30 cal wildcat

[IdahoSharpshooter]

thanks, Kurz. Be sure and post when you have the ADG brass load tested. My post was not directed at you, you just had the post before mine. You are a real asset here.

You talk about a long time reloading, I started out with a tong tool, single cavity mold, Lyman NRA formula lube (that looked like axle grease, and smelled worse) Kake Kutter, and ten pound cast iron pot. I was making a whopping 90-cents an hour riding a tractor as a sophmore in HS.
Two weeks bought me this sporterized Krag with an 8X Fecker scope from an old guy who worked there. Week three got the reloading gear.

 

[dkhunt14]

I want to build a 30 cal wildcat to shoot ELR. I will probably shoot the 195 Warner Tool pills. I have a 300 win mag, but want to try a wildcat. Considered a 30 Nosler but brass is murderously expensive. Same with the 30-28 Nosler. To be clear I will be doing my own chambering and will send dummy rounds for a reamer and dies.

Not interested in a norma or Lapua based cartridge for this build due to custom action requirement.

I have considered a 30-375 Ruger and have read a little about the 30 boo boo but don’t know much about it. My goal is to have a round that’s modestly above 300 win mag in case capacity that has good availability of not extremely expensive platform brass. I don’t mind neck turning but would avoid fire forming. I might do hydroforming if it provided a round of tremendous advantage for my goal.

Dave Tooley, you listening lol???

The Boo Boo is an 8x68 RWS case. Cha fed just slightly. I bet that RWS brass is $2.00 a case. Matt

 

[seymour fish]

300 WBY. I have won a pile of wood in 1000-yard BR over the years with the Plain Jane 300 Weatherby. Don't know why you need a wildcat.

Just plain agree

 

[Ares]

The Boo Boo is an 8x68 RWS case. Cha fed just slightly. I bet that RWS brass is $2.00 a case. Matt

Sure the 8x68s brass is expensive to buy, here it runs about 35$ for 20 cases. But will easily last 35-50 reload cycles, so while it's expensive to buy initially, it will be cheaper in the long run then just about any case mentioned in the thread, as long as you take care of the brass.
I have yet to hear of a 300 WM case, that one gets 50 reloads out of with normal use.

The case web and walls on the 8x68S is much thicker then on a 300WM or similar, witch is why it has 'only' about 86 grains of case capactiy in it's original shape, and witch makes it a very good candidate for altering the case body.

There is also plenty of other improved 30.cal versions of the case, not just the one Dave Tooley made.
With varying reduction in case taper, neck angles and case length.
But most of them are normally encountered in Europe and not in the US.

The only thing akward about the 8x68S is the rebated rim that is at .512 witch needs a modified bolt face.

 

[dkhunt14]

Sure the 8x68s brass is expensive to buy, here it runs about 35$ for 20 cases. But will easily last 35-50 reload cycles, so while it's expensive to buy initially, it will be cheaper in the long run then just about any case mentioned in the thread, as long as you take care of the brass.
I have yet to hear of a 300 WM case, that one gets 50 reloads out of with normal use.

The case web and walls on the 8x68S is much thicker then on a 300WM or similar, witch is why it has 'only' about 86 grains of case capactiy in it's original shape, and witch makes it a very good candidate for altering the case body.

There is also plenty of other improved 30.cal versions of the case, not just the one Dave Tooley made.
With varying reduction in case taper, neck angles and case length.
But most of them are normally encountered in Europe and not in the US.

The only thing akward about the 8x68S is the rebated rim that is at .512 witch needs a modified bolt face.

Eddie K has over 50 firings on his WSM brass. 5 years of competition and still the same as he started with. I have shot the 8x68 case necked down to 30. I also shot the WSM case. I get more loadings out of the WSM. I don't like to shoot over 15 firings because I feel the BR Accuracy needed isn't as good as when new. All my Norma WSM Brass easily makes that. The WSM brass is thicker then the RWS 8x68. I cut them both apart. Matt

 

[zorak]

Not to be a contrarian but the supply of 300 RUM brass from the Remington factory appears to be non-existent right now but I'm sure you will point out a source if possible. There is Bertram, Nosler and Norma but these will set the OP back over $2.00/each case.

8mm Remington Mag. is equally unavailable unless you want to buy it through Nosler, at least right now.

Warner makes a 198 grain in .30 caliber.

