25-06 Ackley Improved

[Kiwi]

Hi Guys, Anyone have any experience with the 25-06 Ackley Improved.
 I want a long range varmint rifle to go with my 223AI and 22-250AI.
I know that ackley was not too impressed with it but 40 years has passed since his writings on it. I thought with 40 years developement in new powders maybe the performance had increased a little.
Using the load from a disk program it shows a velocity of 3900 ft per second could be quite achievable for an 85 grain bullet.
Murray :eek:

[nomosendero]

Kiwi
A very few people who have done this conversion & many people who have not will tell you that it is not worthwhile. However, the majority by far
of those who have done this like the results. The naysayers will point out
that Mr. Ackley did not like the round, but as you correctly pointed out, the new slow powders have totally changed the situation. I have been studing this for the past 18 months & I am ready to have my Sendero converted.
Here in the wildcat section, if you scroll down to the title (Ackley Website)
there is a site mentioned from 4-D products. This is a chart that shows the
% increase in vel. achieved by converting several cartridges to AI. They
show an 8.4% increase for the 25-06 AI with 100 gr. bullets.
You need a 24" barrel to benefit & a 26" is much prefered.
My research indicates & my gunsmith who has done many of these
conversions assures me that in my 26" barrel Sendero I can achieve near
.257 Wea. Ballistics. I am not saying a match, but close enough to not
justify buying a 26" Accumark. Weatherby came out with a  Vanguard in .257 Wea. & I wanted one in the 1MOA version until I found out that you could not get a 26".  A 24" .257 is a joke.
Unless you are in a hurry, I will let you know the results when I get my
rifle back.

[Kiwi]

Nomosendero, Thanks for the info, that was just what I wanted to hear, it seems like a lot of shooter are prepared to discount it based on 40 year old information but I have now come across a number of shooters who use this cartridge and absolutely love it.
Accuracy reports seem to go from so so to 1/2 minute of angle like every other cartridge I guess.
I will have a look at the site and but I think I have already made up my mind, I just have to find a suitable action now and I am leaning towards another model 700.
Murray

[Nixter]

Kiwi, for what it's worth, H&R chambers their Ultra Rifle in 25-06. It comes with a 26 inch tube and can be had for $250.

I didn't check your profile but prices in New Zealand for H&R products might be a bit higher.

The only reason I mention this is it might be cheaper to experiment with a re-chember on an inexpensive rifle than the 700 you mentioned in your post. Search the H&R centerfire forums for posts by Hildy or just 25-06, these H&Rs are quite the shooters for the money.

Yes, I am biased as I have a 25-06 Ultra on lay-away as I type.

Good luck in your project.

Nixter

[mjshell]

Kiwi,

Good Choice!  I have a custom 27" tc encore barrel in 25-06 ackley.  I've shot pairie dogs to deer with it and it is impressive.  If you are going to shoot deer size game with it, use premium bullets.  the 85 grainers are absolutely devastating on varmits.

Good Shooting,

mark

[nomosendero]

Nixter
I also like the H&R / NEF rifles. I bought one of my boy's a .25-06 & yes
with the 26" barrel & Lam. stock, it is quite nice. This gun will group several loads at 1-1.5" & a couple well under 1". However, re-chambering
this rifle to .25-06AI is very risky for the following reasons.

1. Any good gunsmith will set the barrel back slightly in order to obtain
    the proper headspace with the new sharp shoulder. This is needed
    in order to clean up the existing chamber & accomidate the
    reconfigured case. Failure to do so can result in excessive headspace.
    This is easy to do with a bolt gun but not feasible with a break-open
    single shot.
2. The H&R does well with Factory Loads or reloads at close to factory
    pressures. My experience has been that the bigger the case the more
    this rule applies. Loading the .223 type cases is more like a bolt gun
    but with 06 cased rounds you have to be more careful. I safely shoot
    reloads in my Sendero that are much too hot for the H&R & this is
    quiet common. The same thing happens in the stronger Encore but
    at a different scale. That is why some of the Custom Barrel people
    started chambering the short mag rounds when they first came out
    but later on dropped these. The .300 Win Mag-375 H&H is ok but the
    larger 7 STW Case is borderline with some hot loads. However the
    .25-06 AI Encore would be safe & very nice as Mark pointed out.
    I own an Encore & love the balance of this rifle.

With both of these guns but at a different scale what we are dealing with
is frame stretch and one lug on the bottom as opposed to 2 lugs.

Please check with a reliable & professional gunsmith for his advise!

Just my views: Rod Smith Pocahontas, Ar.

[nomosendero]

Mark

I am going to send my 25-06 Sendero off soon to get the Ackley treatment. But I would not mind getting a 25-06AI Barrel for my Encore.
I noticed yours is a 27". Who made the barrel & are you pleased with the accuracy? It would be nice to take both to Wyoming this fall.

[mjshell]

my 25-06 AI barrel was ordered thru EABCO and actually built by Virgin Valley.  Unfortunately VVC is no longer in business, and eabco would not reveal to me who is now making their custom encore barrels.  I haven't talked to anyone who has tried one of EABCO's new custom encore barrels.

My barrel consistantly shoots less than MOA except for driver error.

The last custom barrel I had built was a stub project done by David White chambered in 22-250 AI rimmed.  I was very pleased with Davids work.  If you are unfamilar with Stubbed barrels, you can view pictures of mine at HUNT101.com. Just do a search under mjshell.