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102 SHOOTING SPORTS MAGAZINE

WORKSHOP | WILDCATTING

Some wildcats are easier like this .22-284 aka

.223 Valkyerie, a quick neck turn and neck swage

to new dimensions

Sometimes it goes wrong!

20 Satan is a tad over

bored but wow what a

hooded crow round

Wildcat loading dies are available but quite often you

have to reamer your own blank dies or ‘re engineer’

existing dies to suit

cartridges and see if there is any ‘room for

manoeuvre’. It’s getting harder as most

cases have been wildcatted in some form or

other.

I would love the luxury to make my own

dimension cases but that’s just not

economically viable which is why a parent

case is used.

Take the .20 Satan for example. I love

small calibres and when the 50 and later

55-grain bullets arrived on the scene I

jumped on them. Here the same weight had

a better BC than the standard .224 version,

so now you need to look at a case that can

take advantage of it. That’s easier said than

done. Too big a case and bye-bye rifl ing, too

small and there’s no real advantage!

VIRTUAL RELOADING

What I do is use Quickload and QuickDesign

ballistics programs to design a new wildcat

from the existing database. In the 20 Satans

case I wanted to use the 6x47mm Swiss

Match and then later 6.5x47 Lapua as donor

cartridges.

I use the program and actual cartridge

cases in front of me to re-design to a form I

am happy with.

By changing or completely from scratch

building a case in QuickDesign you can

change at will in the ‘virtual world’ your new

creation. Alternatively, and I use this method

a lot also, is to use existing reloading form

dies and change the neck bushing sizes

either larger or smaller dependent on fi nal

bullet diameter to swage the neck. Then use

alternative dies to reform the body or

shoulder angle to get a partial wildcat, in this

way you can visualise in real time a

prototype.

With an initial new case design I weigh

the case and measure H2O capacity to check

internal powder capacity. I then run these

dimensions through the QuickDesign program

to see if I am close on my virtual case.

Differing manufacturers cases vary a lot!

Now decide whether you want a tight

neck or standard neck dimension; will you go

for a thinner neck and thus necessitate neck

turning to gain more precision and tension.

With the dimensions sorted I shoot it in the

Quickload program with a variety of bullets

and powder combinations. This gives a very

realistic result for the true ballistics your new

creation will take. It’s here you cross your

fi ngers and the pressure scale stays safe

and the velocity fi gures exceed the factory

loading if there is one. If it works, fi ne, if not

go back, re-compute and change a few

dimensions, smaller is better, in ballistics a

small change can make a big difference.

NOW WHAT?

I now print off a case design sheet as a

reference, as you need to give this to your

reamer maker. Here the more info the better

as not only does the chamber reamer need to

suit your new design but you have to decide

on seating depth and thus throat length and

neck diameter. If I use a print out I tell the

reamer maker the bullet I am shooting and

suggest a cartridge overall length (COL) based

on the ogive touching lands.

If I have a case made from a parent case

I will send three copies but drill out the

primer hole and through the case and

engrave ‘DUD’ on it, because my reamer

makers are in the USA. I use a standard

steel reamer but with a live pilot so you can

change this to get a true fi t into your barrel

and with it I order a ‘GO’ gauge to check

headspace. Also the reamer is a fi nisher

only, not rougher.

Now you need to choose a barrel, correct

twist rate to stabilise bullet weight, maximise

velocity, rifl ing lands and profi le then barrel

length fl ute or non- fl ute and of course

stainless or molly steel?

Here formulas are available to ascertain

best twist rates but when shooting a wildcat

you have to consider barrel erosion extra

pressure from too tight a rifl ing twist. Are

three lands better than six? Should the leade

in be 1.5 or 3°? Ratchet, polygonal or fl at

rifl ing lands, and of course enough length to

achieve the extra velocity you hope your new

creation will deliver. Trouble is at this point is

whether you do really have to just go for it

and suck it and see.

LOAD UP

Right you have your barrel newly reamed,

chambered and fi tted. Now the fun starts! If

the Wildcat is a simple neck down or up you

can fi re form your load in the chamber to its

new dimensions, usually with the bullet in

the lands to stop case creep but with a mild