I am wondering if I want to ream out one of my 450 Alaskan's to the improved Ackley version,does anyone here have access to any reloading data for the Ackley improved version? I am wondering what the velocity difference would be ? or if the chamber can be cleaned up to make this work ? thanks.

Hello Bill
My Alaskan cases look kind of Ackley improved. All I've ever shot was 63 grains of 3031 with a 400 cast gas check. Kills very well from muskrats on up...... Wish I could shoot it again but neck problems preclude any heavy recoil.

Frank,
3031 is my favorite powder as well in the 450 & 416.

I don't think it's worth the effort to ream the chamber. The 450 is a great killer just the way it is

You are right about it being good enough as is,I just bought this rifle & it won't chamber some of the brass,I called Mcgowen where it was converted & they had some issues with their reamer,now they use a new reamer,so I am sending the gun to them to get the chamber checked & the thought crossed my mind to maybe get the improved chamber done,there is a set of dies available as well that I can get my hands on.

Well it depends if you want a little bit more, it has that, keep in mind it don't take much to make that calibers effect noticeable on both ends..Might as well get all you can out of it if you can take the recoil...

quote:

Originally posted by Atkinson:
Well it depends if you want a little bit more, it has that, keep in mind it don't take much to make that calibers effect noticeable on both ends..Might as well get all you can out of it if you can take the recoil...

Ray,
you make a good point,what got me going towards the improved version was that the gun came with a break on it,I might just leave it on.

Nice Job...

You might look at the price of custom dies to see if the miniscule additional performance is worth the cost. You gain ~2-2.5% whatever the difference is between the case volumes... somewhere between 5 and 10% normal Ackley increase, so basically 50-75 fs give or take


What receiver is your 450 Alaska on??? That is your limiting factor. The 450 Alaskan is SAAMI'ed at ~46.5KPSI for lever guns and the Imp version depends on the reamer dimensions, so who knows the case volume until you measure a fired case AFTER all the dust settles, there are several versions out there.

As is the 450 Alaskan will handle everything that walks the earth...handily...


I've looked at this particular variation in the past and also the 50 cal versions when I was playing with my lever guns and after all was said and done the cost of a set of dies queered the whole thing.

Basically your choice.

LUCK

If you improve a caliber and have standard dies, have them ream the dies to match the chamber..Dennis Olson reams out my dies for $25.00 If he rechambers..soften them ream them and harden them..they have worked well indeed.