Llama, do you feel the 7-08 and .280 also provide duplicate performance with like bullets, barrel lengths, etc?
Never a question I've looked into much, but taking a quick look I'd say yes. For example, Federal's 150 partition load is the exact same speed I load that bullet in 7mm-08 (24"), and that's with a single base powder. If I wanted to use RL-17 I could beat it handily (and within SAAMI).
A quick survey says that Remington and Winchester's ammo isn't any ballsier than Federal's.
Now it's the same situation - 7mm-08 matches what everyone shoots as .280. That doesn't mean that it matches the hottest SAAMI .280 load. I personally don't think this is a very hard concept to grasp, but there's one person on this thread I'm betting will have trouble with it.
For what it's worth, I really like the .280 AI as a long action option now that there's commercial brass. HOT max pressure, steep shoulder, decent case capacity. Basically a modern design beltless magnum, but with a standard bolt face.