I'm not trying to be difficult but nearly everything in ELR is expensive because of the size and customization which gets applied to the components. You can try to get away with cheap but that will only take you so far before you run out of steam and performance.

Case and point. You can get a Defiance action set up for Lapua based cartridges for a reasonable price. I've build a couple of dozen and they are superb.

You can try to locate RUM brass from Remington but a quick check didn't reveal any that I could see. You could try to post a 'Want Ad' to see if some of the members have any to spare at a reasonable price. Otherwise it's Norma, Nosler or Bertram. The same goes for .338 RUM brass.

The .300 Win. Mag. has a case capacity of 93 grains approximately. How much bigger do you want to go? Personally, I'm running the .300 Norma Mag. with excellent results. I'm also running the .338 Norma Mag. but I'm working on the .338 Infidel and the .300 Infidel. Both are similar (this means kind of like, not exact) to the Rogue versions of the .338 Lapua Mag. brass. Both types are reduced case lengths with an improved case style. This gets you a shorter case with same capacity as the longer cases but you get to seat the bullets out further.

These are three that PTG lists:

.30-338 Lapua Rogue (37° Improved .30-338 Lapua)

.30-338 Remington Ultra

.300 Infidel (Shortened .338 Lapua Case)

If you need some more horsepower, the next step up, again, in my opinion, is the .30-378 Weatherby, which by the way is an excellent cartridge. I'm running a couple of versions using the .338-378 WBY case.

Enjoy the search!

You can get brass for the 300rum all.day long from Norma, Nosler and hornady as well.

 

[Loggins J]

Why not a 300 WSM AI improved

 

[Kurz]

You can get brass for the 300rum all.day long from Norma, Nosler and hornady as well.

Reading is fundamental. As I wrote in my first post and you quoted: "There is Bertram, Nosler and Norma but these will set the OP back over $2.00/each case." My comment was in response to the OPs statement about those manufacturers being too expensive for him to buy.

While I was working on another project I ran across the Blaser line of cartridge cases manufactured by Norma so they will be expensive. You cab neck down the .338 Blaser Magnum case to hold the .308 bullets which will yield a 93 grain capacity case. This is very similar to the .300 Win. Mag. but without the belt. It is a rebated rim case featuring the 0.535" rim and the 0.545" head diameter with a 30* shoulder. There is sufficient room on this case to create an Ackley type improved case if you desire. These cases are basically the 2.500" version of the larger magnum cases. The drawback is price, of course as stipulated by the OP.

Regards.

 

[B23]

While I was working on another project I ran across the Blaser line of cartridge cases manufactured by Norma so they will be expensive. You cab neck down the .338 Blaser Magnum case to hold the .308 bullets which will yield a 93 grain capacity case.

Blaser makes a .300 Blaser mag as well, which has the same case capacity as their 338, problem is Blaser doesn't import all of their cases to the US, only part of their line of cartridges gets imported to the US. I had a 7mm Blaser mag built on a LA Rem 700 awhile back.

 

[Eddie Harren]

" don’t mind neck turning but would avoid fire forming"

Quoted from the original post.

 

[Kurz]

The .338 Blaser Mag. and the 7mm Blaser Mag. both have brass in the US but there is only the Rimmed (RWS) version available in .30 cal. from Huntington's. It has less capacity at 75 grains approximately. For the time being, I can neck down the .338 or neck up the 7mm version to get the .30 caliber cases. On the other hand though, finding the time to accommodate all of these 'new' projects is becoming a problem.

 

[fredo]

You don't need a custom action to build a Lapua based 30 cal wildcat. I have a 300AX (30-338 Lapua Imp.) that was built on a Rem 700 long action. The bolt face was opened up and used a M16 style extractor. I shoot the 230 Bergers 3250fps out of a 28in tube. It'll shoot a lot faster but my 3250 load will consistently shoot tiny little groups and the brass lasts forever so I typically don't run it any harder than that.

Readers can do their own homework on this, but...
Going this route is not recommended by some very reputable smiths.

It's your face, choose wisely!

 

[B23]

Readers can do their own homework on this, but...
Going this route is not recommended by some very reputable smiths.

It's your face, choose wisely!

I think early on this was the thinking of some, and still may be, but since Remington came out with a factory chambered 338 Lapua and a few others have too, it seems to be less of a concern.

