.243 Ackley

[Greg Duerr]

Im considering having my first custom gun built and Im looking at the .243 Ackley....................

For bullets from 70gr to 90gr ......what would be the best twist rate

I have a .19 badger that has a Pac Nor Super Match barrel and it shoots 32gr at .291. What are your opinions of the Pac Nor barrels.

Any help or suggestions would be appreciated.

Stock is going to be a McMillan Remington Sporter with a 700 SA

Ive talked with John Lewis at Carolina Precisioin Rifles................


I would appreciate your advice.

Greg

 

[TAC]

Greg, the 243 AI is a great round. What is going to be the purpose of the build? Is the rifle for varminting, hunting, general purpose - a bit of everything?

The reason I ask is that you may want to modify your build to better suit your purpose. If it is a general hunting rifle you may want to go with a straight 243. If it's a long range hunter you're going to want a 28" barrel and a faster twist for higher BC bullets than you listed.

I should also mention that you should do lots of internet searches on this site and others. The 243AI is a popular round and there is lots of information out there.

You'll get better responses if you give a little more information.

TAC

 

[leanporker]

Im considering having my first custom gun built and Im looking at the .243 Ackley....................

For bullets from 70gr to 90gr ......what would be the best twist rate

I have a .19 badger that has a Pac Nor Super Match barrel and it shoots 32gr at .291. What are your opinions of the Pac Nor barrels.

Any help or suggestions would be appreciated.

Stock is going to be a McMillan Remington Sporter with a 700 SA

Ive talked with John Lewis at Carolina Precisioin Rifles................


I would appreciate your advice.

Greg

Why not shoot 105 amax with maybe 1-8 twist? That would be my choice. If not, probably a 1-9 with 87 vmax. I do not own a 243 ackley, just guessing. Others that actually have used a 243 ackley would know better.

 

[Greg Duerr]

Im going to use the .243 Ackley for long range Varminting, like Marmonts and Jackrabbits. I usually get a Antelope or a Deer tag about every four to five years ...so when that happens I want to shoot the 90gr Scirocco.

At first I wanted a 6mm but my smith told me that in a 700 SA the .243 Ackley would work better.....................

Will a Short action work with the 6mm Remington.??

My rifle will be a walking Varmint Rifle...................In Nevada is about hiking and glassing.

Im new to all the finer points of having a custom rifle built and I need lots of feed back..........

Greg

 

[LewisH]

FWIW, the standard .243 twist (1-10) works well in my .243 AI with 70 gr Noslers and H414. This is an outstanding all around varmint combo.

 

[MTBULLET]

JMHO, but if you want to shoot over 80-90 gr. bullets, go to a 25-06, but the .243AI is a great varmint/antelope/deer cal. with the 70-80 gr. bullets.
I would use a long action on a custom build, I like the longer length to play with seating, and easier to load mag in the field. my first build was on short action, and never again. to easy to just put mag spacer in long action.
AND, before you all jump on me for the "25-06" stmt., I didn't mean the .243AI
CAN'T shoot the bigger blts., just mean it REALLY likes the lighter ones and with the 75 gr. is a great "purple haze" round .

 

[mkg]

Im going to use the .243 Ackley for long range Varminting, like Marmonts and Jackrabbits. I usually get a Antelope or a Deer tag about every four to five years ...so when that happens I want to shoot the 90gr Scirocco.
Greg

One thing you will want to concider is barrel life . If for instance you shoot 500 rounds / year hunting varmints/target shooting ( don't forget fireforming brass). By the time you draw that deer/antelope tag in four or five years your barrel will have 2000 to 2500 rounds down the tube and most likely be toast .
If it were me I'd build a straight 260 remington and shoot something like a 120 A-Max for everything . Much better barrel life and when your tag arrives you should know that rifle and load insideout and six ways to Sunday.

Both are great rounds , There is a great selection of brass and bullets for both .

Mike

 

[Ski]

Why not look at Ken's, listed under the long range rifles section? Seems like exactly what you might be putting together. I'm sure he'd have several great loads worked up for it already. Just another option for you.

 

[TAC]

I'll assume that you already have the SA and that you reload since you're looking at the AI.

