280 Ackley Improved
 

I am looking at having a custom hunting rifle built but I am having difficulty deciding which calibre to go with. Right now I am leaning towards the 280 A.I.

I am looking for some feedback on this caliber regarding ballistics, hunting bullet choices and overall field performance. Any info would be greatly appreciated.

I shot these guys with a 280 AI shooting 140 TTSX's at 3100 fps. The cartridge is easy to load for, brass is available, but doing it again I'd go with the 280 Remington.

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I have two 280AI rifles,and my handloads are reaching around 3140fps with 140 gr bullets,which is within 75fps to 100fps of the 7mmremmag with the same 24" barrel.Recoil is less than the 7mmremmag,but case life is better.Nosler sells 280AI brass,which I find to be very consistent,but very slightly on the soft side compared to some other brass.I myself am using the 140gr TTSX for all of my big game hunting,but the Nosler Accubond would be another good choice.

I have a .280 AI in a Cooper rifle. Awesome cartridge in my opinion. I've done pretty much all my hunting with a . 280 rem since 1995 and it has served me well for everything I have hunted. I bought the Cooper last year and chose the .280 AI since I already had the other .280 and wanted to stay with a 7 mm cartridge. I load 140 tsx bullets and used it for all my hunting this fall and it worked very well. Get one you will like it.

If you are looking for some additional info on the 280AI with various loads have a look at jarrettrifles.com and look at the drop down bars under pet calibers... You will fiind a custom gun maker who has tested the 280AI with 120, 140, 150, and 160 grain bullets. The information gets straight to the loads, with various grain bullets, velocities and comparisons to other known rifle calibers.

Both of mine are Coopers as well,the 280AI has been a very good seller for Cooper.A few years ago,it was rare to see a 280AI,but they are becoming more common,especially now that Nosler is making 280AI brass.

it isn't a hunting rifle but my 28" barrel long range rifles will move a 162 a max out at over 3000 fps and shoot under 1/2 moa to 1000 yards. i love the cartridge.

You guys make me want a 280AI

Sheesh! :mad0100:

.280 Ackley Improved
 

I had one. Wish I still had it. It was built by Lex Weberbeck of Rifles Inc.
Have a look at his website. It's a good one. Has a video of him building a custom rifle. The gun he built for me weighed under 5 lbs, has a 26" Shilen match grade stainless barrel. He has his own design composite stock which is a real dream to hold. But don't get too excited by his so called quiet brake.
It works but you will be deaf for a while after shooting it at an animal.
Anyways, The .280 AI is an awesome cartridge. It will shot right with a 7mm Weatherby. The pain is fireforming the cases. Maybe today one can buy them. I used 140gr Nosler partitions in it with RL19 powder. One hot machine!
I loaded 10gr of pistol powder (BLC2) then filled the case with corn meal.
On top of this drop a bit of bonfast glue. The cases foreform real nice. The
neat part of a .280 Ai is that you can used .280 ammo if you want.

Best wishes in 2011.

Right with the Weatherby, eh? Hope nobody gets hurt...:snapoutofit::)

That's kinda what I was thinking. My 280 ai is no slouch, but she's a few hundred behind the 7 weatherby I had(in a rem 700)
Lee

Great, thanks for all the feedback guys! I had a look at the jarrett rifles info suggested by bullrambler and that pretty much closed the deal for me. If I can push a 140gr bullet out at 3150fps accurately then really what else do I need.
I really appreciate the versatility of this rifle, if there ever was one cartridge to do it all, but thats an entirely different can of worms.
Rocky Mountain Rifles in Dawson Creek, BC will be building the rifle for me using the Thinhorn model (defiance action) and I will be sure to post some pics when she's done....in 8 months:)

Good choice on cartridge, but why not keep your cash in aberta?
There's plenty of quality builders here, I know bob at custom Gunworx has the reamer, and you'll be hunting with it this fall, lee

Bob at custom gunworx built me one in a rem 700 action, amazing gun, 7pounds scoped, shots 1/2 inch groups all day with 140gr tts. great caliber great gunsmith no questions about killing power eather.

