M219B in .22-30-30 Ackley Improved For Sale. SOLD SOLD SOLD

[Garnett]

Contact Jeff Drown, jcdflint2010@yahoo.com, for pictures and details.  This rifle appears to have original blue, some mild custom work on the stock, and non-factory sling swivels.  It is a M219B made at Chicopee Falls.  Some empty brass goes with the gun.  Must ship to FFL.  The price is $200 plus shipping and FFL handling fees.  Seller is not an FFL holder and if you won't accept shipment from him with his drivers license as I.D., then his cost of FFL shipper will be added to sale price.  This cartridge is a Wildcat designed by P.O. Ackley from a .219 Zipper case with a 40 degree shoulder.  You can Google information on this cartridge.  Again, contact Jeff for pictures and any questions.

[Mike Armstrong]

This rifle is now sold--to me.

Mike Armstrong

[Garnett]

Mike, Congratulations on your purchase.  Please keep us posted on reloading for this wild cat cartridge and accuracy of the cartridge.

[Mike Armstrong]

Sorry Garnett, but I don't consider the .22-30-30AI a safe cartridge for a 219, not to mention the disparity in rifling twist.  So it's either going to get relined back to .22 Hornet or to .25-20 or 32-20, depending on which liner I can find and if an extractor is available or if I can talk a 'smith into rebuilding the one Bubba altered.  The only other choices I would consider are relining to .25-35 WCF or reboring to the ancient wildcat .35-30.  All of those are appropriate pressures for a 219, as is your .219 Zipper with factory-level loads. 

Much more than that is too much for me--the only .22s that could clean up that .22-30-30 chamber with a simple rechamber job are the 220 Swift and the .225 Win.   Both 'way too hot, IMO.

[Garnett]

When I googled the .22-30-30 Ackley Improved, the article mentioned the .225 Winchester, I believe is a rimmed case, and the author felt the pressure was too high for this action.  If I was going to reline, I think I would do a .25-35 or a .32-40.  Do you know if P.O. Ackley used his cartridge design in the M219 Savage or some other, possibly stronger action?

[Mike Armstrong]

Yeah, Ackley used Winchester High Walls and bolt action rifles like the US 1917 and British Pattern 14 Enfields (which were nearly free in those days) for his experiments.  Both are among the strongest actions ever built. 

I don't recall any mention of the Savage single shot in his writing, although that doesn't mean he wasn't familiar with it--he had a very extensive correspondence with American shooters (Even me!). 

The 219 action is stronger than some people think, but not strong enough for these kinds of experiments, IMO.  The 30-30AI was one of the few "Improved" cartridges that Frank de Haas recommended for 219s, and it is one of the mildest of Ackley's creations.  The other ones were the K-Hornet and Mashburn Bee, both much smaller and less powerful than a .225 or .22-30-30AI.  The .35-30AI works fine, tho--I had one once on a 220A.