Tumbleweed
Lil-Rokslider
Hi all!
Wanted to introduce a wildcat I've put together the last 9 months. This thread will initially be on the 30 cal version, but I also have a 7 Tyrant in the works with the exact same case. I will preface this all by saying, this could exist already, or some version of it. But, after an exhaustive internet search before I ever started the project, there was zilch...nothing...nada in 30 or 7mm based off of this parent cartridge showing up anywhere on the web.
The idea came about from my son needing to re-barrel his Browning Xbolt Hell's Canyon Speed that was a 300 Win Mag. We talked about options on chambering something more potent, but these Xbolts have a 3.6" mag box which can limit options. We wanted to move up to a 225-230 class bullet. 30 Nosler was the first thought, but with the 225 ELDM, the cartridge would be too long in an optimized length. So, I started my research on a wildcat with similar performance in a shorter package.
I landed on the 33 Nosler case. It was perfect. Nearly 1/8" shorter than the 30 Nosler as well as the 300 PRC. The next search was to see if Peterson or ADG made brass for it...Petersen does! I started the design process and spoke with a well know wildcatter to make sure I wasn't overlooking anything. A few back and forth emails with Ray @ Manson Reamers and I settled on a reamer set up for the 225 ELDM that optimizes the bullet in the neck for maximum powder capacity. I then sent this reamer print to Hornady's custom die shop and they were able to single point cut me a die set without a fired case. I chose a full length sizer die with a neck bushing set up. I will be able to utilize this same die set with my 7 Tyrant by simply changing the neck bushing and bullet seater plug.
THE RIFLE
This is a hunting rifle. The goal for this gun was to make it as light as we could in a 26" finished length without having to go with a carbon barrel. Here are the components:
Barrel:
Xcaliber 1:9, diamond fluted, cryo-treated, .670" muzzle diameter at 26"
Stock:
McMillan Game Warden 2.0 Fiberglass, molded in Timber Deadwood
Muzzle Brake"
TiPro 3 in .990"
Tigger:
Timney set at 2lb
We chose to go with Justin at Kinport Peak Rifles in Pocatello, ID. I'd been watching his work on social media for a long time and have been very impressed. The wait on the project was the stock, that finally showed up in late August. Justin go the rifle turned around pretty quick with Kaydon Barney doing outstanding cerakote work on it. The rifle exceeded our expectations for sure.
INITIAL TESTING AND MEASUREMENTS:
I asked Justin to headspace the chamber .002" over go. This is what Hornady based their headspace calculations on as well. I ended up needing to bump the virgin brass back about .003" so it would chamber well, still with a little bit of resistance. I fired 3, 57K psi loads to finally measure real world water capacity. It came out at 94.4 grains, almost exactly as I had expected. Virgin brass was in the 92.6 grain range. The next step was to size these pieces and see how well Hornady did on the die dimensions. It was all absolutely perfect, right to expected dimensions post sizing. I use Redding stepped shell holders. I did have to use the thickest, #2 shell holder to get my .002" shoulder bump. The die chamber could have been .002"-.004" shorter, but it's really not causing any issues so far.
SPECS AND OAL MEASUREMENTS:
Parent Case - 33 Nosler in Petersen brass
1x fired case water capacity - 94.4 grains
Case Length - 2.460"
Shoulder - 40 degree
Case Taper - reduced to .015" total
Reamer FB - .250" @ .3085" diameter
COAL @ land contact with the 225 ELDM - 3.589" (will most likely run around 3.554" with .035" jump)
...at 3.589", the boat tail is roughly .040" above the "donut" area.
This reamer is optimized very well for 225-250 grain bullets. No changes would be needed. Lighter bullets will need reduced freebore length or will simply have to jump farther. I have taken COAL measurements with a host of 30 cal bullets with each of their boat tails optimized in the neck. With the 200-210 class bullets, this cartridge will run a very short OAL while optimized for powder capacity. 200.20x, 205 and 210 Bergers will actually run at 3.4" OAL optimized. Anyone say max 30 cal performance in a Tikka?
So the big question everyone wants to know, why not the 300 PRC? Or 30 Nosler? or...? It really comes down to the shorter COAL. The 300 PRC water capacity in ADG brass is 95.5 grains. The Tyrant is 94.4 grains in Petersen. The difference in capacity is so miniscule it will never be seen. However, I know there are actions out there that could utilize the Tyrant without putting in extended mag boxes and action machining. As just mentioned, it could be a monster in the confines of a shorter Tikka or other medium length action with 200 class bullets. With the shorter/fatter AI case of the Tyrant, it "should" outperform the PRC by a little bit. We all know that's because it will somewhat disguise pressure, this isn't about having that argument. That's why we do the 40 degree stuff. One could load a 250Atip (using the current freebore) and be at 3.716" @ the lands. Once jump is determined, the 250 Atip at optimized length could actually be ran in a factory 3.7" REM 700. Maybe that opens options for some?
Anyway, this is some early information and I will keep this thread updated as I test. I will be running 100 rounds through it nice and slow at 50K to get the brass fireformed and barrel mostly sped up. After that, I'll be pressure testing N565, Retumbo, H1000 and probably Ramshot Grand. Both the 300 and 7 Tyrant reamers are available to the public at Manson Reamers. Hornady also has the die set publicly available on file. I have dimensions and data galore for those interested.
Is this for everyone? Nope. Not even close. But it could fill a slot for some people. More to come!
