Are you shooting a wildcat?

[TRX]

I have three, none of which are completed yet. None of them are very "wild", though.

The first is one I call the "6.5 Ross", in honor of the 1905 Ross rifle I'm doing it for. Basically, it's a rimmed version of the 6.5 Mannlicher, which is now out of favor, but once had a very large following. It's a low-pressure cartridge and I expect ithe velocity "sweet spot" wind up around 2200-2400fps. I'm running .303 British brass into a shortened Mannlicher die, with a homemade chambering reamer.

The second is called the "12 Gauge From Hell." It's not my design. It's a .720 caliber based on a blown-out .50 BMG case. I bought some modified cases from Ed Hubel, but now RMC in Colorado makes production cases for it. I'm building a Maadi-Griffin bullpup rifle to take it. The Maadi was designed for the BMG, so only the barrel needs to be changed. I already have a rifled barrel for it.

The third doesn't have a name yet. It's a .311 variant of the .300 Whisper, because I have a bunch of .311 barrel blanks and bullet molds. My reamer is a bit different because I'm using the full-length case to cover the grease grooves on a cast bullet. I can't see any reason to buy jacketed bullets for a subsonic cartridge. I don't expect any significant difference in performance between my .311 and the SSK .300.


Progress is erratic; I'm a hobby gunsmith and easily distracted by - hey, check this out...

[ovenpaa]

Welcome to the forum TRX, sounds like you have some truly interesting wildcats there, you need to post some pictures! I have been following Ed's posts with great interest and the idea of the .50 cased .720 slug is fascinating.

Did you make the reamer for the 6,5 Ross yourself?

[dromia]

Hi and welcome!

Why not introduce yourself on the New Members forum?

[TRX]

Did you make the reamer for the 6,5 Ross yourself?

The reason I call the Ross a "semi-wildcat" is that, besides using a shortened Mannlicher die (to clear the .303 case's rim), I can use a Mannlicher reamer to chamber the barrel. I can rent one for $30, and at that price I'm not going to make one.

I have half a dozen reamer prints on the clipboard by the lathe, waiting for "entertainment machining" time. I have lengths of O-1 drill rod to cut them from, an indexer and collet set I bought specifically for holding them while cutting the flutes, etc.

For the .311 and 12gaFH I also have to make reamers for the loading dies.

I fully expect that the first couple I make will have problems, and then they'll probably curve like bananas while I figure out the proper way to heat treat them... this is the first time around for me, so I'll probably hit all the speed bumps.

[dodgyrog]

270, 243, 30-06AI and 30AAC Blackout in the planning stage

[TRX]

> .30-06 AI

Are you familiar with the .30 Gibbs? It's basically a .30-06 AI(AI). I don't see any real advantage to it over the Ackley, though, plus you'd have to make your own reamers and dies. A friend almost persuaded me to build a rifle in .30 Gibbs before I was stricken by a bolt of common sense...

[zeroveez]

".30 Gibbs before I was stricken by a bolt of common sense..." So what's wrong with Gibbs? When I was young I used to walk past George Gibb's shop in Bristol, now long since departed. I believe that Crudgington's of Bath now own the Gibbs name. The Gibb's 505 was a rimless magnum designed in about 1912 and achieved fame through the writings of Hemingway. Although a hundred years old it has more muzzle energy than many more modern designs. If I won the lottery I'd get Crudgingtons to build me a side by side in Gibbs 505. Great for squirrels and such.

[John MH]

6mmAR, 6XC and .300 Whisper