Wildcat Cartridges

Patrick Ryan at Redding told me that one to items that Redding is making a standard stock item for 2010 is dies for the “260 Imp. 40”.  That translates as the 260 Ackley Improved to you and me.

We talked about popular wildcats they had made dies for recently.  The 6mm SPC was one that had seen some strong interest.  I am a firm believer that the pendulum has begun to swing away from huge cartridges with super case capacity.  Economics may enter into the change but more likely it is shooters learning that they don’t like recoil, and smaller cases are the easiest route away from recoil.

Ballistics from the 6mm SPC will fall right between the 6mm BR and the 6mm PPC so it is in a good family.  Accuracy should be awesome in a well built gun.  It’s not as short and fat as it’s cousins but that should not hinder result too much.  Like many things in life, its more about having faith than anything else.

Headspace for Ackley Improved cases should be a no-brainer. Ackley set up probably the simplest headspace system for a line of wildcats that any gunsmith ever devised.

Rimless or Rebated Improved Chambers…

Ackley Improved cartridges in this category seem to receive the most abuse at the hands of hobbyists and local gunsmiths who do not understand the proper headspace of Ackley Improved designs. P.O. Ackley did establish specific headspace dimensions for all his Improved case designs. The process is extremely simple and for this reason alone folks seem to think they need to make it more complex. Keep it simple.

The most important innovation that Ackley brought to the “improved” concept was with regard to bottleneck rimless cases. He chose the simplest of mechanical solutions to insuring that his improved cases would safely fire factory loads. He shortened the chamber by .004” (4/1000 of an inch). Because the factory case is then a crush fit between the bolt face and the junction of the neck and shoulder, proper headspace is insured. This is why Ackley prescribes setting the barrel back on such cases. You will note that if you follow these simple guidelines there is no confusion about the headspace measurements for “Ackley Improved” designs in rimless or rebated cases.

Some confusion seems to arise out of this headspace issue. Folks get confuse between the set up for a rimless bottleneck case and a rimmed or belted case when discussing ‘Improved” chamberings. Rimless and rebated cases are the case designs which always require a barrel set back to be properly headspaced. As memtioned in the paragraph above headspace on an Ackley Improved rimless or rebated designs is .004” shorter than standard. The shorter headspace means you have no choice but to set the barrel back if you want correct headspace.

There are special Ackley, go-gauges, they have the same shoulder angle as the parent case but they are shorter. This ingenious method effectively controls headspace with factory cartridges in the new larger, ‘Improved’ chamber. The factory cartridge or parent go-gauge becomes the no-go for the new chamber. This system works because the parent go-gauge is .004” longer than the Ackley gauge, exactly the same as the difference between the parent go-gauge and no-go gauge. Example: 30-06 Ackley Improved go-gauge is used with the standard 30-06 go-gauge as the no-go gauge.

The only place the factory case will touch in the new chamber that matters is the bolt face and the junction of the neck and shoulder on the case. It will actually slightly crush the case shoulder when you close the bolt on the factory round. If you eject such a case unfired you will normally see a shinny area on the shoulder where the case was crushed just a little. This crush fit maintains proper headspace during the fire-forming process.

Chambering an Improved Rimmed Case…

Rimmed cases are the easiest of all Improved or wildcat cases to chamber for. The rim is the headspace control feature on these cases. The rim is trapped between the bolt face and the rim cut in the back of the barrel. So if the rim is headspaced correctly you can have almost any shape of case fire-formed beyond the rim, so long as it will extract. The action of the firearm is not sentient; it does not care what the chamber looks like. So rimmed cases utilize standard headspace gauges for the caliber, no Ackley gauges needed.

There is no need to set the barrel back on a rimmed cartridge when you convert it to an Improved design! Why? Because the rim controls headspace, the fact that the shoulder will be moved forward and the neck shortened has exactly NO effect on headspace. Reamers for improved cases normally have the rim cutter integral to their design. Simply paint the rim cut in the barrel with machinists blue, when the rim cutter gets close to this material just watch close, as soon as it scratches the material, stop reaming. Utilizing this method there is no danger of changing the headspace of the gun in the process of ‘Improving’ the chamber.

Rimmed cases headspace on the rim of the case only, ‘Improved’ cases of the rimmed variety often incorporate a shorter neck, thus the shoulder is moved forward to increase capacity, this is combined with increased shoulder diameter. Often rimmed cases benefit the most from an ‘Improved’ design, simply because they gain a much higher percentage of case capacity.

Chambering an Improved Belted Chamber…

What was said of rimmed cases above is also true of belted cases. Belted designs headspace on the belt much the same way rimmed cases headspace on the rim. The distance between the bolt face and the belt cut in the barrel is the headspace for these cartridges. Like the rimmed designs, ‘Improved’ belted cases use the standard headspace gauges, no Ackley gauges.

