.30-06 Springfield wildcat cartridges

Last updated
Parent Cartridge .30-06 Springfield
.30-06 offspring.jpg
From left: .25-06, .270 Win, .280 Rem, .30-06, .35 Whelen
TypeRifle
Service history
In service1906
Used byUSA and others
Wars World War I, World War II, Korean War, Vietnam War
Production history
Designer Springfield Armory
Designed1906
Produced1906-present
Specifications
Parent case .30-03
Case typeRimless, bottleneck
Bullet diameter7.62 mm (0.300 in)
Neck diameter8.63 mm (0.340 in)
Shoulder diameter11.20 mm (0.441 in)
Base diameter11.96 mm (0.471 in)
Rim diameter12.01 mm (0.473 in)
Rim thickness1.24 mm (0.049 in)
Case length63.35 mm (2.494 in)
Overall length84.84 mm (3.340 in)
Case capacity4.43 cm3 (68.4  gr H2O)
Rifling twist254 mm (1 in 10 in)
Primer typeLarge rifle
Maximum pressure414 MPa (60,000 psi)
Ballistic performance
Bullet mass/typeVelocityEnergy
150 gr (10 g) Nosler Ballistic Tip2,910 ft/s (890 m/s)2,820 ft⋅lbf (3,820 J)
165 gr (11 g) BTSP2,800 ft/s (850 m/s)2,872 ft⋅lbf (3,894 J)
180 gr (12 g) Core-Lokt Soft Point2,700 ft/s (820 m/s)2,913 ft⋅lbf (3,949 J)
200 gr (13 g) Partition2,569 ft/s (783 m/s)2,932 ft⋅lbf (3,975 J)
220 gr (14 g) RN2,500 ft/s (760 m/s)2,981 ft⋅lbf (4,042 J)
Test barrel length: 24 inch
Source(s): Federal Cartridge [1] / Accurate Powder [2]

.30-06 Springfield wildcat cartridges are cartridges developed from a 30-06 Springfield "parent cartridge" through narrowing or widening the cartridge neck to fit a smaller or larger bullet in an attempt to improve performance in specific areas. [3] Such wildcat cartridges are not standardized with recognized small arms standardization bodies like the SAAMI and the CIP. [4] [5] [3]

Contents

Parent cartridge

The 30-06 Springfield cartridge (pronounced “thirty-ought-six”, "thirty-oh-six") or 7.62×63mm in metric notation, was introduced to the United States Army in 1906 (hence “06”) where it was in use until the late 1970s. It remains a very popular sporting round, with ammunition produced by all major manufacturers.

It has a 68.2 grains (4.43 ml ) H2O cartridge case capacity. The exterior shape of the case was designed to promote reliable case feeding and extraction under extreme conditions for both bolt-action rifles and machine guns.

.30-06 Springfield.svg

30-06 Springfield maximum C.I.P. cartridge dimensions. All sizes in millimeters (mm).

Wildcats

There have been a large number of .30-06 Springfield-based wildcat cartridges produced, including:

22-06 (also 223–06) - necked down to accept a .224 caliber bullet - The 22-06 uses the same caliber bullet as the 223 Remington. This round is frequently used for varmint hunting, offering the shooter a long range, high-velocity, and therefore flat shooting, chambering suitable for that sport. The similar 226 Express, in addition to reducing neck diameter, reduces shoulder diameter to impose a long, slender body taper on the 30-06 case. [6] Extensive experimentation during the mid-20th century indicated no practical benefit from the incremental volume increase of the 63 mm-long 30-06 case over the 57 mm-long 7mm Mauser case for .22 caliber bullets. [7]

