Does anyone know of a good source for once fired .257 Roberts Ackley Improved brass? I would prefer the same brand of brass. Any help would be appreciated. MMP

I might be your source.

I'll check my stuff after the the Thanksgiving holiday and get back with you about the 3rd.

I know I've got a couple hundred round but I'll see how many Win and how many Rem brass I've got.

Zeke

Just curious why it has to be "once fired"? Is there a reason you can't just fire form your own brass?

my thoughts also.
the round was designed to have regular cases fire formed to create the Ackley version.

and,,
not every reamer maker agrees on what the finished product should look like.
I have seen 5 different versions of the 7 Ackley round over the years.
the one I have now has zero case taper, and the regular case neck length.
it holds about 5 more grains of powder [to the base of the neck] than my last, more traditional, chambering.

What He ^^ said. Fire forming may be inconvenient. But why would you want brass that has been formed to someone else's chamber? Especially a wildcat.

You are SO right there. I keep all my AI brass separate for rifle specific chambers. You can make it work but one should only use the cases that were fireformed in that action + afterward neck sized. Only my opinion but over 40 years it works for me.

I have the original files written by Ackley to his students back in the early start up of the TSJC gunsmithing. My instructors in 1961 were the ones that made most of the chambers and dimensions . The files are in the Ackley page in a booklet published about 1950. I don't know why reamer makers have so much variances.

I have Parker's books as well. I can't answer the why but I have found that chambering works best by the brass that was fired in that chamber. Then I just neck size with graphite.

well, if you are wanting new brass, this is the "better" of the crop, in that it's a tad heavier in the web .. and MIGHT be 1-2 gr less capacity then regular

https://www.grafs.com/catalog/product/productId/19580

Agree with Jeffe, and Win brass in 257 is the best bet, That is what I used in my recent 257 Ackley, didn't lose a case in fireforming..and I had some factory loaded 257 Robts that I fire in the Ackley and it gave me a crisp clean Ackley case...I have been told WW brass has gone down hill, and I agree the quality control has slipped in that bent necks and minor dents that never happened back in the day, but that minor stuff and reloading fixes that..I did get a somewhat loose primer pocket with new brass, but just discarded those two cases out of 200..

That's your best bet..The plus P is supposed to be a big fix, but a fix of what I have no clue, its no better or worse than the std old lots of brass IMO, just a sales pitch.