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6K views 19 replies 13 participants last post by  Curt NCP 
#1 ·
I have always been a bench rest shooter. my current benchrest gun is a .219 wasp. it was a gift from an 80 year old friend of mine. now as well as that gun shoots, at 18 im ready to build my own rifle. im looking for the best benchrest cartridge out there. i know thats largly based on opinion but im looking for ideas. wildcats are prefered.
 
#2 ·
Welcome to ShootersForum WS219! :)

It sounds like you have an experienced person to learn from. I hope you are able to hear the things he's told you, as old guys tend to "know stuff".

The 219 is a cool old cartridge, no doubt about that. Along the same lines, the 222 Remington was a darling of the benchrest crowd for many years. Today, there are a couple families of cartridges that tend to be seen more frequently. The PPC line-up, including the 22 and 6mm versions, along with the wildcats based on the 284 Winchester.

How much recoil are you up for and what ranges do you expect to be shooting? How deep are yer pockets? ;)

The 6.5x284 (couple different versions) is a pretty hot number at competitions today. A simpler, less expensive route would be a 260 Remington. The 6XC, by David Tubb, is another round that is doing quite well. You could head on over to 6mmbr.com and find a bunch of information on the rounds folks are favoring, these days.

At 18 years of age, have you done much reloading for wildcats?
 
#3 · (Edited)
recoil is not an issue. im 6 foot 5 250lbs. guns are my life my pockets are fairly deep cause i just sold a few thousand dollars in gold and before moneys worth nothing i want to put it into something worth while. i have 15 AR 15s so im set there i have a 14 lever guns. enough 308s. i want to build somthing cool and a tack driver that i can make some money with and yes my old friend has 50% of his collection is wildcats. i have quite a bit exp. in that field and i might make my own. depends on how things go. working brass into a new type of case is what i love. i started handloading at 8 years old soon as i could reach the press and was always in the shop helping before that. tis in my blood. just like lead haha
 
#11 ·
I don't know many that would purchase a wildcat caliber from an unknown vs a well known gunsmith and most that get into wildcatting prefer to have their own rifles build etc.

I'm not trying to discourage you and you may have a market were you live vs trying to sell say on 24hr or 6br site.

I won't sell one of my wildcat calibers(rifles) and I have mine build just because of the liability.

Right now there good 6mm,6.5 and 7mm match LR calibers(light/heavy rifle) then you go down to the 600yd then down to the short yardage match rifles. You also have Score calibers vs group calibers. my short yardage group caliber is a tight neck 6ppc and if I was going to shoot score HBR match I build a 30BR. Good 600/1000yd group light rifle 6BR,6Dasher etc.
 
#5 ·
There's a 6mm/284 in my vault. Built on a P-17 action and deadly accurate with heavy bullets for caliber.
 
#6 ·
So, at 18 years of age, you're 6'5", 250lbs, sold thousands of dollars worth of gold, own 15 AR's, 14 lever-action rifles, at least two 308 rifles and you're looking to "make money" with a very accurate wildcat cartridge. Do I have all of that straight?
 
#9 ·
If you are looking for something different (don't run me out of town laughing at me here,please) I would recomend the 22.-204 in a Handy Rifle. Their are individuals shooting redicously small groups with this gun, in the low 2s quite often, and quite a few shooters on other bench rest boards are using the 22-204.

You would be the only one out their with that rig, and you would certainatly leave some jaws dropping.

Ron
 
#12 ·
Your dreams are your only limits...

I'd say take your time in what cartridge you ultimately design or select for your rifle. Nothing like shoveling money at the project, only to find down the road it doesn't measure up to your expectations. My magnum wildcat has the 17.5-degree shoulder of the .30-06 Springsteen. Thinking about it a year after the reamer, headspace gauges, forming and reloading dies were made, I wish I had chosen a shoulder angle more like 20 degrees to get a few grains more powder into the case. But it's done: The money is spent, the time consumed; the items to build the thing are in my hands. I cannot go back without a great expense in money and time. So take your time. Find a drawing program and fiddle with your ideas. Then fiddle some more. Set it aside for a while. Come back to it later with a fresh mentality. Fiddle some more. You can't fool around with it too much. Once your design is sent off to the custom diemakers and the design is in the production queue, it's too late to change your mind unless you bail completely. Then you go to the back of the line. So think about it. Think. Think. Think...
 
#13 ·
I'd say take your time in what cartridge you ultimately design or select for your rifle. Nothing like shoveling money at the project, only to find down the road it doesn't measure up to your expectations. My magnum wildcat has the 17.5-degree shoulder of the .30-06 Springsteen. Thinking about it a year after the reamer, headspace gauges, forming and reloading dies were made, I wish I had chosen a shoulder angle more like 20 degrees to get a few grains more powder into the case. But it's done: The money is spent, the time consumed; the items to build the thing are in my hands. I cannot go back without a great expense in money and time. So take your time. Find a drawing program and fiddle with your ideas. Then fiddle some more. Set it aside for a while. Come back to it later with a fresh mentality. Fiddle some more. You can't fool around with it too much. Once your design is sent off to the custom diemakers and the design is in the production queue, it's too late to change your mind unless you bail completely. Then you go to the back of the line. So think about it. Think. Think. Think...

Your wildcat has the same shoulder angle as the 30-'06 SpringSTEEN? When did The Boss get into wildcat rifles?! :eek: :p ;)
 
#14 ·
A simple wildcat that is showing great promise is the 6mm/6.5 Grendel. It's called the 6mm AR.

Go spend a week at 6mmBR.com to help you decide what cartridge you want.

What distance are you wanting to shoot at? That will make as big a difference as anything.

1000 yards (7mm .30 cal, or .338 cal... I'd go 7mm)
600 yards (6.5mm or 7mm, but lots of people shoot 6mm)
300-400 yards (6mm or 6.5mm)
100-200 yards (.22 or 6mm)
 
#16 · (Edited)
I don't know what you call it but I have always found it funny when one turns a colorful phrase only to be corrected by those with no sense of hummer.

To the OP, how in the world does one find a way to actually make money shooting BR or owning a wildcat? Last I heard there are very few if any people who shoot BR for a living, it only being a hobby and not a hobby that produces an income. More like a black hole that sucks up excess funds. And a wildcat has never and will never sell for what the builder has in it unless they do something with the rifle that makes it especially noteworthy.
 
#17 ·
I don't know what you call it but I have always found it funny when one turns a colorful phrase only to be corrected by those with no sense of hummer.
Ba-doom kishhh!!
 
#18 ·
Having shot NBRSA for a few years, if it were me, I'd build a rifle and chamber it for a 6PPC. That may sound boring from the wildcat standpoint but if you want a tack driver it is the way to go. You mention you are not sensitive to recoil but unless you have a really heavy rifle the heavy recoil moves the gun around on the rest and bags and impacts point of impact. Unless you're shooting really long range and I didn't see that in your post there is no need for the 1000 yds calibers.
 
#19 ·
The Best Benchrest Cartridge?

Probably something in 6mm or 6.5mm. The most accurate Benchrest gun i ever had was a 1903-A3 which was rebarreled to 244 Ackley Improved with a 1/14 twist. It consistently outshot a 6mm PPC and I made the longest shot on a crow with it at 735 yards one time. Reloader 19 was the only powder it would let me use though.
 
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