[JS_280]

I got bored the other day and was playing around with some different cases and dies. I ran a .357 mag. case into a 30 mauser form die that gave it a 15 degree shoulder and necked down to .308 cal. Has this been done before? I konw that it has been necked down to .17 for the .17/357, .22 for the Jet and .257 for the .256 win. mag. so I'm sure the .308 route has been done before. Kind of a lengthened, rimmed .30 mauser. Just wondering what kind of ballistics this round would have with a 150 or 168 grn. BTHP. I'm sure it would be subsonic, possibly like one of the Whisper cartridges. Anyway, thanks for putting up with my ignorance.

 

[MikeG]

It sounds real close to the .300 Whisper.

The .300 W is based on a .221 Fireball case, which has a head size (.378"?) very close to the .357 mag (not identical but close).

So the difference might be length. Don't have specs for the Whisper in front of me. Oh and a rim, which would be handy for single-shot pistols and fine for lever guns.

I suspect that the cases are close enough that a .300 Whisper die could be used to resize your creation, if the length works out.

Would be a neat round in a Marlin 1894 et al., and possibly Contenders. You may be on to something.

 

[Jack Monteith]

Hi, Gents:
There's nothing like it in the RCBS special order catalogue (1997). There's 685 oldies and wildcats listed in it. I looked for a .30 calibre wildcat that uses a #6 shellholder and the closest are the .270 Max (???) and the .32-30 Remington of 1884. Neck down a .357 Maximum for a .32-30.

The .221 Fireball case length is 1.400", a bit more than the .357 Magnum at 1.290".

Bye
Jack

 

[alyeska338]

JS,
I don't want to disuade you, but I found 2 30 cal wildcats based on the 357 Mag. I found them via Wildcat Cartridges Vol II, referencing Ackley's Handbook for Shooters and Reloader's Vol II. "These are the .30-.357 Paxton and the .30-.357 Haskins." There apparently wasn't too much data available but one load was quoted, "A load for a 110-grain bullet using seventeen grains of 4227(IMR?) powder claims 1,950 feet per second velocity (type of firearm not specified)." It does not say to which of these 2 this load was attributed, nor what barrel length or firearm type, though I'm assuming a handgun. I don't have any other details.

At any rate, neither seem to have been successful, so I guess it's your turn!!!

Good luck and let us know how it turns out.

 

[JS_280]

Thanks for the replies. I definitely need to get Ackley's books. They sound like a good read, especially the wildcat sections. I figured the .30/357 route had been done before, it was just getting around to someone finding it. Like I said though, I'm fairly new to reloading but I've learned a lot lately. I'm looking forward to building a .375 JRS Mag. in the near future. It will be my first semi-wildcat. Should be a learning experience. Anyway, thanks for all the help!

 

[alyeska338]

JS,
I'm pretty much in the same boat with you. I'm still waiting on my 411 Hawk. I've experimented with a few wildcats of my friends and have been intrigued by the uniqueness of it all. I have had a 500 Linebaugh, but don't think it's considered a wildcat anymore. I've been thinking hard about building some obsolete cartridge rifles, the 275 H&H and a 50-110, am always interested in good performing "different" cartridges. I personally think the 30/357 is pretty interesting, though I know the 30 Herrett sure had problems. The article that I noticed the 30/357 reference was about the 30 Streaker. While the author of the article seem to think it was a great idea, I guess it never really caught on, but there's nothing wrong with that either. Many great cartridges never really caught on.

There's a couple of very good books, Wildcat Cartridges, Vol I&II, that have a ton of good info, as does Ackley's books.

Good luck and let us know how everything goes.