6mm-06 (also 243–06) - necked down to accept a .243 bullet - Once considered significantly overbore, proponents of the 6mm-06 chambering argue the cartridge is more practical following the development and availability of slower burning powders capable of exploiting the larger case capacity. [8] [9] The cartridge has greater capacity than either the 243 Winchester or the 6mm Remington, slightly more capacity than the 240 Weatherby Magnum, and slightly less capacity than 6mm-284 wildcat cartridge. [9] The 6mm-06 can drive a 105 grain .243 caliber projectile in excess of 3200 feet per second (fps), giving the 6mm-06 a ballistic advantage over the non-magnum .243 offerings from Winchester and Remington, particularly at longer ranges. [8] [9] Due to the wide availability of inexpensive parent cases, the 6mm-06 is also less expensive than comparable long-range performers like the 240 Weatherby Magnum and the 6mm-284. [8] [9]

243 Catbird - 270 Winchester necked down to a .243 bullet with the shoulder blown out (angle increased) to 35 degrees - The 270 Winchester is a standardized cartridge of the same design as the 30-06 except the case is 1.2mm longer and necked down to the .270 caliber. Therefore, the 243 Catbird is a 6mm-06 with a 35 degree shoulder and a 1.2mm longer case. [10] The .243 Catbird was developed by Kenny Jarrett of Jarrett Rifles to achieve 4000 fps with a 68-70 grain bullet. [10] [11] Actual performance tests showed the cartridge achieved 4100 fps with a 70 grain bullet, 3800 fps with an 85 grain bullet, and 3500 fps with a 95 grain projectile. [10] Jarrett describes the chambering as a "barrel burner" with a barrel maintaining accuracy for about 1500 rounds. [10]

25-06 - necked down to accept a .25 bullet - The 25-06 was a wildcat cartridge for nearly 50 years before Remington Arms "tamed" it in 1969 through standardization and marketed the cartridge commercially as the 25-06 Remington.

6.5-06 (or 6.5mm/06) - necked down to accept a 6.5 mm bullet - The 6.5-06 offers ballistic performance between the commercialized 25-06 Remington and 270 Winchester with distinct advantages over both in particular long-range applications through a wide selection of bullets with high ballistic coefficients producing better extended range performance. [12] [13] [14] This chambering was standardized as the 6.5-06 A-Square with SAAMI in 1997 by the A-Square Company, a manufacturer of arms and ammunition based in the United States. Over 80 years earlier, a nearly identical cartridge was commercially marketed as the 256 Newton. [13] The 256 Newton suffered from a lack of slower burning powders capable of taking advantage of the large case capacity. [13] Munitions manufacturers ceased making the 256 Newton in 1938, 20 years after the firearms company built by Charles Newton, who created the cartridge, went bankrupt. [13] There are small dimensional differences between the .256 Newton and 6.5-06 later standardized by A-Square: the 256 Newton has an increased body taper, the shoulder is moved back, and has a sharper, 23 degree shoulder while the 6.5-06 has a 17.5 degree shoulder like the parent 30-06 case. SAAMI lists the 6.5-06 A-Square in the Centerfile Rifle Cartridge and Chamber Drawing table dated June 3, 2012, and the 6.5-06 drawing was still available from SAAMI as of March 2018. [15] The 2015 comprehensive American National Standards Institute (ANSI)/SAAMI standard ANSI/SAAMI Z299.4 for centerfire rifle ammunition no longer includes the 6.5-06 A-Square cartridge. A-Square went bankrupt in 2012 and no major manufacturer makes loaded ammunition or brass cases for the 6.5-06 in March 2018.

7mm-06 - necked down to accept a 7mm bullet - Originated during experimentation with 7mm bullets in inexpensive, surplus 30-06 brass cases. [16] The commercial .280 Remington (or 7mm Express Remington) is very similar, but uses the slightly longer 65 mm 30-03 case with the shoulder headspace extended slightly more than one millimeter (.05 inch) to prevent chambering in 270 Winchester rifles. [17] Early Remington in-house developmental rounds were headstamped R-P 7MM-06 REM but, to avoid confusion with similarly named wildcats, the headstamp was changed to 280 REM.[ citation needed ]

