Finally finished my wildcat rifle project!

[BullMagnet76]

Sweet Rifle!  Never seen anything like it.

[bearpaw]

I really like the barrel as well, but I would have to find a different stalk...

Keep us informed on your accuracy tests...

I am intrigued by that caliber as well, but not a big fan of the short stubby cases. Has anyone tried to neck down 7mm Rem Mag cases to 6.5, I wonder what the results would be?

[bobcat]

Has anyone tried to neck down 7mm Rem Mag cases to 6.5, I wonder what the results would be?

You'd have a 264 Winchester Magnum, correct?

[bearpaw]

Has anyone tried to neck down 7mm Rem Mag cases to 6.5, I wonder what the results would be?

You'd have a 264 Winchester Magnum, correct?

I know the 264 is a hot one, didn't realize it was a 7mm necked down, guess I'm too late on that one... 

[BigGoonTuna]

more like the 7mm mag is the .264 necked up, the .264 came first

of course, they're both necked down versions of the .338 mag...

[Rob]

I go back and forth on the stock.  It is darker in person so it looks a little better in person. 

I'd like to get a tactical style stock, but the options for the Vangard are pretty limited.

[MDGrand]

For all the work, I would rather go with the tried, true and becomming more and more popular 6.5x284 Norma. 

That being said, it sounds like you are getting a bit more umph due to the size of the case being able to hold a bit more powder though and I applaud your effort in pioneering a new wildcat! Good luck!

[Rob]

tried and true is a known quantity, that's for sure.

Doing this project was as much about learning something new as it was the output.

I learned:
-how to lap lugs
-how to true up the action face
-how to true the bolt face to the action face
-how to chamber a rifle
-how to thread a barrel and fit a muzzle brake
-how to spend waaaaay too much time dimpling a barrel
-how to stiffen a stock to allow free floating of the barrel
-how to make a set of dies

And most interesting was the brass forming process
1.  Three stage reforming process
2.  inside neck reaming
3.  outside neck turning
4.  primer pocket uniforming
5.  Primer flash hole uniforming
6.  Annealing
7.  fire forming
8.  trim to length
9.  size/prime and load

It is a total labor of love.  would have been much cheaper and faster to just go buy a boiler plate rifle-that I am sure of.

My buddy claims that this round, pushing a 140 grain VLD bullet at 3,000 to 3,200 FPS shoots very flat, and that the unique cartridge design will do so more efficiently, with less wear on the throat and lower recoil than equivalents.  Time will tell if that proves to be true.

I can tell you that the recoil without the brake is about like a 243 Win, and with the brake is like a 22.250 rem.  Given this is a short magnum cartridge, I find that an impressive start.

I'll be shooting this at Boomershoot in Idaho the end of the month so that will be a fun test!

[Rob]

For all the work, I would rather go with the tried, true and becomming more and more popular 6.5x284
That being said, it sounds like you are getting a bit more umph due to the size of the case being able to hold a bit more powder though and I applaud your effort in pioneering a new wildcat! Good luck!

BTW, I did not pioneer the wildcat...  credit where credit is due.  Dave Knuteson designed this little bugger a while ago.  Not many out there, but I am on the bandwagon, not driving the bandwagon for this one.

[high country]

How's it coming along rob?

[Rob]

Good and bad.

Good as I managed last weekend to get out and fire form another 50 rounds of brass giving me a total of 250 pieces of finished brass.

Bad as I pushed the pressures a bit too high on a couple test rounds.  The primers perforate at 58 grains of h4831sc.  Velocities were around 3250.

I am going to get out this weekend and test seating depths with 55 grains of h4831 and also try rl 22 and see what happens.

Interesting stuff.  I was surprised the primers failed.  I was seeing some minor cratering as I worked my way up to 58 grains, but no flat or extruded primers.  A little scary!

I'll be more careful going forward.

[high country]

I would put a mic on your case heads. If they are growing....your outta the park.

[Rob]

what dimension are you mic'ing?  From the base to the top of the shoulder?

[high country]

You need to measure the width of the case down by the head where the chamber ends and the bolt counter bore starts. Measure a new case and your fired cases. if you are stretching the web....its too hot. If you have access to your mill or a belt sander....split a case and you will see how they are much thicker where they have no support, then it will make perfect sense.

[Rob]

I'll take a look, thanks!

Hopin to get it out to Kenmore tomorrow to test some lighter loads.  I loaded up 20 shells with 5 different OAL's.

I also want to do some load testing with RL22 to see if I can get some more velocity without the pressure.

I have 50 more rounds to fire form too.

Due to work and plans with the wife, I only have 4 more potential range days to decide on a load for Boomershoot!