There have been a few new wildcat cartridges of late:

22 Creedmoor
22 Nosler
6.8 Western
6.5 PRC
6.5 Bitch Cat

Just to name a very few. I get that if we're not trying who knows what kind of break through we might miss out on.

But for many of these cartridges, on post-development and research but pre-production of dies, barrels, and brass for the masses do they ask the question, "does this cartridge offer something no other cartridge offers?". Or is it the cool factor?

Like has been said; fishing lures aren't made to catch fish, they are made to catch fishermen. The new. 5s,and various creeds, are the ballistic parallel.

It's such a weird thing, I keep killing game with a .308 and 7 Mag even though I've been assured that they are no longer worthy hunting rounds.

Right?

I personally have a few rifles and outside of my muzzleloaders and shotguns I really only hunt with two; my 22-250 and 30-06.

👍

Dedicated and talented hobbyists have led to many useful innovations. I am very glad that there are guys like Scenarshooter that try new stuff and take it to the field and flog it to prove worthiness and applicability. Change can be a good thing.


mike r

I've talked a few friends out of 6mmCM. They shot my long-range setup and liked it.

I pointed out that they already had accurate, fast twist .243's and all they're "gaining" is maybe factory ammo choices.

They both reload.

Nothing wrong with the cool factor. Nothing wrong with slight gains here and there either.

The old standbys will still do their job.

-Jake

Really - - new?

The only noteworthy thing I see is heavier for caliber bullets....175 gr. .270 when before you had to go 7mm. Maybe pencil. 223 bullets.
You still need a faster twist though
Maybe losing the belt, but then having almost no taper works until you run into less than optimal conditions and find out why .375 h&h has a noticable taper.

Can someone reinvent the .351 WSL?

If you're buying a new factory rifle, they can be a big advantage for certain uses.

A factory 6 Creed will be spec'd with a faster twist and factory ammo loaded with bullets to take advantage.

For the majority of hunters, it likely makes little difference, but PRC type shooting is undeniably a fast growing segment of shooting sports.

I really like the 22 Creedmoor. It's a giant slayer. I'm thinking about an AR10 in one. I also like the 6.5 prc. The prc is a bit long for most standard short actions but otherwise I like the case design and that factory rifles are twisted right. I also think a 140g 6.5 at 3100 fps is a good place to be.

Bb

Ha, ha. Thanks , Jefe, we need to be reminded of that every so often. I am 80 years old and have used that expression frequently throughout my life. I recall vividly when I was maybe 8 years old or so, I was in a sporting goods store with my Dad, I was oogling the pretty lures hanging in a rack and he told me about the lures to catch fishermen. I understood immediately what he was telling me , it has kept me from buying quite a few pretty lures etc. during my lifetime.

As to the OP's question, what was wrong with .22LR, .222 Remington and .30-06? IMHO, if you cant get it done with one of those, maybe you shouldn't be trying to do it.

I want a 22 Nosler.


Want to have a 14 twist barrel AR and kill gophers with 40 grain v maxes at 3900.

WIldcats are developed by 1% of the 1% of the 1%.

The more you see, the healthier the sport is.

.375 Raptor is an amazing cartridge.

We were ringing 8" steel 10 out of 10 at 400 yards with 270 grain round nose.

Virtually identical to .35 Whelen on performance.

.308 brass as parent.

Short action or AR-10.

You can get real close to that with a .223 using 40 grain bullets,

I have some loaded for a 1-12 twist bolt gun in a few weeks

Keep in mind that a lot of our common cartridges are wildcats. Look at all made from the 30-06 case and .308 case alone. Without somebody messing around trying something new, we would not have the choices we have now.
I recently had a 6SLR made and love it. It’s a .243 case with the shoulder pushed back slightly enabling a long neck.
It is very accurate, probably not because of the cartridge itself, but mostly the quality work of the smith, but the longer neck makes me a happier reloader.
QM

How "wild" are the cats I have enjoyed - the 7mm Wren and the. 220 Howell?

I'd like to suggest the 40 MoFo, chambered in a glock with Homeboy sights.

I'd like to suggest the 40 MoFo, chambered in a glock with Homeboy sights.

A man needs only four long guns. The rest is fluff...

1. 22lr
2. .223
3. .308 or .30-06
4. 12 gauge semi-auto

My Glock 21 throws 185 gr Montana Gold JHPs at 1,700fps from a 6" barrel and 1,745+/- from a 10" barrel.

460 Rowland

wildcats are all over the place. a lot of the older ones were to fill a 'gap' in available cartridges. others were to find a way to do something new. hunters are, for the most part practical. 30-06, 7 mag or whatever and they're happy. some wildcats are what if kind of things, like taking a popular case and necking it for all the bullets that are available

some others are pushed by gunwriters so they will have something for the world to remember them by. some are just silly. if you are curious and want to spend the time and money, have at it.

a while back, a gun writer proposed filling the 'gap' between 22mag and 32 h&r by a 25acp case lengthened to 22mag length to be shot out of ruger single six..

silly?

This has a nice ring to it, but what about all of those .270s, and Creedmores of some bore, and the WSMs?? Any needy for those?