Bolt Action Build: .260 Ackley

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Legionnaire

Legionnaire

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Happy 4th of July! Project for the day: assemble the .260 Ackley I have been collecting parts for for months. Here's the list:

Trued Remington 700 short action and stripped bolt purchased on Sniper's Hide.
BDL bottom metal (came with the action).
PTG firing pin assembly and recoil lug.
Trigger pins, bolt stop, and bolt stop spring from Numrich.
26-inch 1:8.5 varmint contour barrel and barrel nut on sale from McGowan.
Timney 510 trigger bought second hand but unused on AR15.com.
Grayboe Terrain on sale from Red Hawk Rifles.
Leupold Mark IV 20 MOA base on sale from Midway (had the Mark IV rings in my stash).
Vortex PST 4-16x50 MOA LNIB on LongRangeHunting.com.

The Go/No-Go gauges shown are PTG .308 AI gauges which, interestingly, work for all of the Ackley cartridges based on the .308 case. I used them for my .243 AI Model 7 after checking them in my custom .243 Ackley from Tumbleweed Rifles.

I expect I'll have to relieve the stock for the Timney, but other than that, assembly should be fairly straight forward. Hope to check in with a pic of the final assembly later today. Maybe a couple along the way ...

260ai01.jpg
 
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Legionnaire said:
Happy 4th of July! Project for the day: assemble the .260 Ackley I have been collecting parts for for months. Here's the list:

Trued Remington 700 short action and stripped bolt purchased on Sniper's Hide.
BDL bottom metal (came with the action).
PTG firing pin assembly and recoil lug.
Trigger pins, bolt stop, and bolt stop spring from Numrich.
26-inch 1:8.5 varmint contour barrel and barrel nut from McGowan.
Timney 510 trigger bought second hand but unused on AR15.com.
Grayboe Terrain on sale from Red Hawk Rifles.
Leupold Mark IV 20 MOA base on sale from Midway (had the Mark IV rings in my stash).
Vortex PST 4-16x44 MOA LNIB on LongRangeHunting.com.

The Go/No-Go gauges shown are PTG .308 AI gauges which, interestingly, work for all of the Ackley cartridges based on the .308 case. I used them for my .243 AI Model 7 after checking them in my custom .243 Ackley from Tumbleweed Rifles.

I expect I'll have to relieve the stock for the Timney, but other than that, assembly should be fairly straight forward. Hope to check in with a pic of the final assembly later today. Maybe a couple along the way ...

View attachment 795249
Click to expand...
Just out of my curious nature, I'd like to ask why you went short action instead of long action and what loads you plan on attempting with this build? I'm an ai fan and a .260 fan as well, but had figured the .260 truly belonged in a longer action for some of long pills I'd like to use. I plan on watching this one for as many updates as you're willing to share!
 
I'd like to know more about the barrel nut. I've never known a 700 action to use a barrel nut.
 
Update 1. Barrel is installed and head spaced.

Go gauge ...
260ai02.jpg

No-Go gauge ...
260ai03.jpg

I'll address questions later in the day. In the meantime, google "Remage" and you'll find good info on using a nutted barrel on a Remington action.

Now to complete the action with the firing pin assembly and trigger.
 
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Update 2. All together. Trigger set at 3# and I did not have to relieve the stock. Scoped and bore sighted. I chambered a couple of factory .260 Rem cartridges and felt the nice "crush fit" you want for fire forming Ackley cases.

Temps in the 90s this afternoon (and threatening rain), so won't be going to the range. Schedule isn't clear for a range trip for the next couple of weeks. If I have time, I'll prep some new Lapua .260 Rem brass and build some fire forming loads. If I can't get that done, I'll just shoot a couple of boxes of Federal GMM .260 Rem when my schedule clears up. All looks good, though, and I'm pumped!

260ai04.jpg
260ai05.jpg
260ai06.jpg
 
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Thanks. My "selection" was pretty opportunistic. This is my second Grayboe stock; the Terrain was deeply discounted, but I'd have been just as happy with a Renegade. I bought the camo because it was the same price as the solid colors, just for fun. Same thing with the scope; stumbled on a deal that was too good to pass up. In fact, I didn't buy it specifically for this build; rather, it was a purchase "for when I need it." Same general answer to horsey300's question.
horsey300 said:
Just out of my curious nature, I'd like to ask why you went short action instead of long action and what loads you plan on attempting with this build? I'm an ai fan and a .260 fan as well, but had figured the .260 truly belonged in a longer action for some of long pills I'd like to use. I plan on watching this one for as many updates as you're willing to share!
Click to expand...

