.243 V's .243 Ackley Improved

2428 miles

Well-Known Member
As some of you might know from a different post, I am having my .243 re-barreled.

I don’t know whether to stick with the straight .243 or go for the slightly more exciting but more hassle .243AI…?

Having done some reading up on it, there seems to be various theories floating about as to which one causes more throat erosion and barrel wear.

Interested to hear members thoughts.

Best,

Miles
 
hi miles sold my 243 ackley two months wish i hadnt especially after last nights foxing session .
ben c has just has his done hes a keeper and i dont think hell be changing for a while
go for it regards pete .
 
stick a barrel with an extra inch on your .243 and you have the same speed as the AI. the AI as far as I've researched is a royal pain in the backside to load and manage brass for unless you know exactly what you're doing, and you cannot buy any factory ammo if you ever need. as far as my resesearch goes, AI looks sexy and all that, but it's not worth it unless you're competing..just my thoughts hence I never bothered to make the move, and I'm really pleased about it in hindsight (to have stuck with standard .243 case).
 
I think a lot will depend on your approach to the reamer and setup used.

The downside to match grade chambering tolerences in a rfle to be used in the field is that things can, quite literally, get a bit sticky when it comes to chambering the follow-up round. Full length resizing will help but that doesn’t guarantee a bolt lift as slick as a lizard’s tongue if, as I suspect will be the case, you will be turning and bush sizeing necks to match the tight tolerance of a custom chamber.

Just a thought.

Cheers

K
 
stick a barrel with an extra inch on your .243 and you have the same speed as the AI. the AI as far as I've researched is a royal pain in the backside to load and manage brass for unless you know exactly what you're doing, and you cannot buy any factory ammo if you ever need. as far as my resesearch goes, AI looks sexy and all that, but it's not worth it unless you're competing..just my thoughts hence I never bothered to make the move, and I'm really pleased about it in hindsight (to have stuck with standard .243 case).

dont knock it untill youve tried it mate,and yes you can use factory ammo in an Ai provided your not tight necked,as far to reloading therea doddle just like any other caliber,as to adding an extra inch to a std 243 that will still not get near the velocity you can obtain with a well loaded AI
 
sorry, I just don't get it, what do you obtain, another 50,60, maybe 70 fps? just load your .243 win a bit hotter.
 
If you are going to have rifle custom chambered why not go that extra mile and design (I use the word advisedly) your own wildcat??

I did!
View attachment 22211
Cheers

K

what caliber is that mate,I had my reamers ground to my spec,I have found most of these barrel plumbers use the same reamer for every weight of bullet regardless of the customers requirments of bullet weight and barrel twist.theres not many that carry differemnt throated reamers,there are a couple I know of who throat the rifle to suit to suit the bullet after the chamber has been machined.
 
Hmm! If yur action length will take it why bother "messing about" with 243AI? Better to stick with a standard factory chambering and go straight to 6mm Remington IMHO.

Why? Dies available cheaply off USA eBay AND it remains a standard factory chambering so, if you do come to sell it, it won't put off a lot of potential buyers.
 
Hmm! If yur action length will take it why bother "messing about" with 243AI? Better to stick with a standard factory chambering and go straight to 6mm Remington IMHO.

Why? Dies available cheaply off USA eBay AND it remains a standard factory chambering so, if you do come to sell it, it won't put off a lot of potential buyers.

Precisely !
I have been killing things with rifles since 1951 when i first got my FAC.
If you need something more powerful than your current item move up to a calibre with more poke.
I have never had or wanted an `improved` as they are just a fad and a nuisance regarding supplies of cartridges or components.

HWH.
 
imo it depends what you want out of the rifle. if you into the longer range shooting and want to make use of the ai speeds with heavier bullets then go for the ai.

if you allready have 243 dies then your not going to need anymore out lay for new dies if you keep to the standard 243 rebarrel. you could go for standard 243 again but pick a little faster twist like a 1 in 9 instead of a 1 in 10 twist. this will make sure you can shoot 100 grain bullets.

for normal vermin and fox ranges i cant see what the ai offers over the standard 243 apart from more powder usage. if you want something abit different and abit more speed over standard 243 with out the case forming what about a 6x47 laupa.

just run a 6.5 x47 case through a forster full length die and away you go. again more outlay for new dies. whatever you do enjoy and im sure it will shoot great:cool:
 
Hmm! If yur action length will take it why bother "messing about" with 243AI? Better to stick with a standard factory chambering and go straight to 6mm Remington IMHO.

Why? Dies available cheaply off USA eBay AND it remains a standard factory chambering so, if you do come to sell it, it won't put off a lot of potential buyers.

i looked into 6 mm remington and well its a factory chambering. its not the most popular round over here. so maybe not as easy to sell as you think if you did sell on in the future.

brass in 6mm remington isnt the best compared to what you can get in 243 like lapua,norma,nostler etc
well it may not make much difference. when you spend x amount on a rifle rebarrel most people stick to a good brand of brass also.


standard 6 mm remington does offer great performance though and in the usa is still has its hardcore fans for this calibre
 
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The K250 if you wish to abbreviate it. Based on the 6X47 Swiss Match necked up to .25 and played around with a wee bit. See it as simply a desire to have something different and that frankly no one else would probably want! The nod is not so much Ackley but Donaldson. It does what I want it to though:
View attachment 22212
Cheers

K
 
As some of you might know from a different post, I am having my .243 re-barreled.

I don’t know whether to stick with the straight .243 or go for the slightly more exciting but more hassle .243AI…?

Having done some reading up on it, there seems to be various theories floating about as to which one causes more throat erosion and barrel wear.

Interested to hear members thoughts.

Best,

Miles


Miles,
As a good friend of yours. It is my duty to piont out two things.

1. Why do you need to rebarel the .243? that rifle shoots fine.
2. If you are going to change it,what about a .22-243?

Number 2 is what I would go for. :evil:
 
I did use a 243 AI built on a Remington Action about 13 years ago - whilst it shot very well, it did n't feed at all well from the magazine. The sharp angle of the shoulder kept getting hung up on the feed ramp. Whether this was a problem with the rifle - and it was an American built custom rifle, or the cartridge or execution of the rifle build I know not.
 
JCS may well be the man to talk to, he has a wealth of information on the AI

I've had a number of .243s and now have a 243 Ackley. I like it, but it was hard work initially until I got a custom die made to match the chamber. I feel I am making good progress now with it. It's been a learning experience (and I've still a lot to learn), however I am not sure I would get a rifle again in a wildcat or unusual calibre. I think I will stick to my 260 Rem and if the 243 Ackley doesn't sell (see signature below), I will turn it into another 260 Rem. Regards JCS
 
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