.475 Wildey Magnum
The .475 Wildey Magnum is a large semi-automatic pistol cartridge designed for big game hunting in the Wildey pistol.
.475 Wildey Magnum | ||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Type | Pistol | |||||||||||
Place of origin | United States | |||||||||||
Production history | ||||||||||||
Designer | Winchester | |||||||||||
Designed | 1977 | |||||||||||
Manufacturer | Wildey | |||||||||||
Produced | 1984–Present[1] | |||||||||||
Specifications | ||||||||||||
Parent case | .284 Winchester | |||||||||||
Case type | Rebated, straight | |||||||||||
Bullet diameter | .475 in (12.1 mm) | |||||||||||
Neck diameter | .493 in (12.5 mm) | |||||||||||
Base diameter | .501 in (12.7 mm) | |||||||||||
Rim diameter | .473 in (12.0 mm) | |||||||||||
Rim thickness | .040 in (1.0 mm) | |||||||||||
Case length | 1.198 in (30.4 mm) | |||||||||||
Overall length | 1.580 in (40.1 mm) | |||||||||||
Case capacity | 38 gr H2O (2.5 cm3) | |||||||||||
Primer type | Large magmum pistol | |||||||||||
Maximum CUP | 50,000 CUP | |||||||||||
Ballistic performance | ||||||||||||
|
History
The .475 Wildey Magnum was designed to be a hunting round. Cases are formed from .284 Winchester brass with the neck cut down and widened to take a .475 in bullet, and the length is the same as the .45 Winchester Magnum. Velocity at 100 yards is equivalent to the muzzle velocity of the .44 Magnum.[2][3][4]
Popular media
While not being very common, the .475 Wildey Magnum is most famous for its appearance in Death Wish 3, where the Wildey (chambered for this cartridge) was a signature weapon of Paul Kersey, a character portrayed by Charles Bronson (using his own personal Wildey firearm) in the Death Wish film series.
Additional Wildey calibers
In the late 1980s, Wildey, Inc. produced three additional calibers using necked down versions of the .475 Wildey Magnum brass casing originally designed in 1983 in order to achieve higher velocities and muzzle energies.[5] First was the .357 Wildey Magnum (also known as the .357 Peterbuilt) which used a .357 Magnum bullet. Second was the .41 Wildey Magnum (also known as the 10 mm Wildey Magnum) which used a .41 Magnum bullet. Last was the .44 Wildey Magnum (also known as the 11 mm Wildey Magnum) which used a .44 Magnum bullet.[6] All calibers were eventually discontinued.
The .45 Wildey Magnum was introduced by Wildey F.A., Inc. in 1997, which is also a necked down version of the .475 Wildey Magnum using a .45 ACP bullet. It was discontinued in 2011, when overall productions ceased.[7]
Listed below is the ballistic performances of each produced cartridge as fired from a 10 in (254 mm) barrel. The information on the .45 Wildey Magnum is from a 12 in (305 mm) barrel. Bullet types were not provided.[6][8]
Caliber | Bullet weight | Velocity | Energy |
---|---|---|---|
.357 Wildey Magnum | 125 gr (8.1 g) | 2,300 ft/s (701 m/s) | 1,468 ft·lbf (1,989 J) |
.357 Wildey Magnum | 158 gr (10.2 g) | 2,060 ft/s (638 m/s) | 1,489 ft·lbf (2,018 J) |
.41 Wildey Magnum | 200 gr (13 g) | 1,842 ft/s (561 m/s) | 1,507 ft·lbf (2,042 J) |
.41 Wildey Magnum | 220 gr (14.25 g) | 1,733 ft/s (528 m/s) | 1,467 ft·lbf (1,988 J) |
.44 Wildey Magnum | 200 gr (13 g) | 1,980 ft/s (603 m/s) | 1,741 ft·lbf (2,359 J) |
.44 Wildey Magnum | 240 gr (15.5 g) | 1,747 ft/s (532 m/s) | 1,626 ft·lbf (2,203 J) |
.45 Wildey Magnum | 230 gr (14.9 g) | 1,730 ft/s (527 m/s) | 1,485 ft·lbf (2,013 J) |
See also
References
- Frank C. Barnes (2014). Cartridges of the World: A Complete and Illustrated Reference for Over 1500 Cartridges (14 ed.). Krause Publications. p. 328. ISBN 978-1-4402-4265-6.
- Hartink, A.E. (2003). The Complete Encyclopedia of Pistols and Revolvers. Edison, New Jersey: Chartwell Books, Inc. pp. 375–376. ISBN 978-0-7858-1871-7.
- "The Wildey Features". wildeyguns.com. Archived from the original on 5 October 2016. Retrieved 31 October 2013.
- ".475 Wildey Magnum Reloading Data". loaddata.com. Archived from the original on 2013-11-02. Retrieved 31 October 2013.
- Guns America, Wildey Survivor .45 Winchester Magnum, Retrieved Jan. 14, 2016.
- AMT Guns, The World's Most Powerful Rifles & Handguns by Robert Adam (1991), Retrieved Jan. 12, 2016.
- The American Handgunner, Web Blast: The .44 Automag by John Taffin, February 2008 Archived 2016-03-04 at the Wayback Machine, Retrieved Jan. 12, 2016.
- Wildey Guns, Ballistics for the Wildey Pistols Archived 2016-03-05 at the Wayback Machine, Retrieved Jan. 12, 2016.
External links
- https://www.usafirearmscorp.com/ homepage of the manufacturer