Growing up in the 80s and 90s I always wanted a bolt action specialty pistol because they were the coolest thing I’d ever seen. Remington had the XP-100, Wichita had the Silhouette and Mk40, and later Savage had the Striker. A couple years ago I found a Wichita Silhouette in 308 sitting in a pawn shop in Omaha for way more than it was worth, they still have it and won’t budge on the price. Last fall I noticed this little sweetheart on Guns International but talked myself out of it because it was located in Massachusetts. Well, work bonuses and time, plus signing up for HHC 2027 motivated me to inquire. Low and behold, I’m now the happy owner of a bolt action specialty pistol in 7mm IHMSA. The brass and dies, all 90s remnants, showed up in a couple days and USPS made me wait 2 weeks to go to my FFL for the transfer. Been working through the brass, bought a Burstfire 2 and neck turning tool because the brass is all formed from 300 Savage or some of it came from milsurp 308. Most folks now use small primer 6.5 Creedmoor as the patent case, which if I don’t opt to spin a new barrel on any time soon I’ll probably do the same. I’d forgotten how much I enjoy the process of reloading for consistency. Hopefully I’ll be sending some rounds through it this weekend and then I can really start to dial it in after the first pass.
That thing is super cool.
It’s such a neat little piece!
Things I’ve learned to date with this pistol and what is basically a wildcat cartridge.
- These bolt action pistols are just too cool! I will be hunting with this think next year.
- Old fiberglass stocks left in a display case for years will warp/take a set. Fortunately I have the tools to make a nice wood stock.
- A case neck lathe is super handy and just about essential for cases that the neck was originally part of the shoulder or body. Had to turn these down to .014" to get them to extract, the chamber especially the next area is tight.
- If putting a more common chambered barrel is an option, do it. The time invested to anneal, form, trim, turn and fireform cases is pretty large. For every 100 cases, I’d guess around 8-12 hours start to finish. Then some will still burn through the shoulder or split a neck. And clickers are also a thing with the original Winchester produced 300 Savage parent case. I’d be opting for 6.5 Creedmoor brass if I didn’t plan to rebarrel.
- Simply based on available components, dies and reloading data I’m going with an 8 twist 7 SAW barrel. After looking at 7 SWC, 7-08, 7 SAW and 284 Win the most useful data for the application is 7 SAW with an 18" barrel which clocks a 175 gr ELD at 2560 fps. With the traditional 15" barrel 2450 fps is realistic with common powders. Reamer rental is $80, brass is based on Alpha 308 Palma, and Hornady dies are readily available. (Not a huge fan of Hornady dies but after scrapping a 7 PRC sizing die I figured them out)
My scope should arrive at Burris’ service center tomorrow, and I should hear from the folks who bought the Wichita inventory tomorrow about remaining barrel blanks. I’m ready to start making sawdust and breathe new life into this old gal.