How to make a .243 into a Ackley??

[shortgrass]

I wasn't quite sure how much was lost in rechambering, JE certainly know more than I do about such things. I thought it was 1/2 inch. He's also correct about the benefits of the improved case. I have 2 .243 winchesters and 1 .243 ai and wish that all were Ackleys. I can't afford to do them all.

I would say if you know the round count on the bbl then that would certainly help in making the decision

Dan

The view through a bore scope would give a pretty good idea as whether its viable, or not. I'd have to sit down and do the math, but the 6mm AI might not clean-up a .243 chamber without more set-back than a 1/16".

 

[Dano1]

The view through a bore scope would give a pretty good idea as whether its viable, or not. I'd have to sit down and do the math, but the 6mm AI might not clean-up a .243 chamber without more set-back than a 1/16".

But there is the issue of COAL with a short action and the 6mm case. If He wanted to shoot Heavy VLD bullets (if the barrel could stabilize them) He would have to turn it into a single shot. However if he was going to just shoot the 55g bullets, It wouldn't matter.

This is just a thought.

He does have all the .243 Brass as well and 6mm Rem Brass is hard to come by. So a .243 AI would still seem a better option.

If I recall Kirby Allen (I hope I'm getting this right) did a test on setting back and re-chambering barrels that had severe throat erosion and fire cracking. If I recall. He wasn't able to get the same amount of round count from the fresh chamber that he had gotten from the initial chamber. I don't recall all of the details, (and this was with one of his High performance Allen Magnums). But It may be a similar situation where a used worn barrel can be brought back to life (or rather second chance) by re-chambering.

All things being equal, He can always cut a new Barrel and have the best for his rifle. I have 2 other Ackleys and they started out with new barrels. There was no issue on barrel round count etc.... My .243 AI came to me that way. I had no say in how it was made and had no idea as to the round count before the re-chambering or even after. I got it in a trade and it was my first experience with a Ackley cartridge. 15 years later and I'm in love with Ackley's cartridges still. I can definitely understand the appeal. I have learned a lot with them and am still learning from these cartridges as well as from you guys on this forum.

Hope this is helpful

Dan

 

[J E Custom]

To try and learn something I ran the numbers for chambering a 243 into a 6mm rem. hear is what I found.

The 243 Win came out after the 6 mm rem and as usual Winchester tried to top the Rem in velocity and case capacity. They did just slightly. (The 243 will hold approximately I grain more on average.

The 6 mm rem really needs a longer action also. (It is longer but smaller in diameter than the 243).

I have made lots of 6mm Rem and with the right twist (The reason the 243 did so well was Remington used a 1 in 12 twist and it needed a 1 in 10) they are great cartridges. However I have not Done any 6mm Ackley's so I don't know the case capacity compared to the 243 AI, But I don't think there would be any advantage in case capacity.

The other thing Shortgrass mentioned is that the 243 chamber will/may not clean up with just a 1 thread setback. That Is TRUE.

So in my opinion the 243 AI would still be the best change overall with little difficulty and would improve the performance if that is what you want.

Just Talking

J E CUSTOM

 

[shortgrass]

But there is the issue of COAL with a short action and the 6mm case. If He wanted to shoot Heavy VLD bullets (if the barrel could stabilize them) He would have to turn it into a single shot. However if he was going to just shoot the 55g bullets, It wouldn't matter.

This is just a thought.

He does have all the .243 Brass as well and 6mm Rem Brass is hard to come by. So a .243 AI would still seem a better option.

If I recall Kirby Allen (I hope I'm getting this right) did a test on setting back and re-chambering barrels that had severe throat erosion and fire cracking. If I recall. He wasn't able to get the same amount of round count from the fresh chamber that he had gotten from the initial chamber. I don't recall all of the details, (and this was with one of his High performance Allen Magnums). But It may be a similar situation where a used worn barrel can be brought back to life (or rather second chance) by re-chambering.

All things being equal, He can always cut a new Barrel and have the best for his rifle. I have 2 other Ackleys and they started out with new barrels. There was no issue on barrel round count etc.... My .243 AI came to me that way. I had no say in how it was made and had no idea as to the round count before the re-chambering or even after. I got it in a trade and it was my first experience with a Ackley cartridge. 15 years later and I'm in love with Ackley's cartridges still. I can definitely understand the appeal. I have learned a lot with them and am still learning from these cartridges as well as from you guys on this forum.

