Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters 280 AI

RaceTire
One is jumped .015 and the other .025.
3075 FPS on one and 3135 on the other

140 Accubond
63 gr N165
CCI 200
3/8" @ 3200 fps

You are going to love the 280AI. Awesome round and very accurate!

JD338

captbutch, looks like you got lots of good info but I will add a couple of things that might help others, and ask a question. If wanting to fireform from other headstamped brass, use .270 as it will make your brass long enough, but there will be another step needed as you will have to neck up and then down to get the false shoulder. Lee expander rods have a taper that expands your .270 to .30 caliber easily, and you can do it in a Lee universal decapper. How would you mark the base of your .270 cases to make sure they are noticed as something except .270? I am thing of just coloring the base with a magic marker, but am open to other suggestions. miles

You will like the .280AI, get a Nosler reloading book and a chronograph if you don't already have them. And, a Lee collet die. Also, you are likely to see some wild ass velocity claims on the net so be careful because the pressure to achieve such speeds may put you and your rifle at some risk.

55.5 IMR 4350, Fed 210, 145 LRX only gets me 2970 from a 24" but I don't care. Too accurate to let that bother me.

Fire forming is good shooting practice...do some off hand shooting and such...

How are things down on the border?

Had a bunch of 280AIs and this current one in the SAAMI version is the best of the bunch. Nosler data has been good for this rifle running book speed or slightly higher with book loads.

Things are just a whole lot easier w/nosler brass. Anneal and they last a long time. Pretty much stick with 140s for everything it gets used for.

tag

I used once fired .30/06 brass but had a few potential separations resizing the false shoulder in the A1 dies so changed to using standard .280 dies for the shoulder forming and that proved easy.

No issues after the first firing and it permits cleaning up the surplus bullets on the reloading bench with range time.

The most difficult task for me is deciding on a bullet from 110gn TTSX through to 175gn ABLR's or Partitions. I have 14 different 7mm bullets on my bench.
John

I have two 280 AI's, both remarkably accurate. My Nosler 48 consistently shoots Nosler Factory 140's into 1/4 inch 5 shot groups, and my Kimber Mountain Ascent digests handloaded 160 AccuBonds into 5 shot 1/2 inch groups. I've long been a fan of 7mm's, and own several 280's, 284's a couple of 7x57's, and a 7mm SAUM, all fine calibers that have performed marvelously in the field. This year I took a Kudu, Gemsbok, Impala, and Warthog with the Nosler 48 and a nice bull elk and mule deer buck with the Kimber. I can't imagine a better caliber for all big game in N. America, except maybe grizzly and brown bears. You've purchased a great caliber, have fun.

And here I was thinking they were the same caliber...

Now, now. He's the FNG here....be nice

I started with Norma 280 brass and fireformed using 140BT atop 56.0 gr. of IMR4831. These shot exteremely well, enuf to take down a Scimitar Horned Oryx at 200 plus yds. and win some egg shoots in the past. I have now loaded some Nosler 150 gr. Accubond LR, Nosler 160 gr. Accubonds, Hornady 162 gr. SST and some Berger 168 gr. VLD hunting with Retumbo. These I will take to the range over the winter to chronograph and fire for groups. My 280AI has a PacNor 26" SS match bbl. and is an accurate rifle as long as I do my part. Try 270 brass necked up to .284 and fireform. These I have found work well. BTW, I neck turn all of my brass regardless of manufacturer, debur the flash holes, uniform the primer pockets and chamfer the necks inside and out. At this point I have so much 280AI brass I will not run out in my lifetime. You will like the 280AI. MTG

Muley Crazy -

Some of us make the distinction between cartridges and calibers.

W E L C O M E----to the Fire.


Jerry

Few folks seem to concern themselves with the distinction 'twixt caliber & cartridge.

Called it illiteracy when I went to school.

I appologize to those for my mistake. Likely no one else has ever made a mistake on line. It makes one feel so welcomed to this campfire when some feel compeled to correct a newby. Let's hope for a world where mistakes will never happen again.

Fingers crossed here!

Don't take it personal.

Most here will just let it slide, because they know what you mean

Words mean things....