Thread: New to me wild cat.

Was just having a look through an old reloading book. And theres a very brief bit on a wild cat. This one Ive never heard of but looks interesting. Anyone had or heard of a 22/303 wasp?

They made wildcats of every calibre imaginable off the .303 case, esp in Aussie. 25 cal was very common.

No surprises there!

Yea I wonder how they perform today compared to the new modern designs.

Always been interested in the 303 based wildcats. Seemed quite a popular thing to do down in this part of the world back in the day. I read that the 303/25 was pretty close to the 257 roberts.

Funny you mention the 257 Roberts, I was in Mitchell's sports and Andy showed me a Winchester 257 Roberts he was selling on behalf. Immaculate bluing and bore, new plastic stock. Whole heap of ammo including win silvertip cases dues and projectiles. Never asked price

I understand that some guys want to tinker with wildcats, but the question of "why" is kinda true .

The same reason Gun companies make new calibre designated rifles - cos there are always people out there who will buy it.

Think WSSM , Ultra mag , Creedmore etc. Doesnt kill anything deader than a 308 or a 30-06 or a 303 will but it is new and shiny and the marketing blurb says you need one.

Greetings,
There was also a .219 Donaldson Wasp (from memory) that was a popular bench rest cartridge prior to the .222 Rem. It was based on a .30-30 case (actually a .219 Zipper) shortened and blown out. Wildcat cartridges on the .303 case also were popular in Canada.
GPM.

That 219 is one that intrests me as well.

I have one

Greetings,
There were oodles of .22 calibre cartridges about at one stage. In 1950 the .222 Remington cut them down like ripe wheat. A decade or so later the .22-250 Rem finished the job. These days these two are fading, replaced by the .223 Rem with a fast twist and now likely the .22 Creedmoor. Something new will follow.
Cyril Waterworth listed loads for the .22-303 Wasp cartridge giving around 3,400 fps with the 55 grain projectile, a little less than the .22-250. Not much changes.
GPM.

That's getting into 220 swift territory as well

I have one of those as well......

Originally Posted by sportco62

I have one

What is it built on and which version?

There are numerous wildcats and even this book at 1050 pages doesn't name/show them all
The reason for choosing/shooting a wildcat cartridge...........because I can and I want to