WILDCAT TWENTY TWO - TWO FORTY THREE

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Looking for any hand loading data for this Wildcat cartridge. My chamber is the 243 necked down to 22 caliber. No changes in shoulder angle etc. What would you use this cartridge for?

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I forgot to mention I did a chamber cast to be sure of what I have here. I just acquired a used die set for this chamber. This is simply the 243 Winchester necked down to 22 caliber with NO change in the shoulder angle. This is not as popular as the Middlestead, but is the earliest type. I annealed some used .243 brass I have, lubed them up and it was a simple pass into the sizer die. I now have 32 rounds of .22-243 Winchester. That cartridge case sells for $2.45 each at Midway....NOW I repeat my request for some hand load data. I found some on Steve's pages and yet another spot, but looking for someone with actual use of this Wildcat...

62fuelie

Make sure you check your case-neck wall thickness after the neckdown. Some may thicken beyond the allowance built into the chamber reamer so the necks will need some thinning to function properly.


I measure the wall thickness with digital calipers when I neck .375 H&H down for my .340 Whby and set my neck outside reamer accordingly. The calculation I use is to start with the dimensional specs of the cartridge you are building and subtract the diameter of the bullet, .224 in your case, from the outside measurement of the case after sizing then the voodoo starts - I allow .003/4 for bullet grip and ream off the rest. With a 6mm case the outside measurement of the case at the mouth is .276 and the outside measurement of the neck at the mouth of the 22-250 is .254 (just a close example to yours). With a grip allowance of .004 the outside measurement before inserting the bullet should be .250. I load a dummy case - no powder no primer and try it in the chamber if it closes without resistance I'm good to go. If there is difficulty closing the bolt then I take off a few thousandths and try again until I get a smooth factory-feeling closing.
I hope that made sense, good luck

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I put my chamber cast in with the die set. Do I measure the outer diameter of the chamber cast at neck and then the outer diameter of the new .22-243 cartridge now formed? I did note that the neck of the cast is long enough that I'll not need to worry about trimming brass for awhile. It's a bit longer that the max. allowed case length. It appears the case wall at mouth is same thickness as the .243 was before re-sizing into the new Wildcat. I did anneal these before forming. Do I need to measure the wall thickness before & after forming? Will regular calipers be fine for this task?

nononsense

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I'm on the run for the next week or so, so this is brief.

Redfield and Leupold both make 'turn-in' bases for the Turkish Mauser with the 3-hole bolt pattern. I posted one link below so you can call Redfield if you need confirmation.

http://www272.pair.com/stevewag/turk/turkscope.html

http://www.redfield-mounts.com/products/mounts/M.aspx

There are also Picatinney rails available in the same configuration, just look around a bit and make a phone call if you need to.

Best.

ADDED:

The way to determine the neck diameter is to select a bullet and seat it in a case. Take your calipers and measure the O.D. of the neck with the seated bullet.

Now you add the clearance dimension to this measurement. I use about 4 thousandths (0.004") or 0.002" per side to allow for neck expansion and bullet release. Some folks use more for hunting rifles as a 'just in case'. Check this against your chamber cast. Then try seating a dummy cartridge to see what the freebore and throat dimensions are.

Load information will require the twist rate of the barrel and the OAL of the cartridge after you check it in the chamber with a dummy cartridge. The twist established the length of the bullet which will be stabilized by the twist. The OAL establishes the case capacity with a bullet seated.

Headspace and seating depth are checked with a stripped bolt, no ejector, extractor or springs to compromise the feel and results.

Let me know and I'll see if I can find my data in the files I have with me. I'm out-of-state right now helping with my mother so have patience if I don't respond immediately.

Best.

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I took a 55 gr. FMJ bullet .224" x 0.7460" and chambered it in the Turk closing the bolt slowly. The cartridge case length was 2.0420" and the OAL with bullet was 2.6935" Next I took a 75 grain bullet .224" x 0.9680" and the OAL was 2.8590". Closing the bolt slowly seated each weight bullet just past the boat tail and that's all.
The case neck diameter with seated bullet measures 0.2565" AND the Cast of the chamber neck area measures 0.2615" the difference being 0.005"
The Rifle barrel is stepped like a Mauser with the steps being 8-1/8" & 15-1/2" from the Muzzle. Rifle rate of twist is 1:12. Barrel length is 27-1/2 inch from crown to bolt face. Rifle is set in a Boyd Stock. Rcvr. marked TC AS FA with crescent & star in middle of AS FA & ANK ARA 1939
What handloads would you suggest? Weight bullet/powder?

Riomouse911

All I can suggest is use no heavier than 55 grain cup-and-core type bullets with a 1-12" twist barrel. The heavier (or longer) bullets won't stabilize with that slow a twist rate, and those bullets will be tumbling downrange if you try.

If the case capacity is the same as the .22-250, or if your .22-243 case is even larger, starting with that data could be a decent place to begin.

Take it slow and carefully!

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I just googled case capacities. .22-250 Remington is 44.6 grains, .243 Winchester is 52.8 grains. I'd guess that is why this Wildcat was developed to give + zip + vs. the .22-250.
Would I start out loads 10% below max on the .22-250, or start right at the max. for the .22-250. I'd be looking for the tightest group, not the fastest projectile...