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WILDCATTING | WORKSHOP
With your new creation it is beneficial to use custom
grade reloading kit for best resultsBut when it works, it works! Quickload is my go-to ballistics program
load (not always). Meaning although the case
is formed using mechanical dies it still
needs to be shot in the chamber of the rifl e
to expand it to the correct dimensions.
Trouble is you will need some resizing
dies and seater to reload your case. If it’s a
known wildcat then there may well be a set
available; Redding custom shop and CH4D
are good sources.
Sometimes I use existing dies and cut
then down or modify to neck, body re-size or
even seat. As with the 300 Broad sword and
30-47L, 300 WSM and 308x1.5 respectively.
But for a real one off when neck length case
and shoulder all differ then you need a set of
dies tailored to your case.
I tend to use blank dies from Wilson or
Newlon and then have the gunsmith use the
chamber reamer to cut them. The fi rst will be
a neck die where the use of either Wilson or
Redding neck bushes can be used to
achieve correct neck tension. Plus using the
correct seater stem the other die can be
used as a seater die If you want a full
length die you will need a smaller reamer
dimension than the one that cut the
chamber or sometimes I use a body die
that may fi t your new case.IS IT WORTH IT?
On fi rst inspection it may seem a complete
faff and also a lot of unwarranted expense
to go to all this hassle. I cannot agree
more but that’s not the point, without
experimenting there would be no
advantages and in any case some of the
Wildcats whether factory adopted or not
still deserve a look.
Some only deliver a meagre 5 %
velocity gain but the new look can be
fantastic aka .308 Win AK or you can try a
.250 AK that is well worth the performance
increase. Plus full blown wildcats like my
.20 and .22 Satan, 6.5 Rapier and 300
Broadsword keep me happy and out of the
wife’s hair.That in a nutshell encapsulates the
wildcat ethos, maximum input and effort
affords the best fi nal results. If we all drove
around in standard Ford Escorts what a
boring life it would be, since time began
people have been customising and improving
what exists and that’s what interests me!
Wildcatting is not for everyone and yes the
standard calibres will suffi ce for 90 % of all
your shooting needs - let’s not pretend they
don’t! But for the shooter who really wants to
explore their reloading and creative ideas the
wildcat bug is mighty hard to shake off, tell
my wallet!CONTACTS
JMS Arms, 01444 400126, 07771962121
for Quickload and QuickDesign
Norman Clark, 01788 579651 Reloading
dies and specialised reloading kit
Walther barrels http://www.lotharwalther.com
Pacifi c Reamers, 001 541 826 5808, Reamers
Wilson Die blanks http://www.sincintl.com