.300 Wade

[TUG]

I recently bought a 1903 in what was listed as 300 magnum.when I opened it it had a set of rcbs dies listed as 300 Wade. I can find little or nothing about this caliber. The dies look older than me! (48) anybody have any info?

[scb]

From P.O. Ackleys "Handbook for Shooters and Reloaders" Vol1.

"The 300 Wade Magnum was developed by Fred Wade of Wade's Gun Room of Phoenix, AZ. and could be described as a "short" 30 magnum. It is practically the same as the #2 short .30 Ackley Magnum, both of these cartridges being just long enough to clean up old 30/06 chambers. Cartridges of this type have been supplanted by the .308 Norma which is only slightly longer and being commercially available it is more appealing to most shooters. However these two shorter cartridges are a little bit more efficient than the .308 Norma and for shooters who load their own ammunition, these short magnums are very desirable cartridges."

There is some loading data too but it's old and Mr. Ackley loads were reputed to be rather "warm" for most folks.

[missionary5155]

Greetings
Sounds like it would be about like an "Improved 30-06".
You could make a wax cast of the resizing die and compare that to a 30-06 case.

[leadman]

Ackely's book show it as a belted magnum so it is a larger in diameter case than an '06.
It would be wise to do a chamber cast though.

[TUG]

Where would I start looking for brass and loading data? The thought when I bought it was that the action would be a good start for another 30-06.

[Johnch]

Where would I start looking for brass and loading data? The thought when I bought it was that the action would be a good start for another 30-06.

I remember reading a about the 300 Wade some time in the past ,Where I have no clue

From memory , I thought I remember they used 7mm Rem Mag brass
Blown out and maybe shortened

My memory May be wrong
But ........

John

[NoDakJak]

You may as well forget using it for a cartridge based on the 3006 case as the bolt face will have been opened for the magnum cases and the rails have more than likely have been widened to enhance cartridge feed. The Wade is a good cartridge but is a PITA to make. A experimeter/piddler as myself might find it enjoyable for the snob appeal of owning a genuine wildcat. If you don't want to be bothered then simply having it rechambered to 300 Win Mag . This should clean up your chamber and solve your problems. Neil

[scb]

............... If you don't want to be bothered then simply having it rechambered to 300 Win Mag . This should clean up your chamber and solve your problems. Neil

I'd make a chamber cast first. A lot of these old wildcats were made with minimum body taper. The 300 Win. Mag. may have too much body taper to clean up the Wade chamber. I don't know that that is the case but I sure would check first. Otherwise you may end up with a case with two shoulders.

For load data I'd start with Load from a Disk. http://www.loadammo.com/.

One other thing sort of as a point of reference. When Ackley writes about a "short" magnum he's comparing it to the standard of the day which was the 300 H&H. Reading these old books I guess you have to look at things in a historical perspective. Yesterdays short magnums are not today's short magnums.

[waksupi]

Bolt face is not a big consideration. Any good gunsmith can weld it up, and re-cut it.

[TUG]

thanks for the help! if the rifle is already chambered in 300 wade then the bolt face should have been worked already.that being said am i gonna have to find another bolt if i want to go 30-06? What is the proper way to cast a chamber? like i said i bought it for the action(smith-corona),but now i'm just really interested in what is it?one thing for sure the stock has got to go! enough wood on that thing for 2 or 3 stocks!

[scb]

What is the proper way to cast a chamber?

The way I do it is:
From the muzzle plug the bore with a cleaning patch.

Push the patch towards the chamber.

I stop the patch about an inch from the front of the chamber. This way I can mic the grooves and measure the throat.

I have my bench vice set up so I can clamp the barreled action with the muzzle pointed straight at the floor.

I leave the cleaning rod in the barrel, against the plug, with either the other end on the floor or blocked up from the floor to support the plug.

I then take molten Cero-Safe and fill the chamber.

Wait for it to cool and push out.

I would recommend against using anything other than Cero-Safe. Cero-Safe melts at a little over 200 degrees and if for some reason you can't get the plug out (badly pitted, jugged or ringed chamber or bore) you can melt it out with a heat gun and not run the risk of damaging the metal from over heating.

[TUG]

did a cast of the chamber and got this;it is a belted round,length is 2.336+.103 for the belt,the neck is .430 long,belt diais .539,in front of the belt .518,the neck is .343 dia.just behind the shoulder it is .495.
Ron

[scrapcan]

You have all the tools to start learning about case forming and shooting a wildcat cartridge. If it were me I would leave it the way it is and get down to learning new skills. forming brass is not difficult and there is lots of help right here to get you going.

just ask if you have questions. I will look in cartridge conversions to see if there are instructions for this cartridge. You may find that you really like the cartridge and the gun as is.

if I remember right loads form a disk has it in the list, maybe someone with the program can help you out.

[Hang Fire]

Lucky Wade of Phoenix, AZ came up with that cartridge. He did several different wildcats, to include helping to develop the .44 Van Houten Super, based on .30-40 case expanded to .44 caliber. Which Marlin without a so much as a by your leave, copied and called it the .444 Marlin.

Lucky converted a couple of my rifles in the 1960's, he was a great gunsmith.

[DCM]

The handloaders manual of cartridge conversions says that the parent case for the 300 wade is the 300 Win. mag.

[TUG]

Found load from a disk yesterday and yes it has loads for the .300 Wade. If the parent brass is .300 Winchester Magnum,I have a lot on hand to play with. Did a trial download of the load from a disk and am going to buy the program.
Thanks for all the info
Ron

[scrapcan]

Tug,

Keep us informed as to your exploits. I would would like to hear how it goes for you.