Wildey
The Wildey is a gas-operated, double-action/single-action pistol designed by Wildey J. Moore. It was designed to fire several high-pressure proprietary cartridges including the .45 Wildey Magnum and the .475 Wildey Magnum. They are currently being produced by USA Firearms Corp.-Wildey Guns of Winsted, Connecticut.
Action
The Wildey was purpose-designed to be a hunting firearm. The pistol is built to withstand breech pressures of over 48,000 PSI associated with Moore's lines of proprietary cartridges. The Wildey was the first gas-operated semi-automatic pistol.
The Wildey employs a unique short-stroke gas operation which allows the pistol to be adapted to fire several high pressure cartridges ranging from the 9mm Winchester Magnum to the .475 Wildey Magnum. Moore described the Wildey patented gas system as an "air-hydraulic piston powered by the firing gases through six small holes in the barrel. This piston forces the slide rearward, initiating the cycling of the pistol." A further advantage of the Wildey's gas operated system is that it allows for the reliable operation of heavy and light loads for each cartridge type, by manually adjusting the gas-regulator valve to tune the system for different loads. The valve is adjusted by way of turning the gas-regulating collar at the base of the barrel. Another advantage of a gas-operated system is that it often reduces felt recoil.
