257 ackley

[Bumshot]

Hi everyone. I am new to this forum. It is great. I have a 257 ackley barrel on order from pacnor. It was shipped friday. I am going to put it on a Savage 114 classic. I was wondering if anyone has any favorite loads they would like to share. I plan to use 75 gr Hornady vmax for coyotes and Nosler 110 gr accubond for deer and antelope. Thank you, Bumshot

[Dr. Bubba]

I am a huge quarterbore fan and though many here consider it
a large bore..I think they are still a small bore. ;)

I unfortuntely do not have a Bob or a Bob AI. But I know of a guy
who has had really good success Winchester 748 powder and lighter bullets.
He uses a 70gr bullet on coyotes with this powder. For the heavier bullets
I imagine H4831SC would be a good one to try too.

Hopefully some of the other quarterbore fans here will add something.

thanks for joining us,
DB

[Bumshot]

Dr. Bubba, I was wondering if 25 cal would qualify. I also have a 20 Vartarg, Tac 20, and a 204 in the Savage LRPV. The VT is a model 11 Savage with pacnor. The Tac 20 is a Savage model 16 with a Douglas from SSS.

[Dr. Bubba]

With all those sub-224 calibers. I do not qualify since I have no
sub-224 calibers. :) But they put up with me anyway. Nice guys.

The Small Caliber News describe what they accept as 6.5mm and down
I think. But 25 Cals are included. :)

Good luck,
DB

[Ackman]

You'll like the cartridge. I've never tried 75's and shoot only 85's and 87's through mine. They're very effective.

Fireforming load was 87TNT with 50.5/W760 = 3650fps...Hornady brass, Rem.9-1/2.....real nasty on PD's and rockchucks.

Formed WW brass with 87TNT and 51.5/760 = 3717.....at 52.0/760 and 3758 those TNT's came apart. In that barrel an 85BT goes faster with the same charge and will hold more velocity. I believe an accurate 3800 or more is very do-able with this gun.

28" LaBounty, .286" neck, 0 freebore.

[Cajun Blake]

bumshot,

welcome aboard as you certainly have a nice stable full of small calibers.

i hunt west texas deer with a cooper varminter in 257 AI. i load 49.0 grs of N160 with the Nosler 100 gr BT at 3150 fps. very pleasant load to shoot and anchors those 120 lb deer all the time. i have also loaded the 85 gr nosler BT's with 53 grs of R19 and 47 grs of N150. both powders provided 1/2" accuracy for 2 shot groups.

cb <*)))>{

[muzr257]

A great round - H4831sc should be a good powder - i used to use Win760 in the two that i had - Rem Cor lokt 120grn were great on Tahr and big Red Stags, 100 Nosler BTs on goats etc

[Stormbringer]

I have had the best accuracy and velocity with Varget, CCI 200's and RP brass. I will check my load notes later but I believe it was 46 grains of Varget.

[Daryl]

My McGowen barrelled .257 AckImp become a head-shooting moose rifle with 100gr. Nosler Partitions using IMR4350 with top-end loads running 3,484fps. It also liked IMR4831 with 120Hornady's at 3,211fps.
: Accuracy at 300 meters ran .90 to 1.2" for 5 shots on my 100 br. Nosler tests at that range.
Daryl

[Alex]

... accuracy out to 300 meters? Maybe you'd better describe the rest of the rifle. To shoot that good, I wouldn't be able to drink coffee for at least a week!

And Welcome, Bumshot. While there are a whole gaggle of sub calibers here, that's just one symptom or the overall disease of "afflicted gun nut." Be careful and put a zipper on your wallet if you're gonna hang around. Guys here will spend all your money in a heartbeat.

Alex

[Bayou City Boy]

My 257AI also shoots all 100 -120 grain bullets very well using IMR4350 powder.

FWIW - BCB

[Bumshot]

Thank you for the replies. I have tried 4350. It was pretty good. Then I tried H 4831 that I bought in 1960 or 61. It is a WW 2 surplus powder that Hodgdon used before they made it themselves. So I suppose it was made in the 40s. I bought a 100 pound keg for $50.00. It came in a big heavy cardboard container about three feet high and eighteen inches in diameter. I only have about three pounds left. The burning rate hasn't changed. The load I think I have settled on for now is 57 grains with the 75 gr Hdy 3630 fps. It is shooting about 1/2 inch. Going to try 51 to 52 gr with the 110 gr accubonds tomorrow. Thanks again, Bumshot

[Daryl]

reason. It was pretty simple - VZ 24 action - trued (my old prone and 3-position match action) The McGowen barrel was pretty standard - best quailty he makes and 26" long. It had a Fagen stock - soft figured wood, but well bedded in Devcon. Calm day, no wind.
: The 120gr. Hornady's with 53gr. IMR4831 ran just over 3,200fps and grouped between 1" and 2", not quite as well as the Noslers.
: The range was 300 meters which is about 328 yards.
: Lucky? Impressive? - both, but quite consistant. I'd never fired more than 6 rounds witout cleaning, even when coyote hunting. That particular barrel gave me 3,940fps with 75gr.HP Hornady's and 3,675fps with 87gr.SP Hornadys. Both blow great holes in coyotes with the 87gr. being the most destructive, blowing on the hide mostly. Both light bullets grouped into roughly 1/2" to 3/4" at 100 meters and weren't tried further out, yet they were what I actually used for the longer ranged, coyote shooting.
: Being used to shooting my .375 and .458, I was consistantly shooting over coyotes at long range. It was difficult to get used to the flatness of the trajectory.
Daryl

[chris allen]

Powders In The 4350 Burning Rate Seem To Work Well With Most Bullet Weights In The 257 Ackley.

I Think You Will Really Like You Rifle As It Is A Dandy Caliber

[Alan in GA]

Bought some Barnes 100 gr Triple Shocks and hope they are accurate. I'm going "lead free" or at least try it in my deer rifle.
Nosler 100 gr Ballistic Tips are SUPER ACCURATE and have done well on small deer so far.
Alan in GA

[chris allen]

I shot the 25 cal 100 gr triple shok in a 250 sav I built on a Ruger #1 .Shot great velocity in the 250 sav was an amazing 3150 fps and sub minute of angle.

Killed a big Canadian Mule deer with them !