Wildcat Cartridges

Hornady fans have some new bullets to look at this year.  The ballistics boys at Hornady are in the process of building their line of expanding monolithic solid bullets, known as the GMX® Bullets.  This year they introduced the 6mm GMX®, weighing in at 80 grains. 

Constructed of Gilding Metal these bullets have been tested at a wide range of velocities for expansion.  Velocities from 2000 to 3400 feet per second have been tested the bullets expand up to 1.5 times their original diameter and still retain 95% of their original weight.

So why is this news?  Well, if your one of those folks who just has to use your 6mm for deer or antelope, this kind of bullet will penetrate deep and still shed energy in the target.

There are a few more of these bullets in the R&D phase right now.  The .257, .264 (6.5mm), and a .308 bullet for the 30-30 are expected to be the next in line to hit the market.  These are lead free bullets, so they will be good news for the left coast.

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/

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