Anyone experimenting with a .277 caliber wildcat?

[JLDavid]

I am thinking about building a 277 caliber wildcat for long range big game hunting. Any suggestions or wildcats that have worked well for you guys? I would like something that would feed reliably from the magazine of a long 700 Remington. Please let me know what parent case you are using and the sizing/fire forming steps you used. Thanks for the suggestions.

David

 

[kev77]

Send Marshal Ambrose at Matrix bullets a email. I do believe he has done a 260ai opened to .277ai and 300wsm necked down to .277 and shooting 165 and 175 matrix bullets

 

[wapiti25]

Why not a 7mm using Berger hunting bullets? The 7mm Berger 168gr is hard to beat. I too years ago thought about the 7mm Rem Mag necked down to .277 but it can not beat the ballistic's of the 7. I'm shooting the 7mm Rem Mag with Berger 168's and it is an awesome combo. I got turned on to it by the Best of the West/GunWerks guy's. When you can kill Elk and Moose at 600yds or more why go backwards? I have looked at some 6.5 rounds including the 264 Win Mag for a light caliber but have a hard time seeing any benefit for hunting antelope and deer. I have shoot out two 6.5-06 barrels for hunting and targets. It is a real neat round as well as I have two 270 Winchesters but they just can't keep up with my 7 mag for wind and energy at long range. I had thought about a 6.5-06 30* improved but why, it will not beat the 264Win mag. The only advantage is MAYBE 10 gr of powder and MAYBE 200 rd's of barrel life. I have not found a better .277 bullet than the 168 Berger VLD, my rifle and two friends rifles will shoot sub MOA @600 from an 8 lb hunting rifle. If you need more velocity you could look at the 7mm LRM. My 168's are going 3050 FS out of a 25" barrel.

 

[NorCalMikie]

Never tried feeding from the mag (I single feed all my ammo) but I built a 6.8 BR. The 30 BR is/was such a hot item so I figured why not a 6.8 BR? Got that idea from shooting my 6.8 SPC bolt gun and having such good results with accuracy.
Opened up the neck of a Lapua 6 BR case with a .277 mandral, seated the bullet to the shoulder neck junction, shipped it off to PT&G and had them cut me a reamer. Was told by them that it was a "first" for that caliber in the BR case. 8)
5 shot groups, from the bench at 100 yards that can be covered with a dime. A little holdover without any scope adjustments and I can hit steel out to 440 + yards.
All mid range loads so no brass problems. Never bothered to run them across a Chrony. They're all going in the same spot so why bother??

 

[JLDavid]

What brought this question up was I was talking to a friend a while back and he wanted to know if there was a 277 caliber cartridge, factory or wildcat, that could function through a 700 and out perform a 270 Weatherby. I said that I didn't know but would ask here and see what comes from it.

He asked about shortening a 300RUM case to the length of the 7mm Mauser case, maybe a little bit longer, and shoot a 140 or 150 grain bullet. I showed him the thread about shortening the RUM on the forum and he said "Yeah. Like that."

I realize that the RSAUMs and the WSMs maybe awfully close to that performance. The standard magnums can do it but I think he wants something that is not "off the rack."

Just seeing what others have come up with. Thanks.

David

 

[jfseaman]

277/26 Nosler.

What brought this question up was I was talking to a friend a while back and he wanted to know if there was a 277 caliber cartridge, factory or wildcat, that could function through a 700 and out perform a 270 Weatherby. I said that I didn't know but would ask here and see what comes from it.

He asked about shortening a 300RUM case to the length of the 7mm Mauser case, maybe a little bit longer, and shoot a 140 or 150 grain bullet. I showed him the thread about shortening the RUM on the forum and he said "Yeah. Like that."

I realize that the RSAUMs and the WSMs maybe awfully close to that performance. The standard magnums can do it but I think he wants something that is not "off the rack."

Just seeing what others have come up with. Thanks.

David

 

[CJ6]

277/26 Nosler. Or the 7mm Dakota necked down (Lapua brass)

 

[bigngreen]

There are a number of ways to go, I've been taking elk out to the 1000 yard range for a number of years with the 270 WSM and 165 Matrix bullets running easily at 3060 fps which is a sweet spot for that bullet. The Dakota based 277 wildcat I'm aware of does not out run the WSM by as much as one would think, using the full RUM improved case puts it into another class but I think you'd have to get the heavier jacket 170 gr that Matrix makes for it to survive the launch.
I've toyed with using the 338 Norma mag case necked but I just haven't gotten back to it because at my elevation I'm quite happy with performance of the 270 WMS throated running the Matrix out to the 1100 yard mark on game which is a good range to change over to the heavier guns.

 

[Danny1788]

.277-7mm LRM? I thought about this one becuase you could make it very easy from gunwerks 7mm LRM brass and a neck bushing die with the right bushing in it. would be pretty close to a 277 STW.

 

[Syncrowave]

I am thinking about building a 277 caliber wildcat for long range big game hunting. Any suggestions or wildcats ...

I always thought it would be a good idea, too, until I considered that:

a) the 270 Win is tough to beat (sorry, but you can't reinvent the wheel any "rounder"), and
b) there aren't many long, high-BC bullets available in .277" at least compared to 6.5 and 7mm, and
c) even if there were, you can't find a rifling twist faster than 1:10 which you would need to stabilize loooong bullets.

In the end, I went with 6.5/284 which suits me fine. If shooting (at) game beyond 750 yds, I think a hot .30 cal is about the minimum, anyway.

 

[JeffG]

I have a 270 Redding (308 case improved with 30 degree shoulder) on the bench now, with a 9-twist Brux, built specifically for a short action using 150 g bullets. I also have a 270-308 not improved, slower but still very effective with 130g at sub 200yd ranges.

These formats may not suit your long range needs, but I agree the .277 caliber has a certain classic-mystic appeal..., in the real world there are plenty of hunting bullets to choose from, not too many high BC target bullets.

 

[13red56]

There is a member here that is named Kanuck(at least I think that is how he spells it). Anyway he has a whole family of wildcats based off the 300RUM. Everything from a 338 Edge to a 25RUM. I will shoot him a PM and let him know of this thread and see if he would give some of his info/experience here.

 

[bapayton]

I have what is essentially a long neck sharp shoulder 270-338 Win Mag reamer that I'm going to have re-ground to a"standard" 270-338 Win Mag. Have a fluted stainless barrel I'm going to thread and chamber up for a magnum Mauser receiver. I'm going to call it my antelope rifle.....but I'll probably never go antelope hunting. I mostly like it because it's different.

 

[MNFinn]

how about a 270 Allen Magnum?

 

[bapayton]

As requested....

Here's a picture of the print. It's been a while but I think it came out to approximately 73 grains of water in capacity. At one point I had a resize die and a finish reamer with a smaller neck. I sold those when I decided to have the final one re-ground to 270-338 Win Mag. Case forming was a bit of a pain and for what was gained it's hard to imagine it would be worth it. I have a Win Mag bushing die that'll work with the 270-338 and 30-338 that I have which simplifies things tremendously.

 

[dave7mm]

http://www.24hourcampfire.com/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php/topics/7129959/1


dave