Wildcat appreciation thread

[25/08 IMP]

Here's the. 250 Sika I'm working on.
6.5-284 Lapua brass necked to .25cal and blown forward to a 40deg Ackley shoulder.
I have reamer sorted, dies nearly made and a few cases mocked up. Going to run a s/s 1-10 to 1-8 progressive twist vulcan barrel.

Along side a 6.5 creedmoor both loaded to AIS mag length

Attachment 227439

Need some of the 134 ELDM

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[Wingman]

Need some of the 134 ELDM

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Yeah that's the plan

[Husky1600#2]

Here's the. 250 Sika I'm working on.
6.5-284 Lapua brass necked to .25cal and blown forward to a 40deg Ackley shoulder.
I have reamer sorted, dies nearly made and a few cases mocked up. Going to run a s/s 1-10 to 1-8 progressive twist vulcan barrel.

Along side a 6.5 creedmoor both loaded to AIS mag length

Attachment 227439

Way back in the early 90's, I was running a custom 25-06 and my mate had a very nice Model 70 in 25-284. He could get an extra 100fps on my 25-06 with a number of different projectiles, shot like a dream. That 250 Sika looks like the 25-284 on steroids, looking forward to seeing the results.

[25/08 IMP]

Yeah that's the plan

Be bloody keen to see how that goes.
Barrel length??

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[Kiwi.bloke]

Work in progress on buying the 303-22

The 303 case family is generally bigger than what's currently considered safe in a contender but it would bolt in on an encore

If the twist was right it would be a nice round.
I do know where a 303-22 chamber reamer is but not sure which of the various lengths it is

Will get on to it ASAP

Good stuff. Yes a somewhat overbore option its called I believe. The 303/25 I used hit like a sledgehammer. I think I sold all my 330/25 brass and rounds, have some 303/22 brass still.

Would need a careful bullet, throat and twist selection to get most out of it. Then again, that was not quite what the 303 cased wildcats were all about.

[Wingman]

Be bloody keen to see how that goes.
Barrel length??

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Yeah keen to get it set up too. I haven't decided on barrel length yet. The blank is 29" and it will be fitted to my desert tech bullpup so it could be left long.. however I'm a fan of short barrels and hotter powders running more efficiently than a long barrel with a slower powder.
This cartridge volume is approaching magnum case volume so I am find I don't have the choice but to run a slower powder and a 24" + barrel. Time will tell. I'll leave it long for initial testing

[chainsaw]

Interesting to see how & why various wildcat cartridges come to be, and how some of them go onto to become mainstream offerings by commercial firearms companies. With the current trend to longer range shooting & hunting it seems to me one of the primary factors in deciding which caliber to choose is the availability or lack of good high BC projectiles. Generally speaking there’s plenty of donor cartridges you can choose from for a wildcat but not always good selection of high bc pills. Two calibers that have been overlooked by projectile manufacturers in recent times are the 1/4 bore 25cal (257) and 270 (277) cal, and the 6mm (243) was lagging behind there for a while. Good to see the new 134 ELDM coming out for the 257 cal. A 25-08ai or 25-284 would be interesting prospects, although the latter would be a barrel burner I suspect. A 270-284 or 270SAUM would also be interesting if there were high bc pills available.
Hornady has been at the forefront of developing or marketing high bc pills over last 10 years or so. So much so that it’s become the basis of their business model. Develop high bc pills, throw in a new proprietary cartridge (Creedmore, 6.5PRC, 7mmPRC, etc) & some slick marketing and ….. Ka-Ching $$$$$. So I suspect the release of the 134 ELDM for 25cal is no accident. Just waiting for the 257Creed or 257PRC.

[Wingman]

.25 creedmore and .25 PRC are both big in usa in the target shooting scene
My one fits somewhere between these two but should get the same velocity as the PRC with a faster powder and shorter barrel. I may have to push the shoulder back another 50 thou to drop the case volume enough to get the efficient burn needed with a faster powder though. Still need to do a bit more testing

[blip]

25 grendel?

[25/08 IMP]

.25 creedmore and .25 PRC are both big in usa in the target shooting scene
My one fits somewhere between these two but should get the same velocity as the PRC with a faster powder and shorter barrel. I may have to push the shoulder back another 50 thou to drop the case volume enough to get the efficient burn needed with a faster powder though. Still need to do a bit more testing

That will be awesome I've had a 25-08 and an AI version so looking forward to your one. I hear True flight are going to make a 1-8 twist .25 who's barrel will you use

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[Wingman]

Vulcan s/s 1-10 to 1-8 progressive twist. It will lower chamber pressures and lift muzzle velocities but still give the RPM for 130-135gr bullets

[aimless]

I'd be keen to see how that barrel goes Wingman, my 250 Savage AI reamer finally arrived and I'm getting it built on a Sako L579 action, looking at a Tru Flite barrel, 1 in 10" the only .257 twist they do. Very keen to see how yours goes, how far away from shooting it are you?

[Wingman]

I'd be keen to see how that barrel goes Wingman, my 250 Savage AI reamer finally arrived and I'm getting it built on a Sako L579 action, looking at a Tru Flite barrel, 1 in 10" the only .257 twist they do. Very keen to see how yours goes, how far away from shooting it are you?

When I finally get time to work on it it will only take me a couple of hours.
After more case modeling and some conceptual volumes v/s powder burn rates on quick load, I have decided to reduce the case length a little more to use a faster powder and a shorter barrel.
The std 284win case necked down to .25cal has a very simalar volume to a .25-06 which uses slow burning magnum powders, blowing the case forward to a 40 deg shoulder and straight walling the case lifts the volume to that of a wsm and 6.5prc case. I need to reduce the volume back to keep the powder fill in the ideal zone for pressure and accuracy.

[Wingman]

The revised case volume on the right, parent case 284win in the middle and 6.5prc on the left.
This length will alow for longer bullets pulled out in a longer neck too.

[Yumastepside]

I've always had a thing for the little Martini Cadets, so I like making 'cats for it. One for 357 Mag cases...22,6mm, 25, 6.5. One for shortened 30-30 cases....6.5, 30 Herrett, 32, 8mm and one for full size 30-30 cases....32-40 25-35.
Other rifles include 6.5x39, 265 RCBS ( 6.5-06 IMP. with 30 deg. shoulder), 8-06 Imp, 35 Carcano, 9.3x55 Imp, 405 Grenadier ( 400gr 412 pills in 7.62x54 Imp case ) and 416 Taylor.

Roger