8mm-06 - necked up to accept an 8mm bullet - The 8mm-06 allows owners of military surplus 7.92×57mm Mauser rifles to fire 8mm bullets using inexpensive, surplus 30-06 brass cases without rebarreling their rifle, only a rechambering is necessary. [16]

.338-06 - necked up to accept a .338 bullet - The 338-06 gives shooters the option of using heavier bullets for bigger game while suffering less recoil than other .338 caliber cartridges. The 338-06 chambering was a popular wildcat dating back to the late 1950s. [18] [19] The cartridge was standardized as the 338-06 A-Square with SAAMI in 1998 by the A-Square Company. [18] [19] Weatherby briefly offered some models of rifles chambered in 338-06 A-Square. [18] [19] The 338-06 is a practical, flexible, and potent medium bore cartridge offering substantially similar performance to the prototype 338 Winchester Short Magnum later released as the 325 Winchester Short Magnum while producing less stress on the bullet and shooter than a magnum cartridge. SAAMI lists the 338-06 A-Square in the Centerfire Rifle Cartridge and Chamber Drawing table dated June 3, 2012, and the 338-06 drawing was still available from SAAMI as of March 2018. [20] The 2015 comprehensive ANSI/SAAMI standard ANSI/SAAMI Z299.4 for centerfire rifle ammunition no longer includes the 338-06 A-Square cartridge. Nosler was still producing 338-06 A-Square ammunition under their "Custom Nosler" label in March 2018. [21]

35-06 - necked up to accept a .35 bullet - Now standardized and marketed as the 35 Whelen, this cartridge was intended to create a cartridge suitable for bigger and potentially dangerous game, specifically African game, on standard length actions with relatively inexpensive components (i.e. 30-06 brass cases). [22]

375-06 - necked up to accept a .375 bullet - Also known as the 375 Whelen, this wildcat was another effort to use standard actions and inexpensive, surplus cases with heavier bullets.[ citation needed ] The 375 Whelen Improved sharpens the 30-06 shoulder for more reliable headspace.[ citation needed ]

400-06 - necked up to accept a 405 Winchester bullet. Better known as the 400 Whelen. Griffin & Howe chambered rifles for this cartridge, but headspace difficulties were reported with the small shoulder. [23]

Ackley Improved - P.O. Ackley was a notable gunsmith famous for developing wildcat cartridges from parent cartridges like the 30-06 Springfield. For many of the wildcats listed above, and several of standardized commercial chamberings based on the 30-06 cartridge, there are "Ackley Improved" versions with sharper shoulders increasing case capacity. [24] These versions are noted by the letters "AI" after the cartridge name (e.g. 6.5-06 AI, 30-06 AI, etc.). [24] Nosler registered the .280 Ackley Improved with SAAMI and produces loaded ammunition.

Gibbs Cartridges - R.E. "Rocky" Gibbs was a firearms experimenter and gunsmith based in Viola, Idaho in the 1950s. [3] He developed a series of improved cartridges for chamberings derived from the 30-06 Springfield, including the 25 Gibbs, 6.5mm Gibbs, 270 Gibbs, 7mm Gibbs, 30 Gibbs, and 8mm Gibbs by blowing out the case, pushing the shoulder forward, and increasing the angle of the shoulder. [3]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">.308 Winchester</span> Rimless, centerfire, bottlenecked rifle cartridge

The .308 Winchester is a smokeless powder rimless bottlenecked rifle cartridge widely used for hunting, target shooting, police, military, and personal protection applications globally. It is similar, but not identical, to the 7.62×51mm NATO cartridge.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wildcat cartridge</span> Custom cartridge for firearms

A wildcat cartridge, often shortened to wildcat, is a custom cartridge for which ammunition and/or firearms are not mass-produced. These cartridges are often created in order to optimize a certain performance characteristic of an existing commercial cartridge, or may merely be intended as novelty items.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">.243 Winchester</span> Rifle cartridge

The .243 Winchester (6×52mm) is a popular sporting rifle cartridge. Developed as a versatile short action cartridge to hunt both medium game and small game alike, it "took whitetail hunting by storm" when introduced in 1955, and remains one of the most popular whitetail deer cartridges. It is also commonly used for harvesting blacktail deer, pronghorns and mule deer with heavier rounds, and is equally suited to varmint hunting with lighter rounds. The .243 is based on a necked down .308 Winchester, introduced only three years earlier. Expanding monolithic copper bullets of approximately 80 to 85 grains or traditional lead rounds of 90 to 105 grains with controlled expansion designs are best suited for hunting medium game, while lighter rounds are intended for varmints.

