Wildcat Cartridges

I recently picked up a set of the Handloader Magazines on DVD.  The set covers 40 years of Handloader, from the first issue on up. There is a wealth of information buried in these old magazines and the DVD’s take up far less space on the shelf than 40 year of old magazines.   Aside from that you can search the entire collection from one file which is located on all the individual disks.

Say you want to know more about Rocky Gibbs…  Just put his name in the search window and all instances of his name from the first issue to the last will be listed.

By trial and error you can adjust your searches to be more accurate and return more useful information.  I should warn you though, it’s a little like when you pulled an encyclopedia out as a kid to do a report for school and find yourself reading about casting bullets in stead of reloading tools, etc.

Before I picked up these DVDs I had a pretty strong collection of magazines going.  I have already eliminated my Rifle and Handloader collection.  Now somebody needs to do the same thing for American Rifleman. 

If you have not read many old gun magazines you would probably be surprised to find that much of the material was more technical in nature in years past.  Some data may be outdated by new technology but its valuable from the stand point of reminding us how much can be accomplished with very few tools.  Frankly, many magazines today would do well to return to more technical articles, that broaden our knowledge of ballistics an the mechanics of shooting.   Either way, this collection of classic material on disk is highly entertaining for the gun buff and educational for any wildcatter.

In the September-October 1970 Issue of Handloader magazine Ken Waters reported on a “new” cartridge, the 228 Hawk.  This cartridge was developed by R&M Chronograph Service of Selma, CA.  For all intents and purposes the 228 Hawk was little more than a modernized version of the 22 Newton.

The Newton used a .227-.228″ bullet and was based on the 7×57 case.  The whole idea behind the 22 Newton was to use a 90 grain bullet at about 3000 fps for deer class animals.  Many states today do not allow the use of 22 caliber rifle for hunting big game, this is a direct result of Hunters using the wrong bullet (too light) in cartridges designed for 70 to 90 grain bullets.  The caliber list would include 22 Savage Hi-Power, 22 Newton, 228 Hawk, 228 Ackley Magnum, 224 Clark, and 224 TTH.

Newton was limited by the powders available in 1914, he claimed velicities of 3100 fps, this velocity is atainable today with similar cartridges we see 80 grain bullets being pushed at 3550 fps.  Ken Waters found that his particular 228 Hawk rifle would drive a .2275″ 84 grain Schwartz hollow point up to 3200 fps.  Schwartz bullets were custom made by a gunsmith from Michigan by the name of Wayne Schwartz.  Hornady currently makes a 70 grain bullet but it is made for the Savage Hi-Power and will not hold up to the velocity of this hot rod.  Huntington’s is carrying some 60 and 70 grain custom bullets, the too are listed as being made for the Hi-Power. 

Today to take full advantage of the 228 Hawk, the 22 Newton, or the 228 Ackley magnum you would have to make your own bullets.  These hyper velocity cartridges required a tough bullet with a thick jacket.  6mm jackets might be resized for the .228 providing a thicker jacket.

Newton was the first the play with the concept of a large capacity case for a 22 with heavy bullets for deer class hunting.  Guys like Jerry Gebby, and P.O. Ackley followed up on the Newton concept as better powders became available.  The 228 Hawk came on the scene in about 1970, other similar cartridges are the 22-243 Middlestead, 224 Clark, and most recently added to the club is the 224 Texas Trophy Hunter (TTH); the last three are .224 caliber cartridges and with 80 grain bullets and the correct twist can be pretty amazing cartridges.   Do you feel the need for speed!?