What off-the-beaten-path cartridge do you feel is most deserving of, based on merit, belonging with the likes of the .270/7mmRM/30-06/.300WM? (okay, maybe a bit more niche than those but you know what I'm getting at) .35 Whelen? .338-06? Other? (This is for hunting, not target shooting)

270 win necked to .30 caliber... No other changes needed.

Dink

I'd say the 338-06, 35 Whelen, and 6.5-06 could be in the running. Seems you hear of those more often than any other.

I see what you did there.

See, I was thinking of an '06 necked to take 6.8 bullets.

Slamo dunk the 7 Mashburn Super it's a real Rock Star!..

Dober

Is an AI considered a wildcat?

Or merely an abberation?

Abberation me thinks..

Dober

6.5-06 and the .338-06 are my two wildcat favs if you still call the 338-06 a cat. I do.

.280 Ackley Abberation
6.5RCBS
.338-06 / .338-280AI
.338WSM

338/06 is a fav of mine as well

Dober

I've seen a 7mm Yukon based on 300 Win brass with a steeper shoulder.
Similar to the Mashburn ?

.25-284 Flinch

That one has been off the Campfire radar long enough now to be considered "retro". Fancy rebated rims, fat bodies, and sharp shoulders......

I'll keep on shooting mine until it dies.

223AI, 22-250AI, 257AI and 280AI?

25-284, 6.5-284, and (maybe) 338-284?

25 Souper?

JEff

Varmints and pronghorn I love my 6x47 Rem.

Larger game I've got the 8mm-06, .338-06 and Whelen to get the job done.

Just to be different, .257 Swede?

If I could just borrow a reamer to run in there to make mine a no turn neck it would rock. Actually the wife's gun, but it is cool. Too bad she has barred me from shooting it without her supervision.

Depends on what you're hunting but one of the very best to stand the test of time is the ROB in MHO !!!

.243 Ackley Abberation

No doubt...it's the "best".....

280AI without a doubt.

Oh wait, it isn't a wildcat any longer.

Anybody remember the "Giant Prairie Dog" video? I never did get to see it....

7-08 was a cool wildcat

In the world!!

Easily....!

.338-375 Ruger/Campfire -- based on merits, not popularity
.338-06
6.5-06

AI the -06's to taste.

30/40 necked to 25 and blown out.

6 Dasher...... for prairie dogs to deer......

The accuracy of a PPC..... performance of a 243.

And still excels at target shooting if the desire looms......

After more that 20 years with it, the 8mm06 AI.

My 260 aint a 260 Rem, it was cut from a 6.5x243 reamer. That makes it more better.

.22-243 cheetah

6.5-06

6.5-257,

and ofcourse the:

.257 roberts necked up to 7mm, the best ever!!!

although the 30.06 necked to 7mm is pretty good,

much better than necked to .277!!!

The 6mm-284 is a sweet shooting gun.

No "Ackley" configuration is a wildcat. A true wildcat cannot fire factory ammo. An Ackley is merely an "improved" cartridge.

On a side note...The smith who did my 223AI would not even engrave "A" on my barrel. Ackley never made a 223AI, so it technically doesn't exist. It is engraved 223 Imp.

Carry on...

30 Gibbs

Neckem up, neckem down, fireform, and away you go!

62 gr 4350 150 NP

60 gr 4831 200 NP

I LOVE my 257 AI, 6mm-250, and 338-06, personally.

Of those three I'd say that it'd be the 338-06 that'd cover the "all around big game" niche you describe in the OP.

One thing is for certain, if it don't start with a .25, it's either too big, or too small. That is a FACT.

I'm liking the 6.5-06 more and more.We'll see what the deer think shortly.....But I'm not givin' up my Creedmoor!

I tried to get a wildcat to hunt once, but all I accomplished was receiving 47 sutures in my hands and face. Had to have the Sierra's seat reupholstered too, damn thing shredded it. I found dogs hunt better than wildcats and are glad to see you, especially when you point to the truck and say, "Let's go". The wildcat made a great man cave rug though.

I have a wildcat Ackley Improved cartridge, the .35-348 Winchester Ackley Improved. Gotta neck the .348 Winchester up to 35 and fireform it, can't shoot factory ammo. It was one of Bob Hutton's "Lever Power" series of cartridges, a little more juice than the .350 Remington Magnum when fired in a Siamese Mauser. I don't remember why I built it, maybe to use up one of the spare Siamese actions, then again I think it was right after my last motorcycle accident - before the brain swelling went down.

The 7mm International Rimmed is a good one, neck the .30-30 down to 7mm and fireform, crappy pistol cartridge but works well in a rifle, kinda like the 7mm Waters only longer neck - completely forgettable cartridge.

