Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles .270 Win. Ackley Improved (AI)

.270 GayER

Well boys I owned a 270 AI, my first wildcat! It was a 700 BDL I had rebarreled with a 24 inch Shilen tube. Shot fine and I got on average almost a hundred feet per second more that I got from my first 270. Traded it off for a nice light 30-06. That is the best way to improve on the 270!

Guy at the range on Sunday was shooting near 3100fps with RL26 and 140gr. Partitions; should be possible.

Dang, 2009 called.....it wants its thread back.

Apparently, you can get those velocities nowadays with RL26, so no need for the AI; else, likely get even more with the AI if that's what you really want.

Y'all keep resurrecting these old threads... Giving me ideas...

OK. This is from memory but I did rechamber a 24" Winchester from 270 to 270AI, to 270 Gibbs, and then, with enough setback to cleanup the shoulder, to 270 Weatherby. The owner of this rifle used the casehead expansion method of determining excessive pressure (I don't want to hear it) and loaded each to where he saw measurable expansion then backed off to where he saw none. He used Winchester brass for the standard cases and Weatherby brass for the Weatherby. As I recall, the resultant velocities, with 150 Hornady's and 4831, were:
270 Win 2940
270 AI 2990
270 Gibbs 3070
270 Weatherby 3180
He felt the Weatherby could have done better but the brass was soft. Could be.
Right now, I'm having an issue which frequently rears it's ugly head on this site where the typing function keeps failing so I'll say (just happened again) no more. The beneficaries of this are those who hang out here because they don't have to read as much of my stuff. GD

Greetings... Just back from my annual Wyoming antelope hunt with my son and grandson. My 6.5-06 AI worked just fine with a Hornady 143 ELD-X. I usually build a different rifle every year. Gun nut....reloading geek (whatever). Does anyone know a smith with a 270AI reamer? I have a 24" Rem 700 Custom Shop 270 Win that I would like rechambered to 270 AI. Not intending to re-ignite any campfire flames, just looking for info. THANKS

Lol….

Well heck with all the new bullets why not a fast twist 270AI? Could sort of reinvent the wheel and not quite match the 280AI. But it would be fun.

Alpineprick....just couldn't MYOB could you....

Thanks rickt300. I have (2) 280 Remington Improveds and an original 280 Ackley. Lots of better powder and bullet options out there to experiment with.....Enjoy the journey!

Everything everyone wrote years ago on this thread about the AI not really offering much at all to the 270 Win is exactly right.
BUT, that said, as a looney, I would have a ball with a 24" barrel, 8" twist, 270 AI. Would have almost as big a ball with a 24", 8" twist, 270 Win, but that would be much less of a pain in the butt so what's fun about that?? ;o)
In 2022 I wonder why all .270s aren't twisted 8" anyway. Don't see it hurting the 150 grain and less bullets but opens up a lot with the new high BC heavies.
Rex

I use Hornady 140gr SPBT Interlocks now (see John Wooters article Hunting July 1986, where he says the 140 gr bullet has been one of the best improvements to the 270). For a hunt for Tahr and Chamois to New Zealand a few years ago my load was chronographed at 3,044 fps out of my Winchester pre64 featherweight’s 22” barrel. That’ll do me. According to Wooters this bullet (with a reasonable BC) shoots flatter than the 130 gr and has more energy beyond 100 yards than the 150 gr. Wooters says “that’s some compromise.”

Happy to email or message the article to anyone who is interested.