It's official. I've started a 358/25 WSSM project. I started talking to a deer hunting buddy at work and he said, "Let's do it." So I guess that's actually two rifle projects.
Today I received my reloading dies... in fact it was finding out that Redding has started making a "standard" custom die set for this wildcat that pushed me over the edge.
The Redding dies are called 358/25 WSSM and are part number 80739. (3-die set also available.) A couple e-mails later and I had their reamer print in my inbox. They have been very helpful and responsive, and since the dies are "in stock" I don't have to wait for 16 weeks getting custom dies; I'll be experimenting by the end of July! (When the barrels are done) (OK the dies are not really "in stock" - they are backordered, at least direct, and I got them through Sinclair International.)
Coincidentally, Dave Manson who has very helpful and has answered a multitude of my questions... his name was on the reamer print. So I ordered one.
I've been playing the last few weeks with a few different parent cases, making sketches and seeing what difficulties would be found forming brass. It was obvious when I started measuring water capacities that we would be on the verge "hot-rodding" some of these cases, and decided that the 25 WSSM could get us there with less pucker factor.
This design uses standard 25 WSSM headspace gauges. The brass is necked up in two steps (30 cal then 35 cal) and the tapered expanders are included with the dies. The brass will require just a bit of trimming to length, neck turning and annealing. The parent case starts with a neck thickness of 0.020" and after expanding is ~0.017" (not counting the "donut"). This turns out to be incompatible with the dies, so turning to 0.015" or maybe 0.014" will be needed. (Fortunately we have a nice set of gauges at work, and I measured the inside dimensions of the dies as soon as they showed up.)
A Savage 11 FNCS in 7mm WSM will be the donor. I picked it up on Friday. A small miracle occured... my somewhat crudely formed dummy loads (made before I got the dies) fed nicely from the magazine without any help. (WARNING: WSSM cartridges will fit and presumeably can be fired in WSM chambers.)
So let's see... I have a gun, brass (Winchester), bullets (180gr and 200gr to start), dies, a Forster neck turning tool (Note: the .35 caliber neck turning pilot does not have a built-in stop, that's going to be fun ), reamer is on order... so now I just need to decide on a twist rate and order barrels...
Today I received my reloading dies... in fact it was finding out that Redding has started making a "standard" custom die set for this wildcat that pushed me over the edge.
The Redding dies are called 358/25 WSSM and are part number 80739. (3-die set also available.) A couple e-mails later and I had their reamer print in my inbox. They have been very helpful and responsive, and since the dies are "in stock" I don't have to wait for 16 weeks getting custom dies; I'll be experimenting by the end of July! (When the barrels are done) (OK the dies are not really "in stock" - they are backordered, at least direct, and I got them through Sinclair International.)
Coincidentally, Dave Manson who has very helpful and has answered a multitude of my questions... his name was on the reamer print. So I ordered one.
I've been playing the last few weeks with a few different parent cases, making sketches and seeing what difficulties would be found forming brass. It was obvious when I started measuring water capacities that we would be on the verge "hot-rodding" some of these cases, and decided that the 25 WSSM could get us there with less pucker factor.
This design uses standard 25 WSSM headspace gauges. The brass is necked up in two steps (30 cal then 35 cal) and the tapered expanders are included with the dies. The brass will require just a bit of trimming to length, neck turning and annealing. The parent case starts with a neck thickness of 0.020" and after expanding is ~0.017" (not counting the "donut"). This turns out to be incompatible with the dies, so turning to 0.015" or maybe 0.014" will be needed. (Fortunately we have a nice set of gauges at work, and I measured the inside dimensions of the dies as soon as they showed up.)
A Savage 11 FNCS in 7mm WSM will be the donor. I picked it up on Friday. A small miracle occured... my somewhat crudely formed dummy loads (made before I got the dies) fed nicely from the magazine without any help. (WARNING: WSSM cartridges will fit and presumeably can be fired in WSM chambers.)
So let's see... I have a gun, brass (Winchester), bullets (180gr and 200gr to start), dies, a Forster neck turning tool (Note: the .35 caliber neck turning pilot does not have a built-in stop, that's going to be fun ), reamer is on order... so now I just need to decide on a twist rate and order barrels...