Then there is the .375 Epstein Magnum. Takes longer to form up the brass than it does to drive to Montana from California. Only thing I ever shot with it was a 1/2" thick piece of armor plate, now if I could get an elk to hide behind a piece of armor plate I'd fill the freezer. Then the .357 Ruger came along, same ballistics and no forming - damn.

Don't have one yet, but I figure a 6.5-06 would be a good one for antelope to moose and everything inbetween.

Of the uncommon rounds the 280 Remington AI seems to be getting a round at bat so to speak.

What with the new Kimber 84L coming on stream it looks like an interesting combintation as the rifle is as or more important than the case.

While I am all for the 7mm Mashburn I see it as too much trouble and that belt!

If I was gonna pick a wildcat it would be the .270 Gibbs(I will have one someday!!!) For just an overlooked round that doesn't get the respect it really should 8mm Mauser...taking game around the world since 1905!!

My vote is for 280 A.I. Great performance and accuracy with reasonable recoil. Been shooting mine for 15+ years and yet to find a better deer cartridge. Technically not a wildcat anymore thanks to Nosler.

If it were "trouble", I wouldn't own it.....it' simple.

The belt is a complete non-issue,really.And if I want a 280AI, I just use FF loads in the Mashburn....very easy.

What makes it a poor pistol cartridge? I have a 7-30 Waters Improved that's fairly similar to a 7 Int-R and I've found it to be a humdinger in a Contender pistol.

The more I shoot my 6.5-06AI the more I appreciate it. Very accurate, mild recoil and the calculator says that at 800 yards it is just a tad behind my 7mm RM.

IMO the .243AI

It's not a wildcat but it might as well be....

.358 Win.

The best hunting wildcat would have to be the Leopard, closely followed by the house cat.

.338-280AI for a wildcat. I hoped it would be more popular.

.280 AI for an Improved round.

I could enjoy a 6.5/284

6.5-06
8mm-06
.338-06

The 6X45 might have some promise in an AR.

double post

Almost past being wildcats but probably the,
338Federal
or
7mm08


I wouldnt mind giving the 8.5x63REB a try.

Me too.

I also agree with the 6mm284. It shoots fast, accurate, user friendly.

I have taken from small to large with mine. It just works!

6mm/.22-250 AI

.338/300win mag

Both are two I own and find very versatile, especially the necked-up .300win.


Am interested now in the 7x64 Brenneke case and the 7.5 Schmidt & Rubin since they share same case head diameter. Am partial to the .338 bore. A .338x64 Brenneke could be one helluvan all-around ctg.

8mm MAZON, no question :-))

6.5x.284 (now 6.5x.284 Norma), and

.338-280 AI (now 8.5x63 Reb)

Both definitely fill a real hunting niche. The 8.5x63 is arguably the best proportioned big deer cartridge available. However, as both are now available as factory ammunition and in factory Blaser rifles (and also Mauser for the Reb), i 'spose they aren't officially wildcats anymore.

22-250 necked up to .257, or .250 Savage necked up to .30 cal. Or 30-30 winchester necked up to .375.
Now where's that smiley icon?

Without a doubt, the 7x57 "wildcatted" to 270 Winchester pressures...

25AKI

A 6.5x57 loaded to modern pressures with the 156 grain Norma Oryx, in a stainless Model 70 in walnut, would be a campfire conversation for sure... Think of the debate that would rage:

wuzzat?
why not just a 6.5x55?
why such a low BC bullet?
why such a heavy bullet?
what can it do that a 270 or 30-06 can't do? (precisely!)
why not a MiMillan Edge?

Never had one and hope to some day but my nod goes to the 35 Whelen.Big enough for the big stuff without the belt and just has always had a cool factor IMO

244 H&H Magnum ...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.244_H%26H_Magnum

338-06 has a lot going for it, tempted to turn my vanguard into one.

.280AI don't suck neither, but isn't really a wildcat.

I guess non wildcat cartridges just do it so well for me I haven't experimented much.

6.5-06 or 257AI

Both get it done.

6.5-08

35Whelen

7mm x 300WSM

270 Gibbs would be wonderful that way I could buy my brass instead of making it myself. But hear are my 2nd and 3rd choices.
6.5 X 06
6.5 WSM

Shipster

No one has mentioned the 7stw?

The only one I have any experience with is a 6.5-06 and really liked it. It would be my choice again if I could have a rifle built.

I have used two wildcats for years. For all round use the .338/06 (.338 OKH) and for deer and varmints the 6 MM Remington necked up to .25 caliber.

.30-30AI and .25 Souper.

If you are including legitimized wildcats, the .260 Remington.

22/.204 is nice varmint cartridge, especially with a fast twist and 75 gr AMAX bullets.

Considering nearly every cartridge was a wildcat at some point, my vote goes for the 300 WSM.

300 whelen. best wildcat ever.

358WSSM

Had the 8mm Gibbs out today, man I'm really liking that round more and more...