30-06 ackley improved

[BC7stw]

Anyone had any experience with the 30-06 ackley improved, is their much improvement over the 30-06.

[Dick284]

Only marginal improvement. in a 22" bbl, expect to realize velocities you'd see from a 24" bbl, 30'06.
Contact member "Sa Lefty" for more information.

[ACKLEY ABE]

I have owned two over the last 20 years. One a Whitworth, one a pre-64 win out of the Winchester custom shop.

A lot of ppl will tell you that it is the least improvment of any of the "A.I." cartridges. With both rifles I was getting very close to 3000 F.P.S with a Speer 180. I recall the Whitworth was running 2992 as an average. Sounds pretty much like a 300 Win mag doesn't it.

Unfortunatly somebody once told me (I think it was probably my wife), you can't own them all. So in a moment of weakness or two, I ended up with neither of these rifles. I know who has the Whitworth and if it came up for sale, I would jump at the chance to buy it back.

Will the 30.06 A.I. do anything any other factory cartridge won't? No, but as my name implies, I like Ackley carts. I have a number of different ones.

If your putting one together, there are at least two guys with reamers in Edmonton. Why do one? A little better velocity...Less trimming...and they look darn sexy..... and why walk to the beat of anyone elses drum.

By the way, if you have read P.O. ACKLEY'S book(s), do not even think of using any of his loads. Perhaps the difference in powder or the way we measure pressures and internal ballistics has changed over the years, but man are his loads HOTTTTT.

Anyway, if you end up doing one let me know. I do still have my load data and I can tell you P.M. what worked for me.

[Win94]

Good post Abe. Thanks.

[Duk Dog]

Excuse my ignorance but can someone explain to me what these AI modifications are all about. I've seen it a bit lately with recent posts where people have been having guns modified to "X caliber" AI.
Thanks.

[Scott N]

Originally Posted by Duk Dog

Excuse my ignorance but can someone explain to me what these AI modifications are all about. I've seen it a bit lately with recent posts where people have been having guns modified to "X caliber" AI.
Thanks.

AI stand for Ackley Improved. Basically it is a wildcat where the case is blown out and the shoulder angle changed to give the case more powder capacity.

[ACKLEY ABE]

Some people don't really consider them a "wildcat" cartridge, as the parent cartridge, in this case a 30.06 can be fired in the improved chamber without modifying the case first. Basically a reamer is used to open the chamber to a straight case and (in most instances) with most of Ackley's conversions, a 40 degree shoulder angle. There are other improved cases with a slighter shoulder angle. What you end up with is a case that has a marginally larger case capacity and with in some oppinions, a more efficiant case. Hmmmm, interesting to note all the "new" short mags tend to follow a similar idea.

Some examples are the 280 Ackley Improved, which in the last few years, has become extremely popular. To the point that this may become a "legit" cartridge with factory ammo (yes I know it's already been announced), and factory chambered rifles. What the 280A.I. folks, and yes I have one, is that the 280 A.I. will keep up to the 7 mm Rem Mag at a level of reduced recoil and less powder (ie more efficient).

One of the advantages to an "Improved" case, is that in a pinch you can shoot regular 30.06 ammo, available darn near anywhere on the globe without suffering any problems. You would not have the velocity gain of the improved cartridge, but it would shoot as well as the rifle is capable . On that note, if your 30.06 shoots two inch groups, don't expect it to shoot one inch groups if you rechambre to 30.06 A.I.

Some people fire form their brass with reduced loads and a varity of media. I prefer to load regular brass with a medium load to fireform and then proceed to load development from there.

Again, will the improved cases do something a factory available cartridge won't , probably not, but were gun-guys so we just gotta do something a little different than the next guy.

Probably my favorite rifle is a custom Mauser wtih a Shillen bbl in 7 x 57 A.I. Built light and short as a "Sheep" gun with a 20" tube, it runs 154 Hornady's at 2885 ish and quite regularly keeps 3 inside a 1/4".

Anyway they are intersting. Ackleys books are still avialable, though quite expensive now and are great reading. It includes accts of cartridge and wound experiments dating from the 1920's.