Question for Steve Timm

Don Fischer

New member
I'm intrested in that 250 ACK that Darrel Holland made for you a number of years ago. You were really likeing it then.

That has been one wildcatt that always turned me on. If I ever get to put together anothe that's the one I'd want. Some guy on ifish got one in his shop and couldn't figure out why anyone would make one, tried to trade him out of it but guess he decided to keep it.
 
Do a search on 250AI over on www.24hourcampfire.com. Lots of 250AI fans there and alot of good reading if you are interested in the cartridge. Just reading Steve's old posts is reason enough to check it out, lots of valuable info in those.
 
Hi Guys,

I'm not be posting at the 24HourCampfire any more and haven't for several months. Some highly prejudiced, bigoted, ignorant buttheads attacked my Catholic faith, so I left. After seven years and 5200 posts, my cyber-home is gone. Enough of that, let's talk .250 Ackley ... on my NEW cyber-home, hopefully.

I did an article for Varmint Hunter on the .250 Ackley rifle that John Lewis of Carolina Precision Rifles built for me. The full article is in an article back in 1996, I think.

Basically, the rifle was built on a Remington 700 BDL action. Stainless actions did not commonly exist back then, so after John blueprinted the action, he had Marker Machine Works hard-chrome all of the action parts. The barrel is a three-contour Schnieder stainless, cut at 22-inches. The rifle wears a 3.5-10X40 Leupold in Dual Dovetail mounts and rings.

The stock is a McMillan Remington Classic painted black, as all synthetics were done in the mid-90s.

The rifle came with the error that often comes with Carolina gunsmiths who learned from Kenny Jarrett; long headspace, so that factory ammo would not fire in a consistent fashion. I later had a local gunsmith shorten two threads and rechamber the barrel to a .003" crush with the case shoulder.

I made a distinct error in introducing the rifle to the household. My wife saw that it was a cute little thing and asked to see a cartridge. That was a real screwup because the rifle became "HERS" in about two heartbeats.

That fall, she proceeded to kill the heck out of a few nice mule deer and a great antelope. The deal was sealed ... HER rifle was the .250 Ackley.

So, other than working up all of the data for the article and gutting all of Karen's critters killed by the rifle, HER .250 Ackley has found a home. At this point, I've been married to the lady for over 45 years and to take the rifle back would risk divorce. Hey, I value her more than any darned old rifle, so the .250 sticks with the rightful owner ... HER.

Bear in mind that Karen shoots two rifles, so she hasn't poached my herd terribly. If critters are small, say up to the size of a coyote or bobcat, she kills them with her .223 Ackley. Bigger critters die to HER .250 Ackley.

We've only used a single load in HER .250 Ackley for the last ten years or so. Please bear in mind that the .250 is a wildat and a load that is super safe in HER rifle might be dangerous in another. This is the load:

100-grain Nosler Ballistic Tip with 44.0 grains of H-414. Winchester case and Winchester WLR primers. The muzzle velocity is 3,083 fps.

I might make a note here that for the first several years, Karen used the 100-grain Hornady Spire Point Interlocked to kill her big game. The bullet worked in a superb fashion and we were both delighted with it. The Ballistic Tip is also a tough, accurate bullet that penetrates well. Frankly, they both work wonderfully and the rifle shoots both of these excellent bullets to the same point-of-impact.

Trust me, this load clobbers big mule deer, large whitetails, antelope and the occasional cow elk like the Hammer of Thor. Whenever I hear Karen's single shot, I know that meat just hit the ground and I'd best hurry over there to gut whatever critter she's just murdered.
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Lately, because of the horrible quality of domestic .250 Savage brass, I've switched to making cases from virgin Winchester .22-250 brass. I use a Redding .250 Savage FLS die that has been fitted with one of Reddings loooong tapered expanding plugs that runs neck from .22-to-.25. Heavily chamfering and lubricating the inside of the neck greatly aids in mantaining concentricity.

So that's pretty much it. The .250 Ackley is a wonderful cartridge. I wish I owned one
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Steve Timm

PS. I'll drop in a few photos of critters that Karen has made dead with HER .250 Ackley. Enjoy


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Originally Posted By: tgriflooks like a lady that can shoot. don't piss her off!
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No kidding
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Steve

PS. Another of a quite decent Montana antelope she nailed.

karengoat1.jpg
 
Steve,
Sorry to hear about the campfire thing. Unfortunately there are some people there who do ruin it once in awhile. Lots of knowledge there but the other stuff is tough to wade through when it is flowing. Glad to have you here.

