338Rules. I'm not M.D., but I have an opinion about how the .270Win compares to the .280AI. First, I have a long history using the .270, the first animal I killed with it was in 1960, a small mule deer buck. The last animal was a much larger buck several years ago. Between the first and last deer over a hundred animals taken by me with the .270win. Must were deer sized cud chewers. To say it's a favorite of mine is a colossal understatement. For the last ten years or so my go to cartridge has been the .280AI. It is nothing more than an slightly juiced up .270. As M.D. noted in the article the 280AI gets 3200fps with Nosler's factory loaded 140gr BT. You might be able to do that with a 270Win., but likely just one time. So how much superior is the .280AI, in the real world, I'd say not much. However, for me it offers the right balance of recoil in a lighter rifle and killing power on animals as large as mature bull elk. I know this because I've used it on nine mature bulls so far. With any kind of luck, number ten will go down before the end of the month. I've already passed on two decent bulls so I'm still hopeful. Finally, the .280AI is for the loony for whom small differences mean a lot. The 270 or 7RM is for all the sane people.