Wanted to introduce a wildcat I've put together the last 9 months. This thread will initially be on the 30 cal version, but I also have a 7 Tyrant in the works with the exact same case. I will preface this all by saying, this could exist already, or some version of it. But, after an exhaustive internet search before I ever started the project, there was zilch...nothing...nada in 30 or 7mm based off of this parent cartridge showing up anywhere on the web.
The idea came about from my son needing to re-barrel his Browning Xbolt Hell's Canyon Speed that was a 300 Win Mag. We talked about options on chambering something more potent, but these Xbolts have a 3.6" mag box which can limit options. We wanted to move up to a 225-230 class bullet. 30 Nosler was the first thought, but with the 225 ELDM, the cartridge would be too long in an optimized length. So, I started my research on a wildcat with similar performance in a shorter package.
I landed on the 33 Nosler case. It was perfect. Nearly 1/8" shorter than the 30 Nosler as well as the 300 PRC. The next search was to see if Peterson or ADG made brass for it...Petersen does! I started the design process and spoke with a well know wildcatter to make sure I wasn't overlooking anything. A few back and forth emails with Ray @ Manson Reamers and I settled on a reamer set up for the 225 ELDM that optimizes the bullet in the neck for maximum powder capacity. I then sent this reamer print to Hornady's custom die shop and they were able to single point cut me a die set without a fired case. I chose a full length sizer die with a neck bushing set up. I will be able to utilize this same die set with my 7 Tyrant by simply changing the neck bushing and bullet seater plug.
THE RIFLE
This is a hunting rifle. The goal for this gun was to make it as light as we could in a 26" finished length without having to go with a carbon barrel. Here are the components:
Barrel:
Xcaliber 1:9, diamond fluted, cryo-treated, .670" muzzle diameter at 26"
Stock:
McMillan Game Warden 2.0 Fiberglass, molded in Timber Deadwood
Muzzle Brake"
TiPro 3 in .990"
Tigger:
Timney set at 2lb
We chose to go with Justin at Kinport Peak Rifles in Pocatello, ID. I'd been watching his work on social media for a long time and have been very impressed. The wait on the project was the stock, that finally showed up in late August. Justin go the rifle turned around pretty quick with Kaydon Barney doing outstanding cerakote work on it. The rifle exceeded our expectations for sure.
INITIAL TESTING AND MEASUREMENTS:
I asked Justin to headspace the chamber .002" over go. This is what Hornady based their headspace calculations on as well. I ended up needing to bump the virgin brass back about .003" so it would chamber well, still with a little bit of resistance. I fired 3, 57K psi loads to finally measure real world water capacity. It came out at 94.4 grains, almost exactly as I had expected. Virgin brass was in the 92.6 grain range. The next step was to size these pieces and see how well Hornady did on the die dimensions. It was all absolutely perfect, right to expected dimensions post sizing. I use Redding stepped shell holders. I did have to use the thickest, #2 shell holder to get my .002" shoulder bump. The die chamber could have been .002"-.004" shorter, but it's really not causing any issues so far.
SPECS AND OAL MEASUREMENTS:
Parent Case - 33 Nosler in Petersen brass
1x fired case water capacity - 94.4 grains
Case Length - 2.460"
Shoulder - 40 degree
Case Taper - reduced to .015" total
Reamer FB - .250" @ .3085" diameter
COAL @ land contact with the 225 ELDM - 3.589" (will most likely run around 3.554" with .035" jump)
...at 3.589", the boat tail is roughly .040" above the "donut" area.
This reamer is optimized very well for 225-250 grain bullets. No changes would be needed. Lighter bullets will need reduced freebore length or will simply have to jump farther. I have taken COAL measurements with a host of 30 cal bullets with each of their boat tails optimized in the neck. With the 200-210 class bullets, this cartridge will run a very short OAL while optimized for powder capacity. 200.20x, 205 and 210 Bergers will actually run at 3.4" OAL optimized. Anyone say max 30 cal performance in a Tikka?
So the big question everyone wants to know, why not the 300 PRC? Or 30 Nosler? or...? It really comes down to the shorter COAL. The 300 PRC water capacity in ADG brass is 95.5 grains. The Tyrant is 94.4 grains in Petersen. The difference in capacity is so miniscule it will never be seen. However, I know there are actions out there that could utilize the Tyrant without putting in extended mag boxes and action machining. As just mentioned, it could be a monster in the confines of a shorter Tikka or other medium length action with 200 class bullets. With the shorter/fatter AI case of the Tyrant, it "should" outperform the PRC by a little bit. We all know that's because it will somewhat disguise pressure, this isn't about having that argument. That's why we do the 40 degree stuff. One could load a 250Atip (using the current freebore) and be at 3.716" @ the lands. Once jump is determined, the 250 Atip at optimized length could actually be ran in a factory 3.7" REM 700. Maybe that opens options for some?
Anyway, this is some early information and I will keep this thread updated as I test. I will be running 100 rounds through it nice and slow at 50K to get the brass fireformed and barrel mostly sped up. After that, I'll be pressure testing N565, Retumbo, H1000 and probably Ramshot Grand. Both the 300 and 7 Tyrant reamers are available to the public at Manson Reamers. Hornady also has the die set publicly available on file. I have dimensions and data galore for those interested.
Is this for everyone? Nope. Not even close. But it could fill a slot for some people. More to come!
