338-06 Ackley Imp. Load Data

[shortstuf92]

I just purchased a SS Remington 700 with a 24" barrel in 338-06 Ackley Imp. and would like to kill two birds with one stone. I am looking for a accurate 338-06 A Square load with Speer 200 grain Hot Core bullets or 200 grain Hornady interlock bullets that I can use for hunting and also use for fireforming my brass into the Ackley Imp. I am using new Winchester 30-06 brass sized to 338-06 A Square It would be great if somebody has data for a load that would possibly save me primers, powder bullets and wear on the barrel. Thanks

 

[358 WCF]

It's been a few years, but the last time I fireformed for my 338-06 Ackley I used 56gr of a leftover partial can of IMR 4895 & the 200 Speer Spt. seated to touch + a little. The load clocked about 2750fps from a 25" bbl. & shot into about 2" @ 100 yds for 25 shots on a very windy day not being particularly careful about aim. I just wanted to get done & go home. Maybe work up from 53gr...1 or 2 shots per increment because your stuff is different. A fairly stiff load of any medium burn rate (3031 to 4064?) powder will work as well. I use near max book load for the standard cartridge. The brass needs a good boot in the ass to fill out the shoulders so they're fairly sharp & headspace is maintained. Better one stiff load than 2 or 3 wimpy ones. The previous time I used 50 gr of A2495 @ c. 2650fps. Both of these loads were suitable for deer hunting to 200 or 250 yds+.

Winchester is usually fairly thin, but with some brass I've had better results necking up to 35 then sizing back to 338 & leaving a small false shoulder for positive headspace control. 35 Whelen or even 280 Rem brass allso has worked well for this if you dont care about headstamp. There should be a definite "feel" when you close the bolt. Keep your locking lugs lubed during the process.

After brass is formed, I've found a caseful of H4350 (from a particularly snappy lot) to be outstanding with 200Speer/210 Partitons. It's a heavily compressed load even in Win. brass. Maybe start around 60gr & work up until you find a happy accuracy/velocity spot.

Ramshot Big Game has been a close 2nd & also good with 215s & 225s. I used 325 WSM start data from Nosler #8 for 200gr bullet weight (59gr) & worked up until groups shrank & speed was good as the case capacity is close to the Ackley, & the 338 bore adds a little extra safety.

 

[Pierre Lonewolf]

I just purchased a SS Remington 700 with a 24" barrel in 338-06 Ackley Imp. and would like to kill two birds with one stone. I am looking for a accurate 338-06 A Square load with Speer 200 grain Hot Core bullets or 200 grain Hornady interlock bullets that I can use for hunting and also use for fireforming my brass into the Ackley Imp. I am using new Winchester 30-06 brass sized to 338-06 A Square It would be great if somebody has data for a load that would possibly save me primers, powder bullets and wear on the barrel. Thanks

While not exactly what you requested I have found that a 225 Nosler AccuBond with 50.5 grains of IMR4064 has worked best in all of my 338/06’s…….210’s also work well……I usually just take 30-06 brass and run it through the reloading dies and all seems to work well…..I like the starline brass best but I’ve used pickup stuff and it all works well…..I may mention that I am not a max load type of guy and prefer the accuracy load over anything else….