BTW - last I heard from my buddy, after he tried my .30-06, was that he had stopped looking at .280 AI rifles, and was strongly considering a .30-06 for his purposes.

Not a handloader. Going to be doing more elk hunting, and has a plains game trip coming up in the next year.

I'm sure that he'll buy a good quality rifle. Was still looking hard at Cooper, he seems to really like their rifle.

Thanks for all the info on the .280 AI though!

Regards, Guy