 

[mikegaiz]

Check out the specks on the 300 Norma Mag. It might supersize you.

 

[ebb]

I don't understand the thinking I see here. You want to give up on the 300RUM cause Remington is asleep at the wheel, but you know of 4 other makers of RUM brass? Then you start naming Blaser's and other odd ball Euro cartridges that only one maker makes cases for them? I know the OP has mentioned brass price, but in the cost of building a rifle and cases to last as long as a barrel it is minor expense compared to the other expenses in the build. For ELR if you aren't going CHEYTAC the 338 lapua or any of the RUMs is a no brainer. I have RUMs in 2 calibers and a 338 Lapua and am totally pleased with them. I don't think you can go wrong with the calibers mentioned, why reinvent the wheel there is load data galore for these more common cases.

 

[fredo]

I think early on this was the thinking of some, and still may be, but since Remington came out with a factory chambered 338 Lapua and a few others have too, it seems to be less of a concern.

What is "early on thinking"?

I'd bet that any number of highly regarded smiths wouldn't recommend doing what you did, let alone perform the work themselves. And I seriously doubt anyone of them changed their mind when Remington did a 338LM...

 

[LA50SHOOTER]

I want to build a 30 cal wildcat to shoot ELR. I will probably shoot the 195 Warner Tool pills. I have a 300 win mag, but want to try a wildcat. Considered a 30 Nosler but brass is murderously expensive. Same with the 30-28 Nosler. To be clear I will be doing my own chambering and will send dummy rounds for a reamer and dies.

Not interested in a norma or Lapua based cartridge for this build due to custom action requirement.

I have considered a 30-375 Ruger and have read a little about the 30 boo boo but don’t know much about it. My goal is to have a round that’s modestly above 300 win mag in case capacity that has good availability of not extremely expensive platform brass. I don’t mind neck turning but would avoid fire forming. I might do hydroforming if it provided a round of tremendous advantage for my goal.

Dave Tooley, you listening lol???

Murderously Expensive................ My good man, If you don't use Good brass then what's the sense of even doing the project ???

You want "modestly above 300 win mag in case capacity that has good availability" & "Not interested in a Norma or Lapua based cartridge for this build due to custom action requirement."

If you are not willing to spend around 2 dollars a piece for decent brass then I'll have to recommend that you Don't do the project !!

Otherwise - 30/28 Nosler (or straight 30 Nosler) and be done with it !!

 

[ebb]

I guess you could do like all the others and get a 308 Winchester with a heavy barrel and tell everyone you are a sniper. I read a thread on here about a guy that wants a 6.5 to shoot varmints with, shoot 1000yd matches, hunt deer, antelope and the occasional elk and moose. One gun won't do it all and one to shoot ELR won't be cheap. A lot of the big magnums are so hard on barrels I generally don't take more than 30 or 40 rounds with me to the range, so I don't get tempted to shoot it up in one trip. For many years I only owned 85 pcs of brass for my 338. There are factory actions that will work on Norma and Lapua based cases. Savage makes 338 lap mag rifles, I don't know if Weatherbee makes a lapua chambered rifle but they make actions big enough to build one on, my 338 lap mag is built on a Sako, not a TG42 but a TRGS. These actions are around and hiding in gun shops. Don't give and don't waste the effort by placing to many demands on the caliber and brass.

 

[IdahoSharpshooter]

For the 6.5mm guy who wants ELR capability: If you will spring for the RWS brass, there is a simple answer. The 6.5x68 Shuler cartridge. 90+ grain case. I have one standing tall in my gun vault, and a gunsmith friend is building me an 8mmX68 to go with it.

 

[IdahoCTD]

I have a 6.5x68 Imp and the case capacity is almost the same as my 6.5-300wm so there won't be much of a gain going to a 8x68 or 6.5x68 based case over a standard 300wm except for brass toughness and the lack of a belt. RWS does make 375 H&H brass that can be used to make a 300 Weatherby/30-8mm/300AI etc. A 30 Nosler. 30-8mm. 300AI, and 300 Norma are all within a few grains of capacity and would have less than 50fps between them. A RUM jumps up nearly another 10grs of capacity over the others. If the ADG brass turns out to be good a person could probably hit the next accuracy node with a RUM and not destroy brass like it does with the Remington and Nosler brass.