I have owned a 7MM Rem Mag, a 7MM Weatherby Mag and a standard 280 in my past and used all of them for hunting deer and the 7MM Remington for killing elk too.
After a few decades of experience were behind me I sold all my 7MMs (one I wish I had not was my 7X57) but there is no way I'd get rid of my 30-06s.
In the real world I found the 30-06 did all the 7MM mags did and for the most part did them better. If the the 280 AI is not going to beat the 7MM Mags. So from what I have learned in hunting several states most years and killing game as large as elk with various 7mms and also with 30-06s, I would say that the 30-06.
You can go a different way, and unless you had opportunity to kill 20-30 animals with the 280 and also the same number with the 30-06 you'd probably never know any difference. Many fans of various calibers have a long histories with their favorites yet have no long histories with anything else so never really have a qualified opinion.
If you take the 280 AI I am sure you'll like how it kills game. But my experience is that it won't cover the bases as well of put game on the ground quite as fast as a good 30-06
your mileage may vary
I tend to agree with what is written here, to a point. Up until a few years ago, the 30-06 had a slight edge over the 280 or 280AI because of the availability of heavy for caliber bullet offerings in 30 cal, which made the 30-06 a better choice for heavy boned animals. Over the last 5-10 years, however, that has begun to change. People have started to understand that what makes those heavy 30 caliber bullets great also makes heavy 6.5mm and 7mm bullets great, (although the Europeans already figured that out) and they started looking to the bullet manufacturers to provide, which they did. Now you can get heavy-for-caliber bullets in the 6.5mm and 7mm flavor and with them that 280 or 280AI is just as good, or better than the old 30-06. You can get similar performance out of a 160-180 grain 7mm bullet as you do in the 180-220 grain 30 caliber bullet, with a bit less recoil. Now, you also take into account the improvements in bullet construction and you can bring short action chamberings into the discussion as well, but that is a different topic.
