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Author
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Topic: 22-250 ackley
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TA17Rem
Hello, I'm the legendary Tim Anderson, Southern Minneesota Know it all
Member # 794
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posted February 14, 2025 07:42 PM
Ok i got a chance to reload a new batch of 22-250 brass for the 22-250 ackley.
Awhile back we talked about fireform loads and the brass settling into its new size. And from what i was told and have known for some time the brass does not stop growing till after 2 or 3 firings.
I took some measurements on the ackley formed brass, web area seems good and did expand a little.
I then measured overall length, and this is where the difference showed up.
1.902 should be the minimum length with new brass. I got some cases measured at 1.903, 1.902, 1.900 and two cases at 1.904 and two below minimum length at 1.895.
Fire form load used was a max. 22-250 safe load, same bullet and same primer and brass.
So you see the brass is not formed to its exact measurement quiet yet. So where is the issue? well the shoulder or neck area may have not formed completely to specks yet.
I'm kind of anneal about trim length. Take a 22-250 for example minimum is 1.902 with max. being 1.912. I like to be between those numbers and have all my cases at exact same length as each other at times i may only have to true up a few cases to match the others it can be 1.903 or 1.905 i don't care long as all of them are the same. Just like everything to be uniform.
Just saying is all.
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What if I told you, the left wing and right wing both belong to same bird!
Posts: 5614 | From: S.D. | Registered: Jan 2006
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Leonard
HMFIC
Member # 2
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posted February 15, 2025 10:26 AM
I have a chamber set up in the garage where I can stick the barrel into a hole with the cylinder suspended vertically. I use a fast surplus powder and arolled up square of newsprint stuck in the neck. This has always given me about 85% or so on the shoulder. The first firing with a bullet is good enough for hunting and my shoulder is then about 95%.
As far as the overall length, that is practically unattainable, and I don't sweat it. The overall length never reaches specs and I have never had to trim to length on any Ackley? It's not an issue to worry about.
My experience is with 2-25'06 Ackleys, 2-22/250Ackleys, one 223AckleyImp, one 243Ackley and one 22/243Middlested; which doesn't have a 40* shoulder, I think it's 35degrees?
Anyway, I fireform all of them the same way; without a bullet to save barrel life and bullets.
I used to use softened bar soap pushed into the neck as a plug, but that was kinda messy and the excess on the outside of the neck had to be cleaned up with a moist cloth or tissue. also, it coated the bore and needed a good scrubbing to get rid of it. But a crumpled and rolled up piece of newsprint pushed into the neck works a hell of a lot better. I had tried 22 caliber cotton patches but they set the carpet baffles on fire inside the fireforming chamber device. PS, I first used a 3/4" piece of particle board on the top of the fireing chamber but blew a hole in it in less than 50 rounds. Currently, I use an 8" square of 1/4" steel plate. It defeats the hot gasses, but just do not shove the barrel way up inside. My chamber is about 3 feetlong and 8" diameter cardboard. It's the durable stuff they sell at Home Depot for setting concrete pilings, I don't know what it's called but I have the whole apperatus hanging from a rafter in the garage.
Good hunting. El Bee
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EL BEE Knows It All and Done It All.
Don't piss me off!
Posts: 32361 | From: Upland, CA | Registered: Jan 2003
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UTcaller
NEVADA NIGHT FIGHTER
Member # 8
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posted February 16, 2025 03:28 PM
I’ve had my .22-250 Ackley for about 13 years now. Shot about 500 rounds through it and can’t remember ever trimming cases. Size load and shoot. Still shooting the first 100 rounds I bought. Love the Lapua brass that for sure. Still have another 100 that I’ve only fired once.
As far as the fireforming, I have never thought it was a big deal. When I first got my gun back 13 years ago I loaded 200 rounds of standard .22-250 (Lapua brass) about a grain over max(36 grains of RL15 and 55 grain Bergers). Sighted it in…. It shot about 3/4 inch groups. Went out and killed Coyotes for a couple years.
After all the cases were improved I bumped the Load up to 38.2 grains of RL15, and went to the 60 grain Bergers l Gained about 200 fps and shrunk the group size to under 1/2 inch…When I first started shooting it, it had a 26” barrel and was running 3800 fps.
