be a .375 or .416 Ruger unless Nosler comes out with a 37 Nosler sometime soon with headstamped brass for it. I surely don't need it but I might build a 28 Nosler one day set up for the 180 and 195VLD's. Other than that I'm at a loss. 24 years of building my own guns has run me out of ideas I guess. I might ought to finish my AR's I bought the lowers for back before Obama was elected or get into shotguns more I guess :?

 

[preacher]

.257 Roberts; 30-06; 30-30; 22-250; 375 H&H; 280 Rem; 35 Whelen -all Ackleyized.

416 Taylor; 338/280; 6mm Bullberry; 6x47; 22 KHornet; 17 KHornet; 6mm/284; all wildcats

I'm sure I'll think of thers...been a long time. Oh yeah, 6.5/284 (before it was legit) Also a 458 Lott.

PS Told ya...a .224 TTH ( 22/6mm Rem( fast twist.)

 

[PJGunner]

Only one, a .375/338 Magnum AKA .375 Taylor, .375 Chatfield-Taylor. Duplicates the .375 H&H in a 30-06 length action. Mine is on a tang safety Ruger M77 that weighs 7.5 pounds with scope, sling and a full magazine. One of a very few I've actually given a name to, The Hammer. It's one that can be carried a lot and shot little. Not pleasant off a bench. I built it when I thought I was getting a job transfer to Alaska.
Very accurate and ES with 270 and 300 gr. bullets ran FPS and 6 FPS. Did I say not fun off the bench?
Paul B.

 

[Jimroo]

Ackley versions of:

257 Roberts
25-06
280
30-06
338-06
35 Whelen

Plus a 6mm-284 and 338-06.

 

[Africa Huntress]

My parents bought several A Square rifles after they went under and I think they still have them. I don't remember specifically what they were, but I remember names like Excalibur, Pegasus and Tyrannosaur. I think the Tyrannosaur was a huge caliber. I don't think they were ever shot, I know I never did

Best Regards

Jamila

 

[IdahoCTD]

Here is the Tyrannosaur

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wrImp-ek3bI

The 338 Excalibur has more capacity then the 338-378 Weatherby.

I haven't heard of the Pegasus but I know A-Square built their rifles using 1917 Enfield actions.

 

[salmonchaser]

.338 Jarrett, kind of pedestrian otherwise.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[30-338]

Ackley's, 222AI,223AI,22-250AI,6x45AI,6x250AI,243AI,6RemAI,7x57AI,30-06AI,338x270AI and 35 WhelenAI. I did a 338-270 HGT it was nothing more than 338x270AI shoulder blown forward more than 270AI.

22Walldog,6BR Shorten Talldog,222x45,30x44,30x47,30 IHMSA,22BR,7BR/rifle,6x250,6x284 and 30x338mag.

 

[Thankful Otter]

348 and 275 H & H

they may not be wildcats in the classic sense but I have not run into anyone else in this neck of the woods who own them. Also, the 348 was only supplied in one rifle for years, so maybe the model 71 and the 348 was both a wildcat, until Browning decided to start making them.

As to the 275 H & H--everyone has a 300 and 375, who else do you know that has a 275 ?

Those are my arguments for listing them. Thank you Guy for mentioning the 35 Whelen in your post and how it was a wildcat originally,

Jamila and Idahoctd. My grandfather followed A Square. I ask him and he said the pegasus was a 300 pegasus and that someone ( he told me the name but I forgot ) still supplies these bullets and makes their rifles

 

[IdahoCTD]

Ackley's, 222AI,223AI,22-250AI,6x45AI,6x250AI,243AI,6RemAI,7x57AI,30-06AI,338x270AI and 35 WhelenAI. I did a 338-270 HGT it was nothing more than 338x270AI shoulder blown forward more than 270AI.

22Walldog,6BR Shorten Talldog,222x45,30x44,30x47,30 IHMSA,22BR,7BR/rifle,6x250,6x284 and 30x338mag.

That's a lot of AI's.

 

[IdahoCTD]

348 and 275 H & H

they may not be wildcats in the classic sense but I have not run into anyone else in this neck of the woods who own them. Also, the 348 was only supplied in one rifle for years, so maybe the model 71 and the 348 was both a wildcat, until Browning decided to start making them.

As to the 275 H & H--everyone has a 300 and 375, who else do you know that has a 275 ?

Those are my arguments for listing them. Thank you Guy for mentioning the 35 Whelen in your post and how it was a wildcat originally,

Jamila and Idahoctd. My grandfather followed A Square. I ask him and he said the pegasus was a 300 pegasus and that someone ( he told me the name but I forgot ) still supplies these bullets and makes their rifles

I know someone makes the Excalibur brass still. The Pegasus must be the Excalibur necked down to .30 caliber.

 

[muleman]

22-250AI
6-284
257AI
6.5WSM
28Nosler - long throated for 3.6" action
Soon to be reality.........
17-223
33-26Nosler

 

[SJB358]

7mm Mashburn Super Magnum. All the rest are standards.

 

[Dwh7271]

A few of these are barrels right now waiting on an action or stock and the time to work them up.
Shot or still shooting:
6-284
250 AI
25-06 AI
6.5-06 (although I guess it's standardized)
6.5-06 AI
260 AI (like it so much I built 2)
338-06 (yeah I know it's supposedly standardized too)
338-06 AI
Barrels sitting here waiting on me :grin:
7 MM Mashburn (some guy on this forum influenced me :grin: )
6.5-68 (not a wildcat I know, yours is cooler)
6.5 WSM
338 Fed
Not wildcats but barreled actions waiting on stocks
9.3-64
270 Weatherby

I went on a binge and also got a deal on a group of barrels so who could say no?
Guess you can also see I like 6.5s, 338s and 9.3s. :lol:
Don't know what I'm gonna do with all of them but who cares? They're fun to mess with. Probably end up with either a real happy son-in-law someday or a real confused one. :lol: :lol:

 

[Blkram]

My only true wildcat at this time is the 250 AI.

Others that I have were standardized before building the rifles:
338-06
416 Taylor
338 Federal

 

[BF375]

Never considered the whole wildcatting process worthwhile,but after trading a bunch of 150 gr 270 Bitterroots for a couple hundred 250 gr 35 caliber Bitterroots, I reflected on the fact that I did not own a 35 caliber rifle.

Since the Bitterroots would stand as much velocity as I could give them, I had Butch Searcy screw a 12 twist 35 cal Krieger onto a pre 64 M70 375 action and stock it in a Brown Precision.

He chambered it for the 8 Rem Mag necked up to 375 with o other changes. This was somewhat different from the 358 STA that was just emerging out the same time, but close enough. I used 358 Norma neck dies and COW to form 375 H&H brass for the cartridge.

I work up to 91 gr RL19 for 3020 fps. It was a very potent cartridge. Eventually i figured out it was not all that much different from a 375 H&H and had it rebarreled.



The only other wildcat I have worked with is the 7mm Mashburn Super which is a great cartridge,easy to work with,plenty fast, modest recoil in fairly light rifles. I like a 160 at 3200 of a 175 at 3075 fps..

If I were starting my BG hunting career all over again I would make up a 7 Mashburn Super as an open country rifle for everything from antelope to moose and grizzly and forget most of the other stuff......just to be a little different of course, 8)


For a rifle of this type, I think Warren Page and Bob Hagel nailed it.