a wildcat question

swampcrawler · June 7, 2012, 09:26 AM

Ok, I know nothing about wildcatting and just started reloadingn but working an extremely boreing job for 14 hours a day gives a lot of time for gun-think. Anyway iv fallen in love with small caliber bolt action carbines. Just nimble, light, accurate, light recoiling, perfect for me as I hunt brush and have never made a kill past 100 yards. Anyway I saw the 6.5x25 somthing, that new thing from sweeden, and was wondering if a real 6.5 bullet in a necked down .30 mauser necked down to 6.5 would work at all. The bullet is probably to heavy for that small of case capacity. Just a thought. Or if there is anything similar to that but kinda off the wall (wildcats, extinct militayr rounds) that would make a good carbine cartrige greater than .22 cal out to 100 yards. Just lookin for ideas to stay entertained lol.

Brian Pfleuger · June 7, 2012, 09:48 AM

"Out to 100 yards" for what? Woodchucks or moose? Matters what you're shooting, it does....

So far as "work", as in "function", I'm sure it could work. Usefulness is another question. I'm guessing it would be far too slow for anything bigger than woodchucks.

There are plenty of cartridges out there based on a similar concept though, such as the 300BLK.

griz · June 7, 2012, 10:30 AM

Sounds as if it would turn out to be a little less powerful than the old 256 Winchester Magnum, which was a 357 case necked down to 25 cal. While it may have been a useful round for game up to about coyote size, it never caught on.

swampcrawler · June 7, 2012, 11:20 AM

"Maters what you're shooting, It does..."

Very true, this is...
Lol sorry about that. My "big game" is small whitetail and medium-large hogs. (South louisiana) I don't know why but the necked down pistol cartriges have always been very interesting to me. How about .30 carbine necked down to something?

22 cal is the smallest legal for deer in my state so anything from there up. I need to read up on the Blackout as well. I forgot about that one.

603Country · June 7, 2012, 11:29 AM

If you want a small caliber bolt action rifle that's easy to handle, the Remington Model 7 and the Ruger 77 Compact would be just the thing for you in 6.5x55 or in 260 Remington. Or in 243.

Brian Pfleuger · June 7, 2012, 11:36 AM

As much fun as it can be to reinvent the wheel...

If your criteria is bolt-action, short-barrel, low-recoil deer gun... the answer is probably 223.

swampcrawler · June 7, 2012, 12:31 PM

This is true. But i hate 223 (actualy not sure why) so i have a cz 527 in 7.62x39. So i have the perfect carbine for my purposes, just looking for something wierd now. Maby just cet another 527 and turn it into a 6.5 grendel

Brian Pfleuger · June 7, 2012, 12:49 PM

Well, I'm with you on that, not a fan of the 223 either.

There's plenty to consider if you want something less common:

22ppc
6x45 (6mm-223)
257 Roberts
6ppc
6x47

Some require more work than others, custom barrels, custom dies, some are right off the shelf.

swampcrawler · June 7, 2012, 02:29 PM

Thanks brian, a list like that is kinda what i was lookin for. Stuff to look up now.

603Country · June 7, 2012, 03:31 PM

Swampcrawler, I didn't like the 223 caliber either. Like you, I didn't know why. But, I finally decided to get a bolt action rifle that was not as noisy as my 220, and after researching all sorts of light rounds (22 Hornet, 221 Fireball, 222, 204 and some wildcats), I went with the 223. These days I shoot that rifle probably more than all the others combined. For a reloader, the possible combinations of powders and bullets and bullet weights are almost endless.

Scorch · June 9, 2012, 02:04 AM

6.5 TCU might fit the bill, it is a 223 necked to 6.5, it actually has pretty snappy performance. Load data is available. Years ago, I sold a super-accurate 223 rifle to a friend who promptly rebarreled it 7mm TCU and shot coyotes with it, claimed it was just about perfect. A 6.5 would be just about perfect, too.

And yes, 6mm has a lot of potential as well.

Most of the smaller handgun cartridges probably do not have enough case capacity to get the bullet going fast enough, JD Jones has been fooling with them for a few years. If you like small and fast, a 45 Win Mag necked down to 22 is on my to-do list. It would just about match the performance of a 222 and would qualify as uncommon.

If you are open to extinct cartridges (actually, the gun-PC term is "obsolete"), the 6.5X51mm Japanese round is pretty cool, as is the 6.5X52mm Mannlicher-Carcano, or the 6.5X54mm Mallicher-Schoenauer. I guess technically they are not obsolete yet, factory ammo is still available for them from Norma.

Ain't it fun to dream?

June 7, 2012, 09:26 AM	#1
swampcrawler Member Join Date: June 6, 2012 Posts: 18	a wildcat question Ok, I know nothing about wildcatting and just started reloadingn but working an extremely boreing job for 14 hours a day gives a lot of time for gun-think. Anyway iv fallen in love with small caliber bolt action carbines. Just nimble, light, accurate, light recoiling, perfect for me as I hunt brush and have never made a kill past 100 yards. Anyway I saw the 6.5x25 somthing, that new thing from sweeden, and was wondering if a real 6.5 bullet in a necked down .30 mauser necked down to 6.5 would work at all. The bullet is probably to heavy for that small of case capacity. Just a thought. Or if there is anything similar to that but kinda off the wall (wildcats, extinct militayr rounds) that would make a good carbine cartrige greater than .22 cal out to 100 yards. Just lookin for ideas to stay entertained lol.

