.300 Ackley Magnum

[Jim Hundley]

Please don't laugh,but what is the .300 Ackley Magnum made of:.300 Win.mag.,.300 Whby.?I know it is a blown out configuration of what mother cartridge?What velocities are obtainable with a 180gr. bullet?I don't have a reference book.Guess I had better get one to answer my own questions.
Thank you,Jimmy.

 

[James Jones]

The 300Ackley is actualy a blown out 300H&H case but the 300Wby is just barleysmaller so guys use the 300Wby to make the 300AI cases , just alot less fuss in the fire forming process
I had one for a while and realy liked it , it was not a tight necked chamber but having the throat cut to fit the 175gr SMK bullet was nice accuracy was outstanding and case life was good. I'm not to sure that I'd do it again with all the new non belted mags out their but If I were looking for a good long range rig with not so much power as the RUM's then I'd get the 300Ai , my rig shot factory Wby ammo into the 1" range but after the case was formed and the load worked up it would shoot around 1/3MOA at 300yds. Their is realy not enough ballistic advantage over the Wby to make any strong claims but its differant.

 

[Jim Hundley]

I guess that I ment the .300AI.This must be the same round as the .30 Hart,.300 Borden Caribou,etc.Thanks for the info!
Jimmy

 

[MudRunner2005]

Hate to revive a thread this old, but my smith has a .300 Ackley and I like the looks of it. He also has a .300 Wby barrel I can buy for really cheap. Where do I get neck-sizer dies for .300 Ackley? I already have .300 Wby brass and dies because I load for a buddy of mine. But can't seem to find any .300 Ackley dies.

 

[Jud96]

Hate to revive a thread this old, but my smith has a .300 Ackley and I like the looks of it. He also has a .300 Wby barrel I can buy for really cheap. Where do I get neck-sizer dies for .300 Ackley? I already have .300 Wby brass and dies because I load for a buddy of mine. But can't seem to find any .300 Ackley dies.

Contact Redding. I know they are always into making custom dies but not 100% sure.

 

[J E Custom]

Actually PO Ackley built 3 different 300s They were called oddly enough the 300#1, 300#2 and the 300 #3 the number 3 was the largest of the three.

He was experimenting with trying to find out what it would take to overbore the cartridge and the point of diminishing returns.

There is a book on PO Ackley that talks about all three 300s.

I had the #3 300 and made my brass out of the 300 H&H brass. and as mentioned earlier the 300 Weatherby. I stopped shooting it because it became a collectors rifle because Ackley himself had built mine (It is a piece of art).

When he built the #3 he said it was to over bore and inefficient. (I wonder what he would say
about some of todays cartridges). The #1 was the shortest and had a powder capacity of just
under 70 grains. the #2 was lengthened just enough to re chamber a 30/06 without setting the chamber back. it had a powder capacity of 70 to 75 grains. The #3 has almost the same case capacity as the 300 Weatherby (around 80 grains of powder capacity).

I hope this helps you to determine which one you have.

J E CUSTOM

 

[MontanaRifleman]

Hate to revive a thread this old, but my smith has a .300 Ackley and I like the looks of it. He also has a .300 Wby barrel I can buy for really cheap. Where do I get neck-sizer dies for .300 Ackley? I already have .300 Wby brass and dies because I load for a buddy of mine. But can't seem to find any .300 Ackley dies.

You'll need custom dies based on your reamer. I would go with Whidden. A set will cost you about $270 plus shipping.

 

[MudRunner2005]

Actually PO Ackley built 3 different 300s They were called oddly enough the 300#1, 300#2 and the 300 #3 the number 3 was the largest of the three.

He was experimenting with trying to find out what it would take to overbore the cartridge and the point of diminishing returns.

There is a book on PO Ackley that talks about all three 300s.

I had the #3 300 and made my brass out of the 300 H&H brass. and as mentioned earlier the 300 Weatherby. I stopped shooting it because it became a collectors rifle because Ackley himself had built mine (It is a piece of art).

When he built the #3 he said it was to over bore and inefficient. (I wonder what he would say
about some of todays cartridges). The #1 was the shortest and had a powder capacity of just
under 70 grains. the #2 was lengthened just enough to re chamber a 30/06 without setting the chamber back. it had a powder capacity of 70 to 75 grains. The #3 has almost the same case capacity as the 300 Weatherby (around 80 grains of powder capacity).

I hope this helps you to determine which one you have.

J E CUSTOM

Thanks for the info bud! That was a nicely summarized lesson. You get props for that. And having a P.O. gun would be awesome.

The one my smith uses is the #3, because he fire-forms out of .300 Wby brass. But his has some special die dimensions or something.

JE, got any jdea where I might could get a good set of dies for the #3 model? I'd like a FL, Neck, & Seater set.

 

[MudRunner2005]

You'll need custom dies based on your reamer. I would go with Whidden. A set will cost you about $270 plus shipping.

Yeah, I was afraid of having to pay the price for custom dies. Anybody know how much RCBS or Redding charges for a custom set?

 

[MontanaRifleman]

Yeah, I was afraid of having to pay the price for custom dies. Anybody know how much RCBS or Redding charges for a custom set?

Best thing to do is call and ask. If Redding has a print on file, you might get a break, but usually they are spendy. Hornady is another option, but I have both Whidden and Hornady customs and I like the Whidden dies better... plus Whidden will get them done a lot quicker.

The problem with the wildcats and AI's is there are so many variations, so usually there won't be a "standard" set available and a reamer print is required.

 

[MontanaRifleman]

If you want a 300 AI, just do it off the 8X68S

 

[MudRunner2005]

Is this the right dies? Looks to be, since the #3 was based on the big .300 H&H, right?

RCBS 2-Die Set 300 H&H Mag Improved 40-Degree Shoulder

RCBS Neck Sizer Die 300 H&H Mag Improved 40-Degree Shoulder

 

[MudRunner2005]

If you want a 300 AI, just do it off the 8X68S

I might have one designed... But the 8x68 Shuler case is a bit shorter than the .300 Wby and STW case

 

[MontanaRifleman]

Is this the right dies? Looks to be, since the #3 was based on the big .300 H&H, right?

RCBS 2-Die Set 300 H&H Mag Improved 40-Degree Shoulder

RCBS Neck Sizer Die 300 H&H Mag Improved 40-Degree Shoulder

You just never know if they will match. The best thing to do is make a casting of the chamber and check the dimensions or send the casting to RCBS.