Newish bullet

[Digital Dan]

Just received the mould and a sample bullet. .308 x 180 grains, more or less as they say. Haven't had a chance for close inspection yet.

[texassako]

Looks good. New mold, old mold, maker? We need details.

[Digital Dan]

More tomorrow, been a long day. New mould by Steve Brooks.

[Digital Dan]

This one is task specific, for a suppressed .30 wildcat. Bullet will cast .309 and be tumble lubed, fired from a modified .357 Mag case with a target velocity of ~1050 fps. 30/1 alloy. T/C Contender Carbine. The reamer is under development at present, dies and barrel to follow. General specs on the bullet are in the sketch below.



Case sketch:

[Cherokee]

Interesting...purpose ?

[bhn22]

30 Paxton?

[truckjohn]

Looks like a slightly souped up 30 badger

[44man]

That should fun as all get out.

[Digital Dan]

Interesting...purpose ?

Hogs mostly. There's a story behind that I won't bore you with at present, suffice to say the motivation to upgrade has arrived.

The primary difference between this cartridge and the .30 Paxton/.30 Reece etc. is fairly straightforward. This thing I'm building is for cast bullets, period. In particular, the bullet pictured above. This is one reason for the long neck, the plain base and minimal volume in the grease grooves. Once completed it will shoot the same lot of brass and bullet at subsonic velocities with a suppressor until I kick the bucket. What My heirs and assigns do with it is not my concern. I have other rifles for other purposes.

Several months were dedicated to the design of the bullet, case and otherwise coordinating with the folks that will do the work. At present, that includes Steve Brooks (mould), Pacific Tool & Gauge (reamer), Redding (dies), and Bullberry Barrels (whiskey?).

Did a little evaluation on the bullet last night. Of the samples on hand, cast of 30/1 alloy, weight is 183.5 +/- .2 grains. Length is 1.040, nose casts at .300" and shank casts at .310". Close enough for a cigar I think. Icing on the cake is the bullet is sufficiently close to perfectly round that I cannot discern any dimensional variation when measured on 3 diameters of reference, this for both the nose and shank.

Anyway, that's my 2 cents to date. The reamer is next, dies and barrel to follow.

D

[shooter93]

I thought of doing the same thing to my contender rifle in 300 Whisper. You may want to talk to CH4D....they have a number of dies on stock for various 30-357 wildcats and of course will make anything you want.

[Digital Dan]

Appreciate the thought, but the course is set. Dunno what to call it. "Sneezer", "Geezer", "Wheezer" or what. ".30 BS* maybe?"

An aspect of this that some seem to have a problem conceptualizing is the intent behind the somewhat unique case design. The aforementioned .38/.357 variants all share a common trait, namely that they can launch supersonic. I neither need or want that capability. In an effort to facilitate accuracy I am attempting to increase load density to a predictable 80% plus depending on chosen powder. What is before you in the sketch does just that and the results forecast by several workups on Quick Load support that objective.






*some of my friends (?) think I'm a barbarian...

[ballistim]

"30 Badger, Long Neck" is a cartridge designed by the creator of the "30 Badger" and member here BadgerEdd and was created by Edd rechambering my 32/20 10" T/C Contender barrel to 30 Badger thereby enabling a choice between use of 38 Special or 357 Magnum cases and use of longer/heavier bullets and has proven successful and versatile in my experience with it.




I've included a few pictures here to show it next to a 32/20 round, and loaded with a lighter/short bullet in the 357 case and a longer/heavier bullet in the 38 Special case, and the most accurate load so far is using the MP 312-159 cast as HP weighing 150 gr., and fits just off the lands yet filling the long neck completely.

Photo of Edd rechambering it has been included as well, and at this time he has additional guns chambered for it in the works.




* (last photo courtesy of a previous member/moderator here with a self-requested lifetime ban..)

[NoAngel]

Yep! .30 Badger rocks! Currently in the process of getting a 12g barrel stubbed for my Handi Rifle.

What a great cartridge, the 32/20 is excellent too, but brass is a pain to get. 38/357? Not so much. If you ask for 38 brass more than two or three times at my range, someone will likely throw some at you...literally. LOL!

Can't wait to get started making brass. Got my die on the way...a simple 7,62 Tokarev die is all it takes to make these little beauties.

[NoAngel]

...not certain but didn't P.O. Ackley do this years ago?

[ballistim]

wildcat cartridges are like rock 'n roll songs and band names; pretty hard not to be doing something that has been done before or at least very close to it, just pointing out this has been done recently. I also have a 30 Badger in a T/C carbine barrel stub by Edd and it's the funnest gun I own, accurate & cheap to shoot, too!

[Hamish]

Attachment 139357

Like that? (It really is a barrel of fun to shoot,,,,,,,)

Fourth from left is .357M case run into 30 Mauser die. Fifth case is .357M run into 300BO die. As near as I can measure, the fourth from left matches the OP cartridge. I most certainly do like the longer neck!

[Digital Dan]

It do look close for a fact! Appreciate the dialog on this.

[Hamish]

Dan, I would bet a dollar and a doughnut that bullet of yours is going to be very easy to get to shoot well. Looking forward to hearing about it!