John
 


Originally Posted By: jdunhamSteve,
Sorry to hear about the campfire thing. Unfortunately there are some people there who do ruin it once in awhile. Lots of knowledge there but the other stuff is tough to wade through when it is flowing. Glad to have you here.

John


John,

Thanks, my friend.

Yes, it is a crying shame and I guess I am a slow learner
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Anyway, it's great to be here and hopefully I can help lots of folks along the way.

Steve
 
The one made by Darrel Holland, maybe that was the 223 she got? Didn't it have a blue stock?

Miss reading your stuff Steve, good to have you around!

EDIT: I just had another though about that 250 Ack, wasn't that the one you though would make a great walk around varmiter? She is a shrewed woman!
 
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Originally Posted By: Don FischerThe one made by Darrel Holland, maybe that was the 223 she got? Didn't it have a blue stock?

Miss reading your stuff Steve, good to have you around!

EDIT: I just had another though about that 250 Ack, wasn't that the one you though would make a great walk around varmiter? She is a shrewed woman!


Friend Don,

Yup, the .223 Ackley with the BLUE STOCK was the one made by Darrell. It's a real pretty McMillan with blue and white gel-coat. It still shoots wonderfully.

I also had a 7SGLC (7-08 Ackley, but I hate the name 7-08) made in a Walking Varmint style. I've killed some decent bull elk with it and quite a few mules and antelope.

My original .280 Ackley is still going strong and has killed more critters than I can count. It's missed once, but the Alberta whitetail made the mistake of stopping at 300+ yards and we made up for that mistake
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Quitting writing was the best thing I ever did. I fully realize that the reading/shooting public is no longer able to share Karen and my lives, but we went from that to volunteering at our local parish. We are literally trying, in a personal way, to improve the lives of others.

Not that it is anybody's business, but I'll give you a "feel good" for the day:

Literally EVERY SINGLE PENNY I ever made in writing for gun mags was donated to our parish Grade School. The money funds an Endowment that pays for the education of children who are worthy, but whose family cannot afford the quality education our school provides. Children who graduate from our parish school have a 99% success ratio of graduating from high school. And if they go on to graduate from the Catholic High School associated with our parish, they have a 95% success rate in graduating from a four-year university. YES, all the hours I spent writing for gun mags went to a great cause.

So, I'm no longer writing, but folks still appreciate what we do. And we can see it up close and personal.

Happy New Year to ALL,

Steve Timm
 
steve,it was ur article in VH mag that prompted me to hav bob brackney in az rebarrel a sako 579 to 250AI...thank you...such a sweet little cartridge.
i also hav 7/08AI and it is a great little cartridge but the 250 in that sako action is a sweetheart.
hope ya find it comfortable here.
 
Steve

I hope that you will never feel uncomfortable on this forum. You have been a big help to me with the .223 AI that I am have just put together. Always appreciate wisdom and know how. We can always use more of that. Well, I sure can use more of both that's for sure.

And WOW, Steve! What kind of loads was that cute wife of yours using anyway??? They must REALLY be hot to blow that cow elk's head clean off like that!

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Originally Posted By: RustydustSteve

And WOW, Steve! What kind of loads was that cute wife of yours using anyway??? They must REALLY be hot to blow that cow elk's head clean off like that!

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Friend Rusty,

We whopped the head off with a BIG OL' KNIFE, you silly, silly man.
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Steve
 
Mr. Steve...
So glad you are here. The donation of your rifle writting funds does not surprise me in the least... I met you once when I was interviewing for a job with Nosler and you happened to be there visiting with Chub, or Matt, or Paul... can't rightly remember. I do recall you were a first rate guy, and I truly enjoyed the few minutes I spent with you. We talked of the .280 AI and my newly built .25-284... you extolled the virtues of the 100 NBT, and believe me... I listned, much to the shagrin of many a four-legged grass eater.

