I've been thinking about designing the ultimate wildcat cartridge, and I think I've got it.
The requirements are:
1. Good power at normal game hunting ranges
2. Good trajectory with reasonable recoil
3. Ability to chamber in standard length actions
4. Good bullet weight range, availability and quality
5. Dimensions that provide reasonable bolt thrust
6. Excellent feeding from magazine
7. Adaptable to all rifle actions
I settled on a design that will handle bullets weighing from 55 to 250 grains. It will also
provide velocities up to 4000 fps in lighter bullet weights and from 2400 to 3000 fps in normal hunting weights.
With a 200 yd zero, it drops only 6.5" at 200, and is 1.5" high at 100. It will carry one ton of energy to 500 yards.
It does not have a belted or rebated rim, so it feeds like a dream. It uses a standard base dimension, so you can load 1 up and 4 down in a standard bolt-action rifle magazine.
The bolt thrust is only 64% of a standard-base magnum round.
In actual testing, it has proven that it can "poleaxe" any game animal on the North American continent and will also handle 99% of African plains game.
Now, what to call it...............
Well, ever since Holland and Holland came up with the .300 H&H Magnum, I guess it's going to have to have the designation "Magnum" in it's name.
"Ultra Mag" is already taken
"Short Mag" is, too (isn't that an oxymoron?)
"Short action ultra mag" is used
"Super-Short mag" is, too
Hornady gave us the "Light Mag" (
??) and the "Heavy Mag"
So, here it is...........the
"7.62 MM Slim Mag" You know,
quickdtoo said I should call it the .30-'06. I said " Heck, it's got to have a metric designation so we can pacify the rest of the world..........and it's 2007, not '06....what the hell?