Re: Fire Forming AI Brass
Is your smith removing the barrel, and taking a turn off the threads, then rechambering? This is the proper way to set up the chamber. If he just runs an AI reamer in to clean up the current chamber, it will create excess headspace.
If you know the answer to that, I might be able to recommend one of the following. Of course all will work, but some will work better depending on how he reams the chamber.
If the chamber is properly set up, just run 30-06 ammo through it. It will fireform to your AI chamber. Then resize with your AI dies and load. You lose a little velocity over the standard 30-06 load, but that is the simplest solution. If your chamber is a little loose, handload 30-06 rounds long so that the bullet engages the rifling HARD and prevents the case from being pushed forward by the ejector or firing pin when fired.
Or expand the neck up a caliber then neck back down creating a false shoulder near the current neck shoulder junction to headspace off of to keep the case head against the bolt when fired.
Or as recommended, put pistol powder in the case, no bullet and fire. The pistol powder is energetic enough to expand the case to approximately 95% of the chamber dimension. The corners probably won't fill completely out.
Other options are to use pistol powder with cream of wheat as a filler. Again, no bullet.
Do a search, there are numerous threads on fireforming for ackley cases.
On personal experience, I have a 25-06 ackley chambered Encore. The chamber is cut TOO deep, about .020-.025". Firing factory ammo results in case head separations.
To account for this, I have to seat the bullets long so they engage the riflings hard and prevent the case from being pushed forward on firing. Then I get perfectly formed AI cases. I have also bumped the shoulders and necked down 280 brass.
There are several options.
BLK7