BUT... don't you know it's absolute blasphemy in the first degree to speak of throwing 100 NBTs at critters any larger than a muskrat? I think we all know that a ballistic tip can't possibly penetrate the hide of a mangy coyote... let alone a critter as bullet resistant as american wapiti.
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Seriously though... the .250AI is a very neat round, I have an old take-off .257 Bob barrel that's lying around waiting to be chambered to .250 AI... and for my boys to grow-up enough to shoot it.

Enjoy your time here... we are blessed to have you.

~JT
 
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JT,

Thanks, Brother. I remember our visit very well and I enjoyed it a breat deal.

Believe it or not, we have NEVER recovered a 100 NBT. Karen shoots them in HER .250 Ackley and I've bonked no end of critters with it in my .25-'06. The cool little bullet just goes clear through big animals and leaves a 1.5 to 2-inch exit hole. Amazing.

Thanks for the wonderful welcome, my friend. I believe I am BLESSED to be here, as well.

Happy New Year,

Your friend Steve
 
I've never recovered one either... but I've only shot about 20 big game critters with them. Never found a 90 grainer launched from the 6mm Rem either... and that's only about 15 more.
 
Something I have found about bullet's is that if you choose a proper bullet and work within the parameter's it was designed to function in, they all work about 99.9% of the time. Now and again we hear of a bullet that didn't work in some way. Usually I think we'd find that the bullet was driven outside the limits it was designed for. Things get into vogue and there's those that want to test them in their hot rod. That they have failure's comes as no suprize to me.

I recall the one bullet failure I had, no it did not kill the animal! I wanted a hot 140gr load in my 7mm Rem Mag so I loaded up some 140gr Sierra's and boy did they shoot well. Well thw first animal I had a shot at was a black bear facing me about 50yds off. Took it right between the shoulders and off it went about 75yds till it got sick and laid down. Another at point blank range behind the head finished it.

The first shot hit exactly right. The bullet penetrated maybe 2" and blew a big hole in a whole bunch of fat! Never got inside. Bad bullet? No just not the proper bullet. Far to many guy's choose improper bullet's. But the new leadless bullet's maybe will put an end to that , doesn't sound like you can abuse them.
 
Don,

Lots of total truth there.

ALL bullets have a "velocity zone" within which they are designed to work well. Several of the bullet manufacturers actually publish the velocity parameters of indivicual bullets. For instance, The Fifth Edition of the Hornady Handbook of Cartridge Reloading Volume 2 lists the muzzle velocity range of every single bullet Hornady makes ... just take a look at pages 19 through 41.

Other bullet manufacturers keep the velocity range a "whisper number," which I believe is a disservice to the handloader.

I've always found the Nosler .257" 100-grain Ballistic Tip to be a tough little cookie. I suspect it's velocity envelope is designed to include the .25-'06 and the .257 Weatherby. Fired in the wonderful .250 Ackley, the bullet would be slightly tough and quite adequate for the majority of big game critters. The fact that Karen and I have never ever found a single one proves it's toughness and penetration.

I've also found the Hornady .284" 139-grain and 154-grain to be wonderful killers in my .280 Ackley. I've murdered a passel of elk with each of these. In fact a few years ago, I had an opportunity to kill an Asian Water Buffalo. My rifle of choice was my old .280 Ackley with the 154-grain Hornady Spire Point Interlocked (just plain old cheap red box cup-and-core boolits
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I shot my buffalo at about fifty yards, dead through both carotid arteries. He fell and gushed a fountain as his lifeblood surged out of his system. He was immobile instantly, but totally bled out within two minutes.

The wonderful Hornady bullet penetrated the two-inch thick neck hide, coursed the neck while taking-out both carotic arteries and fully-penetrated the two-inch neck hide on the far side, leaving a two-inch exit hole. Probably eighteen-inches of tough meat penetrated, plus four-inches of the toughest hide this side of Zimbabwe.

For all I know, the Hornady bullet is still in low-orbit of the earth.

Great bullets used within their velocity envelope will always perform admirably. Used outside their envelope, they will fail ... it's just as simple as that.

Steve Timm



 


Originally Posted By: JSPI love the pictures of Karen and her .250 AI critters
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Thanks Joe,

As I mentioned in our PM, there are lots more, but these are the few I had in cyber form.

She is quite a gal. Without a question, the finest hunting partner I've ever had; no whimpering, no whining, just kill the critter and help drag.

Great wife of 45 years, as well.

I'm Blessed in more ways than I can count.

Steve
 
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