243 Ackley 40 deg

[rdog]

I hope Bob 35 W does not see this post. I am thinking about re barrelling my Howa 1500 243 WIN to 243 Ackley using a stainless 1-9 twist bbl i have a Redding die set in 243 imp 40 deg . My concern is that it may not feed well out of the mag, due to the reduced case taper & 40 deg shoulder . do any of you have any Experience with the 243 Ackley? in a Howa 1500 ?.

 

[BlueFlyer]

I hope this does not damage my reputation either, to admit that I recently rebarreled an Omark 44 in 243AI. I don't have to worry about feeding as that is a single shot action. The standard 243W shoulder diameter is 0.454" and the AI is 0.459, so 0.0025" in taper is not much difference. That is why Ackley was reluctant to look at the 243AI as he thought there was very little gain to be had.
The main advantage is improved case life by having the 40deg shoulder. And if I am going to build a rifle, then it is never going to be a factory cartridge.

 

[cash_tx]

It seems to me that the juice just isn't worth the squeeze. I'd be more inclined to just get a 6.5 Creedmoor and leave my 243's as-is.

 

[rdog]

I hope this does not damage my reputation either, to admit that I recently rebarreled an Omark 44 in 243AI. I don't have to worry about feeding as that is a single shot action. The standard 243W shoulder diameter is 0.454" and the AI is 0.459, so 0.0025" in taper is not much difference. That is why Ackley was reluctant to look at the 243AI as he thought there was very little gain to be had.
The main advantage is improved case life by having the 40deg shoulder. And if I am going to build a rifle, then it is never going to be a factory cartridge.

Thank you for that info.

 

[rdog]

It seems to me that the juice just isn't worth the squeeze. I'd be more inclined to just get a 6.5 Creedmoor and leave my 243's as-is.

My 243 has about 3100 rounds through it with a lot of throat erosion so it needs a new bbl, i have a 6.5 CM & i have about 500 new 243 cases & the Ackley dies so i might give it a go.

 

[cash_tx]

My 243 has about 3100 rounds through it with a lot of throat erosion so it needs a new bbl, i have a 6.5 CM & i have about 500 new 243 cases & the Ackley dies so i might give it a go.

Ah, you are in a great situation for it then. I say go for it!

 

[HuntingGold]

At the end of the day, who cares what I or anyone else thinks, if the cartridge intrigues you, go play.

 

[CBH Australia]

At the end of the day, who cares what I or anyone else thinks, if the cartridge intrigues you, go play.

But it’s fun to poke the Bear.

Anyway, if he is going to Improve Bobs favourite cartridge and run Nosler 95gn BT in it then I reckon Bob will approve.

@rdog do you have a gunsmith in mind with a reamer? Ask their opinion on feeding

My thoughts. I read up on Ackley improved cartridges a few years back. It seems some get notable gain from the improvement and others not so much. From memory there is little gain on a .308 but I don’t remember details on .243.

My gunsmith was running a .223ai and rebarelled my Tikka to .280ai with no feed issues.

.280 to .280ai is one cartridge that did benefit as far as higher percentage of velocity gains and it’s a neat looking cartridge.

.280ai dies were readily available and factory ammunition or factory umpired cases are available at fair pricing so the support made it an easy decision to try without expensive dies etc.

I recently looked at the difference between 6br and 6bra. I stayed with the cheaper option for my requirements but I believe that is another 6mm/.243 cartridge that shows a viable gain from the 40 degrees shoulder and has after market support from its use in target shooting circles

I hope the .243 project meets your expectations and you enjoy the journey

 

[rdog]

But it’s fun to poke the Bear.

Anyway, if he is going to Improve Bobs favourite cartridge and run Nosler 95gn BT in it then I reckon Bob will approve.

@rdog do you have a gunsmith in mind with a reamer? Ask their opinion on feeding

My thoughts. I read up on Ackley improved cartridges a few years back. It seems some get notable gain from the improvement and others not so much. From memory there is little gain on a .308 but I don’t remember details on .243.

My gunsmith was running a .223ai and rebarelled my Tikka to .280ai with no feed issues.

.280 to .280ai is one cartridge that did benefit as far as higher percentage of velocity gains and it’s a neat looking cartridge.

.280ai dies were readily available and factory ammunition or factory umpired cases are available at fair pricing so the support made it an easy decision to try without expensive dies etc.

I recently looked at the difference between 6br and 6bra. I stayed with the cheaper option for my requirements but I believe that is another 6mm/.243 cartridge that shows a viable gain from the 40 degrees shoulder and has after market support from its use in target shooting circles

I hope the .243 project meets your expectations and you enjoy the journey

Thank you I have a bbl on order from Allan Swan, Stainless steel 1-9 twist i will ask him about feeding .