Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles 280AI vs 270 Winchester

Why can’t people own a 280ai without someone telling them how dumb they are for buying a 280ai when the could just buy a 270 and have a gun nearly as good?

Maybe the answer is as simple as “because I don’t like 270’s”, end of story.

I own both, I actually own a 280rem as well, but when I head out hunting it’s my 280ai that’s always slung over my shoulder. Does it kill stuff deader? Nope, I just like it better and that’s all that matters. 25-06, 6.5-06, 270, 280, 30-06, 338-06, it doesn’t matter, they’ll all do the same job imo.

LOL, you asked for someone to explain the concept of "better bullet selection" which I did.

If you want to argue that the 280 doesn't have better bullet selection, have at it.

No need to get all butt hurt about it. Understand?

Even Jack O'Connor finally realized the 280's superiority over the 270. That was his last custom rifle.

Gotcha....every .284 is better than every .277. Thanks. I've never heard of BC. Thought you meant Britiah Columbia. If you like your 280AI you can keep your 280 AI.....it goes to 11.


I equate it to watching my 9 year old shooting golf balls at 100 yds with a 10/22 while the tactifools are doing their best with AR's and 6" steel.

LOL, I see the butt hurt runs deep here, I never said anything like that.



I didn't think so.

Just saw this and it's BS. Long range 7 mm shooters use a lot of 180s, there are a couple of threads on these forums right now.

I have some on my loading bench just waiting on some empty cases to reload.

I see it as a toss up. . I have a hunting buddy who he & his son use the 270 with the Barnes 130gr TSX. They take elk cleanly every season with complete pass thru. Another hunting friend uses the 7-08 with the Barnes 140gr TSX & the same results on elk. For my self I'm 6.5 shooter using the Barnes TSX bullet with the same results on elk as my hunting buddies. SOOO just pick one , get comfortable with the rifle & practice that sight picture & trigger squeeze. When "COMFORTABLE" sets in go hunting......

Funny, I see it as a toss up too. Only thing I said was, if I had neither and was choosing one, I'd go with the .280 due to the better bullet selection.

In the worst case scenario, with low ambient temp, and at sea level, the 7mm will actually have a better BC per the Berger twist calc. Factory .270 Win rifles are twisted too slow to stabilize the 140 NAB under those conditions. At 25 deg. F., you'd need to shoot at 3900 feet of elevation with the .270 to get full stability. The .280 can do the same at sea level.

The .270 Baby Magnum is an awesome cartridge. I still have a soft spot for it, but it has limitations based on factory twist rates. As do the .280 and .280AI with 1-in-9 barrels, but they still have an edge on the .270 if splitting hairs.

Love my 280AI !

You nailed it on the head 16 😊😊😊

In just about every comparable weight hunting bullet made the 270 has a higher BC and SD than the 280 with the exception of a few bullets that always seem to be referred to as the Holy grail! It's funny how in the same sentence some campfire members will expound on the superiority of 280 bullet selection and in the very next breath sight only 3 bullets that are superior to maybe 3% of hunters that use them. Then there's the argument that the 280 has 175 grain bullets but the argument doesn't hold much water with me because when I think about 175 grain bullets the 7 mag is the logical answer.

In comparing the 270 130 tsx to a 280 150 tsx I would take a 130 pushed at 3150 over a 150 pushed at 3000 every day of the week and so would most hunters who understand how Barnes bullets works.

Comparing the 270 to 280AI the only difference I've noticed is all my 270s feed like butter and my 280AI that went down the road fed rounds into the chamber and I will leave it at that. It's a common trait in comparing a tapered cartridge with a 17° shoulder to a non tapered cartridge with a 40° shoulder.

Concerning long range hunting IMO the 7mm bullets are stuck in a rut! There big enough for deer but fail in comparison to 30 cal bullets when hunting elk sized game. The 6.5s have deer covered by a mile with far less recoil and are more efficient. A 300 win mag is a better caliber for elk than a 280AI

In the end I'm probably not saying anything the OP doesn't already know. IMO this argument.....ummmm.....I mean discussion😁 comes down to the platform more than anything else. I still would recommend a Barrett Fieldcraft over a Kimber and I think the extra money spent would be well worth it





Trystan

Ah the mythical 175 grain in the 280 Remington. Often talked about but never actually seen firsthand.

However, those numbers are incorrect for the 2 cartridges being discussed. According to Barnes data, the 270 with 130s can get 3150, while the 280 AI with the 139 gets 3200. With 150s in each, the 280AI gets 3100 vs. 2900.

LOL, comparing a 270 and a 7 mm and it's the 7 mm bullets that are "stuck in a rut," that's priceless. Where do you come up with this stuff?

Probably the same place you heard that a .280 "fails" on elk-sized game I'll bet.

I have shot the .270 for 50+ years, would really like one with a faster twist

Haha, that's hilarious! I didn't say the .280 fails on elk sized game you injected your lack of reading comprehension into my post.😁👍😁👍

I said.............the 300 win mag is far better suited to elk sized game! I also said when it comes to deer sized game the 6.5s cover that base easily and with less recoil or powder than a 280AI

Ive followed your posts for quite some time so no I'm not expecting a sudden miracle of reading comprehension from you!

Happy trails pard 😁



Trystan

I see 270 guys do it all the time, it’s like they feel intimidated by the 280rem’s and down right terrified of the 280ai’s.

On paper the 280’s win every time, in real world situations there really isn’t much difference. The rifle the bullet sits in will make way more difference than the caliber. If money is an option and you don’t want to reload then get a 270. Nosler and hornady both make good factory loads for the 280ai, and reloading will allow you to make cheap premium quality bullets for either.

I own all three dogs in this fight so this is truly an unbiased opinion.

Yes, I know what you said and that's great input on a thread titled "280 AI vs 270 Winchester," where the OP is trying to choose between the two. The .300 Winchester and 6.5's sort of lose their relevance with that context, don't they? And you want to talk about reading comprehension, that's more than priceless.




Yes, I know. And you're still way behind. Try to keep up.

Uhhhh, No.

Who hunts with a 280AI and why?

a) I got tired of carrying my 9-1/2 pound 270.
b) I was interested in 'moving up' to the 270 wsm.
c) On Kimber platforms, the 280 ai is significantly lighter than the 270 wsm due to the diameter of the action.
d) 280 ai got Saamified.
e) wealthy friend does frequent western hunts with 300 wm, which seems powerful.
f) buddy hosting me for elk hunt said "have enough gun to kill elk at 500 yards".
g) for my comparisons, the 280 ai had significantly more power at 500 yards than 270wsm.

so, I migrated into a Kimber in 280 ai, but didn't even think to look at the Kimber in 270 win. 280 ai hits harder, but certainly kicks harder.

Ironically, when I told my wealthy friend I was taking a 280 ai on my first and only elk hunt, he said "why? Your 270 win is all you need" Pffft. Someday I'll run the numbers again and compare the 280 ai to 270 win. I have 243s for my eastern whitetails, so the 280 / 270 discussion for me only pertains to elk.