The .338 Whisper is a wildcat cartridge in the Whisper family, a group of cartridges developed in the early 1990s by J.D. Jones of SSK Industries. Unlike the smaller caliber cartridges in the Whisper family, loads for the .338 Whisper are mainly limited to subsonic velocities.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">7mm-08 Remington</span> Necked down .308Win

The 7mm-08 Remington is a rifle cartridge that is almost a direct copy of a wildcat cartridge developed around 1958 known as the 7mm/308. As these names would suggest, it is the .308 Winchester case necked down to accept 7 mm (.284) bullets with a small increase in case length. Of cartridges based upon the .308, it is the second most popular behind only the .243 Winchester. However, the .308 is more popular than both. In 1980, the Remington Arms company popularized the cartridge by applying its own name and offering it as a chambering for their Model 788 and Model 700 rifles, along with a limited-run series within their Model 7600 pump-action rifles during the early 2000s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">.257 Weatherby Magnum</span> Rifle cartridge

The .257 Weatherby Magnum is a .257 caliber (6.53 mm) belted bottlenecked cartridge. It is one of the original standard length magnums developed by shortening the .375 H&H Magnum case to approx. 2.5 in (64 mm). Of the cartridges developed by Roy Weatherby, the .257 Weatherby Magnum was known to have been his favorite, and the cartridge currently ranks third in Weatherby cartridge sales, after the .30-378 Weatherby Magnum and the .300 Weatherby Magnum.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">.280 Remington</span> US rifle cartridge

The .280 Remington, also known as the 7mm-06 Remington and 7mm Express Remington, was introduced in 1957 for the Remington model 740, 760, 721, and 725 rifles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">6mm Remington</span> Rifle cartridge

The 6mm Remington rifle cartridge, originally introduced in 1955 by Remington Arms Company as the .244 Remington, is based on a necked down .257 Roberts cartridge using a .24/6mm bullet. Known for a combination of high velocity, long range, flat trajectory, and accuracy, it is suitable as a dual use hunting cartridge for both medium-sized big game and varmints. When used in the less common earlier slow twist barrels, it offers exceptional range for varmint applications. While not as commercially popular today as the .243 Winchester, the 6mm Remington enjoys a slight ballistic advantage and continues to be popular with handloaders and custom rifle builders.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">8mm Remington Magnum</span> Rifle cartridge

The 8mm Remington Magnum belted rifle cartridge was introduced by Remington Arms Company in 1978 as a new chambering for the model 700 BDL rifle. The 8mm Remington Magnum's parent case is the .375 H&H Magnum. It is a very long and powerful cartridge that cannot be used in standard length actions, such as those that accommodate the .30-06 Springfield.

The .300 Remington Ultra Magnum, also known as the .300 Ultra Mag, 7.62×72mm or .300 RUM, is a 7.62 mm rifle cartridge introduced by Remington Arms in 1999. The .300 Remington Ultra Magnum is one of the largest commercially available .30 caliber magnums currently being produced. It is a beltless, rebated rim cartridge, capable of handling all large North American game, as well as long-range shooting. Among commercially produced .30-caliber rifle chamberings, the .300 Remington Ultra Magnum is second only to the .30-378 Weatherby Magnum in cartridge-case capacity.

