Good News and Good News!!!

[HonkerHunter]

The first good news is that we got to help out a bunch of fellow Texans that were trapped by flood waters and get them food, water and shelter - at least for the time being. Being a cop does have it's rewards and that's HELPING PEOPLE.

The second good news is that after we all got back and got home safely, I had a package laying on the kitchen table and I knew or at least hoped I knew what it was. It was my three H&R barrels that I had sent off to have reworked. One was a bull barreled 243 winchester that I had rechambered to the 6mm remington Ackley Improved. The second barrel was a 44 mag barrel rechambered to the 445 super mag. The last barrel was a 357 mag barrel rechambered to the 357 maximum.

All three barrels were also recrowned with a 11 degree target crown if I'm not mistaking. The barrels were also redrilled and tapped for 8-40 screws and the bases reworked to accept these larger and longer screws.

Here is a list of what i now have to take to the gun range, hunting, plinking and blowing things up - plastic containers full of water.

219 Donaldson wasp
22X357 Maximum
6mm Ackley Improved
445 Super Mag
357 Maximum
7mm TCU
7X30 Waters
225 Winchester
6mm Bench rest and 7mm bench rest based on shortened 307 winchester case
22X30-30 improved
270 ren
6X30-30 Improved
6.8 SPC improved using 375 winchester brass
30-30 Ackley Improved
6.5X55
9.3X74R
338 federal

My growing wish list is to include a 250 Savage ackley Improved, 30-40 krag, 5.6-50R Improved, 444 Marlin and probably a few others.

HH

[nomosendero]

A very impressive assortment!! I am anxious to see how the 6mmAI does, it is a great round!!

[DalesCarpentry]

First off I would like to thank you for helping those people out. Being a cop you see people at their worst and is sometimes a difficult job to do. The second thing is you seem to have a great collection of calibers not offered in factory ammo. All I can say is good for you and range reports are mandatory. Looking forward to hearing more.   Dale

[HonkerHunter]

Thank you.

I forgot to mention 22 K-hornet and it's one of my favorite. i have a 1.065" diameter bull barrel 23 inches long in that one and at 100 yards it will literaly shoot all bullets through the same hole.

I'm taking a short vacation next week when my wife, kids and I head up to oklahoma to visit family in Tulsa and Enid. After leaving tulsa, I'm going to stop by and visit my gunsmith for a day and see just exactly how he makes my barrels. should prove very informative and educational. He also has a new 17 caliber round that is kinda like the 219 Donaldson wasp that he wants me to take home and shoot.

I guess i just like the wildcat cartridges as i load for everything that I shoot. i also like the idea of shooting something that not everyone else has and it just seems appealing to me.

HH

[HonkerHunter]

Thank you Dale. I see things all the time that I wish I had'nt but that just comes with the job and the territory.

If it is allowed to post loading data over here, I'll do several posting after I get some time off.

HH

[DalesCarpentry]

Thank you Dale. I see things all the time that I wish I had'nt but that just comes with the job and the territory.

If it is allowed to post loading data over here, I'll do several posting after I get some time off.

HH

I don't reload yet but I will in the near future. The guys around here trade data all the time and it is welcomed so knock yourself out. Good luck to you and the new calibers.

[greg916]

HonkrHunter, How does the 6X30/30 shoot? Also the 22x357 maximum?

[db22]

HonkerHunter, whereabouts in the Great State are you located? I'm from Dallas originally, still have kin down in the Houston area. I sure do miss decent barbecue!

You've done a great thing helping out those people trapped by the flooding, and I'm glad to hear you were rewarded with a package from the gunsmith. I see you have a .338 Federal among your calibers. Is that a barrel on a Handi frame, or another type of rifle? That cartridge has interested me since it first appeared. Last week I got a package myself, from my old deer hunting buddy. We both used to cast bullets a lot, but he has quit, while I have gotten back into it. He sent me all his old remaining Lyman mold blocks, and among them is a flat-nose .338 bullet. I think it was originally designed for the old .33 Winchester round, but I remember he used it with good results in his .338 Win Mag. The .338 Federal would be a perfect case for this bullet, making a fine cast-bullet deer rifle.

We all will be very interested to hear how your new barrels shoot, and how your 'smith goes about making custom barrels. Thanks for the post!

[ONE HOLE 4570]

Honkerhunter,

Good on you for you service

Great assortment of Cal.

Who is your gunsmith here in Oklahoma been looking for one for awhile (contact info)

[Ditchdigger]

Hey Honker,was the area you worked the floods in Sherman and Gainesville area? I live 30 miles north of there in Okla.  Digger

[LaOtto222]

I have utmost respect for our public service and military people. It is a tough and for the most part thankless job. Thank God we have people like you.

