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30-489: It was developed by Rick Jamison in 1997-1998 as proven in a 2005 lawsuit Jamison vs. Olin Corporation-Winchester division. Jamison was given 7 patents on the cartridge design. U.S. Repeating Arms Company used the same concept and the same base case in creating its even shorter Winchester Super Short Magnum cartridges, three of which were introduced in 2003 and 2004. The WSM family was inspired partially by

60-510: A bullet at speeds comparable to those of "magnum" cartridges of the same caliber using significantly less powder. The dimensions of the basic case are: The WSM family of cartridges are Delta L problem cartridges, meaning they can present unexpected chambering and/or feeding problems. The 300 WSM was the first of the new class of short magnums to see wide use. All of the WSM cartridges released to date have proven popular for thin-skinned game up to

90-409: A cartridge technically has to not be developed commercially to be considered a wildcat, some commercial cartridges were developed by ammunition and firearm manufacturers by modifying existing cartridges – using essentially the same process used to make wildcats. Cartridges that are modified by being made longer (usually to make them more powerful) are for the most part only created commercially because of

120-406: A certain ballistic performance characteristic (such as the power, size, or efficiency) of an existing commercial cartridge, or may merely be intended as novelty items . Developing and using wildcat cartridges does not generally serve a purpose in military or law enforcement ; it is more a hobby for serious sport shooting , hunting , gunsmithing and handloading enthusiasts, particularly in

150-451: A commercial firearms maker begins offering a weapon chambered in the cartridge. Once popular enough, funding is generated for SAAMI standards development. After SAAMI standards are in place, any firearms or ammunition maker can be sure that any products manufactured to the SAAMI standards can be safely used. Some examples of custom cartridges that became commercially accepted are: Though

180-513: A family of proprietary short magnum cartridges developed in late 1997, by John Lazzeroni, derived from a previous line of magnum cartridges he had created. The first Lazzeroni short magnum, the 7.82 Lazzeroni Patriot, was designed to operate in a short-action rifle, instead of requiring a long action. The U.S. Repeating Arms Company was the first major manufacturer to commercialize Lazzeroni's concept, followed shortly thereafter by Remington with their "Short Action Ultra Mag" line. Another influence

210-525: A long action are well-established principles of rifle design. The resulting rifle is smaller, lighter, more compact, and quicker handling as well. The relatively large diameter cases result in reduced magazine capacity and reliability along with a thinner bolt face, meaning it can break easily especially under the higher pressure of the cartridges. The cartridges in this family are, in order of development: As with any new case introduced, wildcatters like to see what they can do to make new cartridges. Two of

240-545: A reputation for quickly eroding the rifling in barrels. Concerns about short barrel life are a common problem for high-velocity cartridges, making the WSSM rounds no different than other high-velocity cartridges. To help mitigate the problem, Browning currently uses chrome-lined barrels on all of their guns chambered for .223 WSSM. On November 2, 2005 the United States District Court, D. Oregon ruled in

270-423: Is a 25 WSSM necked up to .308” giving performance between 30-06 and .300 Winchester Magnum . https://casetext.com/case/jamison-v-olin-corporation-winchester-division-2 Wildcat cartridge A wildcat cartridge , often shortened to wildcat , is a custom-made cartridge for which ammunition and/or firearms are not mass-produced. These cartridges are often created as experimental variants to optimize

300-497: Is a further development of the Winchester Short Magnum concept utilizing smaller bullets, but of a still higher velocity. Winchester and Browning partnered to create a new shorter version of the popular WSM (Winchester Short magnum) case. The new "super short" case was to be based on design principles currently proving successful in benchrest competition, such as the 6 mm PPC and 6 mm BR Remington . In 2003

330-424: Is a list of some representative wildcats. In Australia, wildcat cartridges were relatively common. Most are made primarily for hunting species such as deer , kangaroo , and are generally based on the .303 British because of the post-war popularity of that round and of the cheap surplus Australian Lee–Enfield MkIII military rifles available. Many of these surplus rifles were re-barreled to .257 caliber, known as

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360-441: Is probably the best example of a wildcat that has spawned many other successful wildcats. The .308 x 1.5" case is available from a number of case manufacturers and differs from a homemade .308 x 1.5" in that it has a small primer pocket, whereas the original .308 Winchester case has a larger primer pocket (the smaller primer is more suited to the smaller case capacity of the short round). There are at least 8 wildcats that are made from

390-529: The United States . There are potentially endless varieties of wildcat cartridge: one source of gunsmithing equipment has a library of over 6,000 different wildcat cartridges for which they produce equipment such as chamber reamers . Often, wildcats are commercially sold rounds that have been modified in some way to alter the cartridge's performance. Barrels for the caliber are originally manufactured by gunsmiths specializing in barrel making. Generally,

420-417: The .25-06 requires a .30-06 length action, commonly called a standard or long action . The .25 WSSM case which is almost a full inch shorter, can make use of an existing short action such as used by the 5.56 NATO and .223 Remington family of cartridges. Some manufacturers have even created extra short actions to accommodate newer short rounds. The intrinsic accuracy benefits of a short, stiffer action over

450-491: The 303-25. One of the unique features is that these cartridges relied less on handloading - and instead, factory ammunition was produced by the Super Cartridge Company, Riverbrand, IMI, and Sportco. Since having an existing barrel rebored and rechambered was (at that time) less expensive than fitting a new barrel, a 303-25 rifle with a worn-out barrel could be economically converted to .277 caliber, known as

480-434: The 303-270. The .222 Remington - a .222 Rimmed in a Martini was also commonly found. As too were the "Tini-Mite" and "Mini-Mite" cartridges, .17 caliber rimfire cartridges based on the .22 Long Rifle case. Some cartridges started out as custom-made (non-commercially developed) wildcats and gained wide enough acceptance or popularity to become commercial cartridges. Generally, cartridges become popular commercially after

