6MM ACKLEY OR 243 ACKLEY

[wildcat]

I spoke with my friend and asked him what his load is for his 6mm Ackley Imp. using the 87grn V-MAX. He asured me that he is using 52 grians of VV-N160. He also informed me that he is getting between 3600 to 3650 out of his 26 inch barrel, 1-12 twist. My friend got must of his reloading information for his 6mm Ackley Imp. of the site you guys listed. Look under Half-Mile 'Hog Rifle on Google or Long-Distance 6mm Remington Improved Varminter. There are loads listed on this site and this is where my friend is getting his load ideas from. There are many loads listed including the exact load my friend is using. The person that listed this information indicates that he too uses 52grns of VV-N160 with an 87grn V-MAX, and he listed his load traveling at 3675fps. He also listed a load using 51.5grns of Reloader 19. The same site has loads for the 75grn V-Max traveling at 3850fps. Thanks for the heads up.

Wildcat

 

[Northman]

You could try a 6x55, wich is a 6.5x55 necked down.. Lapua makes brass, and maye 150fps within the 6mm AI

 

[TOM H]

Wildcat, don't mean to drag this out but I did read that article when it came out on 6br and to me the load he was using 87 gr bullets was pretty tailored to that custom rifle. The 75gr load I don't have much problem with. As you see from afew here that shoot the 6mmAI the velocity are pretty high alittle more than I want to shoot in both my 6mmAI. Maybe the velocity is correct using moly coated bullets who knows. I am wondering what your friend's starting loads and velocity if you could post that and what coating he is using on his bullets? thanks

 

[wildcat]

Roper, he is using Moly Coated V-MAX bullets. I hope this helps. He is getting around the same velocity with none moly coated v-max's. Anyhow, I am hoping to get the same velocity out of my 6MM Ackley. My gunsmith will taylor the rifle to shoot the 75grn V-MAX and The 87grn V-MAX. Here are the specs on my 6mm Ackley Improved:
1. Nesika Model K Round Action, 1.450 Dia. tactical bolt with knob.
2. Krieger 28", 1.250 tappered to 1.00 at the muzzle, 1-12 twist, Holland Muzzle Brake
3. McMillan A-5 Tactical, Thumbwheel Cheek piece, Adj LOP
4. Jewell 2oz Trigger
5. Davidson custom base with 20MOA
6. Kelby 30mm Rings
7. Nightforce 12x42x56mm NXS
I think this rifle will be able to shoot the 87 grn V-MAX at 3650fps, and it will probably shoot the 75grn V-MAX at around 3850 fps. I can't wait to hit a squirrel with this rig, it's going to be a red mist bananza.

Wildcat

 

[TOM H]

Sounds like a nice rig. I wish you luck.

 

[Ballistic64]

Rifle sounds great wildcat.Have you decided on your chamber specs?
I ordered mine,Dave sent me a reamer print he had for the 6mmAI, (Pacifics match chamber),the only change I made was from thier .274 neck to .270
Post up the progress /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif

 

[wildcat]

B64, I have not decided. My gunsmith recommended that we go with a tight neck, so I will probably go with a tight neck. My gunsmith has built a couple of 6MM Ackley Imp., and he is looking forward to working on this project. He built my 220 Swift and it is a shooter .100 to .200 average at 100 yards, and I make consistant hits on ground squirrels out to 500 yards with a 40grn Ballistic Tip. I know the 6mm Ack Imp will be able to make hits out to 800 to 1000 yards with a 75 or 87 grn V-MAX. What bullet are you going to use and what kind of velocities are you expecting to get with your 6mm Ackley.

 

[Northman]

Look here: http://ammoguide.com/cgi-bin/ai.cgi?sn=BBEimtttwJ&catid=342=fBEYcZjdXp

And here: http://ammoguide.com/cgi-bin/ai.cgi?sn=BBEimtttwJ&catid=411

There is hardly any difference between these two rounds. You do however get high quality brass with the 6.5x55, and the brass is not that expensive.

 

[Ballistic64]

Going to try the 75 vmaxes and 70 BT.I'll see how they go and maybe go up to 80-87 gr.Dave is setting up the reamer primarily for 70-87 gr range.I'll push them as fast as I can without any unpleasant suprises when the days get hot.

 

[coupalr]

What is the average neck dimension of 243 lapua brass with a 105 a-max loaded in it. I am going to order a barrel and I want .003" to .004" of play.

 

[LWolken]

Mine measure mostly .273 with a few at .2725 I'd take a long look at the Amax. They are cheap and shoot well in my 1-9" twist 243 Ack Imp.

Lance

 

[Andy W]

Wildcat,

I went through the same dilemma as you and decided on the 6mm Remington, un-acklied. From the research I did the ackley versions of these two cartridges don't give you much over the standard versions. With the un-acklied 6mm Rem. I messed with the 70 SMK, 75 Vmax, and 87 Vmax. I took my gun up to 48.5 grains of H-414 under the 70smk with no pressure signs. Average velocity was 3820fps. I would suspect near the same velocity with the 75 Vmax. The 87 Grain Vmax averaged 3325 FPS over 39 grains of varget. My most accurate bullet was the 70 SMK over 45.5 grains of H-414 with an average velocity 3660 FPS. I was hoping to get the 87 grain Vmax working, but out to 550yards (max at my range) I get superior accuracy with the 70 SMK, with a 1-10 barrel. My gun is a trued Rem action, 26" tube with a .270 neck.The one thing about basing a whole project around a particular "hot" ackley load is will you get the accuracy to make those 500+ yard hits? My line of thinking is I am going to be dialing at distances over 300 yards, so really what does 150 fps give you?
Good luck with your project!

 

[wildcat]

Longdraw, I have decided not to build a 6MM Ackley and instead build a 6-284. I will be able to get more velocity with 6-284, and I will not have to fire form. I already have a 6.5-284, so I have plenty of Lupa brass. All I have to do is run those cases through the 6-284 full length die. This will be easier. I will be using 75grn to 87grn pills out of this rifle. My 6.5-284 is set up to shoot 139grn Lupa Scenars, so I need a rifle that I can shoot the smaller varmint pills at high velocities. This will allow me to see those varmints explode. Out of the 6-284, I should be able to get around 3850fps to 3900fps with the 75grn V-MAX and around 3600 to 3700fps with 87grn V-Max. I was hoping to get 3700fps to 3800fps with 87grn V-MAX out of the 6MM Ackely, but after some thinking and testing with a friend who has a 6mm Ackley we were only able to get around 3350 to 3400fps. He did this test before and his chrono was reading 3650 to 3700fps. However, after what Roper and some others had said on the board, I informed my friend that we should test his 6MM Ackley with a different chrono, sure enough 3650 to 3700fps with 87grn bullets was not happening. That is also another reason why I went to the 6mm-284, I should be able to get the higher velocities with 87grn V-MAX out of this round.

Wildcat

 

[uncleB]

wildcat,
just some thing to consider,I have had a 6-284 1-10" twist barrel and a 6 Ackley 1-12" twist barrel. the 6-284 had quite a bit shorter barrel life than the 6 Ackley. I know there is only a few grains difference in powder cap.,but that along with a much shorter neck makes quite a difference in barrel life. where the 6-284 really shines is with a 1-8" twist (or faster) for heavy bullets,with the medium weight bullets like the 75gr v-max my 6 Ackley shot just as fast
UB