While it is possible to use machinist blue as suggested with the rimmed case, you will quickly find that it is much harder to determine if the machinist blue has been scratched, there is simply much less area to view. For this reason it is a good idea to set the barrel back when doing a belted magnum improved case. If the barrel is slick with no sight holes drilled in it you can set it back .004” so that that bolt will not close on the go gauge. Then rechamber with the Improved reamer until the go gauge will allow the bolt to close normally.

Quality Cartridge offers a wide variety of custom formed and headstamped brass.  For the first time there is a supplier who can make headstamped brass for your wildcat without having to order 10,000 rounds or more.  This interview gives you a pretty good idea of the brass and services available to you from Quality Cartridge.

http://www.qual-cart.com/

Ralph B. Sisk was born in 1894 on a farm near Iowa Park, Texas.  He was a machinist by trade and a gun-bug by choice.  Sisk read about the experimental cartridge that Capt. G.L. Wotkyns was working on, it was a center fire 22 that later became the 22 Hornet.  Bullets for this “new” entry into shooting circles were scarse and expensive at the time, the only real choice was a full metal jacket bullet of 45 grains made for the 5.5 Velo Dog revolver.

In order to improve the quality of bullets and to save a few $ Sisk decided to make his own bullets.  In 1928 he made a set of dies that would convert fired 22 rimfire cases to jackets.  His first bullets were successful enough that it created a small income on the side for Sisk’s young family during the hard years of the depression.

During the depression Sisk found some work driving an oil field truck, but not enough of that to stay busy all the time.  So he pawned his 22 Hornet rifle and used the money to buy an ad in the American Rifleman for $4.50.  Selling $8 dollars worth of bullets that first month allowed him to get his rifle out of the pawn shop, “just in time”.

In the mid 1930’s Hercules published some 22 Hornet load data for the Velo Dog bullet and a 35 grain Sisk bullet.  Sales took off with this publicity, soon the reputation of the Sisk bullet for quality and accuracy boomed.  Mr. Sisk was a fan of the 22 and he never made bullets for anything but the .223″, .224″ and .228″ diameter projectiles, save one.

P.O. Ackley requested that Sisk make some .17 caliber bullets for his new 17 caliber barrels, this was shortly after World War II.  Sisk never automated the business, but he did get to the point that he could produce about 15,000 bullets per day.  If the tooling used to make his bullets was simple, that had no affect on the quality of his finished product.

Ralph Sisk was making 22 and 17 caliber bullets when nobody else would.  His work certainly helped to prove a market for reloading components.   Mr. Sisk passed away in January of 1970,  imagine all the wildcatters that needed Sisk bullets to make their creations work. 

FDZ

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!?

Painciples and Practice of Loading Ammunition, By Earl Naramore

This book was first published by Samworth in 1954, my attention was drawn to it by a mention in P.O. Ackley’s books as a good resource.  I figured if it impressed Ackley it was worth a look.  Obviously a book this old is in some ways out dated, however, this book centers more on mechanical design, strength and processes than on reloading data.  So it is still a very interesting read.

Many writers today cater to the reader who wants to know just a little bit about a lot of different subjects, so their explanations lack detail and fail to make the subject fully enlightened.  Naramore spent 914 pages on the process of loading ammunition, as you might imagine this allowed him to go into great detail about many aspects of the reloading precess.

Because this treatise was written over 50 years ago it includes some information that might not be found in too many other places today.  Are you going to learn something that will put you way out in front of the pack, probably not, but you will likely pick up some useful ideas that modern reloaders are forced to learn on their own by trial and error.  All in all an enjoyable read, sometimes it’s just fun to see how things used to be done, or how much they have changed.  I would have to say this is a must have book for reloaders and wildcatters alike.

FDZ

Here we are a totally new web site just for Wildcaters.  It’s tough enough to be a “gun nut” but if you have the disease bad enough; you become a wildcatter. 

This blog will contain commentary and information about wildcatting, gunsmithing, tools, reloading and much more.  I have contacted many of my acquaintances in the gun trade and many have agreed to be guest bloggers.  That means you will have access to folks who normally would not have time to blog.

Our parent web site, www.wildcatintel.com contains a huge amount of data for wildcatters.  We start off with a data base of cartridge dimensions, we will be adding drawings for each cartridge based on the dimensions so you can visually compare them.   We will continually add articles to our archive, both new and historical, we are always looking for letters and historical documents to add to our archive, so long as they add to the knowledge base for wildcatting.

If you have ideas about where this site should be headed, speak up!