The .264 Winchester Magnum is a belted, bottlenecked rifle cartridge. Except for the .244 H&H Magnum and .257 Weatherby Magnum, it is the smallest caliber factory cartridge derived from the 2.85 in (72 mm) Holland & Holland belted magnum case. It was introduced in the late 1950s and early 1960s with the .338 Winchester Magnum and the .458 Winchester Magnum as one of a family of short-cased 2.5 in (64 mm) belted magnum cartridges developed by Winchester based on the .375 Holland & Holland parent case. It was officially introduced to the public by Winchester in 1959. After many years of dwindling use it began enjoying a mild resurgence in popularity in the mid-2000s among long range rifle enthusiasts and reloaders due to the high ballistic coefficient of the heavier 6.5mm bullets and increasing popularity of cartridges such as 6.5mm Creedmoor, .260 Remington, 6.5 Grendel, benchrest and wildcat cartridges in 6.5mm.

The .260 Remington cartridge was introduced by Remington in 1997. Many wildcat cartridges based on the .308 Winchester case had existed for years before Remington standardized this round.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">.338-06</span>

The .338-06 is a cartridge based on the .30-06. It allows heavier .338 caliber bullets to be used from the .30-06 non-belted case. This can be a suitable choice for heavy bodied game such as moose, elk, and brown bear. The number and variety of .338 caliber bullets increased after the introduction in the late 1950s of the .338 Winchester Magnum cartridge, frequently chambered in the Winchester Model 70 rifle. More recently the introduction of the .338 Lapua Magnum has caused an increase in interest in the .338 caliber and their projectiles. The .338-06 maintains many of the benefits of the .338 Winchester Magnum cartridge but has substantially less recoil, makes more efficient use of powder, and allows use of widely available .30-06 commercial and military cases. It is similar in concept to the .333 OKH as well as the .35 Whelen, which also use the .30-06 brass case as a basis for the cartridge. Thanks to the large number of rifles based on the .30-06 family of cartridges, having a .338-06 made usually only requires a simple barrel change by a competent gun smith. A-Square adopted the caliber as the .338-06 A-Square in approximately 1998, and was approved by SAAMI as a standardized caliber. Weatherby offered factory rifles and ammunition, but has now dropped the rifles from its inventory. The .338-06 A-Square tends to have a velocity advantage over the .35 Whelen and uses bullets that retain velocity and resist wind drift better than similar weight bullets fired from the .35 Whelen.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">.257 Roberts</span> Rifle cartridge

The .257 Roberts, also known as .257 Bob, is a medium-powered .25 caliber rifle cartridge. It has been described as the best compromise between the low recoil and flat trajectory of smaller calibers such as the 5 mm and 6 mm, and has more energy, but is harder recoiling, similar to larger hunting calibers, such as the 7 mm and 7.62 mm.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">.284 Winchester</span> US rifle cartridge

The .284 Winchester is a firearm cartridge, introduced by Winchester in 1963.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">P. O. Ackley</span> Gunsmith, author and columnist (1903–1989)

Parker Otto Ackley was an American gunsmith, barrel maker, author, columnist, and wildcat cartridge developer. The Ackley Improved family of wildcat cartridges are designed to be easily made by rechambering existing firearms, and fireforming the ammunition to decrease body taper and increase shoulder angle, resulting in a higher case capacity. Ackley improved not only standard cartridges, but also other popular wildcats, and was the first to create a .17 caliber (4.5 mm) centerfire cartridge.

The 6.5-06 A-Square is a centerfire rifle cartridge that originated as a wildcat, based on the popular .30-06 Springfield. A-Square standardized the dimensions of the cartridge and submitted them to SAAMI in 1997.

The .280 Ackley Improved was the result of the .280 Remington case modification by P.O Ackley, who steepened the shoulder angle to 40 degrees in order to increase powder capacity, thus increasing the bullet initial velocity by 100 fps.

Nosler produces six different hunting cartridges. The first to be introduced was .26 Nosler, followed by .28 Nosler, .30 Nosler, .33 Nosler, .22 Nosler, and .27 Nosler.

References

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