Looking to take a 700 Rem short action and have a Ackley made for me, but cannot decide which one to go with. I want to go larger than a .22 cal but smaller than a 30 cal. Any input from all you out there would be appreciated.

#1 for me would be a 250 AI
#2 would be a 244AI or 257AI
All three are excellent cartridges.


www.duanesguns.com

DuaneinND

If you have any of these what do you think is the minimum barrel length to go with to get better performance than the standard calibers.

7x57 AI

From all my testing an AI on a 308 based case is a waste. I would look to a 257RobAI as a first choice 7x57AI second. A 6mm already gives you about all you need.

A 24" would be my choice.

The 250AI with a quality 24" barrel is a great choice. I did one on a Ruger#3 action that is "lights out" with 75gr V-Max bullets.
GOOD LUCK and GOOD SHOOTING!!

I thought a 57mm, even a 55mm long case was too long for a short Rem 700 action?

quote:

I thought a 57mm, even a 55mm long case was too long for a short Rem 700 action

If that is the case I would simply build a 243, 250, 260 std and spend $$ I saved on a nice scope.

correct, any mauser cartridge is going to be juuuust a bit too long, especially an AI version in a Rem700 SA. Unless you stuck to the very light for caliber bullets. There is the 25 humdinger, which is a 243 AI necked up to 257. Its about 200fps average faster then the 257Bob AI in the 117 and 120gr bullets, theyre equal on under 100gr. 120gr @ 3040, 117 @ 3085, 100 @ 3175. There is alos the 25-284 which is listed as 2.8" oal as well as the 6-284. The 6.5-284 is too long. Another option worth considering is having the bolt and magazine opened up for a RSAUM ,WSM or RCM. Or the 6.5 Rem Mag if you wwant a semi obsolete "standard".

quote:

There is the 25 humdinger, which is a 243 AI necked up to 257. Its about 200fps average faster then the 257Bob AI

OK I'm REAL confused on this one. I show a 243 cap of 54.7gr a 6mm as 56.5. When you AI a 243 case you add 1.65% capacity with a 6mm AI you add 7.2%. Take both cases to 257 you will just ratio things up so a 257RobAI will have about 9% greater capacity than a 243AI necked up to 257.

Trust me Ramrod I thought it was odd too lol the same book shows 1 more grain of powder in the Bob vs the HD...but the HD has high velocity. Maybe its a pressure thing? Another kicker, it says the HD data is from a 23" barrel *shrug*

If you have Cartridges of the World, its in the wildcat section on the same page as the 257 Bob AI

So far you guys got me thinking of going with the 257AI or the 250AI. I am leaning more towards the 257AI I think, anymore input from anyone else?

How about a .284 Win? I don't know if you can improve it more than .010", but it's a heck of a performer in it's factory chambering. A 26" tube seems to work well. With the wide range of bullets out there this caliber is suitable for everything on this continent from ground hogs to elk and even bear with solids. The case is short enough to fit the short actions. So you loose one round in the magazine, when's the last time you emptied your gun on a hunt? LOL

Mohunt- I have a 24" barrel on my 250AI. Since you asked about an AI cartridge I limited my answer to Ackley's cartridges. In a 700SA my choice in 25 caliber is the 257DGR, you can read about it on my web site. I designed it for a 700SA and it is better than a 257AI in a Reminngton 700 because with of the OAL limitation of the magazine. It is all about usable powder space, not how much powder spaceon the gross side.


www.duanesguns.com

Mohunt - its a great choice of calibers...just not for your particular rifle. It would be a shame to put all that time, money and work into a rifle to then be limited into how you can load/use it because of the restrictive magazine box.

having or had a roberts, roberts improved, 7x57 and a 7x57 improved, i'd opt for the 7x57 improved any day, that is if you are building a gun for big game. not that the 120 gr. .25 caliber can't do it on deer, it surely can and has for many years, but why strangle hold yourself to such a light bullet?. the roberts is a great dual purpoe carteidge and if varmints are in your frequent hunting activities, then you couldn't pick a better round to build a gun on.
the only other thing i would suggest is not to build a roberts or a 7x57 on a short action. both suffer case capacity-wise from having the bullet stuffed back into the case to fit into a short magazine, deadening thier potential performance with the heavier bullets considerably. why do that just to have a gun a bit shorter?.... or, if you are thinking of adding barrel length with the shorter action to end up with the same length gun as a long action, it will get you nowhere, the strangled cartridge still has to fit into the short magazine.

i have a 700 short action in 6mm rem and it wants bullets seated out further then the magazine will alloow for best accuracy.
the x57 cases are best done on a mauser or long action.
if i change mine to something it will definatly be on a shorter case like a 7mm on a x55 case [284 win] or the 308 case [7-08]
till then i will single load.

quote:

Originally posted by Mohunt:
So far you guys got me thinking of going with the 257AI or the 250AI. I am leaning more towards the 257AI I think, anymore input from anyone else?