I didn't go hunting for an action to build a .260 AI. I decided on the cartridge after I had the action in hand. It happened to be a short action, and I knew the .260 AI will fit. Could just as easily have been a long (or standard) action had I found a deal on one. I have a number of bullets I've been shooting through my other .260s, and I'll start with them before seeing what longer bullets will do.
 
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I like the camo pattern. I’ve got a Marlin XS7 that I recently aquired that I was looking to paint camo. I already have the paint but couldn’t decide on a pattern.
 
I'd rather pay a good gunsmith to install the barrel the way Remington intended. But, if you're happy that's all that matters!
 
@Legionnaire .....I think he just called you a sissy! *Popcorn? check!* :D

Im looking forward to a range report myself. Theres a .243 savage sitting on the rack at one of the lgs here, that interests me only as an action....260AI or 7-08AI would probably end up being what it turned into if i could come up with a good reason to buy it.
 
Picher said:
I'd rather pay a good gunsmith to install the barrel the way Remington intended. But, if you're happy that's all that matters!
Click to expand...
I dont really care for the look of barrel nuts myself (tho the smooth ones are far less distracting to me), but cant deny the ease of installation they provide :D
 
LoonWulf said:
@Legionnaire .....I think he just called you a sissy! *Popcorn? check!* :D
Click to expand...
Hey, compared to taliv, I am a sissy (I'll bet I'm a bit older, too)! Ask me if I care! ;) It was more the heat, though; this former Pennsylvanian is still acclimatizing to Texas summers.

Still pretty swamped, but I will certainly post a range report when I can.
 
So after a busy time at work and two road trips, I finally got to the range with the new build today. While I was there, the temperatures rose from 78° to about 85°, with humidity above 85%. Sky was overcast and the wind was calm. Comfortable except for the humidity.

I have not had time to do any hand loading, and didn't have any fire formed brass anyway, so this outing featured factory ammo. I took a box of 20 Federal 120 Fusion along to get on paper and break in the barrel, and two boxes of Federal Gold Medal Match ammo, which is loaded with 142 grain Sierra Match Kings. I broke the barrel in with the shoot-one-and-clean drill for the first five rounds, then shoot-two-and-clean for the next six, then shoot-three-and-clean for the next nine. I saw no evidence of copper fouling during this process.

260ai02.jpg

That finished the Fusion ammo and I switched to the GMM. I shot the first box shoot-four-then-clean. Each first shot from the clean barrel was shot as a fouler, followed by a three-shot group. I cleaned thoroughly after completing the box. The second box of GMM was shot as a series of three-shot groups. I did not clean the barrel at all during the second box. I did take a few minutes between three-shot groups, but I shot each group fairly quickly. All targets shot at 100 yards after I got on paper at 50.

I was VERY pleased with the results. EVERY measured group was sub-MOA with the Federal GMM ammo. Too many groups to show them all, but here are a few ...

260ai04.jpg 260ai05.jpg
260ai06.jpg 260ai08.jpg
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260ai10.jpg
260ai12.jpg 260ai13.jpg

And now I have 60 fire-formed cases to work with!

260ai03.jpg

I am VERY happy with the results, and am looking forward to some hand loading. I didn't take a chronograph today; I'll do that on my next trip. It would be nice to have a baseline velocity for the Federal GMM in this rifle. I also need to shoot some five-shot groups. Still, I am extremely pleased with the accuracy of the gun, especially at this point of break in and the fact that my rests were pretty basic.
 

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nothing wrong with the savage lock nut system on the remage, its just as good as a non nut rebarrel if you have the right equipment, barrel-action wrench,head space gauges. a big plus it after you have the equipment you can put any barrel you want with the same cartage head, .243-257-260-6.5 cm-7mm08-308-358 ect. i have a friend who can change barrels on a savage action in about 30 minutes.
 
Exactly right, eastbank. Savage had the right idea; I just prefer Remington actions (and their clones). While I don't anticipate a switch-barrel rifle (i.e., one for which I have barrels in multiple cartridges), the barrel nut system allows one to experiment with non-typical cartridges for the cost of a barrel.
 
I'm taking the same approach.

I just re-barreled my Ruger RPR in a wildcat for the cost of the barrel and a couple gauges. From now on any tgt/varmint rifle I buy will be something I can re-barrel myself.
 
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