I would like to make my ruger american more interesting.

Has anyone had any success hand reaming a 223 to achieve ackley improvement?

Would it create any disadvantages by not setting back the barrel to reduce the freebore vs a stock chambered 223?

I won't tell you it hasn't been done but I would advise against it. I slip and its a new chamber. Might as well do it right the first time.

The head space for an AI cartridge is actually shorter than for its parent case.

Like psycho said, set the barrel back a thread or two and do it right. You'll be happier in the long run and so will anyone who gets the rifle after you don't own it. The result of hand reaming will be a too long chamber that will allow factory brass to stretch in the web area.

I like to cut off to get a new neck. Factory chamber dimensions are huge. You need to get down to the dimensions of the new AI chamber, sometimes you have to cut off more.

Ever see a stepped chamber?

If you understand what you are getting into go ahead and do it and call it a 223 BleedsBlue Improved not Ackley Improved. It is much like reaming a Gibbs chamber. When forming brass you will have to expand the necks to 6mm or 257 and then back to 224 to create a false shoulder to head space on when fire forming and then remember not to set the shoulder back again when sizing once fired brass if you are using a 223 AI dies to load with. Some folks have run a 223 AI reamer in quite a bit farther and then used 204 Ruger brass to make cases from.

I run a 22-204 reamer in to a 223 chamber to make a wildcat just a smidge hotter than the 223 AI, no need to set the barrel back and no fire forming is needed. I put a 6mm pilot on it and run it into 6x47 Rem chambers for a 6mm-204(6x47Rem Improved) wildcat You can do anything you want as long as you KNOW what you are getting into.

If you don't know what you are doing you can blow things up or make really sturdy tomato stakes.

Ackleyman, I have it was called a 247 Herters Ram Magnum

Bleed'sBlue, the issue for you is web dimensions can vary between the reamer that you use to open up the 40* and the web dimension of the existing chamber. Chambers on factory rifles are RARELY in line with the bore centerline also, and I mean RARELY!

AWS idea of running the 204 is a great idea, make no mistake about that! You still may have some web dia issues, but I have not looked at a 204 print.

AWS, I have used a 22/250 AI reamer in conjunction with a 6mm Neck reamer to make 6/250 AI chambers, and this is one heck of a case. I am surprised that few have tried it as it is all over a 243 AI with a much shorter case.

Well, it's a Ruger American...you can actually loosen the barrel nut {need to make a tool to do it though} and set the barrel back enough {.004"}. You can also simply seat the bullet at jam and fireform that way. So, it is "do-able", but what's posted above is true, especially about the chambers and necks not being right.
Personally, I would not waste my time with any Ruger American barrel...slide a borescope in one and you will quickly understand. I don't know what Ruger is doing for "barrel steel" these days, but it is terrible. The ones I have looked at appear to have rust pits in the surface, yet they are stainless. It's just bad inclusions in the steel. Now, all that aside, if you are one of the lucky folks that got one that shoots then go for it.

Wrench I made:

AWS- without hijacking this thread, could you tell us a little more about the 22-204? Would you need caliber specific dies to reload?

No you don't need custom dies to reload. I use a Redding Type "S" FL 204 Ruger sizing die and pull the guts and change them out to 224, sizing ball, spindle and bushing(the original 204 spindle is too small for the 224 sizing ball). By changing out the sizing ball and bushing I can then load my 6mm-204 and 25-204 with the same die with a little mod to open the die for the larger neck . I did have a custom 25-204 FL sizing die made by Hornady as the Redding type "S" die wasn't on the market yet when I built it, the year after the 204 was introduced.

For a seating die I use Hornaday's in 224, 6mm and .257

The 22-204 has about 1 gr more capacity than the 223 AI, you don't need to set the barrel back to chamber and you can just load and shoot, no fire forming needed.

Its a cool cartridge for sure but for ease of reloading and cheap brass the 6mm-223 aka 6x45 is the way to go.

Well, I already have all the reloading stuff!!

I never understood the cheap brass thing, but then I'm not shooting guns that spray brass all over the country side and I don't hunt colony varmints so I don't need a a thousand rounds loaded up. 50 rounds of any brass will last me nearly a life time. My main travel guns I take 100 round for a few months trip. I have a 6x45, pretty much still using the same brass I bought for the gun when it was a 223 25 years ago so I haven't needed any cheap brass in the past 51 years for it.

If you criteria for a cartridge is cheap brass you are going to miss out on a lot of fun and interesting cartridges.

If you criteria for a cartridge is cheap brass you are going to miss out on a lot of fun and interesting cartridges.

Yep!

Thanks! I see no down side and gets away from feeding problems!!!

Isn't the 22-204 basically a 222 mag? Basically???