[pascalp]

A target crown is better than an uncertain muzzle !

11° crown is best for boat tail bullet and 90° work well with flat base.

The idea is to manage escaping gas and avoiding them to surround the bullet and possibly tilt the bullet if not perfectly distributed.
The main difficulty with boat tail bullet is that gas began to escapes while the boat tail part of the bullet is still in the bore.

This crown will be probably at his best with your 6mm AI and jacketed BT bullets

[HonkerHunter]

Goodness...... with all the questions and such, I'll try to answer them in order and if I miss anyone, i do apologize.


greg916 - both the 6mmX30-30 Improved and 22X357 maximum will both shoot under 1/2 inch at 100 yards for either 5 shot or 3 shot groups. The 6mm matches a 243 winchesters ballistics and the 22 maximum runs neck and neck with a 222 Remington, at least with what little testing I have done so far.


db22 - I'm just on the outskirts of Houston. Please forgive me for not being more specific but I will not give out certain personal information on an open forum for various reasons with my job. If I can get a transfer to Tulsa Oklahoma, I would like to move and my wife can easily get a transfer because she is an RN. I'll just have to see what positions become available in the next couple of months. My 338 federal is an H&R ultra with a 23" blued octagon barrel. I load for it using 307 Winchester brass. I have fired the gun 9 times sighting in the scope and prepping brass. I think my bullet of choice will be sierras 215 gr. boat tail or noslers 225 partition. Your cast bullet should prove good. My gunsmith makes his own barrel lugs and heat treats them so they wont shoot the barrel loose on the frame. I have shot some pretty stiff loads in my 9.3X74R and expected the barrel to rattle after all the rounds that went through it but it is as tight or tighter than any H&R you will ever pick up. He tested barrel pressures with an Oehler 43 PBL with a strain guage and is able to monitor pressures directly on a specific barrel. I get heartburn too bad for barbecue and I DO miss being able to eat it cause my wife and mother both sure do know how to cook it.


ONE HOLE 45/70 - Thank You on both counts. Since my gunsmith is not a paid advertiser, I dont know if I can give his information or not on the forum. If you would send me a pm, I'll give you his information. He does exceptional bolt gun work as well as our department and Highway Patrol each have one of his guns for our SWAT officers.


Digger - our areas were Waco, Temple, Killeen and Fredericksburg.


LaOtto222 - Thank You for your kind words, it means more than you may know.


passcalp - crown and bullet bases just like you said. flat recessed crown for big flat bullets and 11 degree crown for boat tail bullets. Kinda plain and simple.


I get off early tomorrow and will be heading to Oklahoma (Tulsa/Vinita/Miami) to visit family and gunsmith. I should be back monday evening and if Im not too tired, I'll let you know how things went.

HH

[myarmor]

My hat off to you. A very nice collection ya got there and a lot of fun to be had for a long time.

Enjoy
-Aaron

[handirifle]

HH
I too, would like to thank you for helping those people and serving the public in general.

nice collection of wildcats there.  What rifles are they from?  All are not handi barrels are they?

[HonkerHunter]

Aaron - thank you...... and yes, I will be enjoying these for years to come.


handirifle - all of the rifles that I have listed are my H&R ULTRA's. Add a 17 Ackley hornet and .19 Calhoon to the list as I just got a late e-mail that said that they would be ready and I could pick them up when I get to OK. NO! I cant afford all these on just my salary and I'm very grateful to have a wife and mom that helps me enjoy things like this for the work that I do and the saccrifices that I make for my family. I'm not complaining or bragging and would'nt trade my job for anything. Nothing bad happens, I'll see you guys back here next monday or tuesday.

HH

[db22]

HH -- Hope your trip went well and your new barrel projects are successful. My brother is in Houston, does some sporting clays shooting and hunts quail and doves on a lease somewhere west of there. Your wildcat projects are interesting to us here, to say the least! I'm intrigued that you load your .338 rounds on the rimmed .307 Win case. That does sound like the best basis for a .338 cartridge in the break-action NEF/H&R rifle. The old .33 Winchester would be a pretty likely candidate, but it would take a miracle to raise that one from the dead.

Oddly, my old hunting buddy gave me another old Lyman mold, for a 250-grain round nose that was originally developed for the .35 WCF. I've given some thought to trying that bullet in my .357 Handi, if I ever ream it out to .357 Maximum.

It is great to have another shooter here who is "pushing the envelope" for these rifles.