I think the dislike stems from some 280 AI guys claiming how incredible their round is. Keeping up with the 7 mag, superior to the 270 or 30-06. Things like that. So it's a case of backlash, in a way. The reality is the 280 AI is just fine, but isn't anything special compared to a bunch of other rounds.
Savage 99's case is different, as he is an idiot.
Don drives that point home aggressively with every key stroke.
I have to agree that when folks start making silly claims about the Ackley that just gets fair minded people to raise the BS flag. For me, it's really about a lot of very small advantages that add up to make the 280 Ackley what it is.
- much less case trimming
- a small increase in velocity
- can build a lighter rifle than the magnum rounds
- extra round in the mag box
- lots of sleek bullets in 284
- lighter recoil and muzzle blast than the mag rounds it gets compared to
- shoots flatter than the 06
- if you compare it to a 270 w/150 gr bullets, the Ackley gets a solid 100 fps gain
- and last but not least.......it just looks cool ! ! !