The best feature for me with the 243AI is not the extra powder capacity but the lack of case stretch and flow. I have to do a lot less trimming with my AI. The extra case capacity only really give you about a 100 FPS over a standard 243. My AI actually shoots the same load as my forming load (which also shoots awesome). I might have found another node above it but I get plenty of speed where it's at.

Feeding is also an issue with the AI. Some have better luck when using a mag system, but that adds cost. If you single feed it won't be an issue. Others may be able to tell you their experiences with feeding.

for a walking varmint rifle I would serioulsy consider a straight 243. I think a 24" #4 would be quite manageable for hiking. I would also choose a 9 twist over a 10, the 105gr AMAX's are great for LR varmint work and you will still be able to shoot lighter bullets. However, the 87gr VMAX is a good alternative if you go with a 1 in 10

Hiking, carrying... follow up shots... straight ol' 243... Unless you feel you've just got to have something different.

Additionally, Pacnor is a fine barrel maker.


TAC

 

[MTBULLET]

One thing you will want to concider is barrel life . If for instance you shoot 500 rounds / year hunting varmints/target shooting ( don't forget fireforming brass). By the time you draw that deer/antelope tag in four or five years your barrel will have 2000 to 2500 rounds down the tube and most likely be toast .
If it were me I'd build a straight 260 remington and shoot something like a 120 A-Max for everything . Much better barrel life and when your tag arrives you should know that rifle and load insideout and six ways to Sunday.

Both are great rounds , There is a great selection of brass and bullets for both .

Mike

I have a little over 3100 rounds thru my latest one, and no problems yet. But i keep the speed just on the upper end of MAX., and don't let bbl get hot in the p-dog town. we often shoot 500-600 rds. a day on a good dog town, switch back and forth with 22-250 and .243AI

 

[Long Time Long Ranger]

The 243 AI is one od my favorites in that class. I have two built on pac nor barrels that shoot great. One of them is the best shooter I own holding 3 shot 5/8" groups at 300 yards and would shoot five shot 5" groups on my 1000 yard range with 107 matchkings. Pac Nor super match barrel.

 

[Greg Duerr]

I want to thank all you guys for your input..........this is the only sight I have found were everyone has a lot of knowlege in this subject.
I only have a SA so Im stuck with what works in the SA

Does anyone know if the 6mm will work in a short action. That was my first choice as the 6mm Remington looks like it will come close to the performance of the .243 AI. Its just that I was told my the Smith that the .243 would work better.

Kenny Jarret, on his web sight, says that the secret to the .243 Ackley is having it in a 1-12 twist..............and when I contacted Pac Nor Barrels they also said that up to a 90gr bullet the 1-12 twist works best but if you want to shoot the heavyer bullets go to the 1-10.

I will fire form about 100 cases..........Out here in Nevada, I hike a lot into area's looking for Coyotes and Marmonts. It more like Deer hunting so I wont be doing lots of shooting once I have worked up a load.

I do lots of ground squirrel shooting but then I use my .19 badger, and according to James Calhoon, the Pac Nor barrel in the .19 has a barrel life of about 7000 rounds.

Does anyone have any experiance loading and shooting the 6mm Remington, and will it work through a Short action....................

Greg

 

[BradArnett]

A 1-9"tw 243AI would be hard to beat. That'll allow you to run the 105Amax and 105VLD if you ever want to stretch the rifle out. I would never hamstring myself right out of the gate with a 1-10" or slower twist, IMO.

I've ran a 243AI with the HS DBM bottom metal and it fed very well. I'm currently running (2) 243AI's set up in McMillans in ADL and they feed great. I prefer the simplicity of the ADL when it comes to hunting rifles. I've played with the mag's and they are not for me. I just like to keep things simple.

Just shot this 5-shot group the other day with my heavy 243AI at 705yds while laying in the snow. I'm a big fan of the 243AI and there is no way I'd do a 6mm/6mmAI in a S/A just due to mag constraints when it comes to the longer high bc bullets.

 

[BradArnett]

105's at 3200+ in a 24" barrel is nothing to sneeze at.