The Lone Ranger Seriously now, all the information that has been said is accurate. I shoot .243 rem. 700 and my gun likes 70 gr. ballistic tips at moderate speed. 3400fps. I like that speed as I don't get a lot of recoil. I have loaded compressed loads and you can definately get a lot more speed but you also get a lot more recoil and I catch myself flinking a little. My gun is fur friendly with both 80 gr. and 70gr. ballistic tips. Don't get caught up in the velocity game. I shot my first Remington out in about a years time loading the compressed loads. If you find somthing that shoots good at 200yds. that is very good. If your gun isn't capable of 1'' groups or less at 100yds. just imagine what your group will be at 300+ yds. Most coyote guns are sighted in dead on at 200yds. which is about 3/4" high at 100yds. That is the way I sight mine in. My 700 is sighted in a little higher at 100yds to be dead on at 200yds. When your shooting the faster guns 3800fps to 4000fps there isn't much difference from 100 to 200 yds. The dead on at 200 yds. is a good general rule to follow. This is just what I have noticed in the guns that I have owned. I am not as knowleadgable as some of the guys on here and they may disagree with what I have said.
Speed is relative to a flat trajectory. Too much speed is BAD !!!
Flat is good, I zero @ 250 so I don't have to think ( at all ) out to 400 YDS !!!!!!
At 100 YDS I'm 1.5" high
At 200 YDS I'm .75" high
At 300 YDS I'm .25" low
At 400 YDS I'm 2" low
On a Coyote I hold DEAD ON !!! untill I pull out the CRF 1200 on anything past 500 YDS
Too much speed you loose accuracy.. I work my loads up untill I see PSI I don't like OR if my groups get bigger..
I want speed but will not sacrafice accuracy. My GOAL is to find the flattest shooting accurate load my barrel is capable to deliver.
And a hint, Twist is a huge factor.
.224 = 1 in 8"
.243 = 1 in 9"
I normally carry two weights of each caliber in the field.
.224, 50 GR V-Max up to 500 YDS and 75 GR A-Max for everything else
.243, 87 GR V-Max up to 500 YDS and 105 A-Max after that.
Are you sure about those trajectories? I ask because they defy physical laws. There are very few bullet loading combos that can even do -10" at 400yds when zeroed at 250.
If talking MOA,about right perhaps.
I only have one load/rifle combo that gets me -10 at 400 with a 250 zero.Wish I had more now that I'm going 'long range'.Most around 14.
1 in 8 twist is pretty tight for a 22 caliber, but you probably need it to stabilize those 55's at that velocity. Have you ever tried pushing lighter bullets through that barrel to see if they become structurally unstable? I've heard of people shooting 40 gr bullets out of a 1 in 8 twist barrel in a 22-250 loading and having them literally self-destruct in midflight. A little off topic, but sometimes speed has a price. Of course the advantage to this would be that if when loading to just below the critical velocity the bullets would become very explosive on impact.
- Jeffrey Emerson
Close only counts in horseshoes and handgrenades....
Only YOU can prevent wildfires, which is good, because I've got things to do.
Jacket thickness of modern bullets have eliminated the TWIST fear.
I have run 36 GR Barnes Varmint Grenades to 5000 FPS out of my 22-250AI. They shot shitty so I slowed em down to 4400 FPS and now they group well. They have the thinnest jackets I can remember playing with.
There is always a chance of a blem bullet that will come apart. I havn't had it happen that I know of.
My gunplumber says that the 1-8 won't shoot light bullets as well as a 1-14. I can't tell the diference, those guys are in a different class of accuracy than I'm in.
Thanks to .22-250AI's wisdom, and his famous (very secretive) gunplumber, I'm now shotting an .22-250 Ackley myself. I also went with the 1-8 twist and never been happier.. I'm shooting fire form loads (55gr v-max @ 3675) through the same hole as my 75 A-MAX @3440fps..
I don't see any disadvantage to a 1-8 twist it has been all possitive for me. I'm still working on a couple of loads with 50's and 45's and they are coming along nice, but still working them up. Maybe by next season they will be ready
I've been intrigued for a while with the Ackley Improved calibers, mainly the 22-250 AI and the .243 AI. I might be in the market for a new "project" rifle in the spring, and since we're on the topic of fast rifle loads, what do you guys recomend?
- Jeffrey Emerson
Close only counts in horseshoes and handgrenades....
Only YOU can prevent wildfires, which is good, because I've got things to do.
204sniper wrote:I've been intrigued for a while with the Ackley Improved calibers, mainly the 22-250 AI and the .243 AI. I might be in the market for a new "project" rifle in the spring, and since we're on the topic of fast rifle loads, what do you guys recomend?
You will not be unhappy with eithor. I recomend both as well as the .223AI, all will impress you.
The Factory Rem 700 in .243 has enough twist 1-9 ish to make a rechamber to AI worth doing on a factory barrel.
1-9 will stabilize the 105's and they ROCK.
So .243AI would be the cheapest option.
The main reason for AI rechamber isn't,
SPEED or
ACCURACY it'
NEVER having to trim brass again !! But the side affects don't suck.....
I was actually leaning more toward the 243AI, but wanted a second opinion. I'm looking for a heavy varmint/light deer caliber. I hadn't even thought about having a factory barrel rechambered, but that sounds like a good idea. The other option was to find a Remington 700 action and build a rifle off of that, but in my research I've found that would be rather expensive for what I want to do. Thanks for the help!
- Jeffrey Emerson
Close only counts in horseshoes and handgrenades....
Only YOU can prevent wildfires, which is good, because I've got things to do.
A little off topic, but sometimes speed has a price. Of course the advantage to this would be that if when loading to just below the critical velocity the bullets would become very explosive on impact. 
I'm looking for a heavy varmint/light deer caliber. I hadn't even thought about having a factory barrel rechambered, but that sounds like a good idea. The other option was to find a Remington 700 action and build a rifle off of that, but in my research I've found that would be rather expensive for what I want to do. Thanks for the help!