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Finally got a chance to shoot my LAW 280ai yesterday....

[Linked Image]

Here is my objective view on the rifle.....

Finish, weight, balance, trigger, overall appearance I would rate as excellent.

Fit, crap....so mine also had the now infamous "LAW stock issue".

Not willing to spend more money to send it back and take a chance on getting it lost or destroyed, I did what I always do to a rifle that has bedding issues..... Fix it myself.

F the warranty....

To be fair fit is really good except the barrel shank was hitting the right side of the stock,while the left side was floating.Barrel gap to stock was perfect, except for the shank issue.

So out came the sandpaper and .5 hour later.....perfect fit. Now the barrel is free floating all the way to the recoil lug.

Honestly, no excuse on LAWs part to have something leave the factory with that bad of a fit issue. Also, if they would have bedded these, they would not be having the returns they apparently are having with the 300wins and 280ai.

So I gave the LAW the acid test....150 ballistic tips and h4831sc. If won't shoot that, it ain't going to shoot....

I also had a hand full of Nosler factory 280ai 140ab.

My starting load of 58 h4831, 150bt, Fed 210, and virgin Nosler hulls went into a nice .5" cloverleaf.... Nice.

Figured the groups would get worse as i worked up and they did. Opened up, but only to about 1.3". Not bad.

The factory 140ab went into 1.25", 5 shot group. 4 of the 5 were under 1". Velocity was mid 3000s.

So overall, I think she'll be a shooter with the right loads.

Pretty happy....

Tony

Last edited by hicountry; 10/05/15.
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Great report Tony, I am considering one of these but i think i will hold off till next Summer before I pull the trigger, hopefully by then LAW will have their QC issues taken care of, I am also hoping by then the threaded barrel on the Professional Model will be optional........Good luck with your new rifle.......Hb

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Good info. Good post.

Smart idea to handle it yourself. Who know what they would have done and how long it would have taken.


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Happy it worked out Tony!

They are really nice looking rifles.


FÜCK Jeff_O!

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Thanks all.

Should also add that the M704 action is really nice.

So far I am pretty happy with the rifle. Still debating whether to bed it or not, but that .5" group has me thinking I'll see how consistent it is before making that decision.

As a rule, I bed all my rifles if they aren't.

We'll see.

I really want this thing to shoot the 150 SSII. Going to try 7828 next with the sciroccos....

Tony

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Good report, my 280AI (not a LAW) loves 7828 and 140 NBT.


I may not be smart but I can lift heavy objects

I have a shotgun so I have no need for a 30-06.....
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Thanks for the tip....

How about anyone that has some, post up some pet loads for the 280ai...

Thanks.

Tony

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Sounds like every other rifle I've owned.

Good info. Thanks.




Travis


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Originally Posted by deflave
Sounds like every other rifle I've owned.

Good info. Thanks.




Travis


Exactly


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Ditto on my end....

But, I didn't expect to find a bedding issue with this one.

Not a big deal for me, because I bed my rifles myself.

I would think most people don't do that.

To me, that makes the the LAW just another production rifle....

Tony

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Sent you a PM


I may not be smart but I can lift heavy objects

I have a shotgun so I have no need for a 30-06.....
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Yes.... Bedding block in front and pillar at the tang.

Tony

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Mine (280AI Professional) has been back to the factory twice now. This last trip they said they did a bedding job. Just got it back yesterday and thing still sucks. No consistency whatsoever. Best I could do was just under 2" groups at 100... some groups were 6"+. Very disappointed in the performance of this rifle. Looks and handles great, but it looks like I'm going to have to stick more money into this damn thing before it is of any use to us.

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You sure you don't have a mount or scope issue ?

Did they shoot it before they sent it back?

If so, how did it shoot?

They are using pretty good components in these things, they should shoot.

Although it would be nice to know who's barrel they are using.

Tony

Last edited by hicountry; 10/08/15.
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They shot it. Some groups barely went moa and some were in the 1.5 moa range... they said they shot it the first time it was sent back though too. Having my doubts. This thing is seriously all over the place. The first trip back they said the trigger guard holes needed to be reamed out because they were too tight and binding on the screws. No idea what is wrong with this thing, but I've had about as much grief as I can take with it. Now it looks like I get to spend more money taking it to a local smith to trouble shoot an issue the manufacturer couldn't fix.

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Originally Posted by OdinofWyoming
They shot it. Some groups barely went moa and some were in the 1.5 moa range... they said they shot it the first time it was sent back though too. Having my doubts. This thing is seriously all over the place. The first trip back they said the trigger guard holes needed to be reamed out because they were too tight and binding on the screws. No idea what is wrong with this thing, but I've had about as much grief as I can take with it. Now it looks like I get to spend more money taking it to a local smith to trouble shoot an issue the manufacturer couldn't fix.




Odin,

Sorry to hear of your troubles with this rifle. I hope your smith can get it sorted for you. It sucks, but that's probably your best option at this point.

Please keep us posted.

Regards,

David

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Appreciate that David and thanks for pointing me towards this thread.

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No problem, It sucks to have a rifle that has problems, especially when the manufacturer won't take care of it. It could still be a good rifle for you if you get it sorted.

How would you feel about popping the action out of the stock and taking a few pictures? I know LAW should have done this, but seeing how you seem to be on your own.... Is the magazine binding? Are the action screws too long?

David

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http://www.24hourcampfire.com/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php/topics/8495340/1

These tips will also work for rifles that aren't Kimbers...

David

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Interesting reading... need to get my comfort level up on this kind of stuff. Hate for this rifle to be my first go at it, if you know what I mean. Thanks for the info!

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