If I were you I'd go with the 280 Remington with a 1:8 or 1:9 twist with a 26" barrel or if you don't want the extra 2 inches of length go with a longer throat so seat bullets further out giving you more powder to work with especially with the premium copper bullets coming out. I would choose the 150 TTSX with the high BC and retained energy, it would give you great performance to 500 yards for an all a rounder.

The faster twist will allow you to stabilize the long 175 grain TSX, 180 grain Bergers, and the 175 grain Sierra MatchKings if you ever choose to shoot them and it won't hurt anything on the lighter side. The 26" tube will allow you to get an extra 60 fps out of the possible 100 fps that the AI version would roughly give you. If you choose the long throat instead of the long barrel it would give you some more powder space, the only downside is it could be an all copper bullet gun in lighter bullets like the 110 or 120 grains and probably 140 conventional bullet and up - all depends on bullet length and how far it is to the lands. Each 0.1" you bump the lands out by you gain 1.6 grains of space. The max. I would bump it out by would be by 0.2" gaining yourself 3.2 grains (with magazine mod's). (The Nosler Partition 140 grain is 1.16" long, the Barnes TSX is 1.35" for a difference of 0.19".) The AI version would give you 4.7 extra grains. Hell you could even opt for a 1" longer barrel with a 0.2" extra jump to the lands and this would give you essentially a 280 AI. Keeping it a 280 would give you much more availability in picking up brass thats ready to go without having to fireform if 280 AI wasn't available. If I were to do it I would do it the last way, but your mileage may vary.

Nosler makes .280 AI brass....ready to go no fire forming. Fire forming is no big deal either. Just load some regular 280 cases with a light bullet seated into the lands with a med charge of faster powder like imr 4895 and away you go. I did this for mine and it was a piece of cake. Get the AI if that is what you want....you won't regret it.

Sounds great,my dad's 280AI in a cooper with a 24" Barrel pushes the 140 grain pills @ 3220' with the load he uses!!

Thats exactly what down to the foot what I get out of my Rem 700 7 mag,its a killer load

And that is faster than I would push a 280AI with a 24" barrel.

The 280 AI has always been at the top of my list. I'm sure before too long, I will have one as well. Looking forward to pics!!

brass
 

Does anyone know who stocks Nosler 280 AI brass in Canada?

Don't wanna hijack this thread... Buuuut..

Who all make's a .280 in factory rifles? I'm thinking about it for my next rifle, but don't wanna go custom.

280rem or 280AI?Cooper makes both,but a few other companies make rifles chambered in 280rem.

The shop I buy from has them in stock in Cooper, Browning(A bolts) and a ruger syn/s/s.

I'd prefer an AI, but a Rem would do. I was looking at the Coopers. Kinda expensive...

rem makes the 280 in their mtn rifles, a nice looking package. i have one so i am biased!!

X2 My .280AI is getting machined at Bob's as we speak. Im just like a little kid waiting for X-mas. Cant wait to see the finished product.
SG

Ruger, Remington and Browning all chamber rifles in .280 rem. Get one with a 24 inch barrel and get it AI'ed by a good gunsmith.Or save your pennies and buy a Cooper, they are very nice rifkes and shoot as well as custom jobs.

I was there today and looked at the same rifle in a 7mm-08. I am thinking about going with the exact same rifle in .280 Ai. Looks like it is too late for this fall so it will be a 2012 gun. Good luck and good choice!!!

I hav e arifle in 280 remington that has killed a ton of game at the hands of many different people - it's a loaner gun for me, I keep it for guys who hav e broken a gun or for some other reason need one.
The people that have used it have never taken a second shot on game, eother.
One was a 350 yard coyote, another was a REALLY big moose at 200, with a mess of moose bears, and deer in between.
if I were to put a 7MM together for myself that was not a 7X57 or 7/08, it would be a standard 280.
just my two cents.....
Cat