Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles ,280 AI pros & cons ?

In my 22" barrel I get 2966fps with 160gn Accubonds over 61gn of Rel 22.

My 7mm Remington propels 175's at the same velocity from a 26" barrel but the Ackley is chambered in a Featherwight Model 70 while the Rem is a standard Model 70 and a pound more in weight.
John

"not (yet) a handloader" strongly suggests the .280 AI is NOT the right cartridge for him. A standard .280 Rem would be a much better choice. For that matter, and for his purposes, it is hard to argue against a .270, .7mm RM or .30-06 in a long action. Is he aware that many 7mm RM loads recoil about the same as and often less than .30-06 loads?

My 22" barreled .280 Rem easily pushes 140g Barnes TTSX and North Fork SS over 2940fps. This will be my antelope and/or elk rifle this fall. For a non-handloader, though, I have a hard time recommending a .280 Rem over a .270, .30-06 or 7mm RM due to ammo selection and availability. For the most utilitarian cartridge the .30-06 still wins.

Not sure he'd want a basic rifle that cost $3.25 per shot with factory ammo. He won't be shooting much at that price...I bet. You could easily getting into reloading equipment at that price.

I think this decision could be a lot more complex than it needs to be.

The guy is not a hand loader,so he is likely pretty practical and would benefit from a wide variety of commonly available factory ammo so that he can find something that shoots well in his rifle.

I could scour gun emporiums from New England to Casper(have) and further; only the very best stocked will have 280 ammo,and I bet even fewer would have even a box or two of 280AI. Scratch one for the 7 Rem Mag.

If I blindfolded him he couldn't tell the difference in recoil and blast between a 7 Rem Mag and a 280AI in a thousand rounds.The "recoil and blast" of a 7 Rem Mag are mythical dragons in a rifle of reasonable weight. 4-6 gr of powder simply do not make or break a cartridge on that basis.

The 280AI is a cartridge for far gone rifle nuts(SuperT nailed this) obsessed with tiny differences (I get it being a loony myself).

But I can pop into a gun store and "buy" factory 7 Rem Mag ammo whose ballistics are identical to the 280AI;and if I choose to load my own 7 Rem Mag ammo,can easily equal or exceed what a 280 or 280 AI can do.

As an all round, go anywhere BG cartridge in that category, the 7 Rem Mag beats all comers at their own game from the standpoint of ubiquity,ballistics,popularity,and availability....not to mention terminal performance.

Easy choice.

If he wants one, he should get one.

$53 for 140gr Accubonds at 3150 don't suck too bad either...and they are on the shelf at Sportsmans.

Standard .280 still fits and goes bang. Lots of that stuff on shelves here too.

Kimber doesn't make a Montana in 7mag, which is why I ended up with the AI.

Gotta agree with Bob on this.

For a non-handloader, the 7RM is a much better choice.

In fact, the 270Win is too.

But then again, if he shoots a few boxes of factory ammo a year the 280AI won't cost him a lot more to shoot.

Since this person does not handload,just get a .30/06 and go forth and kill game.

I am a long time fan and user of the 280 A.I. It is without peer as a deer caliber IMHO. That being said, I agree with those that have said it is best suited for hand-loaders. Limited factory ammo is a real problem for the traveling hunter. I believe your non hand-loader friend would be better served by a 270, 280 or 30.06. The 280 A.I is not hard to load for and fire-forming brass is easy, just a little time consuming. If he is interested in becoming a hand-loader, I highly recommend the 280 A.I. I had a 270 and 7mm Mag before my 280 A.I. and would never go back.

Hate to push a 270 on someone but it would be hard to see either 7MM as much different than the 270, except for ammo availability and price. The 270 is one of the cartridges that is always on sale and much cheaper than either of the 7MMs. Premium ammo is closer but for most purposes the cheap stuff will do fine in the 270. I own a 270 I have never shot and only bought cause it was cheap. Have 2 7mm mags though

270 would work great as well

For a non handloader traveling to hunt out West the 270 Winchester makes a lot of sense recoil, ammo supply and effect wise.

280 Rem ammo is not out there. The 280 AI is dead at the starting gate and just for handloaders and AI guys.

Get a 270.

If the guy wants a .280 AI then that is what he oughtta get.

First though, if he's your buddy, get him started on handloading.

The usual bullsh*t from this character,S-99 whom I will wager has never hunted **out West** in his entire career as a total dipsh*t.

I HAVE light, custom .270s, three P-64 fwts, I HAVE std. 280 Rems,, three superb custom Brno 21Hs-HVA rifles. I HAVE a custom U-L 7-08, Remmy sts Seven and I HAVE two light, custom 7x57 rifles.

I handload for ALL of these and never need factory ammo, that is for novices and imbeciles who "forget" their ammo; it is largely a gunrag myth.

I LIKE the .280AI, can afford to indulge this and I will shoot more big game next autumn than this asshat has or will in his lifetime.

That last line made me chuckle. Please regale use with tales from your recent successful hunts.

I have never understood why people don't like the 270 Win. I have hunted with the 270 since 1973 and have never felt I was under gunned at any range for Big Game. If you put the 270 Win down, then you probly have never hunted with one. I have mutable rifles in different cal's and still chose the 270 most of the time when heading to the field. If you don't like the 270 that is find, but it is your loss. When I die I will still own a 270 Win. which is the best thing to ever come out of the Winchester brain trust. I have never owned or seen the need for a standard 280 Rem. as long as the 270 exist.

I am one of those "imbeciles" that has forgotten their ammo in one case and arrived at hunting camp with the wrong ammo in another. The forgotten ammo wasn't a big deal as we (Big Bro, some of my daughters and myself) were just headed to the shooting range, but the problem wasn't discovered until we were at the range ready to load up. An 80-minute round-trip back home for ammo wasn't in the cards. Fortunately Big Bro had brought a lot of .45ACP so we shot pistols rather than my rifles.

The case where I forgot my ammo was more problematic. Actually I had the ammo for the two rifles I had ***originally*** intended to take, but a last-second change in one of the rifles left me at hunting camp with the correct ammo for only one. This time the round-trip time to go home for ammo was about 10 hours and definitely out of the question.

The point is that stuff happens. In a pinch I'd much rather try to find .30-06 or 7mm RM or .270 than .280 Rem, whether standard or AI. Chances are good one of my hunting buddies could loan me a few rounds of the more common stuff.

Another good choice for the non-handloader is the 270 WSM or 7mm WSM

If he wants a .280AI he should get one but.......

With 150's it will do nothing that a 30-06 with a 150 will do out to 300 yards for a heck of a lot cheaper per shot for the non handloader

Yup...or a 270 running 150s. I'm a handloader and 280ai is on my short list, but for the situation of your non-handloader friend a 270 or 30-06 are all I can suggest. The middle of no where stores I've been to in Idaho usually will have these two calibers in them if needs be. It's rare to see any others there, although you will see 7mag often. I've never seen 280 anything in the small shops. I think I can recall once seeing 308.

Thanks for all the input guys.

I hunt mostly with a .25-06, or often with the .30-06, have a pair of Rem 700's. They've served me just fine and I've been handloading for a long time.

Why he's so enthusiastic about the .280 AI in particular eludes me, but he is, and it's his money.

I thought I'd explore the issue a little farther here and on the Nosler forum, in case there was something I'd missed. Strongly suspect that he'll have a very nice .280 AI on his hands soon... Despite my urging him towards the .270 or .30-06 instead.

Regards, Guy