I just noticed there is a bid on it, but does not meet the reserve price yet.

I've never heard of such an item until you posted it on Gunbroker.

In looking at Wildey auctions on the site over the years, many don't sell over $5,000.00 asking price...even engraved ones.  Some of the Cheshire manufactured pistols may on occasion due to their rarity.  I only have one engraved handgun, a C.O.P., which I purchased on Gunbroker for around $1,300.00 a few years ago.  Obviously, quite smaller then an engraved Wildey.  The price was a little high, but not bad.  I expect an engraved C.O.P. to market at between $800.00 and $1,000.00 during the period.  Blue Book values normally don't include engraved firearms, but I don't expect the prices to be drastically higher than ones that aren't.  One exception would be the use of gold inlays.  I'm not an expert, though.

I was looking at some of the Holland & Holland firearms on Gunbroker as well.  Heh, one can buy a luxury car for the price of those.  Royalty guns, I assume?

There is a very rare firearm for auction on Gunbroker. It is a .475 Wildey Magnum with the logo of Colt's Manufacturing Company. Only 15 remained at Colt, apparently, but 100 were supposed to have been produced. This is number 3 of 100, serial number 4595. In 1999, Wildey, F.A. approached Colt about manufacturing a line of pistols. Some were produced as samples and sent to Colt for approval. The partnership was never approved, and the pistols Colt had were sold. This gun is one of them. For those who collect rare items, this would be one to look into.

For the most part, it is a standard Wildey manufactured pistol. The main difference is it has the Colt logo instead of Wildey. The asking price is a bit high, but not outrageous.

I noticed the seller is a BEEMER1. It wouldn't be the one on here now, would it?

This person on another forum shot the .357 Wildey Magnum back in 2009, best one of the calibers he ever fired and consistently accurate.  Unfortunately, he only had 20 rounds so things were limited.

The Mangum Research IMI Desert Eagle does have a .41 Magnum, which last I checked, is considered a 10 mm caliber cartridge.  It also comes in .357 Magnum, .44 Magnum, .440 Cor-Bon and .50 AE.  There is a .357/44 Bain & Davis prototype, which I'm not familiar with.

There is one more odd caliber, the .30 Wildey Magnum.  A source mentions that it was produced by Wildey, Inc., but I've never seen it in any of their manuals or on the website.  It is also a necked down .475 Wildey Magnum, using a .30 caliber bullet (not sure if it is the 7.62 mm, 30-06 or similar size).  I currently don't know of any firearms which use the cartridge.

I'm sure some people around the country have the barrels, ammunition and dies for these calibers.  Due to their rarity, I'd expect they won't given up anytime soon.  I've seen none on Gunbroker.com at all in the past few years looking on there.  Normally it's been a .475 Wildey Magnum, .45 Winchester Magnum or a .44 Auto Mag.

I have a 2006 .475 Wildey Magnum pin barrel gun which I purchased in 2007 on Gunbroker.com, the only one of it's type I've seen on there so far.  It was shipped to an FFL in Raleigh, NC where I picked it up.  I also purchased 50 rounds of ammunition from Wildey F.A. when they were still in business.  For value purposes, I most likely won't fire the gun unless I obtain another one...preferably an older version made in New Milford, CT.  The first ones made in Cheshire, CT are highly sought, but I'm not sure what calibers were available at that time.  The original calibers for Wildey guns starting in 1980 were the .45 Winchester Magnum and 9 mm Winchester Magnum.  The .475 Wildey Magnum wasn't produced until around 1984.  It's possible the production facility was still in Cheshire, but I expect it more likely to be New Milford.  In 1999, production was moved to Warren, CT where it remained through 2011.  In the Death Wish 3 movie from 1985, the metal plate had Wildey, Inc. - Brookfield, CT.  Their post office box was there, but New Milford was five miles up the road.  Anyway, older guns are more valuable.

I don't know Jim Dolson.  From looking online, if I have the correct person, he was residing in Texas before moving to Oklahoma.  The Wildey I purchased on Gunbroker.com did originate in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, so that is a bit interesting.

I did notice on another forum that in regards to the .357 Wildey Magnum, there was an article in the Guns & Ammo magazine years ago reviewing this caliber.  It was a limited test market production, and the barrel kit along with a few rounds were provided to some good Wildey customers to try out an provide feedback.  Less than 100 guns were made and around 5,000 rounds of ammunition.  The project was never taken to full production, although Guns & Ammo gave positive remarks.

This person on the forum actually had a barrel and some ammunition for the .357 Wildey Magnum that his grandfather previously owned.  He also had barrels for some other calibers, including the .45 Winchester Magnum and .44 Auto Mag.  There were also loading dies for them.

The three Wildey calibers designed in 1986 were necked down versions of the .475 Wildey Magnum brass casing.  Also, the .45 Wildey Magnum introduced in 1997 is of the same setup.  He stated that the .357 Wildey Magnum cartridge is cut .02-inch shorter and bottle necked down to fit a .357 Magnum bullet.  I expect the overall length of each cartridge to be roughly the same, around 1.575 inches...the same length as a .45 Winchester Magnum.  The .45 Wildey Magnum may be slightly longer, around the same length as the .44 Auto Mag, as it uses a .45 ACP FMJ bullet.  I believe the rest are either hollow point or soft point.

Without an actual cartridge for each Wildey caliber to make a comparison, it will be hard to determine specific dimensions.  What we do know is the base and rim measurements will all be the same with the same style casing being used.

For those who aren't already aware, user 'WildeyUSAFC' is George Benedict of USA Firearms Corp. They are the new parent company for Wildey Guns located in Winsted, Connecticut.

http://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog/2015/09/30/wildey-guns-is-back/


In reference to a 10 mm Magnum for Wildey, one was designed in 1986 but was eventually discontinued...the .41 Wildey Magnum (also known as the 10 mm Wildey Magnum).  Two other calibers, the .44 Wildey Magnum (also known as the 11 mm Wildey Magnum) and the .357 Wildey Magnum (also known as the .357 Peterbuilt), were also produced during that time but also ceased.  Ballistics on each were listed in the 1987 version of the Wildey Survivor Instruction Manual & Parts Catalog.  The manuals were revised in 1990 and only included the .45 Winchester Magnum and .475 Wildey Magnum.  I expect the other calibers, including the 9 mm Winchester Magnum, were discontinued before that time.

If you find a copy of the book The World's Most Powerful Rifles and Handguns by Robert Adam (1991), a photo of each former Wildey cartridge is on the bottom of page 61.  There is a posting online, but the image is dark.  I believe the names mentioned in the caption are slightly off; from left to right should be the .357 Magnum, .357 Wildey Magnum, .41 Wildey Magnum, .44 Wildey Magnum and .44 Magnum.  The .475 Wildey Magnum cartridge does not have a shoulder.

http://www.amtguns.net/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/The-Worlds-Most-Powerful-Rifles-and-Handguns.pdf

In looking at the provided ballistics for the .357 Wildey Magnum, the calculation for the barrel pressure is quite significant out of a 10-inch barrel.  Of course, being a smaller projectile, it was fastest out of the Wildey calibers.  A 125 grain with a muzzle velocity of 2,300 ft/s and muzzle energy of 1,468 ft/lb makes the barrel pressure 52,797 psi.  The 158 grain has a lower muzzle velocity, but higher muzzle energy and barrel pressure.  Some would say if you were shot by this projectile, it would definitely feel like you were hit by a 357 Peterbilt.