510-463: The Proof of Small Arms) or SAAMI standards, which causes liability concerns. Wildcat cartridges are developed for many reasons. Generally, the goal is to optimize some characteristics of a commercial cartridge in a given context. Higher velocities, greater energy, better efficiency, greater consistency (which yields greater precision), and complying with a minimal permitted caliber or bullet weight for

540-471: The Short Magnum concept. The idea is that the short, fat powder column gives a more uniform load density and ignition rate and therefore a more consistent burn. This in turn should translate into improved accuracy and potentially moderate recoil due to more efficient use of propellants. Another advantage is the action size. For example, if we compare the .25 WSSM to the .25-06 Remington , we find that

570-587: The buyer with basic reloading data, giving a variety of powders, charge weights, and bullet weights that can be used for developing loads. Handloaders use the data to develop a load by starting with minimum loads and carefully working up. Wildcat cases and cartridges can be found for sale, but only from small makers. Larger manufacturers usually do not produce wildcats because there is such a limited market for them and because there are no established CIP (Commission Internationale Permanente Pour L'Epreuve Des Armes A Feu Portatives - Permanent International Commission for

600-655: The case Jamison v. Olin Corporation-Winchester Division, Case Nos. 03-1036-KI (lead case), 04-31-KI, 04-76-KI (D. Or. Nov. 2, 2005). Inventor John R. Jameson had developed and patented several designs for short magnum rifle cartridges. Jameson approached Olin/Winchester ammunition with his invention. The court found that Olin/Winchester and Browning WSSM products had infringed on Jamison's patents without compensation. Rather than pay royalties to Jamison Winchester and Browning halted production of all WSSM rifles. There are basic advantages inherent to

630-447: The difficulty of the process. One example of such a cartridge is the .357 Magnum , which was developed from the .38 Special in 1934 by firearms manufacturer Smith & Wesson . Some wildcats are based not on commercial rounds, but on other successful wildcats. The .308 × 1.5" Barnes , a wildcat from noted cartridge author Frank Barnes made by simply necking a .308 Winchester back to 1.5 inches (38 mm) in length (38.1 mm)

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660-414: The first cartridges of this design, the .223 and .243 Winchester Super Short Magnums (WSSM), were introduced. The .25 WSSM was added to the family in 2004. None of the cartridges has managed to capture any large market share. This is likely due in part to the fact that all three cartridges have similar performance to existing popular cartridges. In addition, the .223 and .243 versions early on attained

690-419: The legal hunting of certain species of game in a particular jurisdiction are the top reasons. The sport of metallic silhouette shooting, has given rise to a great number of wildcats, as several rifle rounds are adapted to fire from a handgun . In using autopistols for hunting or competitive shooting, improved feeding of softnose or hollowpoint bullets is also an issue; the bottlenecked .45/38 , for instance,

720-410: The more notable children or offshoots of this case are the .325 Corbin, which is essentially an 8 mm WSSM, and the .22/40 SMc, which is essentially the .223 WSSM with an elliptical shoulder. A wildcat cartridge based on the .25 WSSM, called the .358 WSSM or .358 BFG, has similar performance to the standard .358 Winchester and .35 Whelen. Additionally, Olympic arms created the .300 OSSM, which

750-423: The same makers also offer reloading dies , tools to custom-load bullets into cases. Because changing the barrel of a gun to accommodate custom cartridges requires precision equipment, most wildcats are developed by or in association with custom barrel makers. Ammunition is handloaded , using modified parent cases and the gunsmith-provided wildcat dies. Generally, the supplier of the barrel or dies will also provide

780-415: The size of elk and African plains game, the .325 WSM being an excellent cartridge for elk, bison and similar big game. The cartridges in this family are, in order of development: Winchester Super Short Magnum Winchester Super Short Magnum , or WSSM is a line of rebated bottlenecked centerfire short magnum cartridges introduced by the U.S. Repeating Arms Company ( Winchester Inc ). It

810-524: The small primer .308 x 1.5" brass, including some very successful benchrest rounds, including the Benchrest Remington family of cartridges, .22 BR , 6mm BR , 6.5mm BR , 7mm BR , .30 BR . Another example is the .220 Russian , based on the 7.62×39mm . Since nearly all 7.62×39mm ammunition made in the 1970s used the complex-to-reload Berdan priming , and often steel cases, it made a poor choice for wildcatting. The .220 Russian, however,

840-414: Was a series of 6 mm cartridges developed for bench-rest target shooting competitions in the 1970s. The idea behind these cartridges was that a short, fat cartridge would be more "efficient" than the traditional long, narrow cartridge, as more of the powder column would be in the immediate vicinity of the primer as it detonated. In turn, this would mean that a cartridge of this type would be able to propel

870-528: Was and still is readily available in Boxer-primed , brass cases of high quality. The .220 Russian is still the parent cartridge of choice for the PPC line of cartridges, such as the .22 PPC and 6mm PPC, even though there are far more PPC-chambered firearms available than .220 Russian chamberings. Likewise, the PPC line of cartridges were the parent case of the 6.5 Grendel , a long-range, high-energy cartridge for

900-478: Was created because the straight-cased .45 ACP had trouble feeding hollow points. Wildcat cartridges are generally developed because: Some methods used to develop a wildcat are: In terms of sheer numbers of varieties, there are more wildcat cartridges than there are production cartridges. Most wildcats are custom made, therefore are not generally well-known. Some wildcat cartridges, however, are produced commercially in small quantities by small manufacturers. This

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