CmdrSlander
Member
Highroaders,
I call upon you to help me develop a new wildcat cartridge, henceforth known as the .358 Ocelot. The .358 Ocelot is intended to fall between the heavyweight .458 SOCOM and the much-discussed .300 AAC BLK in terms of ballistics and terminal performance.
The Goals for this Project:
-Bridge the gap between the smaller alternative AR15 cartridges (6.5 Grendel, 7.62x35mm AAC BLK, 6.8 SPC etc.) and the heavyweight calibers (.458 SOCOM, .50 Beowulf).
-Create a relatively (compared to .458 SOCOM, which is like shooting a 12 Gauge when run through an average carbine profile AR) soft shooting cartridge with a large bullet (.358 Diameter) that is suitable for defense, assault (LE/Military), and the elimination of medium game, which is to specifically include reliable one shot stopping of the hogs that plague Texas and the American South.
-Attain ballistic (bullet drop, effective range etc.) performance superior to the .458 SOCOM and .50 Beowulf
-Utilize standard AR15 Magazines
-Utilize a widely available parent case to speed adoption.
-Utilize .358 Caliber Bullets
-Utilize a fairly common rifle powder to speed adoption
I need recommendations on what parent case and powder would be suitable for this new caliber. I hope that this thread is long lived, and though my financial situation prohibits me from investing in the development of this I dream of seeing my concept realized even on a small scale by a better equipped handloader. Note that though the requirements are rather AR-Centric, I would love to see/create bolt guns chambered in .358 Ocelot and could see a definite market for it in shorter barreled "brush guns" especially since the case size limitation imposed by the AR platform means that the .358 Ocelot will likely work in micro-length actions, allowing for very quick bolt operation.
General thoughts on my ideas are welcome.
Consider this cartridge and its development to be fully open source, I do not plan to make money off this and am not in the firearms/ammo industry.
Timeline (will be updated as progress is made):
-Within 6 months I'd like to see standard case dimensions and pressures drafted for the .358 Ocelot.
-Within 2 years I'd like to see factory barrels, bolts and upper receivers for the .358 Ocelot.