INFO REQUIRED

[v-max]

Hi my mate has just got his rifle rebarreled in 22.250ai & iv tryed to find 22.250ai case dimentions & cant get them any where.

My question is can i use an ordanery 22.250 case length gauge to trim cases if they need it & can i use a 22.250 collet neck sizing die with the fire formed 22.250ai cases or dose he need to get 22.250ai tools ie case gauge & collet die??. Can any of you 22.250ai owners help or any body who knows help please.

[v-max]

Hi 12 views & no reply have i asked a question no-one knows??. You must be stumped like me as to the use of 22.250 tools for the use on 22.250ai cases. I forgot to mention my mate got a set of redding 22.250ai dies with a FL sizer & bullet seating die. He wishes to neck size only till cases are sticky then we will FL size them. He has never loaded before & i have no experience with the AI calibre's in the use of case gauge etc.

[baldie]

Hi V-max,

 

I ,ve just had exactly the same problem myself. I bought the redding competion die set for the 22-250 AI, and it was nowhere near the same dimensions .IE, totally useless.

Lee do a 22-250 ai full length sizer and seating die set for just over £30 and it works just fine. I also ordered a seating die blank and a neck sizing die blank from newlon in the states, intending to cut custom dies for my own. They are lost in transit, newlon didn,t insure them, and i cant get hold of customs and excise to see if they have them.

Ackley improved again ? .....no way on God,s green earth.....simply not worth the time and trouble.

[v-max]

Hi V-max,

 

I ,ve just had exactly the same problem myself. I bought the redding competion die set for the 22-250 AI, and it was nowhere near the same dimensions .IE, totally useless.

Lee do a 22-250 ai full length sizer and seating die set for just over £30 and it works just fine. I also ordered a seating die blank and a neck sizing die blank from newlon in the states, intending to cut custom dies for my own. They are lost in transit, newlon didn,t insure them, and i cant get hold of customs and excise to see if they have them.

Ackley improved again ? .....no way on God,s green earth.....simply not worth the time and trouble.

Thanks baldie for your input clad it has someone else stumped & my mates redding dies seem fine i have used set the FL-sizer & works fine but as i said my mate wishes to neck size only untill his cases are sticky. Im not aimming to load it hot to save on this so he has less FL-sizing to do till will tell.

[menial 1]

Surely whoever did the barrelling job must have worked to some sort of spec, your mate must have asked for some sort of twist rate,either to shoot heavier bullets with a fast twist or more normal 50-55gr pills with a 1-14 or 1-12.

Quite often when fireforming with ackley chamberings the cases are reduced in length to less than the standard case, in which case if the standard round cambered okay then as long as the fireformed case doesn't exceed the length of the original then you should have no concerns till the rounds start to begin to become difficult to chamber. Then full length size and try to chamber.

If you run the rifle with a hot load, and there seems little point to ackleying if you don't, then the cases probably won't live long enough to grow to the extent they require trimming before they're only fit for the scrap bag.

If the cases haven't grown in overall length but are found to be difficult to chamber then you'll have to use a body bump die to reduce the case size without sizing the neck till they again chamber easily, then neck siize and load.

Hope this makes sense, I know what I mean.

Pete.

[varminter]

Hi Pete ,

Just read this and thats exactly what i was going to say!!!

Get a Redding shoulder bump die!!!!!

Have used them in the 243 Ackley / 6.5 -284 and now use one in my 308 - works great!! :D

Use one in the 6PPC too - now on 27 firings on 220 Russian so every 5 firings they need to be bumped!!

All the best...............

RAY..........................

[v-max]

Cheers menial 1 it was border barrels that done the work. I know a bit on the ackley as i plan to do mine when i rebarrel my 22.250 & thought working with my mates would give me a wee bit insite into what i think of it. I know that it will shorten on fire form due to body/shoulder form of the ackley. Im going to use his redding dies & try & do a minimal FL-size on the case that i can get away with. Im looking into getting a tool to drop off the firing pin & test a case in the action till i get the bolt to drop free & its on a remmy 700 action.

