One of the oft mentioned advantages of an Ackley Improved type chamber is that they usually retain the ability to use standard factory ammo.
Thanks, JesseL, that's part of what I had in mind. But it's only true if you don't blow the taper out of the case walls of the Improved version. That's why I was thinking of just moving the shoulder forward and taking some of the taper out of the shoulder, not the whole case.
The business of necking up or down was not part of what I was thinking of doing. I was thinking of the possibility that for normal use, you could use the factory rounds (they'd get blown out, of course), and use the Improved version for longer range shooting.
Well, like I said, this was a fun lark, and I learned a lot. I'm still fascinated by what can be done with that nice, looooong 26.5" barrel. But if it ain't practical, it ain't practical.
I stuck the bayonet on it, and wow, is that one long heckova hunk of shootin' apparatus! LOA five feet, five and a half inches.
En garde!