June 7, 2012, 09:48 AM	#2
Brian Pfleuger Moderator Emeritus Join Date: June 25, 2008 Location: Austin, CO Posts: 19,578	"Out to 100 yards" for what? Woodchucks or moose? Matters what you're shooting, it does.... So far as "work", as in "function", I'm sure it could work. Usefulness is another question. I'm guessing it would be far too slow for anything bigger than woodchucks. There are plenty of cartridges out there based on a similar concept though, such as the 300BLK. __________________ Nobody plans to screw up their lives... ...they just don't plan not to. -Andy Stanley

June 7, 2012, 11:36 AM	#6
Brian Pfleuger Moderator Emeritus Join Date: June 25, 2008 Location: Austin, CO Posts: 19,578	As much fun as it can be to reinvent the wheel... If your criteria is bolt-action, short-barrel, low-recoil deer gun... the answer is probably 223. __________________ Nobody plans to screw up their lives... ...they just don't plan not to. -Andy Stanley

June 7, 2012, 12:49 PM	#8
Brian Pfleuger Moderator Emeritus Join Date: June 25, 2008 Location: Austin, CO Posts: 19,578	Well, I'm with you on that, not a fan of the 223 either. There's plenty to consider if you want something less common: 22ppc 6x45 (6mm-223) 257 Roberts 6ppc 6x47 Some require more work than others, custom barrels, custom dies, some are right off the shelf. __________________ Nobody plans to screw up their lives... ...they just don't plan not to. -Andy Stanley

June 9, 2012, 02:04 AM	#11
Scorch Senior Member Join Date: February 13, 2006 Location: Washington state Posts: 15,248	6.5 TCU might fit the bill, it is a 223 necked to 6.5, it actually has pretty snappy performance. Load data is available. Years ago, I sold a super-accurate 223 rifle to a friend who promptly rebarreled it 7mm TCU and shot coyotes with it, claimed it was just about perfect. A 6.5 would be just about perfect, too. And yes, 6mm has a lot of potential as well. Most of the smaller handgun cartridges probably do not have enough case capacity to get the bullet going fast enough, JD Jones has been fooling with them for a few years. If you like small and fast, a 45 Win Mag necked down to 22 is on my to-do list. It would just about match the performance of a 222 and would qualify as uncommon. If you are open to extinct cartridges (actually, the gun-PC term is "obsolete"), the 6.5X51mm Japanese round is pretty cool, as is the 6.5X52mm Mannlicher-Carcano, or the 6.5X54mm Mallicher-Schoenauer. I guess technically they are not obsolete yet, factory ammo is still available for them from Norma. Ain't it fun to dream? __________________ Never try to educate someone who resists knowledge at all costs. But what do I know? Summit Arms Services Last edited by Scorch; June 9, 2012 at 02:10 AM.

June 7, 2012, 10:30 AM	#3
griz Senior Member Join Date: July 31, 2000 Location: Middle Peninsula, VA Posts: 1,588	Sounds as if it would turn out to be a little less powerful than the old 256 Winchester Magnum, which was a 357 case necked down to 25 cal. While it may have been a useful round for game up to about coyote size, it never caught on.

June 7, 2012, 11:20 AM	#4
swampcrawler Member Join Date: June 6, 2012 Posts: 18	"Maters what you're shooting, It does..." Very true, this is... Lol sorry about that. My "big game" is small whitetail and medium-large hogs. (South louisiana) I don't know why but the necked down pistol cartriges have always been very interesting to me. How about .30 carbine necked down to something? 22 cal is the smallest legal for deer in my state so anything from there up. I need to read up on the Blackout as well. I forgot about that one.

June 7, 2012, 11:29 AM	#5
603Country Senior Member Join Date: January 6, 2011 Location: Thornton, Texas Posts: 3,998	If you want a small caliber bolt action rifle that's easy to handle, the Remington Model 7 and the Ruger 77 Compact would be just the thing for you in 6.5x55 or in 260 Remington. Or in 243.

June 7, 2012, 12:31 PM	#7
swampcrawler Member Join Date: June 6, 2012 Posts: 18	This is true. But i hate 223 (actualy not sure why) so i have a cz 527 in 7.62x39. So i have the perfect carbine for my purposes, just looking for something wierd now. Maby just cet another 527 and turn it into a 6.5 grendel

June 7, 2012, 02:29 PM	#9
swampcrawler Member Join Date: June 6, 2012 Posts: 18	Thanks brian, a list like that is kinda what i was lookin for. Stuff to look up now.

June 7, 2012, 03:31 PM	#10
603Country Senior Member Join Date: January 6, 2011 Location: Thornton, Texas Posts: 3,998	Swampcrawler, I didn't like the 223 caliber either. Like you, I didn't know why. But, I finally decided to get a bolt action rifle that was not as noisy as my 220, and after researching all sorts of light rounds (22 Hornet, 221 Fireball, 222, 204 and some wildcats), I went with the 223. These days I shoot that rifle probably more than all the others combined. For a reloader, the possible combinations of powders and bullets and bullet weights are almost endless.