Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles 280 instead of 280AI????

Agreed.

My first ".270" had ".280 Rem" stamped into the barrel. I got the .280 Rem dies and started working up loads. Sold that rifle, a nice Ruger #1, after 3 years and bought a Ruger Hawkeye All-Weather instead. Since I already had dies, the Hawkeye was also a .280 Rem rather than a .270 Win.

One thing I learned was that for many years, back before I had a chrono, I had been shooting my 7mm RM at .280 Rem velocities or just above. During those years the 7mm never let me down. With the exception of an unfortunate buck antelope that was the subject of a Barnes XLC bullet test, game went down quickly, often at the shot. (The problem with the antelope was a bullet problem, not a cartridge problem.)

While I don't have a problem with the .280 Rem AI per se, I do see it as a niche cartridge for loonies. (Full disclosure - I have a custom 6.5-06 AI, another loonie cartridge.) The gain over a standard .280 Rem is marginal and no matter claims to the contrary, it can't reach 7mm RM levels of performance. A claim has been made the .280 Rem burns less powder than the 7mm RM but that is debatable - to reach top performance the difference is negligible at best and requires compressed load densities up to 109% (better crimp those to keep the bullets from moving). In other cases the .280 Rem won't reach those levels of performance but might save 7 grains of powder or so - a 1 pound difference in consumption for every 1,000 rounds loaded (and with an even more marginal difference, if any, over standard .280 Rem performance, which burns even less powder). Do the math, 7 grains amounts to about 3 cents per cartridge and you're not getting top performance. When I have to worry about 3 cents difference in hunting cartridge costs it will be long past time for me to stop hunting.

Had that Ruger #1 been chambered for a .280 Rem AI, I would have purchased it just as quickly. After it was sold and I bought the Hawkeye it would still have been a .280 Rem rather than a .270 as I already use 7mm bullets. It is highly doubtful, though, that I would have rechambered the .280 to an AI configuration, opting instead just to buy a standard set of .280 Rem dies. My 7mm RM will do everything the .280 Rem will do and then some and I can easily download it to .280 AI or .280 velocities if desired.

Give me the standard .280 Rem. No muss, no fuss, lots more load data, easily obtainable and inexpensive brass with the proper headstamp and more factory ammo options for those times when such is needed. And performance that is more than adequate for most tasks. (And when it isn't, I wouldn't be reaching for a .280 Rem AI.)

YMMV