I have many guns but have always wanted a 243 based on one shot with a borrowed weatherby in 243 I made on a deer. !5 years later i am now finally going to build a 243. Whats the differance in the 243 Win and the 243 Ackley? Pro and cons?
Thanks

Having seen some 243 AI ballistics after having getting a 6mm-284, I am wondering the same thing.

There's nothing particularly wrong with the .243 Ackley, but it represents a very marginal gain over the standard .243, since the standard .243 already has fairly straight walls, a reasonably sharp shoulder (20.5 degrees), and a short neck. I wouldn't consider spending any significant amount of money on the A.I. version, but if you run across one like a friend of mine did, you'll find that it will give you a very modest potential improvement in velocity.

Here is my thought on the small bore "improved" cartridges. The are fun to play with, and might give you 100-150 fps (maybe) improvement over the standard case.

But...does that really change the capabilities of the caliber? Given a 275 yd zero, the drop @ 350 would be about 2" less. You can kill a deer quickly either way. About the only difference might be that jackrabbit pieces would fly a bit further.

BTW super quick "yank the rug" kills on deer come from the placement of the bullet not the velocity of the hit. (within reason of course)

JimF

I agree with the other posting here. I have worked a lot with the 243AI and like the caliber but I would never rechamber a 243Win to a 243AI, the gain is not worth the expense.
However, if you "have" to rebarrel then it is worth considering.

Below is a link to my 243AI web page, you can take a look and see what you could expect for velocities with various bullets and barrel length.

http://www.angelfire.com/nd/243ackleyimproved

Good Hunting
Jeff in ND

Just build a 6mm Remington instead and you will have a .243 "improved" .

Re: 6mm Remington...........absolutely!

JimF

Every handloading enthusiast should have owned at least one improved cartridge. At first it's fun to fireform and then load them up and chronograph the larger case.

But it's enough trouble to get a really good barrel put on right and then wear it out with fireforming loads.

Your better off spending the time on case preparation. For instance I would take a standard .243 Win where the time had been spent turning necks, weighing cases and using precision dies rather than trying to get 100 fps more from a fireformed case.

Now this is if you really want to hit something with a bullet. If you just want to experiment or have something different go ahead.