Anyone ever play with a 30-06 Ackley Improved?

[osprey]

What did you settle on for a final load?

 

[orygun]

Well, since I haven't had the opportunity to do any more load development, I went with the load that showed the best promise.

Remington case, Winchester WLR primer, Sierra 180gr GameKing over 62gr of RL22 and seated at 3.260 OAL. Five rounds averaged out at 2893fps.
While it's on the hot side, some of that will be negated by the hopefully lower temps during hunting season.

 

[orygun]

Good luck fireforming a regular 30-06 case in anything less than an Encore with their captive extractor system.
The '06JDJ was designed explicitly for the encore and utilizes a really short neck.

But the JDJ's case walls are SO straight, I would be concerned with extraction issues. Especially during load workup.

View attachment 264547

This '06JDJ looks like the most that can be done with an 06 case and a 30 cal bullet. For some reason that intrigues me.
I think you would have to go thru the hassle of giving the case a false neck to work in a conventional bolt action rifle.
After working with some bullets that have generous boat tails the case neck length doesn't bother me as much as the extremely straight case walls. Taper that sucker down a bit and it would be interesting to see what could be done with it.

 

[Jamie6.5]

Ready for hunting season. Only need one, right?
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Good lookin' round right there.
Looks like it's just achin' ta kill sumthin'.

 

[orygun]

Wow! Four years.
In the mean time I loaded a nice batch of ammo and went hunting. I did shoot some of that batch checking scope zero, but I had enough for a couple of years worth of hunting.

Then this. (Short version. "Click". Very nice buck trots off. 2019)

My hunting season in one pic.

www.northwestfirearms.com

I was pissed. I parked it in the safe and bought other stuff. Like a Winchester Pre-64 Model 70.

A fantastic Remington 600. (Have threads on them, too.)


After a while I guess enough time had passed to lessen the hurt and I pulled it out of the safe and got busy.

Build Thread - Not really a build, but I just ordered a Boyd's stock for my Ruger...

Earlier this year when I bought an older Win 70 to freshen up and use, I looked into buying a new piece of wood for it. Long story short, Boyd's doesn't make a "Post War-Pre 64" model 70 stock. I found this out after perusing their options and was trying to place an order. I was really bummed. I...

www.northwestfirearms.com

Not too long ago I got involved with a thread and during that time frame I shot the last of the ammo loaded in 2018.

This is a long thread... (Short version, I shot a round that I believe almost had a case separation, but didn't, while shooting the last of that ammo.)

reading pressure signs

My last range session I experienced some pressure signs, stiff bolt lift, case head crack and extractor impression. These were only on the loads I set back deeper to test so I wont do that again, plus I learned my rifle likes the bullet closest to the lands anyways. And it was random, other...

www.northwestfirearms.com

I scrapped all of those cases.
So, here I am working 24 "new" cases, doing an abbreviated, complicated Ladder Test. Three rounds each of Reloader 22 at 60.5, 61, 61.5 and 62gr. While I'd mostly tested/shot with standard Large Rifle primers, I am doing a duplicate ladder with Magnum primers. I will chrono and group test these. I also am changing to a Nosler Ballistic Tip. I'd used them before but succumbed to price and logistics and bought Sierra GameKings when loading a large batch of 30-06 ammo several years ago. I had leftover Sierra bullets from that project and started out my Ackley with them. Now is not a great time to be embarking on a reloading project and I found myself short any good quantity of either of my preferred choices. I was able to find several of boxes of Ballistic Tips to back up what I had to start with.
For those that want the bare facts, here's some pictures of the bedding process I did. I also had to open up the right side of the barrel channel to even things out.


I know now why Ackley might have called this a failure. It's a lot of work for not much of a ballistic improvement. But there is improvement and it's not all that far behind the 300 Win Mag when loaded properly. I'll be sure to post the testing results. I swear I won't wait 4 more years!

 

[osprey]

While I always liked the premise of the AI cartridges, my first go around with the 280ai was not exactly a fairy tale. Between a picky rifle and fireforming brass, I bailed out after several years of frustration. That was back in the late 80' s early 90's. This go around has been a much happier marriage. When Nosler released factory brass in 280ai and it became a saami cartridge, I knew I would flirt with her again. I lucked out and found a Kimber in 280ai that shoots lights out as well as being a joy to pack. I find the Kimber shoots several combos good but have pretty much stuck to the Rl22/160 partition combo as it has had an impressive track record for me with deer and elk both. I may experiment with some Rl26 as I have a pound but am all but out of Rl22 and I am not sure when I can procure more. Keep at it orygun as I am sure you will find the results you seek!

 

[Spitpatch]

Ackley always claimed the Roberts Improved was his best effort: for velocity increase on the shy side of "overbore" ( which Ackley always considered a negative). As the only Ackley "Improved" cartridge I have experience with , I think it does win the prize. I just finished up bringing a tang safety Ruger 77 in Roberts Improved up to speed (pun intended).

But it occurred to me today that possibly a portion of the acclaim for good results in this particular cartridge might be attributable to the VAST increase in velocity over factory Roberts loadings (Until semi-recently, factory loads were even less than anemic, due to early guns still in use: The Roberts enjoys actual recognition by SAAMI as in real need of +P loads, including the obligatory headstamp for brass so capable.)

But Ackley was certainly a handloader, so he knew ahead of time what each factory cartridge COULD do, if given attention at the loading bench.

I just can't help but thinking about a hard-workin' man in the 60's who had a good bolt Roberts, educated himself or was persuaded by a buddy to pay the reasonable fee to the local Smith to ream his chamber for the "treatment".

And if he was buying factory loads for his Roberts, he certainly had to begin handloading with the Improved (or did it at the buddy's place).

And the marked improvement in power (even without a chronograph) is large enough to observe.

 

[Spitpatch]

Here's the numbers:

From a Remington Model 722, 24" barrel. .257 Roberts: Remington (Green/Yellow box) 100gr Pointed Soft Point: 2935fps.

From the Improved Ruger 77 Tang Safety, 22" barrel (with the "settled on load" at safe levels): 100gr Nosler Ballistic Tip: 3220fps.

Buttloads of apples and oranges there, but one of them is a long barrel on the weak contender.

 

[Spitpatch]

As to the .280AI, I have no experience other than seeing it work a couple times.

HOWEVER: Those couple times were with a high school friend who was a Teacher to Native kids long enough in the frontier of Alaska to buy a ranch in Eastern Oregon.

.280AI is his "business rifle". Two Grizzlies, 20 years of Caribou and Moose. (I got to see what it did to a Muley.) His grown boys, hard hunters now in their own right have seen it all.