Ive been considering having mine made AI. A local smith said he should be able to do it for about $120.00. I would appreciate comments or suggestions from those who have already done it. Im especially interested in flatter trajectory benefits with 125-165 grain bullets and energy gains with the larger ones. The data Ive seen suggests to me that an AI 06 actually has better velocities with "LESS" powder. Is that correct?

Thanks

The reputation of the .30/06 AI was made back in the days before chronographs were generally available. Claims of increases in velocity of 200+ fps simply by rechambering just don't happen. You "might" get an extra 2% increase in velocity using more powder but it hardly seems worth the effort. You will get more using some of the hi-energy loads or lt magnum loads on the market for the regular .30/06.

How long is the barrel that you now have? I would think that the most results would come from a 26" barrel. You could get the most out of RE 22 that way.

You probably won't get a lot of change with light bullets either. 30-06 AI, with a 26" barrel, with 180-200 gr. bullets (180 Horn SST, 190 Horn BTSP, 200 Speer GS, 200 Nos Part, 200 Swift); I bet that would be pretty nice.

One more: 26" 06 AI with the throat set up just right for GS HV 160 gr. With a hand lapped fast barrel, that should do pretty well... Maybe Gerard knows of one out there now?

If you look at Nosler #4 I think it is- they have data for the 06AI. In 180 gr bullets, 22 made well over 3000 fps with 180's- exceeding most all factory mag ammo and several of the other 30 magnums listed. And this was with a 24" barrel.

FWIW- 6l.4 grs of 22 with Fed 210M makes 2830 at 74 degrees air temp with my Marlin MR-7 with a 22" barrel. Nosler #3 shows 61 grs making 2870 with a 06 24" barrel- which I've matched almost exactly with the same length tube.

Assuming the best outcome of gaining around 100 fps- which isn't guaranteed by any means, that works out to $1.20 per fps. Only you can decide if that is worth it.

For anyone who believes that the .30-06 AI will meet and exceed the potential velocity of any of the .300 magnums, then I've got a heck of a deal to offer you on some genuine Afgan beach property that you'd better scoop up ASAP........

Seriously, part of the wildcat cartridge Dog and Pony Showis to assure one and all that less is more, and that all you've got to do is blow the case out a bit to beat the pants off of any factory magnum of the same caliber, and you'll do so with less recoil, astoundingly better accuracy, less precious powder burned, dramatically increased killing power, etc, etc, etc.....

Most of these snakeoil salesmen are as full of crap as a Xmas turkey. Case capacity does indeed count (magic does not), make no mistake about it. If you load the .308 Norma, .300 Winchester, .300 H&H, etc, to full POTENTIAL; these cartridges will handily go around the .30-06 AI (by at least 100-150 fps or more), as I found out by seriously working with these cartridges over the years in an effort to sort out truth from fiction concerning their true capability.

A common trick that wildcat promoters love to pull off is to compare their pet cartridge when loaded to the max with a standard caliber that is underloaded. Nice try, by go find yourselves another dupe: If you load the standard .300 magnums properly, they will significantly exceed the performance of the .30-06 AI, and that's the truth. In fact, your better off buying high-energy/light-magnum .30-06 factoryammo than you are with the AI version.

AD

You might consider the .30 Howell which is built on a stretched 06 case. See:
http://www.hunting-rifles.com/casecomp.html

The Imp's are widely aleged by their detractory to only add "about 50 fps." Now psi for psi, that may well be true, but usually those nearly parallel sidewalls of the Imp. cases will allow a little "hotter" loading without "pressure problems" because of the reduced thrust on the bolt face.

Now, if you combine that 100 fps with a longer barrel, TOO, then you get something that's sometimes worth it.

I've thought that the '06 Imp. would make a nice "sniping rifle" round or "beanfield rifle" because of the great .30 cal. bullets available (the 180 Nos. BT ought to be great on long range deer - the longer, heavier bullet ought to deal with wind a little better than the 165's?) AND the potential increase in downrange velocities with the combo of the long barrel AND Imp. case. You also, in a martial arm, get a bigger magazine capacity in the rifle - possibly at least an factor in some martial applications.

