223 wildcats

[greyling22]

what kind of wildcat can you build out of a 223 bolt gun without rebarreling? 223AI? anything else?

 

[gvnwst]

Only something that is a larger than a .223 will work. .223AI will work, just rechamber. Maybe a .222 rem mag, but that isn't a big improvment over the .223.

 

[ThomasT]

I believe it can be necked down to 17 or 20 caliber. You can neck it up to 6mm. Thats gives you the 6x45.

 

[Kind of Blued]

I believe it can be necked down to 17 or 20 caliber. You can neck it up to 6mm. Thats gives you the 6x45.

Trying to shoot a 6mm bullet down a ~5.56mm barrel is a horrible idea. Same goes for shooting a .20 or .17 bullet down a .223 barrel.

Even when the original post is less than two dozen words, some people still don't bother to read it before posting. I don't get it.

 

[db_tanker]

greyling,

I think you are going to move up in the bolt face diameter to get anywhere.


standard .473 bolt face can open you up to a 22-250, 220 Jaybird (243 necked down) 220 Swift, 22 PPC...


Plenty of stuff out there to play with, but again you might have size issues.


I am curious as to what type of action you have?


D

 

[Seafarer12]

Anything bigger than the 223 will work if you want to change the bolt face. If you don't the 223 AI is about it.

What kind of gun are we talking about?

 

[ThomasT]

Hey Kind of blued Excuse the hell out of me. Okay?

And Greyling without major changes like the others have mentioned you can't do a lot to your gun. The standard rule of thumb for an AI cartridge is that for a 4% increase in powder volumn you will get a 1% increase in velocity. I don't think you would gain much for the trouble and cost.

The reason I mentioned the three rounds in my first post was because those are the one you can do with a barrel change without modifying your bolt. Sorry I missed your part about using the same barrel.

 

[greyling22]

it's a mini-mauser action. And I figured that to do anything drastic I would have to rebarrel or change bolt face. I was just curious to see what was out there. I have no real complaints with a 223, I just like to be a little different. if I was going to rebarrel I might try a 7mm tcu. who knows. but more likely before I spent money rebarreling I would buy another gun.

 

[Seafarer12]

I could see doing an AI. You get another 100 fps out of it and you can still shoot regulay ammo out of it.

 

[dirtyjim]

to properly do a ai you need to set the barrel back & rechamber to get the correct headspace. you may be able to do a 220 mannlicher-swift if it will fit in the magazine.the oal is just under 2 3/4".
you would have to open the bolt face up to .465. for 6.5 mannlicher schoenauer brass. to load it you would cut .093 off the end of a set of 220 swift dies & use a 6.5m-s shell holder. when chambering you would use a standerd 220swift reamer & guages just cut the chamber .093 short

 

[moosehunt]

If I didn't want to rebarrel, which is a good, economical thought, personally I'd go with a .220 Weatherby Rocket. You'd have to open the bolt face, but that's easy or cheap if you have to pay. I suppose the rifling twist could be a problem, but that Rocket would be a grin! Have fun!

 

[greyling22]

would a 220 swift fit?

 

[dirtyjim]

the 220 swift would probably fit, its over all length is just under 2 3/4". you would either have to open the bolt face up or swap the bolt for one from a 22-250.
i mentioned the 220 manlicher-swift because it is a wildcat

 

[moosehunt]

And the .220 Rocket is based on the .220 Swift case, so it will fit. It's really not too much more than a .220 Swift AI--but it is a little more! An old nearly forgotten screamer!

 

[db_tanker]

hey he said he had a mini-mauser...is the action even large enough to fit a short action cartridge(308, 243 etc etc)? I don't know as I have never messed with one.


THAT being the case...if it is too short for the standard short action cartridges...I suggest going to a 220 Russian.

You can use a 7.62x39 bolt face as that is what the x39 is based off of. PLUS you would have one helluva conversation starter.


Brass? you can use the Winchester or Prvi brass boxer stuff to form it. I think there are also some importers that bring it over as well.


D

 

[Rancho Relaxo]

If I were you I'd shoot out the 223 barrel and then replace it with something that doesn't require you to open up the bolt face. There are plenty of wildcats and factory cartridges that you can go to, including:
17 Rem. Fireball/MachIV
17 Remington
19 Calhoun
19-223
20 Tactical
204 Ruger
221 Fireball
222 Remington
222 Rem. Magnum
6-223
and like someone else mentioned, the 6.5x47, a really cool round. And I know I'm forgetting tons of others.