What would it take to go from a 6ppc or a 6BR to a 243AI?Is a 243AI the same as a 223AI in the fact that you can shoot standard 243 rounds to fire form?How would the 243AI work for Prairie dog hunting is it going to heat up super fast?Or should I go with a 223AI?

Any help?

All of the Ackley Improved cartridges will fire the standard chambering, fireforming it during the firing. So yes, in that regard same as the .223AI. Some cartridges benefit from the Improvement more than others, whether the .243 is one that does very much, I don't know. I also can't tell you how fast it would heat up, the only .243 I shoot is in an old 788 with a standard sporter barrel, and after a few shots it is indeed real warm. I would think it would work very well on prairie dogs.

My opinion on the 243AI versus doing a 223AI is why do the 223? To me the appeal of a 223 is the very cheap supply of ammo, and although yes, you can still shoot it in the improved rifle, what really is the point. See the improved hand loaded rounds are going to be optimized to your rifle, and it will be sighted in accordingly, so when you shoot standard factory ammo it will not be to same POA.

I know that the AI works very well on the 35 whelen :-) and the 257 roberts. I am not happy with the 06AI and will be having that one rebarreled to something else.

Just my 2 cents though.

Red

It is simply a task of running a 243 AI reamer into the chamber of the 6PPC. This is actually a good rechamber because you will not need to set the barrel back as the 243AI is much longer than the 6PPC and the new chamber will remove all of the old chamber and cut a new throat in an area of the barrel that will be in pretty good condition.
As far as a 243AI as a good varmint (PD) round. It will definatly heat the barrel up much faster than a 233AI. But it will also launch heavier bullets than a 223 for better down range ballistics (depending on the twist of your barrel)
I'm a major fan of the 223AI, so this cartridge would get the nod. Very easy to load for and it will anchor PD way out to 600 yards with no problems.
If you decide on a 6mm/243 round, I would consider the 6mmAI. The 6mmRemington will hold about 5% more powder than a 243 in the Ackley configuration. And the 6mm has a much longer neck than the 243 which some believe leads to a longer barrel life and certainly better bullet orientation.
Hope this helps......

Elim,
You may need to change the bolt face slightly (.445 to .473), depending on what action you are using. I don't know if you have been prarie dog shooting but you end up shooting thousands of rounds and just the thought of fire forming that many cases makes me shudder. Again the .223 has a .378 case head, you will be looking for a different rifle and not just a rebarrel but I am assuming you have thought of that. Personally I really like the plain vanilla .223 for dispatching these critters but any of your choices would be wonderful at extended ranges.

Dagored,
I am thinking about building a 30/06 AI. What problems have you had thats got you thinking about a re-barrel? Jim

I suspect a miniscule increase in velocity might be the answer.