It ought to also wear the throat less quickly than the .30 mags., too, while providine useful increases over most '06 std. sporter ballistics.

As with all things in riflery, it just depends on what you want to do, and what balance of traits and potentials you want to strike.

In my .35 Whelen A.I., I wanted to get basic sporter type '06 trajectory, and I get it. I'm only driving 250 gr. Nos. Pt's @ 2650, but that's close enough to '06 trajectory for me. The 2650 in my 24" barrel comes with what appears to be very moderate pressure, and I'm sure I could go higher, but what difference there would be would NOT be that significant, and I'm just happy with what I've got as is at 2650.

An '06 Imp. with a 26" barrel ought to give you about the same trajectory as a .270. That ain't bad territory to be in, especially when you consider the longer barrel/throat life of the Imp. compared to the mags.

Just my thoughts. I suspect the Imps. aren't quite as good as their hailers say, nor quite as useless as their detractors say, and I think a lot depends on whether you're comfortable with BOTH the Imp. chamber AND the longer barrel in combination. If that doesn't leave a shooter feeling fully comfortable with both the trajectory and impact desired, then the only solution is to go to "the next bigger sized hammer."

Thanks for the replies all. It sounds like the smith I was talking too is one of those snake oil salsemen, I never really believed it but he told me that an 06 AI nearly matches a 300 H&H. . I read in another book that it fills the void between the 30-06 and the lesser magnums which sounds more realistic and accurate.

100 FPS isnt an easy thing to come by but at this point I know I can gain that much by improving my loads so I think I will do that first and see what I can produce.

Thanks again.. Byren

No significant change. For that matter no one has ever been able to prove to me that the 7mm or .30 magunums afford a hunter a practival advantage over the -06 either. Flatter shooting and harder hitting are meaningless factors if not put into context and perspective. is a 3-4 inch flatter trajectory at 400 yards and a 100-200 ft lbs difference in energy significant?

FWIW I have a 30Gibbs which is an '06imp.It is a mauser with a 25" bbl. I also have a Model 70 in 300Wby with a 26" bbl. With 180gr. bullets there is 150fps difference. I did a comparison of these 2 as well as my neighbor's 300 win.in a Rem 700. I posted the results on a thread here some time ago.As I recall the Gibbs and the 300 win produced similar velocities with the Weatherby slightly higher. I have never been in the snake oil business and my results were found after the invention of chronographs.I think
that removing the taper from '06 cases is an excellent idea and will forward results to anyone who would like to see them.Mark

The 30-06 AI has been the subject of many heated debates between gun magazine writers and individuals alike for a long time.

In my own experiments I have discovered a point that is overlooked by most people who test this cartridge.

If you rechamber from the 30-06 to the 30-06 AI with the SAAMI spec throat (which is too short) then you will not observe a great deal of velocity increase. However if at the same time you throat the barrel to accomadate a 180 gr bullet seated to the shoulder neck junction of the case and the bullet .010 short of the throat you will benefit from 150 to 200 fps velocity increase on average. So make up some dummies with your favorite 180 gr bullet seated as suggested or slightly longer if the magazine allows and have your gunsmith to throat accordingly and you will be pleased with the results.

A 180 gr bullet at 2980 from a 24 inch barrel is plenty of performance to justify the trouble for me.

The only thing I don't like about the conversion is the dies are a little pricy but that's true on most wildcats any way.

A couple of points.
The reduced bolt thrust because of the straight sided case theory is, unfortunately, false. Doesn't happen.
With some powder /bullet combinations the Improved case will show real improvment.
For instance using 4831 with 165s you will run out of room in the standard 06 before you reach maximum pressure or velocity. In this case the AI will allow you to load to max due to the larger capacity.
In general I would have to agree that if you want magnum performance you want a magnum. Regards, Bill.

Allen: you'll have to unload that beach property somewhere else. No takers around here.
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Another wind and hot air post, yada yada- what a bore. Factory 300 ammo can be matched by a well thought out AI or Gibbs. Less throat wear- the whole nine yds. Even a 're-loader' could figure out a well handloaded 300 can exceed the 06 case.