Is it time for to me to give up on my wildcat?

Re: clickers. When I load a small batch of ammo for a range visit, I run the first carts thru a cartridge checker and the rifle chamber (without firing pin) to ensure chambering without interference. If I got clickers, I would mark the case or cart with a sharpie and repeat checking until I discovered and removed the interference. I don't force the cart into the chamber.

General RE LEE said:

Saw the thread title and thought this was about a wife.

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Haha that's a good one. Fortunately I've got a keeper. She lets me rant about this tuff and tries to help me figure out what to do, all while keeping me from loading up my CC because I have poor financial self control.

She actually suggested just waiting until next spring and using our tax return to have a new one built, get whatever I want, etc. That sounds nice, but I want to get the rest of the life from this barrel and test this creation thoroughly with a properly cut chamber and die before sinking money into a new barrel blank.

From reports I've seen on Old Dominion custom rifles, I'm confident the work will be very high quality.

Tac-O said:

Haha that's a good one. Fortunately I've got a keeper. She lets me rant about this tuff and tries to help me figure out what to do, all while keeping me from loading up my CC because I have poor financial self control.

She actually suggested just waiting until next spring and using our tax return to have a new one built, get whatever I want, etc. That sounds nice, but I want to get the rest of the life from this barrel and test this creation thoroughly with a properly cut chamber and die before sinking money into a new barrel blank.

From reports I've seen on Old Dominion custom rifles, I'm confident the work will be very high quality.

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Zack has a very good reputation from what I read. I talked to Newlon on April 5th about 3 body die blanks and he mentioned he would be out all this week and would ream them the first of next week and ship them.

To answer OP's question without judgment or unwanted technical assistance:
Yes, I think you should take your project to successful completion and then post what changes you made from your original plan, such as reamer changes, gunsmith changes, brass, etc

I am giving up on this cartridge. If I can get someone to buy my reamers! I had Zack at ODCR send my reamers and barreled action back, so no chamber and die remediation has occurred.

I've enjoyed shooting a factory barrel over the last few months where everything just works as it should.... All with $35 Lee dies.

The remaining thing I'm pondering now is... do I shoot this 30-284ai barrel as is until it's done? Or just forget about it and put my 30-06 barrel back on that action? I've got brass that can be used for at least 1500 more rounds... Maybe 2000 but I'm unsure because a lot of it has been fired a couple times in a standard 30-284 chamber. Not sure how the fire forming would go since my ai chamber was cut a bit fat.

The sizing/clicker issues would be alleviated using Erik cortinas expander die, but I think since my chamber is fat it may kill my brass early from over sizing.

Tac-O said:

I am giving up on this cartridge. If I can get someone to buy my reamers! I had Zack at ODCR send my reamers and barreled action back, so no chamber and die remediation has occurred.

I've enjoyed shooting a factory barrel over the last few months where everything just works as it should.... All with $35 Lee dies.

The remaining thing I'm pondering now is... do I shoot this 30-284ai barrel as is until it's done? Or just forget about it and put my 30-06 barrel back on that action? I've got brass that can be used for at least 1500 more rounds... Maybe 2000 but I'm unsure because a lot of it has been fired a couple times in a standard 30-284 chamber. Not sure how the fire forming would go since my ai chamber was cut a bit fat.

The sizing/clicker issues would be alleviated using Erik cortinas expander die, but I think since my chamber is fat it may kill my brass early from over sizing.

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Why did you back out of having the chamber fixed?

Taylorbok said:

Why did you back out of having the chamber fixed?

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I was just thinking about the cost of that, having a new die cut, the recurring lack of availability of 284 brass, not wanting to neck turn to get rid of donuts if I use 6.5-284 brass, having to use more components to fireform. It's really expensive and there's tons of other hunting gear I would like to save for. The cost in combination with the fact that a primary goal was to be able to shoot 200+ grain bullets with plenty of mag room in my Tikka and now realizing that for my hunting purposes I don't really need to go heavier than 168-180gr.... I can accomplish the same thing with either an '06 or a standard 30-284 far cheaper.

If I can't find a buyer for the reamers, they may just sit in my closet until I get the itch to revisit it.

Tac-O said:

I was just thinking about the cost of that, having a new die cut, the recurring lack of availability of 284 brass, not wanting to neck turn to get rid of donuts if I use 6.5-284 brass, having to use more components to fireform. It's really expensive and there's tons of other hunting gear I would like to save for. The cost in combination with the fact that a primary goal was to be able to shoot 200+ grain bullets with plenty of mag room in my Tikka and now realizing that for my hunting purposes I don't really need to go heavier than 168-180gr.... I can accomplish the same thing with either an '06 or a standard 30-284 far cheaper.

If I can't find a buyer for the reamers, they may just sit in my closet until I get the itch to revisit it.

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If you are just screwing an old barrel on that's obviously going to be cheaper but if you need to have something chambered it's going to work out about the same price in the end.

Might be able to re use that die blank depending how much room it has.

I do agree you are trying to fill a pretty specific want that doesn't give much advantage to other options but still be nice to have it working properly.
personally I'd get it going properly

The issue of using Winchester 284 that is SAAMI Spec vs Lapua that is CIP spec it huge. Many of us fall prey to these basic dimensional differences in the web that create a living nightmare in Dies.

