Improved Cartridges of P.O. Ackley

[msinc]

I would add this fellas...with the advent of Reloder 26 all of the Ackley's took a nice leap!!! I've done several 30-30 AI's and they work great. 308 ballistics out of a 94 or 336...not all of them accomplished much, the 270AI was no improvement for example.
Here is an old 1893 that was a pile of rust so, I figured "whaddaya got to loose??" Haven't shot it in years, but she's a killer!!!

Edit: I just loaded some Reloder 16 to try in this one .

 

[Brians356]

This must have been before those Creedmoor lasers?

The Creedmoors are essentially just the 30-deg version of 250-3000 AI necked up or down. I can run a fired 6.5 CM case through my Redding FL 250-AI die, load it, and fire it with impunity it in my 250 AI custom R700. There ain't nothing new under the sun.
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[Tommie]

What firearm did you put it on?

Remington 788.

 

[JimT]

22-250 was

You better get the download and read it.

I’ll add a little suspense, his favorite was a .25 caliber cartridge, the most improvement was a different.25 caliber cartridge and his “all around” cartridge was still a different .25 cartridge. BTW, he described the 25-06 AI as “just a damned abortion.”

 

[Bill K]

Often read where P.O.'s favorite cartridge was the 250-3000 improved. And he enjoyed the small 22 Hornet also improved, in his day.

 

[Dusty Stevens]

You better get the download and read it.

I’ll add a little suspense, his favorite was a .25 caliber cartridge, the most improvement was a different.25 caliber cartridge and his “all around” cartridge was still a different .25 cartridge. BTW, he described the 25-06 AI as “just a damned abortion.”

Its no secret he loved the 25cal. He was one of the few. Some love the 270cal too

 

[Tommie]

PO definitely liked the quarter bore. It was the dual purpose caliber of his day.

Several of his creations were trash and he freely admitted so. Of course some of them are now much more legitimate due to increased powder selections. I feel that the greatest benefit of the typical Ackley design is not increased powder capacity. The advantages of minimum body taper and sharper shoulders are well documented and is echoed by current OEM cartridge design.

 

[JimT]

Its no secret he loved the 25cal. He was one of the few. Some love the 270cal too

I’m assuming you don’t mean the 270AI?

 

[mikeinct]

You better get the download and read it.

I’ll add a little suspense, his favorite was a .25 caliber cartridge, the most improvement was a different.25 caliber cartridge and his “all around” cartridge was still a different .25 cartridge. BTW, he described the 25-06 AI as “just a damned abortion.”

ahh, The over touted 25-06 .. My quote, "It is too light for heavy work, too heavy for light work" If you can translate that into a slang Italian colloquialism , you would bust a gut laughing.. flame me, my old 257 Roberts was a doozy. mike in ct

 

[JimT]

PO definitely liked the quarter bore. It was the dual purpose caliber of his day.

Several of his creations were trash and he freely admitted so. Of course some of them are now much more legitimate due to increased powder selections. I feel that the greatest benefit of the typical Ackley design is not increased powder capacity. The advantages of minimum body taper and sharper shoulders are well documented and is echoed by current OEM cartridge design.

Many, if not most, of his “trash” “creations” were not his idea but were done at the request of customers.

Your statement rings true the closer a cartridge gets to or above being over bore capacity with powders available then.

Again, the chart on page 123 illustrates the significant velocity gains many of his improved cartridges attained.

 

[JimT]

ahh, The over touted 25-06 .. My quote, "It is too light for heavy work, too heavy for light work" If you can translate that into a slang Italian colloquialism , you would bust a gut laughing.. flame me, my old 257 Roberts was a doozy. mike in ct

The 257 Rob AI reportedly gets you 300 fps more so it’s even more of a doozy

 

[Knotwild]

I admit that I don't have the experience you guys have, but I always liked Akley's cartridges because they appear to be easier on the brass. And I am not talking about running them at max pressure.

 

[Tommie]

ahh, The over touted 25-06 .. My quote, "It is too light for heavy work, too heavy for light work" If you can translate that into a slang Italian colloquialism , you would bust a gut laughing.. flame me, my old 257 Roberts was a doozy. mike in ct

No flames but it’s an awesome pronghorn cartridge.

 

[Tommie]

I always liked Akley's cartridges because they appear to be easier on the brass.

Correct

 

[Dusty Stevens]

I’m assuming you don’t mean the 270AI?

No i just mean the 270 caliber not necessarily 270win

 

[dellet]

25-35

 

[Brians356]

Often read where P.O.'s favorite cartridge was the 250-3000 improved. And he enjoyed the small 22 Hornet also improved, in his day.

Ackley wrote somewhere that he felt the 257 AI was probably the best he had produced, all things considered, but he did say that the 250 AI enjoyed the most dramatic improvement of the modern rimless cartridges, being very efficient and accurate.
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[JimT]

Ackley wrote somewhere that he felt the 257 AI was probably the best he had produced, all things considered, but he did say that the 250 AI enjoyed the most dramatic improvement of the modern rimless cartridges, being very efficient and accurate.
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The article at the link above from the 1996 Gun Digest clearly states that, as some others on this thread have stated, the 250 Savage was his all-time favorite.

 

[Brians356]

The article at the link above from the 1996 Gun Digest clearly states that, as some others on this thread have stated, the 250 Savage was his all-time favorite.

You mean the 250 Ackley Improved, of course (not the plain 250 Savage). And, my only Ackley chambering is in 250 AI, so I am a big fan. (Two different gunsmiths tried hard to talk me out of the 250 AI, pushing me towards the 257 AI.)

But I should point out the article only states "Ackley's favorite rifle cartridge was the 250-3000 Savage fireformed to a 40-degree shoulder and .016-inch body taper." Those are Rob Lucas' words, not P.O. Ackley's.

In Ackley's own words, of the 257 AI he wrote "comes close to the mythical 'all around cartridge'" which is why I stipulated "all things considered".

Of the 250 AI itself, Ackley wrote "... one of the best of the so-called Improved cartridges".

I cannot find where Ackley ever stated what his favorite creation was. It's not unlike asking a father to point out his favorite child. If someone can point me to Ackley's own words on the subject, I'd be obliged.
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[46and2]

No i just mean the 270 caliber not necessarily 270win

Some wierdos like 270 cal.
I have/had 270 wsm, 270wby, soon a 27 Nosler. The worst was 270AI, but I'm blaming Douglass! Wanted a 9 twist, they made a 10 twist. Not only that, the headspace was long, had to jam the bullets to fire form. I saw 100 fps more than the standard 270win, never found a consistent load after exhaustive load development.
By far my favorite .277 cal as of the last few years is 270wsm. The performance of RL26 in this cartridge is astounding!

My favorite Ackley is 6mm Rem AI. 105gr at 3350 for an accuracy load in 26". ( I never maxed out pressure, so not really sure what top gear was). And yes this was with RL26.