Does anyone have reloading data or experience with the 6MM-06 wildcat cartridge?
(Why do I allow myself to get dragged into these things all the time?)

Sorry!! Just thinking out loud again.

Anyways, I was surprised to see it in the reloading database. It's helpfull but I'm trying to gather as much data as possible because of the nature of wildcats. I want to compare as much data as possible.

The 6/06, 6-284 and 240 Weatherby have case capacity (water grains) of 95, 92 and 90 respectively. Loaded to the same pressure, they will be nearly identical in velocity with the same loads in rifles of equal barrel length. I've had rifles in all three of these cartridges over the years and, in my opinion, they offer marginal gains over the 6mm Remington. Its a lot of fun to experiment and wildcat, but, the objective results often come up short when compared to factory offers (with some notable exceptions).

steve4102 references reloadersnest and it is an excellent source of information on data, however, no pressure data is offered. As such, results can vary depending on how a cartridge is loaded and, of course, to what pressure. I use reloadersnest to get ballpark numbers to determine expectations or to take advantage of other's data, but, be careful, some of the displayed loads are hot.

Thanks guys, It's appreciated.

From what little info I've managed to gather I belive my friend thats doing this is on a road to disapointment.

What do you think Handloader? He seems to think 3400fps is possible with a 100gr. bullet out of a 26" barrel.

I think he's right. I get 3200 with 46gr. of rl-22 in a 22". If you give it 4" and the max charge of 48 you should come close. I can't see what that 200 extra fps. will do for him. I shot two deer with this load and nither took a step. 200 fps faster is not going to do it any better. And he will have trouble matching 1.25" 5 shot goups with that ovreboren load.

chambered221 wrote:

Thanks guys, It's appreciated. From what little info I've managed to gather I belive my friend thats doing this is on a road to disapointment. What do you think Handloader? He seems to think 3400fps is possible with a 100gr. bullet out of a 26" barrel.

I believe it is possible, but, impractical. The 240 Weatherby, with slightly more capacity, is often listed with 100gr bullets as 3,200fps to 3,350fps, usually with the 24" barrel. Weatherby loads factory ammo to the highest psi possible. It suggests the 6-06 would be approaching pressures that would be unreasonable.

I've done some extensive load development with 6-06 Ackley and have used a piezo strain gauge, stopping at 62,000 psi. This Remington 700 based rifle has a PacNor 26" barrel and the 100gr bullets attained 3,330fps for what I considered a max load based on pressure and CHE.

Trying to climb the ladder of velocity can be risky business. There are numerous "experimenters" that have pushed that envelop enough that they are missing various body parts and would probably join me in discouraging too avid an approach for the mere sake of velocity. At some point, the return on investment is poor and the attrition of brass, action, barrel life and loss of flesh expensive.

Should one be committed to this endeavor, I recommend using Remington bolt actions or Ruger No1s. In trying to intentionally see how much pressure some actions can take, these two have been outstanding. Too, Winchester brass seems to me to be the most durable in the high pressure game and fails at higher pressures than other brands I have tried.

Oh, one other thought: the experimenter is well advised to have a well stocked premium first aid kit and cell phone.

We chase high velocity in hopes of flatter trajectory and more down range energy or simply because we want to see just how fast we can make those little copper jacketed pills run. When used in real world situations, the cost is excess recoil, noise and ruined meat.