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Old February 4, 2010, 09:01 PM   #1
SPUSCG
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Anyone ever make their own cartridge?

I know some handloaders like making their own wildcats, working on their guns to make them shoot an oddball they came up with. Im wondering who here has made their own with success. Ive seen on forums stuff like .25 special 22-50 and such. What do yo have?
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Old February 4, 2010, 09:07 PM   #2
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I spent quiet a few hours compiling, calculating, and sorting through data, while working on my 'perfect' cartridge.

Hours, and hours later... I had it! .275 <My Last Name>. It was perfect.

....Until I checked the dimensions of existing wildcats, and found it to be within 0.005" of every dimension; and within (estimated) 0.5gr capacity of the .270-257 Improved.

Reinventing the wheel sucks.
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Old February 4, 2010, 10:41 PM   #3
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Probably my most exotic rifle cartridge was making 8x 48r cases from 30-30 brass. It requires cutting the rim thickness and diameter and then neck sizing it. Then fireforming it. For pistol, necking the 45acp to .357 creating a bottle neck case and running it thru a Colt 1911. Pretty much all you have to do is run a 45acp reamer into a 38 Super barrel with a shoulder on the reamer. It pretty much is a 357 Mag in a 1911 platform. Otherwise, most of the more common stuff like the 30/338 mag, 6.5x 06, 6x 284, .261x 47 TNT, 40-65, etc.
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Old February 5, 2010, 12:39 AM   #4
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I haven't made one yet but it is something I would love to do, develop my own wildcat cartridge with a clothoid taper to the bullet instead of an abrupt shoulder. With CNC I would think it to be much simpler and consistent to do. A .50 BMG-size casing tapered down to .22 caliber might be slight overkill, however.
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Old February 5, 2010, 01:18 PM   #5
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Id love to find something that hasn't been done. Theres gotta be something.
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Old February 5, 2010, 04:28 PM   #6
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Quote:
....Until I checked the dimensions of existing wildcats, and found it to be within 0.005" of every dimension; and within (estimated) 0.5gr capacity of the .270-257 Improved.

Reinventing the wheel sucks.
Had the same experience with 3 of my perfect rounds, all variations of 8MM. Once on paper I did a quick check and like you it would have saved me a lot of time but it was fun to do so no regrets. In fact it was kind of a validation that engineers out there with more training and experience came up with the same conclusions I had.
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Old February 5, 2010, 09:53 PM   #7
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Three that I had fun with were - 50-70 cases from .348 Winchester, 7.62 Nagant pistol cases from .223 Remington brass and necking down .45 ACP brass to make .400 Corbon.
Pete
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Old February 6, 2010, 07:07 PM   #8
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I'm working on a 14.3 mm load for the office but it's a bag gun (no brass). Does that count?

Last edited by InigoMontoya; February 6, 2010 at 07:24 PM.
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Old February 7, 2010, 04:52 PM   #9
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anyone ever make their own cartridge?

