6.5 JDJ

WILDCAT CARTRIDGES

- Layne Simpson

By developing an extensive line of wildcat cartridges for the Contender, J.D. Jones of SSK Industries did more than anyone outside of Thompson/Center to promote Warren Center’s single-shot pistol. While the Contender handles rimless cartridges such as the .223 Remington and 7mm TCU without a hitch, J.D. has a passion for rimmed cases. Best known is his family of cartridges made by necking down the .444 Marlin case and fireforming to a bit less body taper and a 40-degree shoulder. Among those, my favorite is the .309 JDJ (.308-inch bullet), although I also enjoy hunting with SSK barrels chambered for the 8mm, .358 and .375 littermates.

Perhaps the most unusual of J.D.’s creations is the .338 Woodswalker. Made by necking up the European 8.15x46R case and fireforming, it pushes 200-grain, .338inch bullets from a 10-inch barrel at close to 2,000 feet per second (fps), or about 10 percent slower than from the 24-inch barrel of a Winchester Model 1886 in .33 Winchester. In my neck of the woods, there has always been an overabundance of feral hogs and they can be legally hunted day and night, year-round. When doing our best to thin the population during daylight hours, a friend and I used a trio of well-trained Plott hounds to chase down the bacon. Since shots at bayed pigs were inside 10 short paces, we carried a variety of percussion and cartridge revolvers. On several occasions, I found my short-barreled, open-sighted Contender in .338 Woodswalker to be quite effective at a very comfortable level of recoil.