Wildcat rifles

[RelicHound]

I was given a barreled action and a really nice stock today. the guy who gave it to me says he bought it as an unfinished wildcat rifle[the action and barrel is finished but the stock still needs some work]
he says he cant remember what it is chambered for and I can find no markings on it what so ever{other than some numbers but nothing to indicate the caliber}
is there anyway to find out what this is chambered for/ the muzzle is tiny..its identicle to a .22 or .17hmr but the chamber throat is rather large
I was thinking maybe a .17 fireball?
or this going to be one of those things that I will never know for sure? if thats the case then Ill just finish the stock and re blue the action and barrel and keep it as a gun safe space filler

 

[rimfire_crazed]

Make a wax mold of the chamber and measure it. If it's something that's been done before you shouldn't have too much trouble figuring out what it is.

 

[451_Detonics]

I agree, a chamber cast will tell you a lot about what it is chambered for, and someone somewhere has probably built another. Wildcats can be a lot of fun, I shoot several myself.

 

[RelicHound]

Thanks guys! Ill make a mold this evening if I can fidn the time..Ill also get some pics..maybe that will be helpful

 

[Disposable Heart]

I would probably use Cerrosafe instead of wax. Wax can get warped when removed and may not give accurate measurements due to that.

Midway's got it cheap!

 

[RelicHound]

I messed with it a bit this evening and I dont guess it matters now what it is..the barrel is shot! the rifling is very bad in it and I can see pits all down the inside of the barrel..nothing on this rifle is good. the stock is/was a very nice stock but it was painted at one time or another..this is what was under the coat of paint.

I'm going to refinish it and see if I can make it fit a savage 93R17 or a ruger m7722..it looks like it wont take much to get it to fit.
what a shame! this was a very nice rifle at one time and probably cost and arm and a leg to build it

 

[fireball168]

What action?

 

[RelicHound]

What action?

does this help any? maybe someone will know what manufacture this is?

 

[fireball168]

Sako L461.

 

[Limpy88]

i concur with fireball168 its a sako.

 

[sloughfoot]

Is there a reason why you are not considering replacing the barrel in a caliber of your choice? Could be kind of a cool rig with that stock and all.. It looks like a .308 sized bolt face in your pic. Maybe a .243 or 22-250 is a possibility?

 

[RelicHound]

yep! after looking up the sako I reckon thats what it is! thanks

 

[fireball168]

I've never seen a factory Vixen chambered in anything beyond the 222/223 case head diameter.

 

[RelicHound]

Is there a reason why you are not considering replacing the barrel in a caliber of your choice? Could be kind of a cool rig with that stock and all.. It looks like a .308 sized bolt face in your pic. Maybe a .243 or 22-250 is a possibility?

I never considered that until a bit ago. its a possibility for sure! I'd love to have a .22 hornet bolt gun and I think this may make a nice one. Im really not sure..I know the barrel is defiantly some sorta odd wild cat round and I'd almost put money on it that this gun started out as a 222 and then it was re-barreled into some sort of .17 wildcat,maybe a .17-222
Im going to take the rifle into my gun smith next week and have him look over all the parts I have for it and also inspect the barrel to see if maybe it can be worked over{which I doubt} depending on what he has to say I may just give it to him so he can re-do the stock and turn her into a .22 hornet or back into a .222

 

[42769vette]

defintally make it somthing interesting. this thread should help you when you figure out the bolt face diameter

Bolt face diameter's - LongRangeHunting Online Magazine

 

[RelicHound]

defintally make it somthing interesting. this thread should help you when you figure out the bolt face diameter

Bolt face diameter's - LongRangeHunting Online Magazine

added to favorites! thanks

 

[42769vette]

a 222 is a .384 bf. there are not as many options as the 473 bf but there are some good options. also you can get a kit to change the bf of a given action. if i remember its calleda piff kit (or somthing like that) i know nothing about them at all it was recomended to me as a option and it didn't seam like as good a option as getting a action of the right bf for my desired cartrige (260)

 

[RelicHound]

I'm defiantly going to do as much research as possible on this one..I'd love to make/have made this into a tack driving varmint rifle. I've got so many irons in the fire rite now that this will probably be a very slow project but I'm going to drop it off at the smiths next week just to get an idea of what I can do with it and maybe get a list of parts that I may need. our smith is a family friend and he has done alot of work for us at cost since we help him out on his farm...so maybe I can bail hay for him this year or something and get this done for very little

 

[sloughfoot]

Cool. I am glad that you are considering bringing this rifle back to life.

I was comparing the bolt face diameter to your finger in the picture. Not very scientific for sure.

 

[RelicHound]

Cool. I am glad that you are considering bringing this rifle back to life.

I was comparing the bolt face diameter to your finger in the picture. Not very scientific for sure.

I have very large hands..with very large fingers everything I hold looks smaller than it actually is
I know..I know...boooooo