Of all the active posts I see maybe 2 regarding actual wildcatting, you know experimentation based on experience but still off the reservation and lacking any real book data. I figured with savage's barrel nut making switching barrels easy that it'd be more popular.
Darn it all to heck. Heck I tell ya.
Anyway, here's some dirt on my own wildcat. It's called .45 Cinderblock for reasons which will become obvious shortly. I have it set up in a 1916 built Swedish Mauser M94 with a 18" tapered barrel (I also have a bull barrel 20" version on a spanish mauser action that I like less).
So wanna know what it looks like? Go grab a .45acp from your safe, I'll wait. <waits> That's exactly what it looks like. In fact the .45 Cinderblock chamber is dimensionally IDENTICAL to .45acp chamber. Yes that's dangerous in a lot of ways but only really to my .45acp pistols if you think about it.
I take .460 Rowland brass and cut it to .888". The rifle won't easily chamber anything beyond .891" as a snug headspace is important. Add in CCI magnum pistol primers and a LOT of Longshot powder (well above book limits for .460 Rowland) which forms a well compressed charge, top with 185gr JHP or 200gr JSWC or 200gr LSWC or 200gr HBLRN, do not crimp at all just roll the bell out of the case mouth. With my top loads I get 2000fps (well, 2010-ish) from jacketed bullets. Lead bullets I have gotten 1900FPS from but you can only do that with solid base bullets as the hollow base bullets turned into spin stabilized 3" long lead nails that would break up at 15yrds from the muzzle and spall 3 counties with frags at 90 degrees to the direction of bullet travel.
SWC bullets make a sound like a bull roarer when I drive them past 1600fps and it gets louder as the velocities increase. Scares the hell out of critters when you start whizzing those across the landscape. My 185gr load makes it through a big rig steel wheel, or 20" of gelatin (quad thickness batch, non-calibrated) or 2 propane tanks (empty).
Downsides: .452" bullets aren't designed for these kinds of velocities. They can and do come apart, especially cup-n-core bullets. Cast lead is great but leading gets terrific unless I use bear creek moly coated. Another downside, if you put one of my Cinderblock loads in a pistol and fire you'll be injured and destroy the pistol. Headstamp identification is mandatory and if you can't tell what the load is then it's a rifle only load.
Upsides: .452" bullets break things and leave BIG holes. At 2K FPS I'd take one of these up against any black bear, deer, hog etc... I wouldn't use it on an elk unless I was using FMJ but it'll sure kill one if I find myself needing to. I can put my .45acp bullets in it and it has no recoil and is pretty quiet while making steel ring well and holes in targets big enough to see without a scope. There's seemingly no amount of powder I can put in the case that's evil in my rifle (the most over-hot load to date had to be dropped in 2 stages and left the cases with very slightly loosened primer pockets after firing and I don't go that high any more). My mauser feeds from 7-15 round 1911 magazines. Beating .44magnum power with a .45acp size case is super neato. Full power loads have the same recoil as a .44mag rifle with muzzle blast that will curl your hair. It's nice to be able to shoot rabbits for food or shoot them for vaporization depending on which load I pick.
It took 15 years of reloading before I was comfortable doing this sort of stuff, please don't try to replicate my results as it is EXTREMELY dangerous. If you want my load data PM me and agree to never use it.
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