[Andrew]

Hi V-max,

 

I ,ve just had exactly the same problem myself. I bought the redding competion die set for the 22-250 AI, and it was nowhere near the same dimensions .IE, totally useless.

Lee do a 22-250 ai full length sizer and seating die set for just over £30 and it works just fine. I also ordered a seating die blank and a neck sizing die blank from newlon in the states, intending to cut custom dies for my own. They are lost in transit, newlon didn,t insure them, and i cant get hold of customs and excise to see if they have them.

Ackley improved again ? .....no way on God,s green earth.....simply not worth the time and trouble.

 

The correct case length for the Ackley Imp 22-250 is 1.917 inches. Loaded length is 2.43" if I recall.

 

Not worth the trouble, Baldie?? You said a mouth full there, brother. Marginal velocity gains (if any) and a PIA to tool for. I've been there and done all of that.

 

I do have what are generally recognized as Ackley's cartridge specs if anyone wants them.~Andrew

[baldie]

I,m just on my way to the post office, to hopefully pick up my blanks [ if that is whats in the parcel ] then i can cut some dies that will actually match my chamber.

Load developement on my own is going very well with reloder 19. The gun is printing nothing larger than 1/2" with ANY powder charge, and i havent reached maximum loads yet. Last lot was 37 grains if i recall, and there is still case room, and no pressure signs.

The trouble is with cartridges of this nature, is you need to be finding out pretty quickly what works...in terms of barrel life.

I have a sneaking suspicion, i could have achieved similar results with a standard case however.

[Ronin]

Late entrant

 

 

Ive had a 22-250 AI for 8 no probably 9 years and its on the same barrel...

 

 

No issues with reloading - I have the basic Redding S dies set # 78406

 

I trim my cases to length using a Wilson case trimmer - the OAL of cases is 1.912" for stndard 22-250 cases and 1.892" for 22-250 AI cases.

 

I trim mine to 1.887" (.005" short of recomended length)

 

My own rifle was built by Peter Jackson (when he did builds)

 

 

Ive never had any issues with reloading formed 22-250 AI cases with the dies I have.

 

Dave you will like the Newlon dies (if they have arrived), although i'm pretty certain that a take off barrel could be transformed into a die with a bit of work..

 

 

Bump dies -- I think are unecessary, just get someone to take .20" off the base of your existing dies, this will enable you to bump the shoulder by seating the case deeper into your die..

[ajw]

:lol:

 

 

Sorry to but in here, but Andy, I read the very article on getting your 22.250 built in an old issue of Target Sports this very morning whilst sitting on the throne!!!

[Vermincinerator]

Baldie, Ronin,

i am surprised you guys dont make your dies from scratch.

These ones i made for Alled 12 were machined from 1" dia 316.

 

 

The threaded one is a .20 practical form die and the other is a Wilson style inline bullet seater.

When they are turned from bar stock its impossible for them not to be concentric.

 

Ian.

[baldie]

Thanks for the pics Ian, they look a smashing job too !

The dies did indeed appear this morning, when i went and collected them.

Funny...customs denied all knowledge that they were in the country....but insisted i pay for a parcel that "didn,t exist" ........bastards.

Looking over them, i could make them myself i think, though they are indeed lovely bits of kit.

Think i may have alook at the wilson gear Ian, it looks a whole lot simpler.

[Ronin]

Ian

 

at the time I had the 22-250Ai barrelled I had no lathe, now I would make my own dies using the reamer used for chambering, although a re-size reamer is better (as you know)

 

 

Lovely job by the way - did you do the micrometer top by the way?

 

I haven't a dividing head.......

[Vermincinerator]

Lovely job by the way - did you do the micrometer top by the way?

 

Thanks, The micrometer head is a Sinclair item.

 

Ian.