Hope this is helpful

Dan

As long as it's NEW .243 brass. There may be a high loss (in cases) if fired brass is fire formed. Annealing before loading to fire form may help. It's alot of work. On another note, what if I don't like the primers that are in the brass that Southwest is selling? @ $55/100 for primed cases I'd care to NOT loose them. One thing is for sure, I'm not marking the new brass I sell up enough!

 

[AZShooter]

JE Custom,

I agree the 6mm Rem cartridge being longer but cannot agree with case capacity or top end loads.

Sources are not identical but 6mm Rem has 1 to 2 grains more capacity.

Case Capacities
Rifle Cartridge Case Capacities
Case Capacities


The 6mm Rem has more velocity potential:

Hodgdon's load data page:

6mm Rem with a 100 gr bullet:
10/14 loads over 3000 fps with six loads over 3100 fps with top one being 3189 fps

243 win:
100 gr bullet:
5/18 over 3000 fps with only two loads at or over 3100: 3000 fps and 3122 fps

---------------------------------

The 6mm AI will beat the 243 AI as well.

.243 Win. AI vs. 6mm Rem. AI

6mm Remington Ackley Varminter

Great discussion!

 

[Edd]

The length difference between the two cartridges, measured from the base to the neck shoulder junction, is about .072". Everything else being equal, this would be about 2.5 grains difference.

If you are using a short action with heavy bullets you may have to seat the bullet that much deeper into the case so they will fit your magazine. If you do that, the bullet will consume about 1/3 of that 2.5 gr space.

 

[Dano1]

As long as it's NEW .243 brass. There may be a high loss (in cases) if fired brass is fire formed. Annealing before loading to fire form may help. It's alot of work. On another note, what if I don't like the primers that are in the brass that Southwest is selling? @ $55/100 for primed cases I'd care to NOT loose them. One thing is for sure, I'm not marking the new brass I sell up enough!

True, I agree that new brass is always best to use, But as an example: I have a .30-06AI as well and When I built it I had lots of Lake City Brass That had 5 firings on it out of the standard chamber. I fire formed 300 and lost 2. I used those cases and am still using some of them and most have 5 more firings on them with some having 6. I am now having to cull them due to loose primer pockets more than Shoulder or neck splits.

I also bought a batch of Bad Winchester .243 Brass, Was grateful I only bought 100. I fire-formed them and lost 12 due to splits in the shoulder. Not sure why, but there it is.

$55/100 is a great price for the brass. Who cares what the primer is if you're just fire forming.


Dan

 

[shortgrass]

I load for and shoot several different Ackley cartridges. They tend to be almost as accurate as rounds re-loaded into fire formed cases. Prairie dog accurate. No sense in wasting any component. Even the Dashers are accurate enough for vermin when fire forming from 6BR cases. I'd hope they were Winchester primers, but who knows for sure. I'd hear whining for days if I tried to sell .243 primed brass for $55. Like I said, maybe I should raise my prices and just put up with the whining.

 

[Dano1]

I agree that most fire form loads are almost as accurate. This is true with all 3 Ackleys I have.

$55 per 100 is a good price right now for that Brass, even for Winchester. Both Remington and Winchester Brass is non-existent right now, Federal only is available in .30-06 and .270. Both Nosler and Hornady are available, but the cost is way high.

Charge more and put up with the whining.....if your ears can handle it.

Dan

 

[tim_w]

The 6mm crusader which is basically a 6 rem akly loads with the 105 hybrids as well as the 115 dtac within the mag limits of the AI mag. Look up the 6mm crusader I pozted a link to a long thread that waz very informative. To me its about thw ideal powder capacity for the current long heavy vld 6mm bullets anything more youu start to end up with a 7mm RUM in terms of vel return for your powder charge. If it was a tad ahorter to allow max bulle5 forward set in standard manf mags it would be ideal. But it does work with the AI mags.

If the extra powder cap is not a need for you then you could simply bump the shoulder back further and then have something that would work well in a mag yet still have powder cap of about the 243 standard but with a nice neck, sharp shoulder, and less body taper which should minimize case and neck stretch / reduce throat erosion.