45 Wildey Magnum

[BEEMER!]

sqlbullet

I agree to a point.  It appears that they are getting into this underfunded and they probably know it.

Over marketing a product that they have not produced yet is what took the Wildey down originally.

You can add The Auto Mag Corp and The Bren Ten group into that category also.

All of them were selling product that they could not produce for the price they had advertised it for.

I wish them luck, but it is going to be a tough go in my opinion.

[BEEMER!]

Shadow

Why not stay with the parent case, the 475 Wildey which is a cut down 284, and is available from Starline and just neck it down and bypass retooling bolts and magazines?

Added later-

I was thinking about this over a sandwich at lunch. 

The 44 Auto Mag cases are available.  How about a 10mm Auto Mag or a 357 Auto Mag Wildey.  The 357 is formed easily from 44 AMP brass.

[sqlbullet]

Yep.  They should have put up a coming soon, history and contact page.  Much better strategy.  They could have archived the old site and provided a link.

[BEEMER!]

Yep.  They should have put up a coming soon, history and contact page.  Much better strategy.  They could have archived the old site and provided a link.

I agree with that completely.

[Alucepluv]

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.

[BEEMER!]

I have seen references to the various cartridges that you mention, but I have never seen  or heard of any pistols chambered for them,

Were any pistols ever produced to shoot any of these cartridges to your knowledge?

They did produce pistols chambered for the 44 Auto Mag cartridge.

One thing I never understood was why the 45 Win mag and the 475 Wildey Mag cases were designed to the length which is about .10" shorter than the other magnums like the 357 , 44, and the 44 AMP.  I have a Wildey in 44 AMP and you must seat the bullet deep in the case to get it to fit in the magazine

[Alucepluv]

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.

[BEEMER!]

Interesting.

I saw some dies on Ebay several months ago for 10mm Wildey and 11mm Wildey.  They looked like RCBS dies and the label on the boxes was hand written on what looked like masking tape.  The same seller had a couple dozen other very odd caliber dies so I figured he had picked up an estate and had no idea what they were.

I do not know George  but I have talked to him on the phone several times and I wish him and his partners well.

Do you know the location of any of the odd caliber barrels or dies made from the 475 parent case as I would be interested in them.

Do you know Jim Dolson?

[Alucepluv]

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.

[BEEMER!]

Jim and Wildey Moore were/are good friends. 

Jim was from Corpus Christie and moved to Oklahoma as he got older to be by family. 

He sold guns for Wildey and had access to all the odd or low piece count Wildey's.  If the odd calibers were around, I know Jim would have had them at on time.

Thanks for the info.

[Alucepluv]

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.

[TonyRumore]

I bought a 45 Win Mag Wildey back in 1989, S/N 1109.  It was a complete POS.  Why anyone would want to bring back that thing is beyond me.

At the time, I had an 45WM LAR Grizzly, 44 Desert Eagle, and 44/41/357 Automag and thought adding the Wildey to the collection would be nice.  I was wrong.

Tony Rumore
Tromix

[Alucepluv]

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.