Most of the time, I wanted to do what someone else had done, but didn't have the right equipment so....made my own.
For instance, I wanted a carbine for calling coyotes, but still something that would reach. I like the .250 Savage AI. I took a .257 Roberts AI reamer, and put it in 1/4" short. I use .243 Win brass, and fireform, then trim to 2.0". I also bought Corbin stuff to make my own FMJ bullets. Yeah, I COULD have bought a .243, but what would THAT have done? My barrel is stamped "Gene's .25x2."
I also wanted an offhand rifle for Rifle Silhouette. The .308 or .30/06 would have been best, right? I took a .30/06 AI reamer and short-reamed by 1/4", using 57mm cases. And??? It is stamped ".30 GBS," which means Gene Biswell's Sillywet.
When I lived in Alaska, I saw a lot of people carrying .375 H&Hs with really short, 18"-20", barrels. They stuck me as peculiar. I took an M71 Winchester, and rebarrelled to .375/348 AI, which appears that Ackley had nothing to do with, but they've gotta be called something! This little toy handles instantly, and kicks a 300gr Hornady RN at over 2300fps. Should be plenty, huh?
Is this what you mean?
Have fun,
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Old February 7, 2010, 05:22 PM   #10
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Whats this tool to jacket bullets? Ive just seen lead cast reloads, never seen anyone make a FMJ.
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Old February 7, 2010, 08:18 PM   #11
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Quote:
I'm working on a 14.3 mm load for the office but it's a bag gun (no brass). Does that count?
Are you referring to the powder being in bags? Like on a battle ship.
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Old February 8, 2010, 02:52 AM   #12
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Whats this tool to jacket bullets? Ive just seen lead cast reloads, never seen anyone make a FMJ.
Read up: Corbin Bullet Swaging (Explore the site, for more information - especially the .22 rimfire hull uses.)
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Old February 8, 2010, 06:04 AM   #13
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Thank you FrankenMauser, for the link. It sure makes it easier to explain.
The difference between the softpoint and the FMJ is the direction you place the jacket's open end while you swage.
Have fun, I do.
Gene
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Old February 8, 2010, 09:11 AM   #14
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I am curious where you guys are looking up the specs of your wildcats to see if what you designed has already been done. I've been thinking of something for the last while, and I can't imagine it not having been done yet, but so far I can't find any evidence that it has been tried.
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Old February 8, 2010, 11:20 AM   #15
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No wildcatting. But I have converted 30.06 cases to 8mm Mauser, and 9mm Para cases to 9mm Mak. I used to make 400 Cor-Bons out of .45 ACP's, but gave that little experiment up as I never could get them to feed right in my SA 1911A1.
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Old February 8, 2010, 01:47 PM   #16
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I am curious where you guys are looking up the specs of your wildcats to see if what you designed has already been done. I've been thinking of something for the last while, and I can't imagine it not having been done yet, but so far I can't find any evidence that it has been tried.
Reloading books, cartridge books, Ackley's books, reamer rental companies, gunsmiths... the list goes on...

Some of the quickest to obtain data can be from websites for reamer rental companies. Many of them are now posting dimensional drawings for their reamers.

Sometimes... you just have to guess, though. I have run into a few cartridges with almost no dimensions available. I had to analyze the cartridge, with the original design intent in mind; and take my best guesses as to what dimensions would have been used, with those intentions.
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Old February 8, 2010, 03:47 PM   #17
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My uncle had a 30/30 that had its barrel pretty much shot out. He set it up to shoot 9mm bullets instead of the regular ones. I dont remember exactly what all was done, but I do know that 9mm pistol bullets looked funny in the cases.
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Old February 8, 2010, 04:56 PM   #18
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When I first started loading 416 Rigby's you couldnt get brass. I made mine out of 460 Weatherby by trimming off the belt and running them though the sizing die.

44-90 Sharps Bottle Neck cases I make from 348 Winchester cases.

I make my 375 bullets using 3/8s copper tubing to fit in a mold, making jacketed cast bullets.

Its fun making wierd stuff.
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Old February 8, 2010, 05:48 PM   #19
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.375

Kraig:
Quote:
I make my 375 bullets using 3/8s copper tubing to fit in a mold, making jacketed cast bullets.
Do you happen to have a picture of one of those to post. I have made .375s from .38 Special brass by seating heavy bullets all the way in, turning off the rim and swaging them to .375. Just to see what they would be like.
Pete
Here's a bullet: looks ever so much like a .38 - weighs 335 grains.


And seated in a case:
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Old February 9, 2010, 12:14 AM   #20
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Quote:
Are you referring to the powder being in bags? Like on a battle ship.
I overly simplified for the purpose of conversation, but... Yeah, I'll be a lot closer to a battle ship gun than a traditional cartridge-based load.

'Tis no big deal. Bag guns are actually quite common in the laboratory world (much cheaper/easier than developing brass and such).

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Old February 9, 2010, 01:05 AM   #21
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Do you happen to have a picture of one of those to post. I have made .375s from .38 Special brass by seating heavy bullets all the way in, turning off the rim and swaging them to .375. Just to see what they would be like.
Pete
I didn't have any that wern't loaded, but here are some of the rejects (cast to warm up the mold) but you can get an ideal.

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Old February 9, 2010, 05:41 AM   #22
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mold

Kraig: Don't want to hijack this thread too much but....how much work did you have to do the the mold blocks to get the tubing to fit properly?
Pete
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Old February 9, 2010, 08:29 AM   #23
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I couldn't do better than the 6.5-06 and 338-06, so that's what I got.
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Old February 9, 2010, 10:06 AM   #24
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darkagel

I didn't make the mold, I bought it several years ago. But its simpler then one wound think.

Pick the bullet design you want, and the lenght of tubing you want and send it to almost any bullet mold maker and they will make the mold you want, normally for the same price you would pay for a non custom mold.
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