VinceMule said:

The issue of using Winchester 284 that is SAAMI Spec vs Lapua that is CIP spec it huge. Many of us fall prey to these basic dimensional differences in the web that create a living nightmare in Dies.

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that really doesn't factor in on a wildcat.

VinceMule said:

The issue of using Winchester 284 that is SAAMI Spec vs Lapua that is CIP spec it huge. Many of us fall prey to these basic dimensional differences in the web that create a living nightmare in Dies.

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Yea my reamer was designed around Lapua and Peterson 284 dimensions. The whole issue here is just crummy smith work.

Taylorbok said:

If you are just screwing an old barrel on that's obviously going to be cheaper but if you need to have something chambered it's going to work out about the same price in the end.

Might be able to re use that die blank depending how much room it has.

I do agree you are trying to fill a pretty specific want that doesn't give much advantage to other options but still be nice to have it working properly.
personally I'd get it going properly

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I'd love to be able to fix the die by reaming it deeper, but I'd run out of threads for the locking ring if I did that. As it is now I just barely have enough for the locking ring. I'll get a picture of it. I'm not sure what the guy did wrong but it seems like there should be more threads engaged with the ring. I'll get a pic of it tonight.

Maybe if it sits on my shelf long enough, I'll eventually get the chamber fixed, get a new die made, get a hydro form die, etc etc.

Ugh...this is sucking the fun out of life for you. Your wife is very kind and supportive. She can see how this is negatively impacting you. I'm voting you dump it all and go back to the old .30-06 barrel you still have. You need peace of mind.

Sell the .30-284 AI barrel, dies, reamers, brass and whatever else to someone on here that is bored and would enjoy the challenge of figuring it out. Then you can wash your hands of it and get back to what's fun - shooting & hunting.

Persuing game and making a good shot that counts shouldn't be affected by if you are shooting a .300 RUM, .300 WSM, .30-06, or a wildcat .30-284 AI. They'll all get it done. It isn't rocket science and sometimes I think we get so wrapped up in the theoretical and hypothetical that we lose sight of the fact that a simple .30-06 Sprngfld or .270 Win can pretty much do it all out to 500 or 600 yards. For those that want to dabble further, plenty of factory cartridges available off the shelf to choose from.

You had a vision and an idea for a cartridge you thought would be fun/perfect for you. If the gunsmithing had gone to plan, maybe you'd be happy & having fun right now. But something is amiss and you are the proverbial dog chasing its own tail; even if you catch it at this point, the joy and excitement has been lost. Time to let go and move on.

We've all been there in one way or another, so you aren't alone. Lessons learned. Knowledge gained. Not a waste of time or money if you can reflect back and see that this experience helped you grow as a rifleman and a reloader. College aint free. You pays your money and gets your education. Your school was "Wildcat University" and I think it's time to take your diploma and go on to whatevers next.

Tac-O said:

I am giving up on this cartridge. If I can get someone to buy my reamers! I had Zack at ODCR send my reamers and barreled action back, so no chamber and die remediation has occurred.

I've enjoyed shooting a factory barrel over the last few months where everything just works as it should.... All with $35 Lee dies.

The remaining thing I'm pondering now is... do I shoot this 30-284ai barrel as is until it's done? Or just forget about it and put my 30-06 barrel back on that action? I've got brass that can be used for at least 1500 more rounds... Maybe 2000 but I'm unsure because a lot of it has been fired a couple times in a standard 30-284 chamber. Not sure how the fire forming would go since my ai chamber was cut a bit fat.

The sizing/clicker issues would be alleviated using Erik cortinas expander die, but I think since my chamber is fat it may kill my brass early from over sizing.

Click to expand...

While the .30-284 AI is an interesting idea, I wouldn't think it much different than a .30-284, because the .284 is already a modern improved case, and I can't see that the .30-384 would enjoy any advantage over the .30-06, other than stability to case stretch. I'd put the .30-06 barrel back on. And enjoy the superb variety of .30-06 ammo and bullets that are out there, and the superb performance of the .30-06, and the tradition of the .30-06.

If I were fooling around, I might have the .30-284 AI barrel opened to .358 and get a step up on the .358 Winchester, approach the .35 Whelen. That would retain the novelty of the .30-284 AI and get the advantage of heavier larger bullets. something arguably different than a 30 cal. Or, you might look into re-drilling the chamber to something made on the 6.5 Wby RPM, which is made on a lengthened .284 Win case. The 30 cal version will be a .300 Win Mag equivalent; the .358 variant equivalent to a .308 Norma Mag.

I had a 6.5-284 made in a custom rifle, but the maker inadvertently overbored the case neck region by 5 to 10 thousandths. Considering all the possible fixes, it seemed best to me to re-bore it to 6.5 Wby RPM, which worked well. I still refused the rifle because it wouldn't feed heavier round nose bullets, but that was a different problem. The 6.5 Wby RPM case is a sound design for an -06 length action. I like it very much. So much so that I bought a Wby rifle in 6.5 RPM. Still wouldn't feed the heavier round-nose bullets, but then, half the cost of the custom rifle.

Good Luck!

This has been an interesting and mysterious thread. I hoped that you would complete this project, tho It isn't a totally wildcat cartridge: reamers and die sets are available off-the-shelf. It's a mystery to me how the gunsmithing failed you