hey guys I have an unfired savage model 12 take off barrel and wanted to make an ackley out of it. what I want to know is could I just buy a 22-250 ai reamer and hand ream it out? if so, since the barrel isnt on the gun,how would I know i have totally cleaned up the chamber? if my thinking is right, it would be possible to set the headpace on a savage and the chamber still not be totally cleaned up. I understand when I put it on the action I need to set the head space a few thou under minimum with the ackleys. any pointers or ideas?
reaming a 22-250 savage barrel to 22-250 ai
- Thread starter jreedtn
- Start date
DCRYDER
Silver $$ Contributor
That job is hard enuff to do in a lathe. The ackley reamers shoulder will start cutting way before the pilot enters the bore since your barrel already has a neck and throat cut. It needs to be put in a lathe and have a boring bar ran in. I wish ackley improved reamers had a longer pilot just for a job like this.
Hope this helps.
Hope this helps.
Exactly what he said ^^ I had this done with a savage 223 1:9 twist barrel that I wanted to make a fast twist 22-250 AI . I ended up with a small ring on one side of the neck where the reamer started slightly off of center. It wasn't too big of a deal the barrel still shot fine but had I to do it over again I would just purchase a pre-fit 22-250 A.I. and be done with it. I wasted more money with the rechamber job and the final product was still not what I wanted. sell ur current barrel and put that money towards either a pre-fit or a barrel blank
For a correct Ackely Improved chamber the answer is no.
As originally designed by Ackely, the improved chamber is about .004" shorter to the neck/shoulder junction than the parent 22-250. This requires typically setting back the barrel a thread or so which is a smith job.
What you'd end up with would either be longer than an standard AI chamber and would close on a no go gauge or just a mess.
I've seen the results of inexpert attempts to hand ream chambers, none of them pretty. Basically rendered the barrels unusable the chambers were so bad.
Get it done it right or don't do it at all.
As originally designed by Ackely, the improved chamber is about .004" shorter to the neck/shoulder junction than the parent 22-250. This requires typically setting back the barrel a thread or so which is a smith job.
What you'd end up with would either be longer than an standard AI chamber and would close on a no go gauge or just a mess.
I've seen the results of inexpert attempts to hand ream chambers, none of them pretty. Basically rendered the barrels unusable the chambers were so bad.
Get it done it right or don't do it at all.
Ackman
Gold $$ Contributor
Not a good idea. An AI chamber is quite a bit larger than the std. 22-250, so a lot of material is removed. The AI chamber has considerably less body taper and factory chambers are anywhere from roomy to sloppy, which means the web is large. You want to make sure all body taper is removed with the new reamer, otherwise there'll be std. body taper for a bit up from the web, then it'll straighten to AI taper. Brass will come out the same, with two tapers. I've seen a barrel like that. The reamer has to be cutting fresh metal over the whole chamber. That includes the neck. Factory necks are sloppy and the AI reamer will probably have a tighter neck, so you need to cut a whole new one. Again that means setting the barrel back at least on neck length. The thing about .004" crush....that's the number thrown around. It would be ok if all brass was exactly the same. But brass varies by more than that within even the same headstamp, and at least that much from one headstamp to another. So shortest of one headstamp to longest of another can be twice that .004' number. You can put whatever "crush" into it you want and .015" isn't too much. And besides all that, re-cutting your chamber by hand is a mickey mouse way to cheap out and ruin the barrel. Don't screw around. Have someone do it who knows AI cartridges and has a good reamer.
I have both versions of the .22-250, and the difference between their ballistic performance is negligible. My latest rifle is a Remington 700 built on a new blueprinted action, with a 24" Pac-Nor 1:9" twist barrel in .22-250 Ackley, equipped with the Pac-Nor Remington Savage style barrel nut. I also bought a .22-250 Remington varmint contour Bergara 1:12" twist barrel, which also uses a barrel nut. Both barrels installed on this action shoot sub .5" groups @ 100 yards with the Ackley developing best accuracy at around 3,600 - 3,700 fps, while the standard .22-250 Remington develops its best accuracy in the exact same velocity range, within a few feet per second. This is true with my other .22-250 Remington rifles including a 1:10" twist 40X. I use primarily Barnes 50 grain Varmint Grenades (lead free zone) and the Nosler 52 grain Custom Competition bullet, hence the need for a faster twist with the Varmint Grenade. All the .224" bores of all twists also shoot superbly with Nosler's 40 grain BT Lead Free bullet.
Please note that I didn't say higher velocities were not obtainable, but that my experience is that best accuracy usually falls somewhere around 3,700 fps.
I use a Hornady Custom Hydraulic Case Forming Die, and Full Length die set, both matched to my chamber by Hornady's Custom Shop to produce the .22-250 Ackley brass without fire forming. I have come to the conclusion that there is no real advantage, other than scratching the tinker's itch, to bother with the Ackley version. On ground squirrels both are equally devastating at the same ranges, but the smaller and more economical .204 Ruger and .223 Remington both offer similar air time and splat factor.
If you want a .22-250 Ackley barrel for a Savage action, I suggest a purpose built custom barrel, either a Brux from Sharp Shooter Supply, or a Pac-Nor or Shilen prefit, all top quality products. My Savage barrels all come from these sources, but be prepared to spend $500 - $600 dollars.
Please note that I didn't say higher velocities were not obtainable, but that my experience is that best accuracy usually falls somewhere around 3,700 fps.
I use a Hornady Custom Hydraulic Case Forming Die, and Full Length die set, both matched to my chamber by Hornady's Custom Shop to produce the .22-250 Ackley brass without fire forming. I have come to the conclusion that there is no real advantage, other than scratching the tinker's itch, to bother with the Ackley version. On ground squirrels both are equally devastating at the same ranges, but the smaller and more economical .204 Ruger and .223 Remington both offer similar air time and splat factor.
If you want a .22-250 Ackley barrel for a Savage action, I suggest a purpose built custom barrel, either a Brux from Sharp Shooter Supply, or a Pac-Nor or Shilen prefit, all top quality products. My Savage barrels all come from these sources, but be prepared to spend $500 - $600 dollars.
THERE IS SUCH A REAMER. PTG CALLS IT A BORE-RIDER REAMER. THEY ARE QUITE A BIT LONGER & WORK GREAT FOR DOING EXISTING CHAMBERS, AFTER U CUT THEM BACK./
JUST THE other day I compared prints & just about all the diamentions for the 22 CREED r the same as my a.i. version except creed has a 30* shoulder. I would go that route just for the time involved fireforming, & now with factory brass it should be a no-brainer.
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