Talk me out of wildcatting!

[prcomte]

So the time has come to where I'm working like crazy, and its going to be that way for awhile. I'm currently shooting a 6 Competition Match chambered by LRI. Awesome shooting gun, and I love the thing, though what I don't enjoy is fireforming and the wasted time spent at the range fireforming seeing as I don't get to go out very often. I'm pretty much set up to run a standard .243 Win. My question is this; have any of you ran a .243 Win with a 105 grain weight class bullet with the N560 burn rate class of powders? I think it doable, though id like some real world data to back up my theory before I go changing things around at my next barrel change. Thanks in advance for any information. I've done some research, though it been inconclusive so far. Thanks again!

 

[Supersubes]

Switch to the 6 SLR. You can have your wildcatting without the fireforming.

 

[Strykervet]

There are a lot of nice calibers out there now to avoid having to do that. When Grendel went SAAMI I didn't have to bother with 'em anymore. But my needs and standards may be different from yours. I don't shoot off a bench or rest or F class or anything. I keep my skills up and I shoot within the parameters and limits of my system(s). Well, we all do that but I guess I mean I know what they are.

If you do end up going that route, be ready to spend a of time in the loading room. Know too that some (at least they used to --I think it was prescribed by law or charter or something) powder companies will test loads for consumers. A while back a lot stopped doing this and only do it for small, custom ammo companies. I don't know if they charge for this, who does it or even if they still do. But having actual pressure readings on non-SAAMI loads must be great. I'm not sure if you can rig up a piezo to your own rifle or not, or how much they cost. Pressure testing used to be more costly and more difficult until they started doing it that way so you may be on your own now.

Going by pressure signs is "okay" (it's better than nothing) but usually when you see pressure signs it means you are already well over the prescribed pressure.

There are a lot of unknowns with wildcats. It's why they call 'em wildcats. A long time a go 6mm PPC and 6.5G were pretty common wildcats. When Grendel went SAAMI, a lot of loads people used to use for it dropped in velocity or were dropped altogether. My next door neighbor, I forget which one he shoots but it's a jacked up hot ass 6mm load that he loads and hand turns at the shooting bench. His way isn't too labor intensive and his accuracy is phenomenal.

Ask yourself, is there something a wildcat can do that you can't do now? Is there a SAAMI load that's close or even better? What about cost of loading, time loading and wear and tear on custom barrels (a lot of the wildcats tend to also be big on throat erosion)? Good luck and stay safe.