How about a 25 souper (25-308)?

A couple of other things I thought I should ask for input on is; I am wanting to stay 22"or under on barrel length in this 700 SA rifle. I want to keep the rifle light weight and use for deer down to coyotes. I want to use 70 to 100 gr. bullets, what twist rate and AI rifle would you all suggest?

correction, up to 120 gr. bullets.

quote:

Originally posted by vip:

quote:

Originally posted by Mohunt:
So far you guys got me thinking of going with the 257AI or the 250AI. I am leaning more towards the 257AI I think, anymore input from anyone else?

How about a 25 souper (25-308)?

+2

Fits a S/A like a glove

I think the .250 savage AI would be a very good choice. As would the .257 Roberts and the 6mm Remington.
I have agued the merits of X57 mauser based cartridges on the remington short action a ton of times.
Fact is they work well.
Remington Built factory rifles in both cartridges on short actions and Kimber builds the .257 Roberts on a short action now.
It is true that with long bullets such as 120 grain stuff and probaly 115 grain boat tails you will eat up some powder space.
You will still be able to get decent velocity
And you still have more powder space then you wood with a .250/3000 AI.
With a 100 grain tsx or a 110 grain nosler acubond and a .257 Roberts AI you can get 3200 FPS. Probably get there in a 22 inch tube but almost certainly with a 24.
I built mine with a 25 inch tube and had the barrel contour done so that if I wanted I could cut and crown , at any length I want.
Its a great round .
The .250/300 AI is reall nice too, and might feed better with your push feed short action.
Yoy should only loose about 100 FPS.

...tj3006

Get the new 6XC, a .22-250 opened up to 6mm and blown out shoulder/taper.
If that is to small, 6,5x47 Lapua, nerly identical case but with a small primer, making higher preassures safe, will duplicate 6,5x55.
You will have plenty ofplace to those long flyers, wereas on a 57 case they would have to be set very deep.

I just did a 6X47lapua on a rem700 short action. you cant seat 105vlds wayyyy out and they still fit in the mag

I had my M700 rebarreled to 260ai. Very nice round. Pushes a bit more vel. than a std. 260 & brass is readily made from high end Lapua or RWS 243, or just use Nosler 260 brass. It is a true dual purpose round w/ 85-95gr bullets for varmints to 140gr bullets for deer/antelope.
I have to agree, the 57 or 284 based cases are just a bit too long for ideal use of heavier bullets in a true SA.

FOR WHAT????

All this is quite amusing historically. As an ignorant youth I asked Mr. A about improving the .308 and his reply was that there was too little to gain. This got me to studying his books. Very enlightening.

The old favorites like .250 AI and .257 AI came out as funnel shapes from the 1900 era standards. I suspect that powders of the day made this necessary, but no hard proof.

Compare the .308, circa 1955, to the .300 Savage Improved, circa 1930. .308 has a longer neck the military needed for use with full auto.

And the .284 WCF has all the benefits. Sharp shoulder. Short powder column. '06 case capacity.

So what are you going to shoot at. .250 AI would be find for varmints and the occasional deer. .257 AI would get you a bit more for bigger deer, elk? but burning more powder means less barrel life. .284 with '06 capacity can do in a short action what has been legend. 7mmx64. (.280 Remington). .270 WCF. .25/'06. 6mm/'06. But barrel life will reflect the amount of powder you burn. How much power do you need? Balance that with the kick and the cost and you will be almost there. Then flip a coin. luck.

If your going to go to all the trouble to build a semi-custom on a short action Remy, spend a few bucks more and have the bolt opened for a WSM case, Sako extractor and 7 MM bullet from 100 gr to 190 gr. Or just swap out your short action for a Remy WSM action. Then go out and find a bear. You would have the performance you want and ammo available wherever you go if you forget or loose your own. I forgot all my ammo at home on a antelope - Mulie hunt in 1990. This shit canned my 7 STW. I carried a 7 Mag for a back up rifle, was able to buy ammo in Casper to save my hunt.