Bob,
Stop making sense,it is messing up all my preconceptions.
I have a custom 280 AI,and a custom 7mm Weatherby,both on Remington actions with 24 inch Barrels.
I can get 160 grain bullets to 3150 fps in the Weatherby,I can get 140 grain bullets to about 3200 fps in the 280 AI.
So there is no question a Magnum(properly throated) is more gun.
But here is the rub,I need a muzzle break to make the magnum as comfortable to shoot as the 280 AI.
The 280AI does gives us very good long range performance with a recoil level that is pretty much in the class of a 30-06.
The 280 AI tends to be super accurate as well,perhaps since probably 90% of the rifles out there in 280AI have custom barrels and chambers. Whether they would be just as accurate in 7mm Mag is open to debate.
As a practical matter most people are better off with the 7mm Rem Mag,rifles,brass,and ammo are generally avaiable anywhere that sells any of the above.
But a guy who handloads and wants a super accurate custom for long range hunting of everything from antelope to elk can do quite nicely with a 280 AI.
It falls in the tiny gap right between a 270,a 280, and a 7mm Mag and it is different in a cool sort of way. What could be better than that?
