Remington 591 & 592 rifle support 5mm Craig in Wyoming Link to 1st 5MM Article
What is it?
· The 5mm Craig is a wildcat cartridge, which externally is dimensionally identical to the original 5MM Remington Magnum, except for the primer pocket and flash hole. It will chamber in Remington 5MM models 591 and 592 and Thompson/Contender 5mm barrels with no alteration to the chamber. The wall thickness at the neck is the same as the original to allow 5mm bullet seating. The wall of the rest of the cartridge is thicker than the original. Velocity with our 30 grain bullet goes up to 2350 fps: original velocity of factory ammo was 2080 fps with a 38 grain bullet.
How do we do it?
· We have the bolt modified by cutting the firing pin slot in the bolt head a little deeper than the original. A new firing pin is machined from tool steel, hardened by oil quench and tempered.
What about loading components and data?
· Brass Cartridge Cases- Cases are machined from 360 half-hard brass, necks are flame annealed.
· Bullets -
Standard bullets are jacketed spitzer: 30 grain JHP Berger JHP.
· Loading Die Sets- Custom Made in our own CNC machine Shop custom die sets include the shell holder.
· Loading Data- A reloading manual is supplied with each order for Winchester 296, Accurate Arms # 9, Hercules 2400, IMR 4756 and IMR 4227 powders.
· Primers Recommended- CCI Bench Rest small rifle (BR 4), CCI 450 mag small rifle.
· Powder Funnels - Our custom aluminum funnels work very well.
What about Safety?
· We have tested several converted bolts for over several years, put hundreds of rounds through several rifles and have not experienced or had reports of any failures or other safety problems with converted bolts. According to Remington, these firearms were built to very high quality control standards. The chamber and extraction system were specially designed to safely function with the high pressures generated by this cartridge (SAAMI specification called for 37,000 psi with a maximum product average of 42,900 psi, and a maximum proof pressure of 62,000 psi). However, this is an after-market, wildcat conversion with no connection to Remington, and is not sanctioned by anyone. In short, we use it ourselves and believe it to be safe, but stress that extreme caution must be used just as you would do with any firearm or handloading product. With respect to the brass cartridges, they are machined, and are not as hard as drawn brass; it is possible to load cartridges hot enough to cause primer pocket expansion to the point of allowing gas leakage, so the recommended loading maximums must be strictly followed.
How can you order?
· You can mail it, FAX it or use e-mail, or call in person using the infromation on the Home Page. Please be sure to include the expiration date if using Visa or MasterCard.
A Brief History of the 5MM Craig
Never has there been a cartridge that has inspired more interest after it was orphaned than the 5MM Remington Magnum. After it was dumped by Remington in 1984 the 50,000 rifle owners were left hanging. With the remaining ammo selling for over a $1.00 each, it took uncommon desire to continue to shoot the 5MM Remington Magnum.
After purchasing a rifle and ammo s an investment, Mike Craig of Washington
State found a calling in trying to bring the 5MM back to life. Efforts to reload rimfire ammo were not productive so Mike began to breathe fresh life into this cartridge as a custom center fire. The 5MM Craig is the result. Mike perfected the process of modifying the 591 and 592 Remington Rifles without changing the factory head spacing. For a number of years Mike was the only 5MM or 20 caliber bullet manufacturer in the US. He and his crew hand crafted each bullet with Corbin presses and dies and most important Mike developed the process used to machine the cartridges from round stock.
When I met Mike in 1993 he had just finished putting all the pieces together and was looking for a way to market what he had developed. I did some testing and wrote the initial press releases that launched the 5MM Craig and a production cartridge. I continued to work with Mike on reloading data and took a rifle to Wyoming to shoot prairie dogs. I had a blast. The articles about that trip were and still are found on the internet.
In January 2004, Mike offered to sell the business to my company Eagle View Research Center LLC. Mike wanted to retire but did not want to desert the 5MM shooters again. The business had also grown to a point that it needed a fresh approach to stay viable. With a CNC machine shop and many years of experience with varmint hunting, I thought that we could enhance the 5MM Craig and provide more opportunities for our customers to enjoy shooting their fine rifles and TC Barrels.
Eagle View Research Center LLC designs manufactures and markets outdoor recreational equipment, for fishing, shooting and other recreation endeavors We also design and manufacture products for professional outdoorsmen such and military and law enforcement.
Since we took over the 5MM Craig business we have found that the demand is very high and the customers are great people to work with. We also found that supply and manufacturing can cause lots of problems particularly if you can't manufacture the products your self. A case in point is the reloading dies. The first dies that were used were made by the RCBS custom shop. They were pretty good dies but had some troubles with things like de-capping pins and expanding balls. We were able to get these dies for a number of years and they got better as Mike learned how to convey his needs. RCBS's parent Corp was purchased by a larger firm and the custom shop was changed to where it was too expensive to have dies made there.
Mike eventually found solutions with with several custom die makers but those dies had some troubles too. The chamber on the sizing dies were away too tight and the resizing ball was too long and the de-capping pin was too. Mike could not get these manufacturer to make modifications for him on the dies so they became very hard for some reloaders to use. Lead times to get dies resulted in long delays and capital tied up without turnover.
To correct these problems plus the backorder situation we felt that we could build better dies faster and more frequently thus providing a more positive supply line for our customers. To meet this demand was going to take the very latest in manufacturing equipment and skills. While we knew the 5MM business could not be expected to pay for the type of investment that was needed to make this happen, we felt that there was enough business to push us forward along this line.
We looked for a way to enable us to manufacture these dies. Recent developments in other areas demanded the purchase of a high quality CNC lathe and we had our solution. Our machine shop, Eagle View CNC, would buy the Takisawa EX-108 lathe and we could build our dies using this very fine and precise machine. We could also use the same lathe for making the 5MM Craig cartridges that are machined from solid brass. The quality of the products today is the best that we have ever offered for sale.
One of the things that Mike had made before he sold the business was a TC Contender carbine in the 5MM Craig caliber. That is one very sweet rifle. After shooting it some we knew that we would have to offer this service also. We made a couple of Encore and Contender barrels and then got envolved in the TC Stub effort which we have finally been able to offer to gunsmiths and shooters that rebarrel their own rifles.
New challenges are always presenting themselves to us. With the aid of the latested in engineering and manufacturing software and CNC machines we are meeting these challenges with new parts the the M591 and M592 rifles.
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