SECOND POST: A TRIAL RUNClipity wrote:If the 7.62 case could be used it would be a plus since nothing would have to be done to the bolt face and you would have a case that measures 1.522 from the top of the rim to the sholder, plenty of room for powder.
Clipity-
I rarely disagree with Hoot's posts, but I think it should be possible to make a 452 wildcat based on the sawed-off 7.62x54R case. Here's a photo of a cobbled-together trial run I made this morning:
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- Trial Run with Clipity's wildcat
- 115x40R.jpg (59.16 KiB) Viewed 24701 times
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Last summer I picked up some 1x-fired S&B 7.62x54R cases at the local range. I dug one out and used a Dremel to cut off the shoulder and neck. I measured the case wall thickness just inside the new case mouth; it was 0.0150", which is less than the case mouth thickness of a 30-06. If you double the wall thickness to 0.030, and add a 0.452 diameter bullet, the result is 0.482. The nominal base diameter of the 7.62x54R case is 0.489. So, a 7.62x54R case, cut off and formed onto a 452 bullet will be a straight-sided case with sides that are very slightly not parallel, and that taper from base to mouth.
I found my 7.62x54R shell holder for my reloading press, removed the depriming pin from a 45 acp RCBS expander die, lubed the inside of the sawed-off case, and ran the case up into the die. It came out a little lumpy, but not bad. I opened the mouth a bit with the Hornady 450B expander die, and then seated a 250-grain FTX Hornady bullet. Behold! From the seating die emerged a rough trial version of Clipity's proposed wildcat.
A 452 bullet is 0.452 inches time 25.4 mm/inch, or 11.5 mm diameter. Official drawings show the base-to-shoulder length of the 7.62x54R case is 39.61mm (CIP) or 40.36mm (SAAMI), which averages really close to 40mm. My trial-run case is shorter than this. The first-draft name for the first-draft example is 11.5x40R.
The case will not have the powder capacity of either the 450B or the 460 S&W. It should slightly exceed the 454 Casull case, which is 35.13mm long.
So, have a reamer ground, install a 452 barrel on the M-N, ream the chamber, prep a bunch of cases, and let us know how things work out. (If you go into any quantity production of the case, it might be nice to have a trim die made.)
Next: Some thoughts on a 450/7.62x54R wildcat.
(edited to repair CIP dimension on 7.62x54R length)