- Nov 3, 2010
- 9,701
- 20,253
Ok, reaching out for some more help. Long story short, I came across a Winchester model 54. I believed it was a 22-250, had no clue about the rifle though. Took it home and started a thread in the vintage section. Over some time and several peoples excellent input, we narrowed the gun down as being made by a gunsmith named Hervey Lovell. He had a whole string of wildcat cartridges in the early part of the 20th century. For the life of me, I can’t figure out the caliber
The conclusion had come that it was not a 22-250, but a 22 varminter. I did a chamber cast and compared it to a 250 case. It is slightly different. I reached out to a shop and they said if it was a 22 varminter, a 250 case would chamber which it will not. I bought a book from the 40s that talked about the gentleman who put this rifle together. After reading some of the book, I changed my guess on caliber to an early version of a 22-250 with a different neck angle.
Is there anyone who might be able to do some more detailed measurements on a chamber cast so I can compare to Mr. Lovells other wildcats? The next big if is, if we identify this cartridge and there are no known dies for it, what is the possibility of having some made to relaod for this rifle. Thanks in advance, and apologies for the long winded start.
The conclusion had come that it was not a 22-250, but a 22 varminter. I did a chamber cast and compared it to a 250 case. It is slightly different. I reached out to a shop and they said if it was a 22 varminter, a 250 case would chamber which it will not. I bought a book from the 40s that talked about the gentleman who put this rifle together. After reading some of the book, I changed my guess on caliber to an early version of a 22-250 with a different neck angle.
Is there anyone who might be able to do some more detailed measurements on a chamber cast so I can compare to Mr. Lovells other wildcats? The next big if is, if we identify this cartridge and there are no known dies for it, what is the possibility of having some made to relaod for this rifle. Thanks in advance, and apologies for the long winded start.