When I bought my suppressor a few years back I cut 5” off the barrel when they threaded it. Still shooting the same load but with the shorter barrel it is running 3650 fps….
I bet I still have at least 7 or 8 more reloads left with the first hundred cases. Then I continue on with the next 100. I’m sure it will last the life of the barrel.
Good Hunting Chad
[ March 22, 2025, 09:21 PM: Message edited by: UTcaller ]
Posts: 1708 | From: Utah | Registered: Jan 2003
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TA17Rem
Hello, I'm the legendary Tim Anderson, Southern Minneesota Know it all
Member # 794
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posted February 17, 2025 12:41 AM
I never mentioned the brass needs trimming just mentioned it takes few firings for it to form thus the different lengths. after 2 or 3 times then i trim them so they all match in length. 1.903....
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What if I told you, the left wing and right wing both belong to same bird!
Posts: 5614 | From: S.D. | Registered: Jan 2006
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Leonard
HMFIC
Member # 2
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posted February 17, 2025 11:45 AM
For sure, there are several ways of arriving at the same.
Shooting bullets is fine except for the cost, premium bullets aren’t cheap any more. Then if you have 200 cases to fireform, that’s 200 bullets down your premium barrel’s bore.
Then, if some of you live in the country, fine, just shoot off the porch, but some of us have to drive 18 miles to the Club, in order to fireform. Because I have neighbors, I close up the garage and when shooting into my baffle it’s really a muffled report, no louder than pounding a 16D into a 2X4. In a confined space.
The cost of 1 or 2 hundred primers and I use fast pistol powder and as far as containment, just the wadded up paper down the neck seems to just barely confine the case and ignite the powder charge. That is a variable I don’t even keep track of. After 2 or 3, I have a pretty good idea if I’m getting enough pressure to do what I want, which is to extract a case and observe a shoulder looking like a Whetherby shoulder. After that, as far as I am concerned, it’s just cosmetic, because loading my standard charge and using my standard bullet, I get about a 99% in performance which is like horseshoes, close enough for government work. In other words, all discharging with a bullet, they perform very satisfactorily. And, the zero, within 200 yards is not worth the effort to change anything besides the normal accommodation between elevation where I live and the 4,600 ft. Of the Great Basin.
I have it well thought out. And, as far as trimming necks, when you consider that I used a 220Swift for at least 15 years; I am well aware of case necks and trimming to length. With Ackley shoulders, that seems to keep the brass from flowing past the shoulder to the point where I’m virtually positive that I have never trimmed necks to length. I have occasionally outside reamed the necks occasionally, for one reason or another. But ackley fireformed cases are trouble free and last “LITERALLY” forever. It’s ridiculous, I’m talking about at least 10 reloads per case. Something that with attrition, in a Swift case, I would be down to maybe 50 cases to cycle. And that would involve split necks and loose primer pockets. With Ackley’s you get none of that stuff!
Good hunting. El Bee
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EL BEE Knows It All and Done It All.
Don't piss me off!
Posts: 32361 | From: Upland, CA | Registered: Jan 2003
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Kokopelli
SENIOR DISCOUNT & Dispenser of Sage Advice
Member # 633
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posted February 17, 2025 12:05 PM
Speaking of Weatherby ........... I recently saw something about Weatherby leaving Calif. for the more firearm friendly state of Wyoming.
Starting to see a trend here ...........
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And lo, the Light of the Trump shown upon the Darkness and the Darkness could not comprehend it.
Posts: 8231 | From: Under a wandering star | Registered: Apr 2005
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TA17Rem
Hello, I'm the legendary Tim Anderson, Southern Minneesota Know it all
Member # 794
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posted February 17, 2025 01:23 PM
I tried fire forming with the cream of wheat stuff with dacron on top of the cream of wheat. Didnt like wasting primers and powder and just went back to full loads that gave me 22-250 performance.
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What if I told you, the left wing and right wing both belong to same bird!
Posts: 5614 | From: S.D. | Registered: Jan 2006
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